Box Office 2005

[Galactus]

New year. New movies. Will it be Star Wars vs. Batman this year? Or will the big Christmas movies like King Kong and Narnia end on top? Will Steven Spielberg deliver a huge hit? And how about Harry Potter and animated movies like Madagascar? Well, in a year from now we should have the answers about the hits and flops of 2005

Worldwide

1. Howl's Moving Castle ($134,9 million)
2. The Chorus ($58,4 million)
3. Kung Fu Hustle ($35,1 million)
4. Bride and Prejudice ($11,8 million)
5. Mindhunters ($10,5 million)
6. Steamboy ($10 million)
7. Melinda and Melinda ($5,5 million)

[Dodger]

Erm.....You forgot the Fantistic four! You 60 ft tall idiot! Face it man just give richards his due, the movie will kick ass...if it doesnt you can eat us? cool?

J/k ::

[Dr.Fear]

Originally Posted by dodger

Erm.....You forgot the Fantistic four! You 60 ft tall idiot! Face it man just give richards his due, the movie will kick ass...if it doesnt you can eat us? cool?

J/k ::

F4 looks kinda cheesy, itll make like 23 mill to 25 no where near spidey money.

[Sava]

god i hope Steven Spielberg is at his best for WOTW, that movie should be huge and great

[Kmack]

Whoa! Howl's Moving Castle is really slaying at the box office! Can't wait to see it! Does anyone know its U.S. release date?

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by Kmackintrush

Whoa! Howl's Moving Castle is really slaying at the box office! Can't wait to see it! Does anyone know its U.S. release date?

June, according to Comingsoon

[Kmack]

Oh, thanx

[Kevin Roegele]

Here are my predictions:

War of the Worlds is going to be VERY AVERAGE, do AVERAGE BOX OFFICE and start all sorts of, "Is Spielberg on the downward spiral? and, "When was the last good Spielberg film?" accusations.

King Kong will be awesome, outdo War of the Worlds in every way, and have the critics saying, "With Lord of the Rings and now the majestic King Kong, Peter Jackson has taken the crown from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas."

Star Wars Episode III will be the best prequel, but only by default. Writing, acting and directing will be as bland as Episodes I and II, but the sheer ammount of lightsaber battles, ties to the original trilogy and the appearence of Darth Vader will make it the most entertaining of the prequels.

Batman Begins will be very much a product of it's time; beginning as a sword-swinging epic with stunning widescreen landscapes, before becoming a darker and much subtler version of Spider-Man. Does very well but not one of the year's top three hits, and doesn't rake in Spider-Man size box office. Critics suggest the superhero craze MAY BE on the wane, finally.

Fantastic Four is the anti-superhero movie snowball picking up speed. Audiences just see it as a yet another comicbook extravaganza, and the critics state the animated The Incredibles had more heart and brains and more convincing characters (you just know the critics will say this WHATEVER FF is like). The relatively small budget compared to Spidey 2, X2 et al means it's somehwat underwhelming as a spectacle. Very average box office.

[Hunter Rider]

well count King Kong out of being the box office champ for 2005 as it opens to late in the year to be worldwide BO king.I also think narnia will end up the same as Lemmony and do just average,My prediction on how i see the WW BO ending up for 2005:

1)ROTS
2)WOTW
3)FF
4)Potter 4
5)BB
6)kingdom of heaven
7)Charlie and the chocolate factory
8)The Island
9)Mr and Mrs Smith
10)Narnia

[Phaser]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

Here are my predictions:

Batman Begins will be very much a product of it's time; beginning as a sword-swinging epic with stunning widescreen landscapes, before becoming a darker and much subtler version of Spider-Man. Does very well but not one of the year's top three hits, and doesn't rake in Spider-Man size box office. Critics suggest the superhero craze MAY BE on the wane, finally.

It's Batman, one of the two films that started the whole superhero craze to begin with. Besides, you are seriously underestimating the mass-appeal of the character. I expect Batman Begins to occupy at least one of the top three slots at the BO come 2005.

[Kevin Roegele]

Originally Posted by Phaser

It's Batman, one of the two films that started the whole superhero craze to begin with. Besides, you are seriously underestimating the mass-appeal of the character. I expect Batman Begins to occupy at least one of the top three slots at the BO come 2005.

1. Batman began the late 80's/early 90's superhero craze, which gave us shameless rip-offs like Darkman and The Shadow. As just about any of the gentlemen here will tell you, Blade and X-Men actually started the current superhero craze.

2. Underestimating the mass-appeal of the character? Mass appeal is not enough, my friend. Mass-appeal didn't help Batman & Robin. And the character certainly had less mass appeal after Batman & Robin.

Look at the competition. Harry Potter 4. Peter Jackson's King Kong. Spielberg's War of the Worlds. STAR WARS EPISODE III. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe. I love Batman and I love the Batman movies (obviously not that one), but don't see Batman Begins making the top three against this competition.

