Superman Returns 44 days later...

[WormyT]

So in that first clip how many buildings were destroyed and people were killed because Supes went app$hit fighting Capt Marvel? At least 5-6 bldgs were destroyed, and countless people were inside at the time so in this scenario Supes kills innocent people. It's a no win situation in comic book movies, something has to be flawed for it to work.

The buildings were empty.
The clip is just to show the dynamic scale in action scenes a moviemaker could take a live action Superman had he more imagination and not tried turning Superman(model) into a chick flick for ...chicks.

 

[Weadazoid]

So is this movie now doen in the theaters? Can't find any numbers on Box Office Mojo.... and to make it worse the upped the budget to 270 Million.

Is this movie done at 193?

 

[Triligors]

The actual budget is 204 mil, not 270 mil. There hasn't even been any press release that has stated 270 mil. So, god knows where they got that random number.

And no, it's not done yet- just since it's older now, the numbers don't come in as fast as they used to- but, the highest looks like 195 mil at this point - possibly.

At least some sites- such as The Numbers- are getting the budget right. We got word on the production budget from Singer himself in a Newsweek article.

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

seems soo....195 topps. Unless they release it later this year with the added footage as rumored...I doubt it will make 200 now. A sad day when a Superman movie can't even pull in 200 million.

 

[buggs0268]

The actual budget is 204 mil, not 270 mil. There hasn't even been any press release that has stated 270 mil. So, god knows where they got that random number.

And no, it's not done yet- just since it's older now, the numbers don't come in as fast as they used to- but, the highest looks like 195 mil at this point - possibly.

At least some sites- such as The Numbers- are getting the budget right. We got word on the production budget from Singer himself in a Newsweek article.

Singer has changed his story on the budget a few times. And the fact is you still have to add in prints/advertising cost to that, as the studios are.

 

[Triligors]

Hey, I'll take a more credible source (FINAL word from Bryan Singer) over BOM any day of the week and that's what I'm doing.

And the fact is you still have to add in prints/advertising cost to that, as the studios are.

And yes, you do take things into account- but, BOM stated the 'production budget' is 270 mil. Not the production budget + marketing budget, etc.. So yes, you are right in a way- it possible that the final budget could be that high when you add marketing, etc. into the budget. But, that's not what BOM stated- production budget- which is a completely different thing. If it was stating overall budget- no problem- that could be true- but, they are stating that's the production budget?! WTF?

 

[Pickle-El]

Singer has changed his story on the budget a few times. And the fact is you still have to add in prints/advertising cost to that, as the studios are.

I wonder what Pirates and X3's totals are then......regardless of how they did at the BO. The number on X3 was never really discussed, just sorta thrown out there. (Production that is)

 

[buggs0268]

I don't know. Not following them. See what studios do is rely on their successes to pay for their failures. Tent pole films are diffferent as those are the ones that the studio is realying on them to take care of a lot of failures for the studio. That is why they are called "tent pole films". The poles that hold up the tent of the studio. they need those to do box office. I wish I could find this one interview with Jery Bruckheimer. he explained it in the most succinct way and stated that "tent pole films have to make money for the studio"

 

[Weadazoid]

The actual budget is 204 mil, not 270 mil. There hasn't even been any press release that has stated 270 mil. So, god knows where they got that random number.

And no, it's not done yet- just since it's older now, the numbers don't come in as fast as they used to- but, the highest looks like 195 mil at this point - possibly.

At least some sites- such as The Numbers- are getting the budget right. We got word on the production budget from Singer himself in a Newsweek article.

not done yet...? take a look at the full weekend chart if the numbers are out for Over the Hedge and Cars and prada.... why no Superman numbers?
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/



Maybe I am missing something.... but to me.... it seems pulled by the WB

 

[Weadazoid]

I just did a search on Yahoo for it in theaters in my area.... East coast near Phillyy...many mega plexes..


