Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
October 12, 2010
Tom Houseman: This is a movie that is only going to appeal to old people (no offense, Bruce) and hasn't gotten the reviews to get many people outside of that demographic to go see it. It should have decent legs, but it's not gonna be close to as successful as Seabiscuit was. Oh, also, it's terrible. I mean, it's a really, astonishingly bad movie. If you were thinking about going to see it, don't. Rewatch Remember the Titans. That is a good Disney movie. Secratriat is junk.
Brett Beach: This was a softer opening than I was predicting. I am intrigued with the demos that this was a couples oriented opening weekend vs. a family one (about 75% to 20%). That suggests the possibility that there wasn't a rush due to the Disney brand and could foretell a leggier run for this biopic, before it gets put out to pasture, sent to the glue factory, or ground up for dog food. I am also more than a little puzzled with the Andrew O'Hehir vs. Roger Ebert critical smackdown/backsmack over this film and a supposed overt Christian propagandist message. If there was any film this month I figured would escape controversy of any sort, it was Secretariat. I am sure Disney would have loved a little more of The Blind Side for the debut, but without big box office draws (sorry, Diane Lane!), even the tale one of the most recognizable sports figures of all time can't pack 'em in.
Matthew Huntley: No, this is not a good enough result and it will probably be just a memory from here on out for most people. When you consider the production budget (a modest $35 million) and advertising costs, it's going to end up costing Disney. It saddens me to think so, though, because the cast is strong and the whole point of inspirational sports movies is, well, to inspire the audience. Secretariat clearly didn't have that affect on Tom, but I'm still willing to give it a chance. If other people feel the same, it might be able to stick around long enough to become a modest hit, but Disney won't see a profit until well after it hits the home market/cable stations.
Reagen Sulewski: One of the problems with the Secretariat story is that there's very little drama in the races themselves. A big horse went out and kicked the crap out of a bunch of other horses. The End. That said, that shouldn't have been a problem until it came to the quality of the movie, which, Tom's protests aside, is getting positive reviews. It's schmaltz, unapologetic schmaltz, and is probably getting more Oscar buzz than it deserves (which should also die down now some), but feel good stories like this rarely have trouble at the box office.
Honestly, that Oscar buzz is probably a good portion of the problem - if they weren't pushing it that way, it'd slide right in with Miracle and The Rookie.
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