Rise of the Silver Surfer BOX OFFICE Discussion

[GL's Light]

I could only see them hiring a new director if they were going to do part 3 and 4 together, which they might want to do to reduce the costs. This is the way to go in my opinion.

The returns for FF 2 aren't strong enough to take the risk on financing two more sequels at once. Even if the returns were stronger Fox wouldn't go for it. They're too cost-conscious to roll the dice on that kind of expenditure. Warners, Disney and Universal have shot back-to-back sequels, and of course New Line produced the three LOTR films in one hit, but I don't think Fox has ever given the greenlight to back-to-back productions. Singer reportedly wanted to shoot X-Men 3 and 4 back-to-back when he was still with the franchise, but Fox wasn't keen on the idea.

 

[phillip phonix]

Fantastic four 2 Worldwide box office so far: $198,621,524

 

[Hunter Rider]

Ah come on. They spent $ 128 million more for Spider-Man 3. You can't expect the same kind of special effects as Spider-Man 3. Even your smarter then that.

Carp if you were smart at all you'd realise that budget has nada to do with putting good action on film,no one even mentioned SFX...........congrats on another dud post

 

[GreenKToo]

I doubt T.F. will beat spidey or even H.P., but it still will be huge in its own right.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Fantastic four 2 Worldwide box office so far: $198,621,524

Still pretty poor, but the movie may have some legs yet to at least beat Ghost Riders world-wide haul.

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

Carp if you were smart at all you'd realise that budget has nada to do with putting good action on film,no one even mentioned SFX...........congrats on another dud post

In a summer filled with the action of Spider-Man, Pirates, Transformers and Die Hard, the F4 just doesn't cut the mustard. It was a decent night at the movies, but completely lackluster in the action department. When Die Hard 4, which was mostly practical stunts, blows a sci-fi comic extravaganza out of the water, you have a problem.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

In a summer filled with the action of Spider-Man, Pirates, Transformers and Die Hard, the F4 just doesn't cut the mustard. It was a decent night at the movies, but completely lackluster in the action department. When Die Hard 4, which was mostly practical stunts, blows a sci-fi comic extravaganza out of the water, you have a problem.

Exactly, and the problem is Fox.

 

[The Apatow Crew]

Exactly, and the problem is Fox.

But Die Hards and FF are from both Fox. So whats your point?

 

[Mercurius]

The problem is Fox AND Story, mind you.

 

[GL's Light]

SBD estimates for Tuesday:

1. Transformers - $ 27.45 mil ($ 36.33 mil)
2. Ratatouille - $ 7.89 mil ($ 61.835 mil)
3. Die Hard 4 - $ 4.465 mil ($ 57.387 mil)
4. License to Wed - $ 2.21 mil
5. Evan Almighty - $ 2.2 mil ($ 64.947 mil)
6. 1408 - $ 1.51 mil ($ 43.606 mil)
7. Knocked Up - $ 1.11 mil ($ 124.515 mil)
8. FF 2 - $ 1.05 mil ($ 117.102 mil)

Great start for Transformers. It's almost double the previous record for the biggest Tuesday ever. Great holds for Ratatouille and Die Hard 4, especially considering that Transformers has entered the market. On the other hand, FF 2 continued its steep slide, falling to 8th behind Knocked Up.

FF 1 made $ 1.7 mil for a $ 126.319 mil total on its comparative day.

 

[X-Maniac]

In a summer filled with the action of Spider-Man, Pirates, Transformers and Die Hard, the F4 just doesn't cut the mustard. It was a decent night at the movies, but completely lackluster in the action department. When Die Hard 4, which was mostly practical stunts, blows a sci-fi comic extravaganza out of the water, you have a problem.

Die Hard 4 doesn't open in the UK until this weekend. And it looks pretty terrible. I've heard some bad word of mouth, with people criticising the smash/crash action scenes and saying the jet sequence was unnecessary and like something out of a bad video game.

There was nothing wrong with the action scenes in Fantastic Four 2. FF isn't as big a property (not as well known in the mainstream) as Die Hard and was harmed by a pretty feeble first movie and some lacklustre marketing. FF just hasn't built a solid base for itself...and is probably unlikely ever to do so, given that its characters include a man who looks like orange crazy-paving and a scientist with elastic limbs, which instantly takes us into bizarre territory and difficult suspension of disbelief. Heaven forbid that it's just Die Hard's loud, mindless explosions that get people running to the cinema.

