Box Office Numbers (& Competition)

[Retroman]

Check this out guys. Hope its okay to post it here.

(Not So) Bold Movie Prediction

The oft delayed 'Ghost Rider' is not only going to be THE suck, it is going to go down as the biggest comic-book themed flop of a movie this side of 'Catwoman'. When initial word gets out on the suckitude of 'Ghost Rider' and the fanboys run out of paper route money to see it in theaters, it is going to crash and burn....hard. The box office receipts from 'Elektra' will look like those from 'Titanic' when compared to what 'Ghost Rider' pulls in.

This movie was doomed, DOOMED, the moment Nic Cage was cast as Johnny Blaze. Cage has really, really lost his acting fastball and has basically just played Quirky Nic Cage in his latest films. There is no depth or attempt to bring a character to life when he plays a role. Instead, the characters take on Nic Cage tics and mannerisms, therefore, Ghost Rider, an interesting comic book entity is going to be reduced to Nic Cage W/Flaming Skull riding a motorcycle in Elvis's '68 Comeback Special leather suit.

I suspect Cage took this role after being rebuffed and turned away from playing 'Superman', which we can all thank our cinematic gods for. Nic Cage as Superman makes me shudder. He's wanted to do a superhero movie for a while, and he gets his chance with 'Ghost Rider', which in and of itself is an interesting decision. Ghost Rider isn't the most well-known character outside of geekdom, so if the movie is as gawdawful as I think it is going to be, Cage isn't defiling a beloved well-known icon (and defile 'Superman' he would have). So, when 'Ghost Rider' bombs, and bomb it will, he is only going to suffer the wrath of pearshaped fanboys the world over...so he'll be free to make 'The Family Man II' or something.

Another reason this movie will fail is that as stated above, Ghost Rider isn't that well-known to the average movie goer...and from the looks of the trailer, there doesn't seem to be much of a plot or story-arc to draw in movie goers that might be interested because of the visuals. I mean, Ghost Rider is a cool looking character with his leather, motorcycle, boots, chains, and, oh yeah - HIS FLAMING SKULL FOR A HEAD - but again, from the trailers, I have no idea what the story is about. Without a story, there is no meat for the characters to sink their hooks into...so the movie's one strength, a bad-ass looking hero, doesn't have much to do...i.e., 'Spawn'. ('Spawn' was a dismal BO failure, even with a fanatical fanbase, because it was an awful, awful movie)

The release date, 2/16, is smack in the middle of what is considered to be the movie studio graveyard for new releases (unless said movie is a rom-com banking on V-Day date nights, otherwise movies released between 1/1 and the middle of March are usually crap). This tells me the studio has no faith that this film would have been able to compete with a weak Holiday slate of movies, nor will it be able to withstand the onslaught of Summer movie releases. In short, the studio agrees that 'Ghost Rider' is the suck.

Will I see 'Ghost Rider'? Definitely not at the movie theater as I hate the movie theater experience...but I'll watch it should it come on HBO or something as I don't even think it will be a worthy DVD rental.

January 19, 2007

Source: http://grandepescadoes.typepad.com/grande_pescadoes/2007/01/not_so_bold_mov.html

 

[BIGGUN]

not surprised at all by this person's reaction. most if not all online sites are betting against the movie. even most independent blogs that ive come across have been negative.
its sad they wont even give it a chance but thats their loss

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

not surprised at all by this person's reaction. most if not all online sites are betting against the movie. even most independent blogs that ive come across have been negative.
its sad they wont even give it a chance but thats their loss

Why is it sad? It's from the director of DareDevil and it's staring Nick Cage who is wearing a bad wig. I really enjoyed National Treasure and like Cage but his Bruckhimerless movies have been mediocre to bad IMHO. CoughwickermanCough!

 

[Tempest19]

not surprised at all by this person's reaction. most if not all online sites are betting against the movie. even most independent blogs that ive come across have been negative.
its sad they wont even give it a chance but thats their loss

Well, maybe they haven't seen Daredevil the DIRECTOR'S CUT and are just basing it on Fox's Daredevil: The Hack and slash cut. I still hate Fox over that! Thank god MSJ is working with Sony on GR! But, that may be contributing factor to it. As seen in the poster above me who sounds like he's just basing Daredevil off of Fox's "Daredevil"

And as for Nicholas Cage and his acting career, if you think his only good movies are the Bruckheimer movies, I highly doubt you've seen his more dramatic roles which at times have gotten great reviews from critics- most notably "Adaptation" for example.

Nicholas Cage is also, most likely, the best actor to portray GR because of his love for the character- trivia fact for that the ignorant idiot over at grandepescadoes: the make up team had to COVER UP Nicholas Cage's Ghost Rider tatoo! "I suspect Cage took this role after being rebuffed and turned away from playing 'Superman'" Ha, yeah right- that's definitely not the case! It wasn't a second choice role, the guy- similar to Hugh Jackman, Thomas Jane, hopefully Christian Bale- has a true passion about this character and his universe. Which, unfortunately, can not be said for every actor out there portraying a comic book super hero.