[ultimatefan]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

1. Batman began the late 80's/early 90's superhero craze, which gave us shameless rip-offs like Darkman and The Shadow. As just about any of the gentlemen here will tell you, Blade and X-Men actually started the current superhero craze.

2. Underestimating the mass-appeal of the character? Mass appeal is not enough, my friend. Mass-appeal didn't help Batman & Robin. And the character certainly had less mass appeal after Batman & Robin.

Look at the competition. Harry Potter 4. Peter Jackson's King Kong. Spielberg's War of the Worlds. STAR WARS EPISODE III. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe. I love Batman and I love the Batman movies (obviously not that one), but don't see Batman Begins making the top three against this competition.

Well, your prediction on WOTW didn´t sound so optimistic. And am I the only one who thinks Narnia´s popularity is being blown out of proportion? I was well-aware of LOTR and HP prior to the movies, but I swear I had heard nothing on Narnia prior to the movie project.

[Kevin Roegele]

Originally Posted by ultimatefan

Well, your prediction on WOTW didn´t sound so optimistic. And am I the only one who thinks Narnia´s popularity is being blown out of proportion? I was well-aware of LOTR and HP prior to the movies, but I swear I had heard nothing on Narnia prior to the movie project.

No offense old buddy, but I think you're amongst a minority then. Narnia is one of those things everybody knows. Obviously not everybody, but...you know....

[Hunter Rider]

Originally Posted by ultimatefan

Well, your prediction on WOTW didn´t sound so optimistic. And am I the only one who thinks Narnia´s popularity is being blown out of proportion? I was well-aware of LOTR and HP prior to the movies, but I swear I had heard nothing on Narnia prior to the movie project.

I agree with you on the narnia thing,I read the books when i was aa kid but i don't see it being that big,you know my view on the rest though

[WarBlade]

Originally Posted by hunter rider

well count King Kong out of being the box office champ for 2005 as it opens to late in the year to be worldwide BO king.

Funny. Some recent highest grosses were late in the year:
2001 - November
2002 - December
2003 - December

Originally Posted by ultimatefan

And am I the only one who thinks Narnia´s popularity is being blown out of proportion?

Actually it's woefully under represented by SHH members IMO. It gets the occasional mention and here I'm sitting thinking, "this is going to be one of the top movie events of 2005 and instead people are saying Batman will top the charts???"

[Phaser]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

1. Batman began the late 80's/early 90's superhero craze, which gave us shameless rip-offs like Darkman and The Shadow. As just about any of the gentlemen here will tell you, Blade and X-Men actually started the current superhero craze.

Fair enough.

2. Underestimating the mass-appeal of the character? Mass appeal is not enough, my friend. Mass-appeal didn't help Batman & Robin. And the character certainly had less mass appeal after Batman & Robin.

Actually, it was the incredible mass appeal of the Batman brand that helped a campy ass suckfest like B&R gross over a 100 million at the U.S BO alone. Now, take that brand appeal, add in BB's nothing but positive hype, 6 script reviews (all of them enthusiastically optimistic about the direction this film is headed in), darker and more mature themes, an incredible cast (which includes real actors like Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman) - all of it under the supervision of the man who gave us Insomnia and Memento and its hard not to get excited about this film.

Look at the competition. Harry Potter 4. Peter Jackson's King Kong. Spielberg's War of the Worlds. STAR WARS EPISODE III. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe. I love Batman and I love the Batman movies (obviously not that one), but don't see Batman Begins making the top three against this competition.

The only real threat to Batman IMO is Episode III. Spielberg's reputation as an infalllible filmmaker has faded away thanks to A.I and The Terminal. Peter Jackson's film opens in late Q4 to pose any serious threat (though it just might gross more than BB, we'll see). The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Never heard of it. As for Harry Potter vs Batman, when it comes to popularity, I think it is painfully obvious which one has the upper hand.

[ultimatefan]

Originally Posted by Phaser

Fair enough.



Actually, it was the incredible mass appeal of the Batman brand that helped a campy ass suckfest like B&R gross over a 100 million at the U.S BO alone. Now, take that brand appeal, add in BB's nothing but positive hype, 6 script reviews (all of them enthusiastically optimistic about the direction this film is headed in), darker and more mature themes, an incredible cast (which includes real actors like Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman) - all of it under the supervision of the man who gave us Insomnia and Memento and its hard not to get excited about this film.



The only real threat to Batman IMO is Episode III. Spielberg's reputation as an infalllible filmmaker has faded away thanks to A.I and The Terminal. Peter Jackson's film opens in late Q4 to pose any serious threat (though it just might gross more than BB, we'll see). The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Never heard of it. As for Harry Potter vs Batman, when it comes to popularity, I think it is painfully obvious which one has the upper hand.

