D&D Movie/TV D&D Movie Hit or Flop?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The problem with this thread is that the title sets up a black or white fallacy. But I guess a title like "Will the D&D film earn a short term profit on box office receipts, based on various unknown factors?" would be a bit clunky.

Was Princess Bride a hit or flop?

It was an infamous Hollywood disaster in theaters. The distributors had no idea how to promote it or even what it was. People who actually stumbled into a theater loved it -- I saw it on a date when it was a surprise double-feature -- but it didn't really take off until it made it onto VHS and families and college students started recommending it to each other.

 

[Jaeger]

Was Princess Bride a hit or flop?

It was a flop.

It did $30.8m on a $16m budget. You factor in some marketing, and it fell a just bit short of breaking even.

But... It became an absolute cult classic.

A low Single digit millions loss at the box office was vastly easier to overcome with VHS/DVD sales/rentals, and thousands of replays on tv. In not posting a massive loss, it made it easier to make decent money back over time.

It's low budget was a big help as it did not have a tens of millions big hole to cover after its box office run.

2013 Pacific rim flopped even harder. Yet it did good enough on the backend over time, that it eventually got an animated series and a reduced budget sequel.

So there is hope, even if a film flops. It just takes years to see the result.

 

[payn]

It was a flop.

It did $30.8m on a $16m budget. You factor in some marketing, and it fell a just bit short of breaking even.

But... It became an absolute cult classic.

A low Single digit millions loss at the box office was vastly easier to overcome with VHS/DVD sales/rentals, and thousands of replays on tv. In not posting a massive loss, it made it easier to make decent money back over time.

It's low budget was a big help as it did not have a tens of millions big hole to cover after its box office run.

2013 Pacific rim flopped even harder. Yet it did good enough on the backend over time, that it eventually got an animated series and a reduced budget sequel.

So there is hope, even if a film flops. It just takes years to see the result.

Right, like Blade Runner. A bad box office isnt always doom for a film. Though, bad box office usually means a dialed back approach for any subsequent offerings.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Waterworld never got a sequel. The difference to HAT is that it also had bad reviews.

What would that movie have even been?

The Smokers are all dead, they've destroyed pretty much all the archipelagos, and they've found literally the only land possible (to the pop culture knowledge of the 90's) at the end of the movie.

 

[mamba]

It was an infamous Hollywood disaster in theaters.

given the numbers just above your post it made its money back at the box office. If international was in the same ballpark as domestic, it did so easily

Maybe the disaster prevented it from making more of a profit, but it apparently did get to profitability

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

given the numbers just above your post it made its money back at the box office.

I know, it's appalling that Hollywood refuses to consult ENWorld on these things. In the meantime, Hollywood doesn't just use box office metrics, no matter how much people here wish it were otherwise.

In any case, the studio and Hollywood generally view the Princess Bride's release as a fiasco. Marketing came up with multiple marketing campaigns, none of which hit the mark and Rob Reiner apparently got called onto the carpet by the studio for producing what they were worried would be a dud. Cary Elwes' behind the scenes book goes into this, as I recall.

(Also, the multiple marketing campaigns it had, as they were created and scrapped, probably ran costs up higher than on a normal film, which typically don't involve starting from scratch repeatedly.)

 

[mamba]

What would that movie have even been?

I am sure that if it had been a success we would have found out

 

[Jaeger]

given the numbers just above your post it made its money back at the box office. If international was in the same ballpark as domestic, it did so easily

The $30.8m includes the international.

The Princess Bride didn't get a big international release - it only made $189,220 overseas.

And the $16m is just the production budget. That does not include what they spent on marketing and distribution...

So yeah, just fell a bit short of breaking even. Some kind of low single digit in millions loss, is the best educated guess that anyone can make.

 

[mamba]

I know, it's appalling that Hollywood refuses to consult ENWorld on these things. In the meantime, Hollywood doesn't just use box office metrics, no matter how much people here wish it were otherwise.

if it breaks even in BO alone, then I am not sure why the rest matters, esp. since it by all accounts became more of a sleeper hit than a giant flop afterwards.

Now if it fell short at the BO I can see how the backend can turn it around, but the reverse…

 

[mamba]

The $30.8m includes the international.

oh, I thought that was US / Canada, the post said North America

The Princess Bride didn't get a big international release - it only made $189,220 overseas.

I guess that explains it…

And the $16m is just the production budget. That does not include what they spent on marketing and distribution...

agreed, but with another 20M or so international (that I was assuming) it would have made its money back.

With no international release, not so much