Box Office Numbers (& Competition)

[Kirk Langstrom]

Daredevil, The Hulk, and Punisher were not finanical failures. Elektra was. Since then Marvel started it's own studio to take back control of the rest of the characters not licensed out. Without foregin gross what would be the justification to make another Superman film, James Bond, and most other big budget films? Huh?

Daredevil made a profit as did The Hulk, and yes The Punisher which was a low budget film.

Thank You. Doesnt it get tiresome explaining these facts over and over again to people who dont have a clue?

 

[Heretic]

Just because they make money doesn't mean there should be a sequel. Financially it may make sense (though typically mid-level successes lose quite a bit of business on the sequels), but I don't even want a market flooded with mediocre comic book movies.

My preference...do a one shot movie for several characters and then bring them all together in an Avengers type setting.

 

[FlameHead]

Hmm, that's a good idea but... I'll take a sequel thanks.

 

[terry78]

Just because they make money doesn't mean there should be a sequel. Financially it may make sense (though typically mid-level successes lose quite a bit of business on the sequels), but I don't even want a market flooded with mediocre comic book movies.

My preference...do a one shot movie for several characters and then bring them all together in an Avengers type setting.

You have no idea how the business world works, do you?

 

[Heretic]

For Ghost Rider?? As much as I think its a crappy movie, the numbers dont lie...and if it makes the money it looks like its going to make then Yes, give it a sequel. I dont think Daredevil was a big enough hit to warrant Elektra, let a lone a sequel of its own.

However, how awesome would it be if Ghost Rider 2 came out...everyones complaining about how weak the villians were in the first one...and his villian just whoops tail on GR?? The movie ends with the villian pretty victorious and other heroes join the cause to stop him for part 3 in an Avengers film? Okay, maybe it wouldnt be so awesome...but i would much that to say, The Punisher 4.

 

[Heretic]

You have no idea how the business world works, do you?

Um, yes I do...if you had the mutant power of perception youd know that I was talking about what SHOULD BE...not what would make finanicial sense. Obvious if the studios make money they'll look to do a sequel...the post was intended to mean there shouldnt HAVE to be a sequel...like...Titanic made money, but there still SHOULDNT be a Titanic 2...even though it makes lots of financial sense to do it.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ No there should NOT be a Titanic 2 unless it's a sci-fi film that has some huge Titantic Futuristic Cruiseliner that tours planets and crashlands. LOL Titanic 2 makes no sense at all it's a one time deal. I guess they could do a prequel regarding Leo's character and how he got there but honestly I think it's done. Ghost Rider 2 is needed and will happen thank god. Things need improving and now we have one film in the books that can be used as a stepping stone to the next.

 

[Heretic]

As I said, I have no issue with Ghost Rider. It seems to be a big enough hit to warrant a sequel, and obviously the end states that the story isn't over. I'm not sure the same can be said for The Punisher.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Punisher made a nice profit with over 44 million in DVD sales not including tv rights, ppv, etc...It broke even at the box office with 53 million worldwide. DVD pushed it over. The film only cost 17 million to shoot with 16 million additional going towards the talent. 33 total.

53
44
---
97 million from box office and DVD's (not including special edition dvd just released)
TV Rights???

The sequel is warranted.

 

[Carp Man]

So if it follows suit it would make 110million and still be in the red by 10million since the budget was projected to be 120million for months. Is that considered a hit? These films shouldn't need worldwide grosses to make money past their budgets. The 120million may not even include the amount of money spent on marketing. Half of the profit will be taken away through taxes by the IRS. After Sony realizes how unprofitable this film was they will find little justification for making a sequel any time soon.

That is just DOMESTIC. Add in overseas, and this movie should make close to 200 million, plus DVD sales, so yes it will make money, and there is allready a sequel in the works.

 

[FlameHead]

It will make lots of money.

 

[GL's Light]

For Ghost Rider?? As much as I think its a crappy movie, the numbers dont lie...and if it makes the money it looks like its going to make then Yes, give it a sequel. I dont think Daredevil was a big enough hit to warrant Elektra, let a lone a sequel of its own.

Daredevil grossed 2.3X its production budget. Ghost Rider would have to gross over $ 270 million worldwide to equal that return, which is unlikely. Daredevil was a much more solid hit than people give it credit for.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ Daredevil should make over 250+ Million worldwide without a problem. 270 million is not that much of a stretch at all. Critics dont' like Ghost Rider but the overall general audience is loving it. Even after inflation Ghost Rider is outpacing Daredevil in a much more competitive marketplace.

Also the fact is the international box office is extremely important and big budget films in most cases..."DO" need the Worldwide Box office to make big profits. That's not a bad thing.

 

[GL's Light]

^ Daredevil should make over 250+ Million worldwide without a problem. 270 million is not that much of a stretch at all.

Maybe, maybe not. We'll have to see how things unfold in terms of legs and foreign box office.

And, yes, I agree that foreign box office is very important to profitability. Budget inflation means that for most big budget films, even very successful ones, domestic profitability is no longer viable, but the rise of foreign box office and ancillary markets have filled that void. Although studios do need to make sure that budgets don't continue to rise at the same pace because ancillary revenue is now flattening out.

