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Oogie Fever!

Kim Hollis: Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure became the worst opener of all time in terms of per location average. The film garnered $206 per venue over the weekend, which amounts to $69 per day. How did a film in this many locations earn only $670,253 in five days? Also, say a LOT of funny things about the Oogieloves.

Brett Beach: The trailer made the film look like a lobotomized Teletubbies adaptation on Day-Glo acid. I don't know how 2100 theaters were convinced to take a chance on something like this that was intended to launch a franchise from nothing (I like how the film's producer was inspired by audience yelling at the screen for films like Madea Goes to Jail and classic participation films like Rocky Horror). The only joke I got: I don't think the inevitable porno parody will need to change any words in its title.

Matthew Huntley: This movie reportedly cost $20 million to produce and another $40 million to market. I can believe it, especially the latter figure - all around Los Angeles are posters and billboards for it, although they come off as rather nondescript. And despite the copious advertising, very few people actually knew this movie existed or what it was about. What does this say about the Oogieloves? Either they're really unpopular or parents thought they were too creepy/stupid even for their kindergarten-age kids to have to endure. I can't say I blame them - to me, the characters really are ugly and disturbing and the thought of sitting through the movie makes me shudder. The Oogieloves look like they should be torturing little kids in a twisted horror movie rather than singing pop songs to them.

Edwin Davies: This strikes me as a major miscalulation on the part of the creators; they assumed that the best way to launch a franchise aimed at toddlers was a feature film, forgetting that parents probably aren't going pay to sit through something like that unless there's something for them as well, which there evidently wasn't. Had the Oogieloves (I am so glad I'm never going to have to type that word again) started as a TV series then built up to a feature, then I could see the film version being more successful than, well, this, but launching the film into a market where no audience of obsessed tykes already existed seems like commercial suicide, especialy considering how few historical examples there are of these sort of films performing well. Even Barney's Great Adventure, which was released when the character was at its height of popularity,only grossed $12 million against a $15 million budget. What chance did a new property have?

Tim Briody: The funniest part? The sequel is still in the works.

Kim Hollis: I don't know, Tim. The funniest part might be that it was *overestimated* on Sunday.

Felix Quinonez: I think when a movie is as ahead of its time as Oogieloves is, it's just natural for audiences to be hesitant to embrace it at first. But when it's all said and done I think people will look back and realize that it's a cinematic masterpiece in the lines of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Or maybe people thought this balloon adventure was just TOO big for them. I'm kidding, of course. Seriously, someone needs to put the pipe down.

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