On one is play Returns... and only once at 10 40 at night.... and this is huge theater

 

[Triligors]

Maybe I am missing something.... but to me.... it seems pulled by the WB

Seems like you answered your own question... no, SR has not been pulled from theaters. As you just noted in your post above- it is still playing in some theaters and it is still up at IMAX theaters. Depending on what your theater keeps or not keeps, for example my local Regal does not have SR in theaters anymore but is still playing it at the IMAX (all showings). Thus, SR has not been 'pulled' from theaters. It is not in the top ten- thus the numbers come in much later. I don't know why it works that way, but that is why the daily stats at box office is moving slowly- it takes a longer time to attain that data. Hopefully this clears things up.

 

[Weadazoid]

Seems like you answered your own question... no, SR has not been pulled from theaters. As you just noted in your post above- it is still playing in some theaters and it is still up at IMAX theaters. Depending on what your theater keeps or not keeps, for example my local Regal does not have SR in theaters anymore but is still playing it at the IMAX (all showings). Thus, SR has not been 'pulled' from theaters. It is not in the top ten- thus the numbers come in much later. I don't know why it works that way, but that is why the daily stats at box office is moving slowly- it takes a longer time to attain that data. Hopefully this clears things up.

but did you click on the link I provided bro.... Superman is not even in the top 20 the lowest ranked movie King Leopolds Ghost only made 3,100.

Plenty of movies that aint in the top 10 and have not been for quite some time are listed

Superman isn't

if they know Over the Hedge mand 273,000 this weekend why no Superman numbers?


Its Just estimates to being with... why aint they even estimating?

 

[Triligors]

Didn't click on the link. Alright then, no idea- but, I can tell you- without a doubt- that Superman Returns is still up and is still doing business. How much business? I don't know. I only know it's still up. Why the estimates aren't in yet? No idea.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

My two cents on the all Wesyeed and XCharlieX's "discussion"...

The point of making an adaptation is exactly that, to adapt something, not to transform as you please.
Sure, you can make some interesting things with changes and transformations on the mythos, may it comics or whatever, but that´s not the point.
The point is give life to the characters, to represent their lifes on screen, to make people understand them and care for it; for that, you need to stay close to they lifes, and their lifes are portraited in the comics.
Now, there are things that just don´t work, to say otherwise is to be blind about it, either because it´s totally outdated (many things were made between the 40´s and 70´s), or because it´s just stupid even in comic book format.
The trick is to know what to update, know what to change or erase and, more importantly, know HOW TO DO IT, without changing their lifes and who the characters are, without making it unrecognizable.
For more info, read my sig

To change for the hell of it, because you are an "artist" and you want to make it yours, is nothing more than an ego trip.
The artist here is to bring things to life, not to change it for the hell of change.
And i know a bit of what i´m saying, for i studied filmmaking for 3 years, and have 2 short movies made.

 

[Weadazoid]

Didn't click on the link. Alright then, no idea- but, I can tell you- without a doubt- that Superman Returns is still up and is still doing business. How much business? I don't know. I only know it's still up. Why the estimates aren't in yet? No idea.

estimates are in now.. not bad 800 some thousand still at 20 down 2 from last weekend

For a second there I thought it was gone

 

[buggs0268]

44 days later and the movie still sucks. The suit still sucks. And Singer still thinks he made a Titanic like grossing movie.

 

[The Kid]

My two cents on the all Wesyeed and XCharlieX's "discussion"...

The point of making an adaptation is exactly that, to adapt something, not to transform as you please.
Sure, you can make some interesting things with changes and transformations on the mythos, may it comics or whatever, but that´s not the point.
The point is give life to the characters, to represent their lifes on screen, to make people understand them and care for it; for that, you need to stay close to they lifes, and their lifes are portraited in the comics.
Now, there are things that just don´t work, to say otherwise is to be blind about it, either because it´s totally outdated (many things were made between the 40´s and 70´s), or because it´s just stupid even in comic book format.
The trick is to know what to update, know what to change or erase and, more importantly, know HOW TO DO IT, without changing their lifes and who the characters are, without making it unrecognizable.
For more info, read my sig

To change for the hell of it, because you are an "artist" and you want to make it yours, is nothing more than an ego trip.
The artist here is to bring things to life, not to change it for the hell of change.
And i know a bit of what i´m saying, for i studied filmmaking for 3 years, and have 2 short movies made.

