Monday Morning Quarterback Part III
By BOP Staff
June 25, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Mike Myers' last film, The Cat in the Hat, earned $100.4 million domestically but was considered a worst-case-scenario type of performer at the box office. Five years later, The Love Guru has completely failed. Is this the end of the line for Mike Myers?
Pete Kilmer: Austin Powers 4 and a reunion with Dana Carvey in some project could save him.
Tim Briody: In everything but movies called Shrek, he's done.
Joel Corcoran: I hope not. I don't know what's going on with him, but he's lost that scintillating brilliance he used to have as a comedian. Maybe Pete has it right. Maybe he just needs to get back to doing what he does best to regain his footing again.
Eric Hughes: Another Austin Powers is definitely in order if Mike Myers ever wants his respect back. Although that's a confusing paradox in itself because Goldmember was truly, truly terrible (It's all downhill after that brilliant cold open). Only the first entry will ever have the possibility of going down as a great comedy - if it hasn't done so already. But if we're strictly talking box office, then Austin Powers looks like a sure bet to make big money, considering each release earns more than its predecessor. What The Love Guru proved is that Mike can't simply create a character and hope to God it sticks. The public finally proved - this time, at least - that it's smarter than that.
Max Braden: The Love Guru looked to me just like Austin Powers in different clothing. With it bombing this badly I don't see how greenlighting a fourth sequel would be a smart move. If he took a risk and came up with a different, interesting character, he might be able to redeem himself. But really, raking in the money as Shrek is nothing to be ashamed of.
Matthew Huntley: It is perhaps the end of the line for the Mike Myers we know, the one who's been riding his Austin Powers popularity for the last decade. But it's not the end for the not the comedian overall. What Myers needs to do is stop limiting himself to roles that are so easily defined by mannerisms, speech, dialogue and song+dance numbers. He's become so recognizable as Austin Powers/Dr. Evil, these two personas are what everyone expects from him and it's wearing thin (as is Shrek). Myers needs a fresh role, and then he needs to follow that up with a different one to prove he's a character actor, one who's capable of changing and adapting.
Shane Jenkins: Like M. Night Shyamalan, Myers needs to take a step back and reconsider things. He needs someone who will stand up to him and say "no" and challenge him to come up with better, less lazy material. I've read a lot about his incredible work ethic, but it's in the service of absolutely nothing here. I feel this way about almost every big comedian out there now (Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, etc.), but I would really like to see him work with a real director who can rein in his worst tendencies. He needs an Eternal Sunshine right about now.
Reagen Sulewski: Shane, the sad thing is that as I understand it, this was his attempt to do just that. He'd apparently be workshopping the character of the Pitka around a number of improv troupes. What he really needs to rehabilitate his image is a serious turn that isn't just snide mocking. The Keith Moon movie might just be that.
James D. Ruccio: I think it is the end of the line for him. Comedy actors either go one of two ways. They either realize they're limited by comedy roles and attempt to expand their abilities and resume - Jim Carey comes to mind. Otherwise, they ride the same shitckhorse until it drops dead (Will Ferrell with the exception of Stranger than Fiction).
Aside from voicework I don't think Myers is known outside of well established character driven comedies. The Love Guru was his attempt to create another character. Not that this latest attempt is an utter disaster. He has two choices...take a role outside of his comfort zone or run as fast as he can back to an established character. I suspect he's started the Austin Powers - 4 script already.
Scott Lumley: Sadly, it looks like it might be the end of the line for Myers. Shrek appears to be about finished, and DreamWsorks has a new franchise in Kung Fu Panda. I could see him getting some comedy roles with Saturday Night Live Alumni, but what studio would give him a budget worth anything right now? Hollywood has a pile of new funny guys with new ideas that are going for a lot less than Mike does. He's going to need to take a significant pay and control cut for his next film or he's not going to get one. Even if he does that, what's he going to do? A Wayne's World sequel? Another Austin Powers? Deiter? I just don't see any success there.
Daron Aldridge: Simply, this is "bad news bears" to quote Goldmember, given that Mike Myers was everywhere promoting this thing. Recently, he and Justin Timberlake hosted an extended Myers movie marathon on Comedy Central with Love Guru clips during commercials and there was his painful shilling of the movie during the American Idol finale, which failed to compel the millions of people watching to remember it a month later. Entertainment Weekly also did Myers no favors with a print article that went on for pages about his difficult behavior in the industry and an online photo gallery of the most offensive characters with Guru Pitka as the lead. Not a great time to be Mike Myers. As the owner of EW, maybe there was a little conspiracy on the part of Warner Bros. to boost Get Smart in direct competition with Love Guru...probably not, Love Guru is just that bad.
Jason Lee: If Eddie Murphy has taught us anything, it's that talent always wins out in the end. Murphy was in a couple of dismally unfunny comedies for a string of years and yet, in the right project (Dreamgirls or the upcoming A Thousand Words, which has a hysterical script) he can be golden. I think Myers is the same way. If not, I think both Warner Bros. and Myers alike will be willing to exercise their right to New Line's Austin Powers franchise.
Sean Collier: Mike Myers should probably worship a giant Shrek shrine rather than whatever deity Guru Pitka was supposed to follow. The kiddie franchise will guarantee that he keeps making money, in spite of failures like The Love Guru, The Cat in the Hat, View from the Top, 54...sensing a trend? The lesson of The Love Guru may be that Myers was never a particularly big draw - Austin Powers was a draw, Shrek is a draw, Wayne Campbell was a draw, but perhaps it was never Myers himself. Myers also needed to work more often than he has to this point - look at other comedy superstars like Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell, who've balanced their resumes with more serious fare. For Little Nicky, there's Punch-Drunk Love; for Semi-Pro, there's Stranger than Fiction. For The Love Guru, there's the four years we didn't think about Mike Myers that much. The unfortunate model for Myers' career from here on out may be his Shrek co-star, Eddie Murphy - once a comedy titan, now a guy who can't stop picking losing projects.
