Monday Morning Quarterback Part III

By BOP Staff

January 9, 2014

As far as you know, I was amazing!

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Kim Hollis: We documented the decline of Stallone and other '80s action heroes in the Top 12 Film Industry Stories of 2013, and I think this is part of a continued backlash and after-effect of audiences losing interest in him. When I saw ads for this, I was so disheartened, because it looked so terrible and yet I was certain audiences would flock to its terribleness. I'm so pleased that didn't happen after all.

Kim Hollis: Justin Bieber's Believe is officially a bomb. It earned just $573,566 this weekend and has made only $6 million since Christmas day. First of all, say something funny about Believe. Second of all, what happened?

Felix Quinonez: I think that plain and simple, the Bieber Fever is just about over. At the time of his peak, he was on top of the world and seemed like it would last. But the fact is that, as mean as it sounds, these teen idols have a short shelf life. For every Justin Timberlake that manages to successfully move on there are plenty of others whose time runs out and their fans move on.

I also think that he didn't really help matters by behaving the way he has recently. It's gotten to the point that just about everyone is rooting for this kid to fail. I really think that he tried too hard to be the next Timberlake way too soon. It took the former Justin years before he could finally ditch his 'N Sync past and I feel like Bieber tried to rush it.

But even though I'm not arguing that this is a flop, it should be pointed out that Believe opened in about a third as many screens as the last documentary. And it's the second documentary on the kid in two years! Plus it had a $5 million budget so at least it's not a financial disaster.




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Edwin Davies: I guess when he pissed in that mop bucket he pissed away a lot of the goodwill people had for him, assuming they had any to begin with.

Felix touches on what I consider the key factors with this result: teen stars have a limited shelf life in general, and Never Say Never was a great example of striking while the iron is hot. Believe is an even better example of what happens when the bloom goes off the rose, either because the fans move on or because the star does something to alienate their fans. Even though he's got a lot of followers on Twitter, I think his general dickishness has put a lot of people off him, as has his seeming inability to really grow as an artist to appeal to different fans other than the ones who made him a star, then outgrew him.

Max Braden: Music fans were all headed in One Direction, away from Bieber. I will say that I'm willing to give him a little break on this box office performance, and I'm not convinced the fault is due to TMZ-worthy antics outside of music. Relatively, compared to other concert movies, this is a bomb, but considering how huge the stars are (billions of dollars or VEVO views), Katy Perry's Part of Me and One Direction's This is Us both grossed a total of less than $30 million. That's not exactly setting the box office on fire. I haven't been to any of their concerts, but I imagine the draw for their core fans at live concerts is the idea that "I'm right here, and they're *right there* [hundreds of yards away]". They get to scream their heads off during the whole experience. And even in clubs they get to dance and sing along to their idol's music. You can't do that in a movie theater, so unless there's some completionist or intellectual interest in what makes this artist really tick, the core fan might as well save their money for another mp3. Plus I get the feeling that Bieber isn't at his charting peak right now, and maybe if he were, the box office would be higher for this movie. Still, I saw no advertising for this movie, so that couldn't have helped either.

Kim Hollis: I have never known a real live Justin Bieber fan. I have also never heard a Justin Bieber film. The fact that this small number of people saw the film means that there are fewer of them to shoo off my lawn.


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