Thank you. That's all I ask. Change it only if it's necessary or else leave it the way it was. There are no concrete rules to adapating things in my mind. You just have to try to match the source as closely as possible. What more can you do when adapting?

It's like making a movie based on a true story. the true story did not happen within 2hour length unless it really did, but most of the time it does not. What do you do to adapt the true story then if it can't possibly fit into 2 hours perfectly? You can only take the most significant or necessary parts and adapt it the best it can possibly be while still being a close enough representation of the actual events. That's really all I want.

Only a fool thinks there's any way something can be adapated perfectly though Sin City sort of came along and did that I guess. And it was cool. Though not even that I think was perfect transfer of every panel to live action. It's just never going to happen that way.

 

[OzzMosiz]

TW have already made back the budget, just the marketting and aborted project costs to go. DVD should sort that out.

 

[Milkman95]

TW have already made back the budget, just the marketting and aborted project costs to go. DVD should sort that out.

Yeah, they'll make their money back once the DVD is released, but it still doesn't erase the fact that SR ended up being a disappointment in theatres. Probably not a fresh enough look at the character as well as there not being enough fun and action to earn repeat viewings like POTC2 did.......

 

[Lucid]

----

 

[elvislennon2005]

I just saw Superman Returns, and let me tell you that, it SUCKS!!









Ok, no it didn´t.
Now, that i got that out of my system, Superman Returns was everything i was expecting it to be.
Was it a good movie? Yes!
Was it an interesting take on the Man of Steel mythos? Yes!
Was it a good Superman movie? No!
It´s an amazing sequel to the Donner movie, it´s the best comic book movie so far, when it comes to having unanswered questions for a sequel (how is he going to handle being a father, how is the kid going to handle being Superman´s son, how is Superman and Lois relation be after this, how is it going to be Luthor´s return, after nearly killing the Man of Steel,...), but, the problem is, it´s an Elseworld kind of movie, it´s not a good and faithful adaptation.
Superman Returns was not the movie Superman needed or deserved, Superman Returns was not the movie we deserved after 20 years waiting, someone has to shout in Singer´s ear to let the Donner´s movie die in piece, and someone has to teach Singer that Superman is not an idea, but a person, with a history and a life, that can´t just be scrapted, for him to make whatever he pleases (and i´m not talking about giving him a son), even if it is a "love letter" to Donner´s Superman and Superman is not, never was, and never will be, Christ in a cape, so, stop trying to make it so.
Since day one i´ve been saying this, anyone that have read my posts knows that, it will be a great movie, but a lousy adaptation....so, who was right from the start?
But, let´s get to the movie itself...

So, where to begin?
First of all, i have to take my hat off to Singer, for at least, he tried to make something diferent.
And that is, IMO, what saved the movie from being a piece of crap, because he tried to make a serious movie, to make it a romance, not falling into the irrelevant action sequences.
The thing is, like i stated above, and been saying it since ever, is that he made a continuation of something extremely outdated.
By making it a "vague sequel", he totally alienated the average joe, that never saw the Donner´s movie or saw it once or twice, and made a movie solely for fans, that´s why the movie failed at the box office.
When i watch a comic book movie, i can easily and utterly forget what i know, and watch the movie expecting to learn about the characters, the movie failed there too.
The movie is not interesting to watch to a non-fan, because everything that happens, every bit of drama, almost every bit of dialogue, is about something that happend more than 25 years ago, things that you didn´t saw happening, and you don´t care anymore, you can´t feel it.
For drama to be effective, you need background, information, you need a start, a base for it to grow on, you don´t have that in Superman Returns, which makes the movie empty and sterile, so, you just take things for granted.
It just seems exactly what it is, that there is a trilogy, and you missed the first movie....
Superman and Lois are in love. Have in seen that love blossom? No. Have you understood whay the love each other? No. You just go with it.
Luthor hates Superman. Have you seen why? No. Have you seen how it all started? No. You just go with it.
The movie that just proved what i was saying since day one, that it was a ridiculous move to revive a dead franchise.
Now, let´s jump to the characters...