 

[Advanced Dark]

BTW Ghost Rider's success just sent my Marvel stock to new all time highs now almost $30.50/share. Wheeeeeeeeee! It's still cheap. Ghost Rider proves yet again to studios and to Marvel itself that this genre is here to stay and that they can dig deeper into their 2nd and 3rd tier characters for potential franchises. Honestly 10 years ago did anyone ever think we'd see a 120 million dollar Ghost Rider film?

 

[Carp Man]

BTW Ghost Rider's success just sent my Marvel stock to new all time highs now almost $30.50/share. Wheeeeeeeeee! It's still cheap. Ghost Rider proves yet again to studios and to Marvel itself that this genre is here to stay and that they can dig deeper into their 2nd and 3rd tier characters for potential franchises. Honestly 10 years ago did anyone ever think we'd see a 120 million dollar Ghost Rider film?

Listed now on Mojo at 110 million budget. However, Only way for Marvel to go is up. You have SM 3, FF 2, GR, Iron Man, Surfer movie, and whatever else they are developing. remember DC started it all with Superman. Marvel was a johnny come lately, but they have taken the bull by the horns and cranked out money makers. and they continue to develop. DC on the other hand I saw where they are FINALY thinking of developing another charactor, The Flash. About time they stopped depending on Superman, and Batman only.

 

[Blanket-Man]

At the risk of stating the obvious, it isn't only about total box-office, as far as determining whether a movie gets a sequel or not.

HULK and DD both had decent B.O. takes, but they had lousy legs, both earning a huge chunk of their total box office during their first week. That means word-of-mouth probably wasn't very good, so studios assume demand for a sequel wasn't very high (DD2 appears to be dead; HULK 2 is basically starting the franchise over).

Had DD opened with 20 million and still gotten over $100 mil, it probably would've gotten a sequel, IMO. That's why I'm not convinced that GR2 will be greenlit until I see next weekend's take. A 60% or more drop in its B.O. could kill any sequel hopes. But competition doesn't look that great, so I'm thinking it'll do a little better than that...

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Listed now on Mojo at 110 million budget. However, Only way for Marvel to go is up. You have SM 3, FF 2, GR, Iron Man, Surfer movie, and whatever else they are developing. remember DC started it all with Superman. Marvel was a johnny come lately, but they have taken the bull by the horns and cranked out money makers. and they continue to develop. DC on the other hand I saw where they are FINALY thinking of developing another charactor, The Flash. About time they stopped depending on Superman, and Batman only.

Im thinking a Green Lantern movie franchise could be HUGE for DC, if handled correctly. :gl:

 

[Advanced Dark]

DC should just drop Wonder Woman and get Green Lantern off the ground already, or Lobo, Sandman, etc...

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Well cut me open and call me Sally! Sony managed to get a awful looking Nic Cage movie a huge opening. I was off on this one's opening and total I bet. Still the fact that so many more males than females saw the movie probably means that it's going to have a short run-probably. I've been wrong before so who knows?

I still think the movie looks awful and will be catching it for free on DVD when it comes to my local library.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ Ok

 

[GL's Light]

HULK and DD both had decent B.O. takes, but they had lousy legs, both earning a huge chunk of their total box office during their first week. That means word-of-mouth probably wasn't very good, so studios assume demand for a sequel wasn't very high (DD2 appears to be dead; HULK 2 is basically starting the franchise over).

Had DD opened with 20 million and still gotten over $100 mil, it probably would've gotten a sequel, IMO.

No, I don't think so. By far the most important aspect of whether a film gets a sequel is the profit margin, pure and simple. If a film turns a substantial profit then it'll get a sequel regardless of whether its box office pattern was frontloaded or leggy. Alien vs Predator was hugely frontloaded, making almost half of its domestic take in its opening weekend, and dropping by 67% in its second weekend and 60% in its third weekend, yet Fox is releasing the sequel this year. Why? Because it grossed 2.85X its production budget, which means they saw a substantial profit from it.

Fox wanted to make Daredevil 2. In fact their plan was to make Daredevil 2 and Elektra and release them in the same year, but Affleck was wishy-washy on making a sequel and they just made Elektra. When that bombed they lost interest in a DD sequel.

Universal's decision not to make Hulk 2 and to let the Hulk rights revert back to Marvel was similarly driven by the rate of return. Hulk grossed 1.78X its production budget. It went into profit after DVD revenues, but not enough profit that Universal was willing to take the risk of bankrolling a sequel.

If Ghost Rider has a fast dropoff and ends up with $ 200-220 million worldwide that would put it at about the same level of return as Hulk. It'll probably need to push higher than that to get Sony to greenlight a sequel.

 

[Visionary]

It's actually a really good opening, especially for a character whom most people don't know.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Afflek acted like he was "wishy washy" but the studio wasn't honestly interested in Daredevil 2 after it's performance. Affleck just can't carry a film as a stand alone lead in an action film.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

It's actually a really good opening, especially for a character whom most people don't know.

It's a damn great opening. I believe that Nic Cage was a huge fatcor in this movie's opening weekend numbers, love him or hate him he brings alot people out for his action films.