Look out below!
Kim Hollis: The Incredible Hulk fell 61% to $21.6 million, while The Happening fell 67% to $10 million. Both of these are disastrous results, but which one surprises you more?
Pete Kilmer: Disastrous? Disappointing certainly for the Hulk, but that kind of drop is to be expected these days isn't it?
Tim Briody: I didn't see The Incredible Hulk crashing that badly, that's for sure.
Scott Lumley: Without a doubt, the Hulk surprises me more. The reviews on this are quite good, and it's being compared favourably to Iron Man. I'm thinking there are two reasons this is falling as fast and as hard as it is. First of all, this is turning into a very 'Superhero' summer. Iron Man, The Hulk, Hellboy, Hancock, The Dark Knight... that's five major superhero themed films in the span of less than three months. That's crazy. It's awfully cool if you're a comic book fan like I am, but it's a tad bit of overkill. These films are all (with the exception of the Hellboy sequel) getting a lot of advertising too. I think people are waiting on Hancock and The Dark Knight and they're willing to leave Hulk and Hellboy in the "To be rented later" column.
Also, while I appreciate the script putting in the Abomination as the primary antagonist, this film is still far too 'Thinky'. This character is all about 'Hulk Smash!', and there is still not enough of that. For crying out loud, the commercials are still giving us shots of Hulk beating up HELICOPTERS. Believe me, I don't want any reminders of how badly the first movie sucked. Yeah, I know some of you guys liked the first film. I did not, and the majority of the movie going public is right behind me. And yes, I am far too aware of the irony that I am sitting here as a pseudo movie critic and complaining that there was far too much plot and character development in a movie.
You really don't get too many opportunities when making movies to throw plot and character out the window and focus on the CGI and the brawling and crap blowing up and the Hulk is a character tailor made for this. The studio needs to get the CGI down pat, get a script together for Hulk vs Thing and slot it somewhere it's not going to have to compete with 385 other superhero titles.
Dan Krovich: The drop off for The Happening had to be expected, and ultimately with the movie that was delivered Fox has to be pretty pleased with what they've gotten out of it. The Incredible Hulk is a definite disappointment, though. They didn't make another Hulk movie just to moderately top the final gross of the first one.
Joel Corcoran: A 60% drop seems kind of routine these days, so I think the Hulk's drop is disappointing, but not disastrous. I just wish The Happening had fallen more. A 67% drop is definitely a disaster, but probably not enough to ensure that M. Night Shyamalan never touches a camera again.
Eric Hughes: The hit Incredible Hulk took was large, but I think it was to be expected when taking its word-of-mouth into account. Yes, 2008's Hulk is superior to the one released in 2003, but it certainly isn't superior to Iron Man. Paramount took a relatively unknown superhero (in comparison to the bigger names) and made him into a star on screen. For The Incredible Hulk to perform well at the box office, the end product had to be better than Iron Man if Universal hoped to get people to pony up for the summer's second superhero. Guess what, The Incredible Hulk wasn't as good, and the drop was over 60%. So, I'm more surprised at The Happening figure, in that I assumed the fact that people flat-out hated this movie opening weekend was going to translate into a fall higher than 67%.
Matthew Huntley: The Incredible Hulk's steep drop is definitely more surprising (and disturbing). So far, this movie has earned solid word-of-mouth and reasonable reviews, so I thought it could avoid a sharp decline (I also hoped it would since the prospects for a sequel would be that much greater). The reason for this loss can be attributed to the fanboy effect, competition from Get Smart, and the bad taste Ang Lee's Hulk left with many people. With a little luck, though, The Incredible Hulk can inch up to $140 million and still be considered a mid-level hit stateside, despite its hefty budget. Overseas is where it can hopefully make up the rest.
As a side note, the 67% drop for The Happening is not surprising in the least. It received terrible reviews, lousy word-of-mouth and it is, simply, a bad movie.
James D. Ruccio: I very surprised by the huge drop of Hulk. You could tell they were trying to pump up the second week gross with the additional spoiler appearances and heavy rotation of spots.
It really didn't deserve the drop-off as it was superior to the Ang Lee version and a good summer comic book movie independent of that.
Daron Aldridge: I'm not surprised at either, except that The Happening wasn't a little steeper but it was almost identical to the drop of The Village. I haven't talked to a single person who has seen or wants to see it. Market apathy tells me that Fox should be happy that they are close to matching the budget. Plus, the self-referential tagline of the movie was arrogantly loathsome. With regard to the Hulk, it is more disappointing than surprising. I had hoped for stronger legs and the thought that it will not completely outperform Ang Lee's version, just proves that five years wasn't long enough.
Sean Collier: I'm more surprised by The Happening - in that it wasn't lower than it is. I haven't heard anyone say anything positive about The Happening - and I saw it with someone who actually liked Lady in the Water. With word-of-mouth this dreadful, Shayamalan should be thrilled with the numbers The Happening has drawn to this point. Perhaps audiences are going out of morbid curiosity.
Jason Lee: I did not find either happening to be incredible (pause for laughter). Both were bound to fall given their negative word-of-mouth. They should just each be happy that their opening weekends were solid enough to push them into profitability.
Reagen Sulewski: Marvel must be wondering what the hell they have to do to sell a Hulk movie. "We're meeting you halfway, hippies!"