This Weekend @ The BoxOffice: 2009.May.25

[Mark]

What makes you say that?

1. Night at the Museum II (Fox) / 4,096
$70,000,000 | - | $17,090 | $70,000,000

2. Terminator Salvation (Warner Bros.) / 3,530
$53,825,000 | - | $15,248 | $67,198,000


I think the extra day helped make its opening weekend better than it would have been otherwise.

 

[Arnwyn]

That seems to be very much a matter of opinion.

Well, that is how the whole movie thing kind of goes, now doesn't it?

 

[Hand of Evil]

That seems to be very much a matter of opinion. An informal poll of people I know suggests that I would do well to avoid it. The 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes doesn't help its case. YMMV.

That aside, whether one likes the movie or not (and I didn't see it, so can't add to that conversation in any case) getting blasted into little bitty pieces a day early by reviewers isn't likely to help a movie's opening weekend.

While I don't disagree, I just don't know how many people care about the value of what people say of a movie, I think it may go beyond that, in this case, marketing. It just did not grab the public and just showed too much. People did not want to see it, now this may have much to do with the nature of the movie and what is going on in this country, that people want to laugh and feel good.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Well, that is how the whole movie thing kind of goes, now doesn't it?

Of course. I didn't say "It sucked" or "it rocked" because I don't know that, and this thread is about what made money, which really has only a small relationship to that.

That is why I've only spoken of facts. It is a fact that everyone I know in real life who saw it waved me off. That constitutes bad word of mouth, and bad word of mouth often hurts ticket sales. Specifically, I turned down 3 separate invites from friends to go see it, because the friends and coworkers who saw it Thursday night told me their opinion Friday.

1. Night at the Museum II (Fox) / 4,096
$70,000,000 | - | $17,090 | $70,000,000

2. Terminator Salvation (Warner Bros.) / 3,530
$53,825,000 | - | $15,248 | $67,198,000


I think the extra day helped make its opening weekend better than it would have been otherwise.

Right. But let's imagine that it made $20k on Thursday, but because the Thursday crowd told their friends/coworkers it sucked, it lost $40k of potential business on Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday.

In that case, a Thursday opening was bad for it. You had a full day at work for water cooler talk about it being bad (which seems to be the majority opinion).

I was just curious if anyone here thought that was a possibility. I can't be the only one who got an earful of how bad it was Friday at work.

 

[Mark]

Right. But let's imagine that it made $20k on Thursday, but because the Thursday crowd told their friends/coworkers it sucked, it lost $ (. . .)

Well, obviously, the kind of people who disliked this movie do not have friends or jobs, silly.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

I stand corrected

 

[Mark]

I stand corrected

Seriously, though. The opinions of the co-workers, that I assume you passed along, did not deter the people who invited you from seeing it themselves, did it?

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Seriously, though. The opinions of the co-workers, that I assume you passed along, did not deter the people who invited you from seeing it themselves, did it?

Only one of them. He went to Star Trek instead based on my unreserved fanboy approbation. The other 2 ended up going anyway.

If I haven't seen the film myself, I won't actually trash it... but I am likely to say "I haven't heard good things, and I would see X instead, myself." And that's what I did.

 

[Mark]

Only one of them. He went to Star Trek instead based on my unreserved fanboy approbation. The other 2 ended up going anyway.

If I haven't seen the film myself, I won't actually trash it... but I am likely to say "I haven't heard good things, and I would see X instead, myself." And that's what I did.

Having seen both, if it comes down to a choice between the two, I would agree ST is the better movie.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Knowing that friend, it was only a temporary choice. He'll see Terminator eventually. Boy loves him the movie theater, and it was really only an aberration that he hadn't seen Star Trek yet. I imagine the next slow weekend will see him get caught up.