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Fear the squirrely wrath

Kim Hollis: Inexplicably, the movie-going world chose to pass on the opportunity to obtain Furry Vengeance as the Summit Entertainment release opened to only $6.6 million. Why did this one fail, and why is Summit whiffing at everything that doesn't have Twilight in the title?

Josh Spiegel: This movie failed because, every so often, the American public and the American critical community agree wholeheartedly. Thankfully, sometimes we all agree on what's good, but we also sometimes agree on what looks terrible. I believe that this movie had a grand total of one positive review on Rotten Tomatoes, and the ads made the film look just as appetizing. Summit continues its losing streak because the movies it's releasing are either bad or, in the case of The Hurt Locker, poorly marketed (I still believe that a different studio backing that movie gets it $100 million, or something close to it). Letters from Juliet is next, and if it makes a substantial amount of money, I'll be shocked. Summit would be dead, if not for Twilight; they have no concept of proper advertising or quality.

Brett Beach: After reading David's Friday box office preview (in which he mentioned under what circumstances he utters the title), there is less chance of me ever saying Furry Vengeance aloud than there is for me uttering Squeakuel. One review of the film I read was simply a catalogue of all the indignities Brendan Fraser suffers (and he's not even a BAD bad guy, just a corporate shill): skunk spray in the mouth? Really? Multiple hits to the groin? Really? I think $6 million is still too much but since it's what qualifies a film with that many screens as a dud opening, I guess it will have to do.

Kim Hollis: The American movie-going public is discerning enough to recognize poo in film form. It's just that simple. As for Summit Entertainment, Twilight seems to be an unhappy accident more than anything done really well. The movies aren't good. You don't have to market them, really. And they make oodles. The only quality projects for Summit that I can think of - The Hurt Locker and The Ghost Writer - will buy them some credibility, though. They're building their catalog and for an upstart studio, it's okay to see them going in fits and starts. With time, they'll get better at distributing - I even think Letter to Juliet has a decent shot at breaking out.





Michael Lynderey: I don't know if distributing or marketing has anything to do with it. Pretty much every single Summit film has performed more or less like it was supposed to, considering the respective pedigrees they came from. Furry Vengeance was never going to be anything other than what it has ended up being. April 2010 was a month filled mostly with underperformers, and Furry Vengeance certainly shouldn't have believed itself to be an exception.

Reagen Sulewski: Have parents finally grown spines? In the words of Picard, has the line been drawn he-ah? Results like this give one cause for optimism, nay, out and out hope, that the standards for children's entertainment hasn't been irrevocably driven into the dirt. What's that you say? Shrek 4 is coming out? Well, poo.

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