It'll be interesting to see how Die Hard and Transformers do outside the US, in the UK especially.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Die Hard 4 doesn't open in the UK until this weekend. And it looks pretty terrible. I've heard some bad word of mouth, with people criticising the smash/crash action scenes and saying the jet sequence was unnecessary and like something out of a bad video game.

There was nothing wrong with the action scenes in Fantastic Four 2. FF isn't as big a property (not as well known in the mainstream) as Die Hard and was harmed by a pretty feeble first movie and some lacklustre marketing. FF just hasn't built a solid base for itself...and is probably unlikely ever to do so, given that its characters include a man who looks like orange crazy-paving and a scientist with elastic limbs, which instantly takes us into bizarre territory and difficult suspension of disbelief. Heaven forbid that it's just Die Hard's loud, mindless explosions that get people running to the cinema.

Yeah, that's absoluetly no excuse. Once upon a time, no one had ever heard of Star Wars, or The Matrix, yet those films came out of nowhere, introduced all MANNER of outlandish characters, and still managed to capture extremely large box office. Furthermore; FF had a considerable advantage over those two franchises, what with a fanbase already in place due to over four DECADES of comics and cartoons, yet Fox STILL dropped the ball.

It's all in the vision and presentation, and FF's vision and presentation are obviously severely lacking.

 

[Sentinel X]

It's just that i got that feeling in this thread not just from you perse. But if you and others say you do not want it to sink i have to take your word for it.

I see it differently.
No movie is perfect and i certainly didn't think the dialogue was great but for this film i didn't mind because i was having such a nice time. I'm seeing more people give this an above average rating than i've seen for the other heavy hitters this summer. Also, it's been a long time where i've been to a movie that's got everyone in the theater so immersed in the action. People actually cheered when the Prime introduced himself and the Autobots and applauded at the end too.That's very rare in theaters here.

People applaud for everything, it just depends on your audience...once one person starts everyone goes at it even though its a bad scene
People clapped in the theater when Harry came to help Peter in SM3, and when he saves her, and when Harry sacrifices himself, and when Peter defeats venom, and when Mj and Pete make up...it never ends.



Btw, Die Hard 4.0 was good...aside from the over the top action sequences once in a while it was a decent action film

 

[X-Maniac]

Yeah, that's absoluetly no excuse. Once upon a time, no one had ever heard of Star Wars, or The Matrix, yet those films came out of nowhere, introduced all MANNER of outlandish characters, and still managed to capture extremely large box office. Furthermore; FF had a considerable advantage over those two franchises, what with a fanbase already in place due to over four DECADES of comics and cartoons, yet Fox STILL dropped the ball.

It's all in the vision and presentation, and FF's vision and presentation are obviously severely lacking.

Star Wars comes from a golden age of movies, and tapped into the 70s obsession with outer space that followed the Moon landing. (The 70s was also when we had the X-Men comics revived and going into outer space for the Phoenix Saga, Starjammers, M'Krann crystal etc.). When the original Star Wars came out, there were no omnipresent home computers and internet, every home didn't have a PC and a colour TV for trailers, spoilers, etc. Buzz was built in the newspaper press and the only way to find out what something was like was to go and see it.

The Matrix tapped into the zone of virtual reality and cyberspace, and pushed the boundaries of digital FX with bullet-time photography.

But, although Star Wars and Matrix are fairly special franchises, you are right that Fantastic Four could have stood out too with the right presentation. It would have needed a much grander vision, something much more heavyweight with richer philosophies and deeper meanings. The idea of the dysfunctional family and dealing with celebrity status is not enough to hang an epic movie on (especially after The Incredibles), the notion of cosmic exploration and the amazing extraterrestrial life that exists out there (Galactus, Surfer) is possibly a good starting point.

