This Weekend at the Boxoffice: 2006.07.10

[JoeGKushner]

I think that shows how weak the boxoffice is at this time, 6 to 10 all are less than 4 million, and number 5 is 10 million, there is a big gap.

Yeah, but how much did those movies cost to make? In most cases there, the big cost was probably the actors and once they make that back, it's all cash. Much the reason why Hollywood has been doing these terrible horror films lately. Small budget with modest returns equals more ratio of profit or something along those lines no?

 

[Hand of Evil]

Yeah, but how much did those movies cost to make? In most cases there, the big cost was probably the actors and once they make that back, it's all cash. Much the reason why Hollywood has been doing these terrible horror films lately. Small budget with modest returns equals more ratio of profit or something along those lines no?

I know, comedies and slashers!

 

[Mistwell]

Just a side note - Pirates was adjusted UP in the final weekend numbers, to $135.6M for the opening weekend (a clear record-breaker).

Superman has made $180,097,955 so far, which is just fine actually. That movie itself only cost $200M. It's the PREVIOUS drafts and stuff that pushed it to almost $300M, but that money was sunk whether or not they made this movie. To have almost made back it's cost in two weekends is just fine, particularly since this movie will do well in DVD, and it has yet to open in Brazil, France, Mexico, Spain and the U.K..

 

[Wayside]

Looks like X3 left Superman Returns in the dust. I expected them to be closer in terms of second weekend domestic gross, but X3 came out 12 million ahead even after its insane opening weekend (despite Superman showing in 300+ more theaters). Even Batman Begins had a better second weekend than Superman.

 

[Darthjaye]

Looks like X3 left Superman Returns in the dust. I expected them to be closer in terms of second weekend domestic gross, but X3 came out 12 million ahead even after its insane opening weekend (despite Superman showing in 300+ more theaters). Even Batman Begins had a better second weekend than Superman.

I don't get why there are all these people looking for Superman to fail. It's kinda sad. It's also misleading numbers and a different situation. First, X-Men opened to no real competition and lost out to a date movie it's in 2nd week. Not really good when you consider it took a huge movie with the best opening ever to do the same to Superman. Superman will stay in the top 10 longer than X-men did (5 weeks) most likely as there are no real blockbuster movies to release for a while. Lastly, side by side, X-3 is the worse movie of the two by far. It's a travesty that this piece of drek was allowed to be released, hereby dumping on the whole trilogy a very horrible climax to a otherwise decent first two movies.

 

[Wayside]

I don't get why there are all these people looking for Superman to fail. It's kinda sad.

First, I'm not looking for Superman to fail. Neither it nor X3 were the movies they should have been, and I expected their second weekends and general earnings to be much closer, with Superman probably in the lead.

Second, the comparison between the two is completely natural since Singer was supposed to direct X3 but left the project for Superman. And then there's Ratner, whom everyone loves to hate. All the drama surrounding the films made them natural competitors.

And finally, it's not sad. A lot of very vocal people went on and on about the sky falling when Singer left and Ratner signed on (they gave us a repeat performance when X3 finally appeared and wasn't to their taste). The numbers have more or less silenced those people.

It's also misleading numbers and a different situation. First, X-Men opened to no real competition and lost out to a date movie it's in 2nd week. Not really good when you consider it took a huge movie with the best opening ever to do the same to Superman.

We could play the qualification game all day long. You see a generic date movie (or pretend to for rhetorical purposes), while I see a highly anticipated Vince & Jennifer movie that had an endless amount of publicity (more than X3, Superman and Pirates put together) over the past, what, year? Or longer?

You see Pirates "doing" something to Superman? I see domestic box office top 12 totals of $129,197,589 for Superman's opening weekend and $209,881,552 for this past weekend. That's a difference of 80 million, which is 30 million more than Superman made in its opening weekend. You can conjecture that Pirates stole viewers from Superman, but all I see is Pirates drawing in viewers who simply wouldn't have gone to the movies if Pirates wasn't playing. Pirates drummed up its own business--it didn't steal Superman's.

Superman will stay in the top 10 longer than X-men did (5 weeks) most likely as there are no real blockbuster movies to release for a while.

Possible, and meaningless. A movie can make 20 million one week and be in the top spot, while another movie can make 40 million another week and come in third. Being in the top spot doesn't make the first movie more successful than the second.

Lastly, side by side, X-3 is the worse movie of the two by far. It's a travesty that this piece of drek was allowed to be released, hereby dumping on the whole trilogy a very horrible climax to a otherwise decent first two movies.

And here we have a perfect example of why some people apparently take delight in Superman's weak Returns (pun intended)!

 

[Hand of Evil]

I don't want Superman to fail, I want Hollywood to make better movies. Hollywood has become cookie cutter, big budget, big director, big names, big FX, big hype, and big disappointment.

Look at my ranking, I rank a 07/10: Superman Returns - Underworld: Evolution - Lucky Number Slevin - X-Men: The Last Stand. Superman and X-Men should not be here, you expect more from them, they were big budget, big stars, big hype, they should be 9's or better! To me a 7 is a good two+ hours spent, yes, I did not care for Superman but it was not a waste of time but it was not better than the movies I have listed (note I may push Underworld to an 8 as I have been thinking about it for some time). Slevin and Underworld should be a 7, they were mid-budget movies with good stars.

I admit I have got caught up in the numbers game, I enjoy comparing the takes, the cost.

 

[Fast Learner]

This whole "record breaking box office" business, based on dollars, is such BS. It's like me saying that I make more money every year than anyone on the entire planet did prior to 1900. BFD. I really wish they'd count tickets sold.

 

[Wayside]

Look at my ranking, I rank a 07/10: Superman Returns - Underworld: Evolution - Lucky Number Slevin - X-Men: The Last Stand. Superman and X-Men should not be here, you expect more from them, they were big budget, big stars, big hype, they should be 9's or better! To me a 7 is a good two+ hours spent, yes, I did not care for Superman but it was not a waste of time but it was not better than the movies I have listed (note I may push Underworld to an 8 as I have been thinking about it for some time). Slevin and Underworld should be a 7, they were mid-budget movies with good stars.

I definitely rank Underworld and Slevin above Superman and X3. My #1 for the year so far is Brick.

This whole "record breaking box office" business, based on dollars, is such BS. It's like me saying that I make more money every year than anyone on the entire planet did prior to 1900. BFD. I really wish they'd count tickets sold.

But with a general increase in population, disposable income and theaters and seats, as well as changes in moviegoing culture, tickets would be an equally poor measure of anything other than financial success, which dollars already handle pretty well.

 

[Klaus]

Mind you that Superman Returns is a franchise-launching movie, not a sequel like X3. It'd be better to compare it to Batman Begins, Spiderman I, X-Men I and Pirates of the Caribbean I. When we get Superman Sticks Around, we can compare it to Batman Continues, X2 and PotC: DMC. And then, of course, there's Superman Is Still Here, Batman Continues Some More, X3 and PotC: Li-Mu-Bai Is A Shaolin Pirate.