I´m not sure I agree on everything, I mean, HP IS pretty huge, but... Yeah, the appeal of the character remains huge, in spite of B&R. His cartoons remained successful, the character has recently been at top of the comics sales charts and currently has a successful cartoon on TV.

[Kevin Roegele]

Actually, it was the incredible mass appeal of the Batman brand that helped a campy ass suckfest like B&R gross over a 100 million at the U.S BO alone. Now, take that brand appeal, add in BB's nothing but positive hype, 6 script reviews (all of them enthusiastically optimistic about the direction this film is headed in), darker and more mature themes, an incredible cast (which includes real actors like Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman) - all of it under the supervision of the man who gave us Insomnia and Memento and its hard not to get excited about this film.

You're absolutely right about B&R's box office, I realised that after I posted. Indeed, it was Batman's mass appeal that let Warner Bros spend so much on such a lame duck and release it in the first place.

But the mass audience is still going to have Batman & Robin in their heads, which is why Warner Bros took so long to get this movie into production in the first place.

The only real threat to Batman IMO is Episode III. Spielberg's reputation as an infalllible filmmaker has faded away thanks to A.I and The Terminal. Peter Jackson's film opens in late Q4 to pose any serious threat (though it just might gross more than BB, we'll see). The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Never heard of it. As for Harry Potter vs Batman, when it comes to popularity, I think it is painfully obvious which one has the upper hand.

Harry Potter vs Batman should be a movie in itself. Anyway, Batman may have over six decades on his side, but nothing is hotter than Potter right now. A new book is coming out this year, which has already had ridiculous advance orders. Harry Potter, as we know, appeals to all age groups, and many families. Batman Begins is going to be darker and more adult, and certainly won't appeal to such a wide age range. It won't be Spider-Man, that's for sure.

Having said that, every previous Batman film has been one of the biggest movies of it's year in terms of both publicity and box office. Batman was the biggest of 1989, Batman Returns only beaten by Aladdin and The Bodyguard (what sort of person would watch The Bodyguard rather than Batman Returns?!) in '92, and Forever was second to Toy Story in '95. In '97, the summer was considered beforehand as a face-off between Batman (and Robin) and The Lost World.

[Phoney Bone]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

2. Underestimating the mass-appeal of the character? Mass appeal is not enough, my friend. Mass-appeal didn't help Batman & Robin. And the character certainly had less mass appeal after Batman & Robin.

Actually, Batman and Robin still made a lot at the BO.

[Sava]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

Here are my predictions:

War of the Worlds is going to be VERY AVERAGE, do AVERAGE BOX OFFICE and start all sorts of, "Is Spielberg on the downward spiral? and, "When was the last good Spielberg film?" accusations.

King Kong will be awesome, outdo War of the Worlds in every way, and have the critics saying, "With Lord of the Rings and now the majestic King Kong, Peter Jackson has taken the crown from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas."

Star Wars Episode III will be the best prequel, but only by default. Writing, acting and directing will be as bland as Episodes I and II, but the sheer ammount of lightsaber battles, ties to the original trilogy and the appearence of Darth Vader will make it the most entertaining of the prequels.

Batman Begins will be very much a product of it's time; beginning as a sword-swinging epic with stunning widescreen landscapes, before becoming a darker and much subtler version of Spider-Man. Does very well but not one of the year's top three hits, and doesn't rake in Spider-Man size box office. Critics suggest the superhero craze MAY BE on the wane, finally.

Fantastic Four is the anti-superhero movie snowball picking up speed. Audiences just see it as a yet another comicbook extravaganza, and the critics state the animated The Incredibles had more heart and brains and more convincing characters (you just know the critics will say this WHATEVER FF is like). The relatively small budget compared to Spidey 2, X2 et al means it's somehwat underwhelming as a spectacle. Very average box office.

i agree with you most of the time but god i hope your wrong about WOTW, i hope it does great

[ultimatefan]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

Here are my predictions:

War of the Worlds is going to be VERY AVERAGE, do AVERAGE BOX OFFICE and start all sorts of, "Is Spielberg on the downward spiral? and, "When was the last good Spielberg film?" accusations.

King Kong will be awesome, outdo War of the Worlds in every way, and have the critics saying, "With Lord of the Rings and now the majestic King Kong, Peter Jackson has taken the crown from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas."

Star Wars Episode III will be the best prequel, but only by default. Writing, acting and directing will be as bland as Episodes I and II, but the sheer ammount of lightsaber battles, ties to the original trilogy and the appearence of Darth Vader will make it the most entertaining of the prequels.

Batman Begins will be very much a product of it's time; beginning as a sword-swinging epic with stunning widescreen landscapes, before becoming a darker and much subtler version of Spider-Man. Does very well but not one of the year's top three hits, and doesn't rake in Spider-Man size box office. Critics suggest the superhero craze MAY BE on the wane, finally.

