Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
August 19, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Mirrors, the Kiefer Sutherland horror thriller, earned $11.2 million. Should Fox be pleased, angry or indifferent with/to this result?
Max Braden: They should feel haunted and slightly scared, the kind of feeling you get when you know a fright is coming but still get chills anyway. I don't always get what appeals to horror fans, but it seemed like the cast was the only thing going for this movie, and that wasn't much either. So I guess they should feel happy enough, especially since a blockbuster isn't making that much either.
Shane Jenkins: I think this figure reflects (ba-DUM) the horror crowd's desire to see anything at this point. Summer is the only season that they are under-served. Chin up guys! Soon it will be autumn and you'll have 13 choices every week!
David Mumpower: I actually thought Mirrors could do better since I really liked the commercials. I feel they had a nicely creepy tone as well as a couple of thrilling moments involving the, well, mirrors. I think what this shows is why Kiefer Sutherland works on television rather than in movies. Even when he's placed on a decent project, he's just not a draw.
Jamie Ruccio: They should be thrilled. I disagree with David, It looked vapid and pointless with Sutherland continuing to learn from the Late Al Pacino Whisper/Scream School of Acting. Anyone who needed to see this is clearly damaged.
Reagen Sulewski: Interestingly, this hit almost the same mark as Dark Water, which it kind of superficially resembled. I guess there's a standard and consistent group of people who frightened by inanimate objects.
Sean Collier: Horror running unopposed in August should do better than this. If Fox had actually bothered to advertise, they might have pulled in much bigger crowds; as it is, they might hope for a sleeper hit, but so-so reviews will work against that. Kiefer Sutherland still needs a ticking clock to make him a star, unfortunately.
Jason Lee: Frankly, this is a pretty standard gross for what looks like a pretty standard remake of a hit foreign horror film.
Brandon Scott: Fox is a little bummed since it will have a hard time seeing even money here domestically, when it cost a reported $35 million to make. While a horror pic like this always hopes to do business like The Grudge did, the producers are going to have to figure out how to do things differently when looking at these projects in the future. They're going to have to start with the man in the mirror. They're going to have to ask him to change his ways.
Woody has an unhealthy obsession with someone.
Kim Hollis: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen's lustiest title in recent memory, earned $3.8 million with a per venue average of $5,427. What should MGM take from this?
Tim Briody: They could've squeezed a few more bucks out of it had they used that Katy Perry song in the advertising. By the way, this is Woody Allen's first movie to land in the top ten since Small Time Crooks in 2000. Vicky Christina Barcelona also falls just short of that movie's opening, which happens to be the largest in his career. The other thing I found astounding while researching this is Allen's highest grossing film is Hannah and Her Sisters, which made $40 million in 1986.
Max Braden: That may be an impressive opning for Allen, but I doubt it will meet the $23 million total of Match Point.
David Mumpower: I disagree with Max. I think the primary selling points of Match Point, a wonderful movie, were the presence of Scarlett Johansson as well as buzz that it was the best Woody Allen movie in ages. Vicky Cristina Barcelona has both of those bullet points on its ledger and it also has the sex going for it as well. I think this is going to be Woody's biggest success in ages.
Brandon Scott: This is about as good of a result as they could hope for. It had the second best per theater average in the top 20 (Tropic Thunder being first) and it'll make it's money from video rentals and sales. This is fine overall but if they really wanted more money they should SPOILER ALERT** actually put the threesome in the movie.**END SPOILER ALERT** Deleted scenes on the DVD, perhaps?
Jason Lee: Whoever cut the trailer for the movie deserves a big, big bonus?
Sean Collier: 1. Make Hot Women Kiss 2. Film It 3. Profit
I would have gone and seen Pineapple Express, but I got high.
Kim Hollis: Pineapple Express fell 58% to $9.8 million. With a running total of $62.9 million after 12 days, is this a win for Sony/Columbia?
Shane Jenkins: Absolutely. While it won't end up with Superbad money, this is pretty much a home run in terms of stoner comedies.
David Mumpower: Oh, Pineapple Express is absolutely a win, but the second weekend drop reflects the fact that they cannibalized its box office with the Wednesday opening. A comedy from the Apatow team should never have a 57% decline in its second weekend. The whole point of them is to run indefinitely at a predictable pace.
Sean Collier: In the weeks leading up to Pineapple Express, I felt like it was all my friends talked about; when it finally appeared, it seemed that most people forgot it was out for a few days, then reported that it was "okay." The marketing campaign for this one peaked a little too early, I think. Still, it shouldn't derail goodwill towards Apatow, Rogen and co.
Jason Lee: Considering that this stoner insta-classic will gross more than double that of The Clone Wars, I think this is a total win.
Brandon Scott: My only question is why didn't it fall 90%? Yeah, it's a win. It will end up with at least $75 million against a budget of $27 million. Sony will see nothing wrong with that. And with that Superbad and Pineapple spin-off/joint film being rumored, well, I think they are pleased.
Tim Briody: Big, big hit movie and I have that Paper Planes song stuck in my head, but yeah, the Wednesday opening was the only misstep.
Gossip Girl fans really just want the movie to come out on iTunes.
Kim Hollis: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 fell 46% to $5.8 million. With a running total of $32 million after 12 days, it appears certain to surpass the total of the original. Is that enough to call this a hit?
David Mumpower: I feel this is a marginal hit that left money on the table by not being pushed harder as starring a Gossip Girl. It's clear from the press the title has received that Blake Lively's presence is the focal point of the story. A marketing campaign built around her and Ugly Betty rather than all four of them would have done better. This should have been a $60 million earner rather than a $40 million earner. That's 50 cents left on the table for every dollar earned, which is too high an opportunity cost for failure.
Brandon Scott: Simply out of fear that Warner Brothers will read this and decide to add a highly unfashionable third leg to these pants, let me say, absolutely...not.
Daron Aldridge: "Hit" might be an over-exaggeration but it is a good haul for a sequel to a movie that didn't really merit one. Adjusted for inflation, the first movie earned $39.1 million, so the sequel won't exactly leave this one in the dust, when all things are considered.
Jason Lee: Does anyone smell a Traveling Pants franchise being born, here? . . . Okay, I will forever pretend that I never used the words "smell" and "traveling pants" together in the same sentence.
Tim Briody: And if Alexis, Blake, America and/or Amber would like to discuss this performance further, I am no more than a phone call away.