Since those things have been touched upon, albeit in a lighter way, i think the Inhumans is the right idea for FF3. The idea that an advanced civilisation lived on earth before us, and still exists here, could be a great way to hold a mirror up against the arrogance, dominance and destruction of Homo Sapiens. The ancient gods/monsters of myth (Medusa, Gorgon, Triton etc) being real and living in a secret city, shying away from the spotlight of fame and celebrity, and yet having a greater and more lasting fame in myth and legend than most humans could ever achieve.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Die Hard 4 doesn't open in the UK until this weekend. And it looks pretty terrible. I've heard some bad word of mouth, with people criticising the smash/crash action scenes and saying the jet sequence was unnecessary and like something out of a bad video game.

There was nothing wrong with the action scenes in Fantastic Four 2. FF isn't as big a property (not as well known in the mainstream) as Die Hard and was harmed by a pretty feeble first movie and some lacklustre marketing. FF just hasn't built a solid base for itself...and is probably unlikely ever to do so, given that its characters include a man who looks like orange crazy-paving and a scientist with elastic limbs, which instantly takes us into bizarre territory and difficult suspension of disbelief. Heaven forbid that it's just Die Hard's loud, mindless explosions that get people running to the cinema.

It'll be interesting to see how Die Hard and Transformers do outside the US, in the UK especially.

Don't know where you heard this bad word of mouth,here and at RT both fans and critics love the movie and a lot say it's the best since the original classic,as for the action ALL summer movies have over the top action,that's the point,Die Hard had it 20 years ago.

As for being better known,Die Hard 4 was coming into a market obsessed with spandex wearing goodies and pre pubescent wizards and featured an oldschool badass who hadn't been on screen in 12 years,it was the under dog

You may think there was nothing wrong with the action scenes in FF2 but i along with many strongly disagree.

 

[X-Maniac]

Don't know where you heard this bad word of mouth,here and at RT both fans and critics love the movie and a lot say it's the best since the original classic,as for the action ALL summer movies have over the top action,that's the point,Die Hard had it 20 years ago.

As for being better known,Die Hard 4 was coming into a market obsessed with spandex wearing goodies and pre pubescent wizards and featured an oldschool badass who hadn't been on screen in 12 years,it was the under dog

You may think there was nothing wrong with the action scenes in FF2 but i along with many strongly disagree.

Then what do you think, specifically, was wrong with the action in FF2?

Not all movies have to have spinning cameras and slo-mo glass shards ala Spider-Man 3, or speed-blurred Batman from BB, or excesssive collateral-damage Transformers...

 

[Spade]

I don't think there was anything wrong with the action in FF2. Granted, I wanted it to reach a cosmic level with Galactus...but, that aside, the action was solid. I hated the thought before I saw it, but the scene with Johnny fighting Doom in homage to the Super Skrull worked out very well on the big screen. So did the rather epic duel with Doom in the skies. Considering how disappointing SM3 was from an action standpoint and how incoherent Bay's style will probably make the Transformers' fights, this was a satisfying film for me.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Then what do you think, specifically, was wrong with the action in FF2?

Not all movies have to have spinning cameras and slo-mo glass shards ala Spider-Man 3, or speed-blurred Batman from BB, or excesssive collateral-damage Transformers...

Well lets break it down

The Torch/SS chase-Now contrary to your statement i do believe that camera moves are important in capturing visceral and spectacular action,be it a tracking shot or a rotation etc...now this scene i have no complaint over,it was well paced,had some nice shots and actually lasted a couple of minutes

The London Eye-Ok for the 30 seconds it lasted,there was little sense of scale or danger though as it was mostly shot close up and essentially looked like it was in a studio not outdoors

The SS vs the army-blink and you'd miss it,one nice capture on the Surfer dodging the missiles and it's over,way to abrupt to even get into

Doom vs the 4/Fantasticar-messy editing,close ups to hide the lack of budget,weak effects and it was shot in the dark so it was hard to make anything out plus it was over in the blink of the eye with yet again no sense of scale or danger

SS vs the storm-Whats there to say,he swerved side to side while flying through a cut scene from Twister and then did a jesus pose,to me this was a very weak finale

Now i enjoyed the film,check my review but other than the first set piece i felt the movies only weakness was it's lack of gripping,epic and cool action

 

[X-Maniac]

Well lets break it down

The Torch/SS chase-Now contrary to your statement i do believe that camera moves are important in capturing visceral and spectacular action,be it a tracking shot or a rotation etc...now this scene i have no complaint over,it was well paced,had some nice shots and actually lasted a couple of minutes