Fantastic Four is the anti-superhero movie snowball picking up speed. Audiences just see it as a yet another comicbook extravaganza, and the critics state the animated The Incredibles had more heart and brains and more convincing characters (you just know the critics will say this WHATEVER FF is like). The relatively small budget compared to Spidey 2, X2 et al means it's somehwat underwhelming as a spectacle. Very average box office.

The assumptions on WOTW and FF are pretty risky... I´ll remember them.

[Apollo87]

Heres my predictions.

1. Batman Begins:nothing but positive hype. People say theyve seen it on screen and spiderman made so much because it had never been seen. Well, noone has ever seen THIS story of batman. And plus, if the star wars prequels have prooved anything, its that from a marketable standpoint, the return of a hero is bigger then the begining. Episode one marked the return of star wars. People had seen star wars, but never seen this story. Same goes for Batman Begins. Spiderman was the begining, and was a better film then episode one, but if they each opened today, episode one has 521 million, spiderman 421 million. You do the math on which was more successful. the begining of the hero,or the return of the hero?The return of the hero makes it easier to hype, because people are already familiar with the character which makes it easier to people in the theaters to see it.This film marks the birth and the return to the silver screen for one of the worlds biggest, most iconic superheros, and it has a kick ass script and amazing cast to boot. Look for Batman to be huge.

2. War Of the Worlds: peopel forget how big independence day was when it hit. Well, it was HUGE! Now take that and add cruise and spielbergs name to it. This will a big a ginormous film. I dont think prediction of 400-500 million domesticaly are accurate, but 300 million i think this film will net.

3. Star wars. Hey its star wars, darth vader, chewy, the ending of the prequels. nuff said. 300 million due to dark tone. notice all dark toned star wars film make LESS then the kiddie ones. (episode one, a new hope-400 million +. episode 2, empire strikes back made atleast 100 million less then the preview one)

4. Kong. Its King FRIGGIN kong. Its peter FRIGGIN jackson. 200 FRIGGIN milliondolalr budget. Naomi FRIGGIN watts. 275 FRIGGIN million.


5. fantastic four. The begining of one of the bigger but lesser known superheros. but the size of the action cannot be that with its 85-90 million dollar budget. Look for this film to kick major ass and be about as big as X2. and also expect chiklis, along with bale from batman, to be made into a list stars.

[Kevin Roegele]

Originally Posted by Apollo87

Heres my predictions.

1. if the star wars prequels have prooved anything, its that from a marketable standpoint, the return of a hero is bigger then the begining. Episode one marked the return of star wars. People had seen star wars, but never seen this story.

I'm not sure I follow you. Audiences had never seen Episode I before it was released on '99, but audiences hadn't seen the original Star Wars before it was released in '77, either.

[Apollo87]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

I'm not sure I follow you. Audiences had never seen Episode I before it was released on '99, but audiences hadn't seen the original Star Wars before it was released in '77, either.

ok ill explain better. people say spiderman made so much because a spiderman movie had never been made before. they think batman cant make spiderman sized money because batman movies have been made before. what i am saying is, a movie about characters that have already been made into a movie, can be big. people had seen the movie star wars in 1999. people have seen the movie batman in 2005. but noone had seen the story episode one told, and noone has seen the story begins tells.

[Excel]

Originally Posted by Kevin Roegele

Here are my predictions:

War of the Worlds is going to be VERY AVERAGE, do AVERAGE BOX OFFICE and start all sorts of, "Is Spielberg on the downward spiral? and, "When was the last good Spielberg film?" accusations.

King Kong will be awesome, outdo War of the Worlds in every way, and have the critics saying, "With Lord of the Rings and now the majestic King Kong, Peter Jackson has taken the crown from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas."

Star Wars Episode III will be the best prequel, but only by default. Writing, acting and directing will be as bland as Episodes I and II, but the sheer ammount of lightsaber battles, ties to the original trilogy and the appearence of Darth Vader will make it the most entertaining of the prequels.

Batman Begins will be very much a product of it's time; beginning as a sword-swinging epic with stunning widescreen landscapes, before becoming a darker and much subtler version of Spider-Man. Does very well but not one of the year's top three hits, and doesn't rake in Spider-Man size box office. Critics suggest the superhero craze MAY BE on the wane, finally.

Fantastic Four is the anti-superhero movie snowball picking up speed. Audiences just see it as a yet another comicbook extravaganza, and the critics state the animated The Incredibles had more heart and brains and more convincing characters (you just know the critics will say this WHATEVER FF is like). The relatively small budget compared to Spidey 2, X2 et al means it's somehwat underwhelming as a spectacle. Very average box office.

WOW!