"Serenity" SE-DVD question

[Umbran]

I wonder how badly the box office was affected by the number of advance screenings that the film had?

I don't see why the advance screenings would have hurt. You paid normal price, so these soudl be included in the box-office take. And compared to the number of screens in the full release, there weren't that many advance screenings. And, being rabid fans, the folks in them tended to love the advanced screenings, and so should have gone out spreading word-of-mouth. What's to hurt?

I think it didn't do all that well simply because it was based upn a series few had seen, and they didn't overcome that bias in the marketing campaign.

 

[trancejeremy]

Personally, I think the rabid fans turned off as many people as they helped. Just like a rabid dog, a rabid fan is something that most people try to avoid.

I've said this before, and I don't mean it in a mean fashion, but Firefly fans are the new Trekkies. (And it doesn't help that they always seem to bash every non-Firefly based SF show, particularly Star Wars. Which a lot of people seem to like. Trying to get someone to see a movie/show by bashing something they like is generally not the best move )

 

[Dark Jezter]

Personally, I think the rabid fans turned off as many people as they helped. Just like a rabid dog, a rabid fan is something that most people try to avoid.

I've said this before, and I don't mean it in a mean fashion, but Firefly fans are the new Trekkies. (And it doesn't help that they always seem to bash every non-Firefly based SF show, particularly Star Wars. Which a lot of people seem to like. Trying to get someone to see a movie/show by bashing something they like is generally not the best move )

I can see your point (particularly the part about the fans bashing every non-Firefly sci-fi show). I enjoyed Firefly, and even bought the DVD box set. But I'll be damned if it dosen't seem like the rabid fanboys are trying their best to sour people on the show simply through their fanatical devotion to it.

Fanboy whining about Fox cancelling Firefly is becoming as irritating as complaints about Han shooting first or the LotR movies not slavishly adhering to the novels.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I don't see why the advance screenings would have hurt. You paid normal price, so these soudl be included in the box-office take. And compared to the number of screens in the full release, there weren't that many advance screenings. And, being rabid fans, the folks in them tended to love the advanced screenings, and so should have gone out spreading word-of-mouth. What's to hurt?

I think it didn't do all that well simply because it was based upn a series few had seen, and they didn't overcome that bias in the marketing campaign.

I saw an analysis about this the other day, and the conclusion they came to was that by basically only opening up the previews to diehard Browncoats, the hype they generated didn't mean so much because everyone knew Browncoats would have hyped it anyway.

 

[Umbran]

I saw an analysis about this the other day, and the conclusion they came to was that by basically only opening up the previews to diehard Browncoats, the hype they generated didn't mean so much because everyone knew Browncoats would have hyped it anyway.

Well, if you have a rabid fanbase, it is kind of hard to have advance screenings that fill, but aren't filled with the fans.

But, as to the original question - did they hurt the movie's performance? I still don't see that they did. The fans were raving before the screenings - so the only real effect on the raving was that, to other fans, it at least seemed to have a basis. The diehard Browncoats that I know saw the advances, and then went back and saw it after release. If anything, the advances got more money out of the diehards, rather than less.

 

[Umbran]

(And it doesn't help that they always seem to bash every non-Firefly based SF show, particularly Star Wars.

My experience is rather the opposite. Most of the Firefly fans I know are also devoted fans fo other shows - particularly B5, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, and a few others.

Lots and lots and lots of folks bash the new Star Wars flicks - mostly I see it from fans of the original Star Wars movies. In any case, that's not at all specific to Browncoats.

 

[John Crichton]

Personally, I think the rabid fans turned off as many people as they helped. Just like a rabid dog, a rabid fan is something that most people try to avoid.

I've said this before, and I don't mean it in a mean fashion, but Firefly fans are the new Trekkies. (And it doesn't help that they always seem to bash every non-Firefly based SF show, particularly Star Wars. Which a lot of people seem to like. Trying to get someone to see a movie/show by bashing something they like is generally not the best move )

Huh? Sounds like a select group of people that you are referring to. I don't think this attitude is acurate and even if it was, it really wouldn't have any bearing on movie ticket sales. If something is out there enough, people will go see it.

Why didn't Serenity do well? It's a hard show/concept to sell to someone not familiar with it in 15-30 seconds, that's why. And it wasn't exactly advertised all over the place. Sure, it got some but not nearly as much as, say, War of the Worlds or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Word of mouth is powerful, but not as powerful or detrimental as you have posted here.

 

[Welverin]

Why didn't Serenity do well? It's a hard show/concept to sell to someone not familiar with it in 15-30 seconds, that's why.

That, and despite the impression someone would get from here, it's a small unknown property with unknown talent involved. The two movies you mentioned had well known and popular actors and directors behind them, Serenity had neither.

Word of mouth is powerful, but not as powerful or detrimental as you have posted here.

But how much was there for Serenity? The internet in general is a bad place to judge such things on, this site in particular is bad for any sci-fi or fantasy property.

Lots and lots and lots of folks bash the new Star Wars flicks - mostly I see it from fans of the original Star Wars movies.

Do you see anyone besides OT SW fans bashing the prequels? And I don't simply mean be critical of, such as a movie critic, but really rip them apart?

In any case, that's not at all specific to Browncoats.

Nope, it's a fanboy thing and they exist for pretty much anything.

 

[John Crichton]

That, and despite the impression someone would get from here, it's a small unknown property with unknown talent involved. The two movies you mentioned had well known and popular actors and directors behind them, Serenity had neither.

Yeah, that's why I thought of those.

But how much was there for Serenity? The internet in general is a bad place to judge such things on, this site in particular is bad for any sci-fi or fantasy property.

I base on the only thing I can - comparing it to other movies in the genre on the sites I visit, news outlets and the like. It's a completely inaccurate thing to base anything and it's a feeling more than anything.

And I do think that if you pay attention to a wide variety of sites that the internet isn't a bad way to gauge buzz for a movie. Before the net it was basically what did me and my friends think about something and now I have on-line friends who are from all over the place who are interested in many different types of things. LiveJournals, various messageboards and things like that aren't a bad way to see if anyone but me and my friends are paying attention or anticipating something.

It'll never be anywhere close to precise but at least I can get some idea of what is beyond the small circle of people that I associate with.

And how it relates to film sales? It really doesn't. The average movie goer just pays attention to commercials and trailers to see a movie. Serenity wasn't advertised all that much at all and the trailers I saw weren't really selling anything really good. It looked like another movie with some people kicking some ass and a few action scenes. And it wasn't in theaters (as with most current films) long enough to generate any word of mouth. The advanced screenings don't really factor in as the people who went were already going to see it anyway.

Word of mouth will help sell some DVDs as it did with the boxed set.

 

[Ranger REG]

What about revenues from non-domestic movie theaters? I hope it would boost the film's potential profit margin the way the first D&D film did. Not that I'm putting D&D: The Movie and Serenity on the same platform. Just that the audience outside US tend to be much easier to entertain (case in point, Baywatch).