Monday Morning Quarterback

By BOP Staff

March 12, 2013

The World Baseball Classic is all about the spirit of sportsmanship.

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Kim Hollis: Oz the Great and Powerful was aptly titled, as it earned $79.1 million (plus another $69.9 million internationally) over its first three days. What do you think about this result?

Matthew Huntley: This is a very respectable opening indeed, even if it is more less in line with expectations. I don't think anyone was anticipating Alice in Wonderland or Hunger Games-type March numbers, but almost $80 million is still nothing to be ashamed of. If I was a Disney executive, I'd be satisfied right now and breathing a sigh of relief, although whether or not that feeling lasts will be dependent on the movie's legs, because even though the worldwide opening is $150 million, it still has a long way to go before it shows its any inkling of profit given its enormous production and advertising budgets. But the genre and family friendly nature all but guarantee at least $200 million stateside alone, so I think Oz is an unqualified success (even if, in my opinion, it wasn't that good).

Reagen Sulewski: It's weird to be just whelmed by an $80 million opening, but such is the case when you've got a $300 million budget to justify. I think everyone had this penciled in to be about 75% of Alice in Wonderland, and it hit that mark right about on the dot, so everyone's goinig to be happy if not neccesarily ecstatic. The international numbers on this are the real prize as everyone's aware, and while I don't think it's a billion dollar film, that's not an unreasonable target to shoot for.




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Jay Barney: This one cost a lot of money to make, but this opening should be more than enough to have everyone involved pretty happy. All they have to do is look back just a week ago to where Jack the Giant Slayer bombed versus expectations and the budget, so Disney has to be sighing in relief. This is not going to be a mega hit, but in a few weeks the investment will have paid off. International markets will easily push Oz over the top.

$80 million is the biggest opening of the year, and by the time it hits weekend #2 it will be the highest grossing film of 2013. Sure, they spent a lot of coin, but Oz will be the biggest kid on the block for a little while at least.

I'm glad that this one is doing fine, especially since the original Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved movies of all time. I had concerns, even though I was excited about the project, as this is a straightforward movie, no musical aspect to it. Part of the charm was the black and white, the songs, the energy, and the color. This is a movie, which is a different product. I plan on seeing it.

Edwin Davies: This is about what I expected the film to do since it had a lot going for it but also a few key things holding it back. It was a clear family choice with a pretty broad appeal; it is related to one of the most beloved films ever made; and it promised lots of eye-candy. However, it also suffered from a lack of a compelling lead actor (I like James Franco well enough, but I don't think he's a draw. Most people probably know him as Peter Parker's dickish friend or one half of an Oscar ceremony train wreck) or any real "wow" moments in the trailer, one or both of which helped propel Alice in Wonderland and The Hunger Games into the stratosphere. As solid as this opening is, it feels like something that cost this much and has such a strong heritage could have done more.

In terms of 2013 box office, though, this is dynamite. Biggest opening weekend of the year, almost guaranteed to take north of $200 million, and it made more in three days than Jack the Giant Slayer will make in its entire run. It's not got a chance of turning a profit stateside, but worldwide grosses should balance that out, and ancillary revenue could be off the chain. This could be a decent foundation for another lucrative Disney money train.


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