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Fatality

Kim Hollis: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, a film with a budget of $50 million, opened to only $4.7 million this weekend. Did Fox mishandle this project or was it doomed from the outset?

Tim Briody: Releasing this around the time of the release of Street Fighter IV was a masterstroke, but on the other hand that's probably what most of the target audience was doing all weekend instead of seeing this. And being a video game adaptation, are we positive Uwe Boll didn't have a hand in this?

Brandon Scott: It's a mishandle, because it bombed...I am sure they are rethinking story, marketing strategy, hired actors, etc. But I think the title was in serious trouble anyway. It's not like Street Fighter is a fresh video game. The thing is well over a decade plus removed from its prime. There have already been films based on it, ask Jean-Claude Van Damme. There wasn't tons going for this one and it showed. That being said, a $4-5 million opening is truly pathetic. I think Punisher 2 beat that, so that's bad, no question about it.





Max Braden: I don't think the different era is necessarily a harm - Transformers was a hit, GI Joe stands to do decent business, TMNT opened to $24 million only two years ago, and we just saw a revival of Friday the 13th score big. I think the difference with Street Fighter is that they needed to sell it on more than just the name and genre. This was Elektra (which only opened to $14 million) without the stars or spiffy costumes. Plus, the trailer was shot in a lot of darkness so I couldn't even see much of what it was about. In short, they gave audiences no reason to see it.

Joel Corcoran: I agree that it's a little bit of both. This movie was never set to be a blockbuster simply because the Street Fighter fan base isn't that big, and it was never a title that had a fantastically committed following to begin with. At least not compared to Transformers, G.I. Joe, or other toys and videogames. However, Fox completely mishandled the marketing behind this film. Apparently, they made no effort to market directly to niches of Street Fighter fans and videogame players in general, and what publicity they did put out was poorly done (as Max pointed out). With some decent marketing, this film easily could've hit $12 million, and slightly above $15 million wasn't impossible.

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