The London Eye-Ok for the 30 seconds it lasted,there was little sense of scale or danger though as it was mostly shot close up and essentially looked like it was in a studio not outdoors

The SS vs the army-blink and you'd miss it,one nice capture on the Surfer dodging the missiles and it's over,way to abrupt to even get into

Doom vs the 4/Fantasticar-messy editing,close ups to hide the lack of budget,weak effects and it was shot in the dark so it was hard to make anything out plus it was over in the blink of the eye with yet again no sense of scale or danger

SS vs the storm-Whats there to say,he swerved side to side while flying through a cut scene from Twister and then did a jesus pose,to me this was a very weak finale

Now i enjoyed the film,check my review but other than the first set piece i felt the movies only weakness was it's lack of gripping,epic and cool action

Of course camera angles are important, what i meant that different films approach things in different ways.

I felt the movie's main strength was its action!

Since you enjoyed the movie, but not the action, what on earth were you enjoying? Dr Doom's two-second clips in the early part of the movie, the onslaught of hammy humour (zits being covered with invisibility fields etc), product endorsements, Reed's throwaway line about all the living planets that had been destroyed (wow, intelligent life had been discovered, not that it was much of a big deal obviously)...????

Seriously, this movie's grander scale and action WAS its selling point and the main factor in its entertainment value.

 

[Mercurius]

FF just hasn't built a solid base for itself...and is probably unlikely ever to do so, given that its characters include a man who looks like orange crazy-paving and a scientist with elastic limbs, which instantly takes us into bizarre territory and difficult suspension of disbelief.

The problem is not, by any means, Fantastic Four itself: it's the mixture of bad studio decisions, plus bad director/writer team, plus some bad casting choices.

No movie can stand such group of mistakes. FF is not different.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Of course camera angles are important, what i meant that different films approach things in different ways.

I felt the movie's main strength was its action!

Since you enjoyed the movie, but not the action, what on earth were you enjoying? Dr Doom's two-second clips in the early part of the movie, the onslaught of hammy humour (zits being covered with invisibility fields etc), product endorsements, Reed's throwaway line about all the living planets that had been destroyed (wow, intelligent life had been discovered, not that it was much of a big deal obviously)...????

Seriously, this movie's grander scale and action WAS its selling point and the main factor in its entertainment value.

I liked the 4 themselves,how they interacted with each other and the warmth and humour in the characters,i also liked the Silver Surfer's majestic presence onscreen,the action was merely TV stuff IMO and the films weakest ingredient

 

[Carp Man]

FF 2's overseas box office #'s have been updated thru 7-2. $ 198,621,524 WW. TF has $ 36,251,000 thru July 3rd domestic. $ 75.5 WW.

 

[danoyse]

Don't know where you heard this bad word of mouth,here and at RT both fans and critics love the movie and a lot say it's the best since the original classic,as for the action ALL summer movies have over the top action,that's the point,Die Hard had it 20 years ago.

As for being better known,Die Hard 4 was coming into a market obsessed with spandex wearing goodies and pre pubescent wizards and featured an oldschool badass who hadn't been on screen in 12 years,it was the under dog

You may think there was nothing wrong with the action scenes in FF2 but i along with many strongly disagree.

I agree. Live Free or Die Hard is getting a fantastic response right now, and I think a good reason for it is because it's a great, old-school action film that doesn't involve a superhero, which we really haven't had in awhile.

Of course it was ridiculous. I was describing the 'jet-on-a-collapsing-freeway' scene to a guy at work this week, and he was cracking up laughing about how he needed to see it. My dad and I might be going back to see it again this weekend.

But they were better than the action scenes in FF2. I saw the movie two weeks ago and I can barely remember them now.

 

[Hiruu]

Transformers had a strong opening, I exepcted $20 after the 8 the previous day, so that's a plus, so we'll have to see how it does the rest of the week, and the impact on FF2. The daily B.O. is still over $1 million, which is a huge plus for FF2, since that means it's might only be down 50% over the weekend. This would bring it over $120 million, and line up a slow crawl to $130 million. With the strong numbers from overseas, I think matching the first film is on course, and FF3 is still a-go.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Someone said that FF2 hadnt opened in Japan yet...is that true?

They say after the U.S., Japan is the next biggest market...