Clark Kent/Superman
It´s not that Routh makes a bad job at it, he just tries to hard to make a "Reeve´s playing Clark Kent and Superman", and not be himself.
There are parts where you close your eyes, and you think that Reeve is there; but there are others where Routh just let´s it go, and those are the better ones, when he does his own thing.
He looks the part, that´s another thing going for him.
Clark Kent is a totally forgettable character in this movie, he doesn´t do anything particulary memorable, he is totally put aside, which is a shame, because Clark is a crucial part of Superman.
One thing i was happy about, lost is the all "moronic" Clark Kent of Reeve, but, at the same time, the screen time of Clark is so small that we don´t really a notion of how moronic free he is.
All in all, Clark Kent isn´t still perfect, and far from it, which makes me think that people still don´t understand Clark.
Superman....i watched the movie twice already, and the first time, he just came across as unsympathetic, almost robotic like; the second time, he seemed much better, but even so, there is something missing, something i can´t place my finger on, but it´s there.
I never got the notion that he was in love with Lois, but rather it was all an ego thing.
He loved Lois once, not anymore, because he never says anything to Lois that makes you think otherwise, the only thing he does is taking her flying, which just comes off as arrogant, like he will win her heart again if she flies with him.
Once again, we return to what i was talking about back there, that the movie plays with what we know of the characters, rather than show us.
Superman is not Christ in a fricking cape!!
"You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying for one."
WTF is that??
Superman is not a saviour, he is not here to save us from our sins.
After Lois removed the Kryptonite shard from his back (and don´t make me talk about the shard that was removed in the hospital, which would have killed Superman a long time ago), Superman went to the heavens to get bathed by sunlight. When he returns, the heavens open up and light comes out....
WTF is that??
When he falls from the space, after throwing New Krypton, he falls with his arms open wide and his legs together, exactly like Christ in the cross...
WTF??
The Jor-El monologues.....
WTF? So, Jor-El is God to Superman´s Christ?
And don´t tell me that those monologues are from the first, because that´s the main problem.
And it goes on and on....

Lois Lane
Does Bosworth makes a good job?
Yes, absolutely!
Is she good for the part?
No, she is better suited for Gwen Stacy.
Lois Lane biggest flaw, IMO, is that she doesn´t give a rat´s ass to Clark Kent, he is totally invisible to her.
The last time i checked, they were friends...
Second flaw, she never shows any affection to Richard White.
Sure, she is in love in Superman, but, god damn it, he lives with her for the last 5 years, there has to be more than just friendship.
Once again, the movie plays with what he know, not what we see.

Richard White
IMO, the best character in all the movie, better even than Kal-El.
caring, sympathetic, someone you can care about. He is more interesting that Superman, because, at least, he is more than 2 dimensional, more than "i save the world and love Lois".
Amazing job by Mardsen, his best role to date...

Jimmy Olsen and Perry White
Perry doesn´t do anything.
Huntington goes a good job, but he is totally irrelevant for the movie.

Jason White
I didn´t liked the idea of the kid, specialy being Superman´s kid, but, because i didn´t liked Singer´s vision, the kid was the least of my problems.
Now, after seeing the movie i can say that, Jason is one of the best things about the movie.
I still don´t like Singer´s vision, but, having that, i liked the kid.

Lex Luthor
And here comes, once again, the weakest part of Superman Return, of any Superman movie...Luthor.
Smallville can have all the problems in the world, but one thing it has in it´s favor, is the best Lex Luthor since the comics (i can´t talk about TAS).
Once again Luthor is nothing more than a 2nd rate criminal to whom was given the most powerful key in the world.
A wonderful actor like Kevin Spacey deserved a lot more than that.
All he does his plan the most moronic and extravagant plan i ever heard, to build a continent to sell land.
And the first time i comes face to face with the Man of Steel, he almost kills him, in the best scene in all the movie, but, at the same time, weird as hell, because it comes out of nowhere, all that hate is totally weird because we don´t have nothing to back it up.
Once again, the movie plays with what we know, rather than what we see.

Kitty Kowalski
I liked Kitty!
She is not a great character, because she doesn´t do anything, except driving without brakes, but she is not 2 dimensional, the moment she shows that she is not at ease with Luthor´s plan on "killing billions", and she cries when Luthor almost kills Superman.
And, yeah, she is funny, expecially when Luthor asks her what his father as said to him.


All in all, it´s a very good movie, but a lousy Superman movie, at least, not one that the character deserved.
And then, you have a lot of flaws, like Luthor stealing the Krytonite, and no security guard stoping him; having Luthor stealing the crystals with the most extreme ease i´ve ever seen...
Out of 10, i give it 7

Oh, by the way, C. Lee, if you want, feel free to merge this to the review thread, but, because that´s two month old, i see no point.

Great Review, about the religious comments. Superman could be classify as a saviour but not like Christ was. People always look for heroes of some kind and Superman might be the most heroic character in the history of comic books. Superman went above the clouds so he can build enough energy for his powers to lift New Krypton to space, that was the reason for that. Superman Returns is not the only movie out of the 5 that was made that had religious themes to them. Superman IV for example, when Nuclear Man scratches Superman and Superman is ill ad then comes back. That could be considered as the Crucifixion and the Rise of Superman. Superman really didn't didn't the same after he was ill. He seem different. Superman could be considered as a angel while Nuclear Man could be considered as a demon. Superman The Movie and Superman II has lot of religious themes to them that I won't begin to go there. About the love between him and Lois. Watch Superman The Movie, when he makes the world turns backwards. He didn't do it for the world, he did it for Lois and she was dead. So he made the world turn backwards to save her life and he did even though he was forbidden to interfer with human history. His love for her was secret and if he told her he didn't know how she would take it. Would she love him for Superman or for Clark? Now, about Lex Luthor, I think Kevin Spacey did one of the best Lex Luthor of them all. He played a mixture of all the Lex Luthors that was ever been out. But he added the classic Luthor the most. As for Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. Even though she looks a little young for playing Lois Lane, I think she did a great job as Lois Lane. Bosworth as Gwen Stacy, I can't see that. I see her as The Black Cat/Felicia Hardy than Gwen Stacy.
All Superman Returns is making a new Superman movie but putting themes from all of the Superman related into that movie. Somewhere is something to do with the Superman of the past. If it is added Jack Larson and Noel Neil from the 50s show, to Superman saving the plane as the 90s cartoon did when he was first spot by Lois, to the dialogue that Superman did in the plane just as Superman did in the 1st and 4th movie (plane/subway), to making Superman putting the car down as Action Comics #1. That movie is a tribute to Superman and makes a great movie in the process.
I give it a 10 out of 10. I considered this the second best Superman movie of them all with Superman The Movie above it.

 

[XCharlieX]

For more info, read my sig

To change for the hell of it, because you are an "artist" and you want to make it yours, is nothing more than an ego trip.
The artist here is to bring things to life, not to change it for the hell of change.
And i know a bit of what i´m saying, for i studied filmmaking for 3 years, and have 2 short movies made.

Oh i dont need more info, we disagree, thats all there is to it.

 

[WTFwuzThT]

...the movie's still awful.

... it's still the fifth best Superman movie of the last 30 years.

 

[OzzMosiz]

Yeah, they'll make their money back once the DVD is released, but it still doesn't erase the fact that SR ended up being a disappointment in theatres. Probably not a fresh enough look at the character as well as there not being enough fun and action to earn repeat viewings like POTC2 did.......

Yep I'll agree with that, even though I liked the film.

for a 2hr35min film it did lack action. The plane sequence was awesome - more of that would've been good, or an ending that suggests what will happen in the next film (like some hint at a villian).

 

[Hiruu]

Roflmao!!!