So is NC the guy for the job? Hell yeah, he's passionate and with these heroes- that's what counts. If someone's passionate for a project, their not going to stop until it's the BEST that it can be.

 

[webhead731]

The. Trailer. Explains. The. Story.

"Blackheart's comin' to create Hell on Earth"

"The story goes that he made a deal to save someone he loved. He will be normal during the day, but at night, in the presence of evil, the Rider, takes over."

Jeez...

 

[InVictus]

Well...Nic Cage explained on an interview not long ago why he was suddenly so fit, and it wasn't because of Superman or whatever...It had to do to a sudden realization/change of diet/lifestyle caused by an encounter with a rattlesnake while he was on a holiday trip...

Yeah, superman, whooossh!

 

[Advanced Dark]

Check this out guys. Hope its okay to post it here.

Source: http://grandepescadoes.typepad.com/grande_pescadoes/2007/01/not_so_bold_mov.html

What an idiot. Did he mention Cage has always been into GR hence the Tatoo. LOL I There is no logical reasoning behind anything in that entire blog. Yeah it'll crash and be the biggest dud ever because I say so. No I won't tell you why. LOL Yeah and Nic Cage lost his acting fastball yet wasn't his last mainstream film "National Treasure" his biggest hit?? Not only that isn't it spawing off the first sequel of his career??? You can find a blog with any opinion if you search for it. There's always someone on the negative extreme. Feb 16th is not the movie studio graveyard either. Passion of the Christ, Hitch, and Daredevil all did will in February. It's a holiday weekend and the way things are frontloaded now, and with no other major studio competition...to me it's as sure of a bet as GR could possibly have. Having Ghost Rider open up in the Summer Sandwhiched between Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, and War of the Worlds with incomplete effects would have been foolish. Uninformedmoron.com

 

[Texas Ranger]

35 million opening weekend

145 million total domestic

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ It's a Holiday Weekend so are you saying 45 million for a 4 day total? Cause that would be worse than Daredevil in 2002...during a East Coast Blizzard. After inflation.

 

[CAH]

Check this out guys. Hope its okay to post it here.

Source: http://grandepescadoes.typepad.com/grande_pescadoes/2007/01/not_so_bold_mov.html

I REALLY hate people like this...(not you, Retro t

CAH

 

[Gamma Burst]

It's gonna make about $65 millions -open weekend.And about $130-135 million total.

 

[mongoro]

Check this out guys. Hope its okay to post it here.

Source: http://grandepescadoes.typepad.com/grande_pescadoes/2007/01/not_so_bold_mov.html

This stuff is the top of stuck on stupid,box office will prove him wrong lol

 

[Tempest19]

What an idiot. Did he mention Cage has always been into GR hence the Tatoo. LOL

Tell me about it! That whole 'I wasn't Superman, but now I'll be Ghost Rider" speel that blogster was into is total bull****! Nicholas Cage is a HUGE Ghost Rider fan and that's why he took the gig. He's the best guy for job- just like Thomas Jane ane Hugh Jackman. Because trust me, if the first has fans of any kind- Nicholas Cage, similar to Thomas Jane, would pursue a sequel. That's why I say passion counts and it's great to have passionate actors behind some of these heroes. Nicholas Cage is one of them. A huge GR fan portraying GR, he's going to make it the best it can possibly be.

 

[FlameHead]

Uninformedmoron.com

Brilliant! Too ****in' funny.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Aw shucks....thanks.

 

[UltimateJustin]

Unless you mean that DD came out in Q4 of 2002, it came out on 2/14/2003, didnt it? Anyway, DD is the better character but when you are not a fan and you hear about him it seems dumb. Everyone called him the blind Spiderman and plus Ben was in it and the trailer sucked. GR, I think outside of fandom, is a more popular character and Cage is a more popular actor, therefore it should do a little to alot better than DD did.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ Yeah that's what I meant. Daredevil is a cool character what yous aid was exactly my feelings as well.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

I'm gonna be completely honest with you guys here.

You know I have showed all my friends (people who have never heard of the character and do not own not even one comic) and they all have shown interest in watching it at the theatres. Granted I show the trailer in the light it deserves - 22inch Widescreen high definition display with 5.1 digital surround!

However, even if they liked the GR trailer, most of those same people told me that when they look at all the trailers for movies coming out on 2007 , they find Frank Miller's 300, Transformers and Spiderman more interesting.

I believe most naysayers are basing it mostly on the online trailers. Granted when I first saw the official domestic trailer online, I was a bit dissapointed with the voice of Ghost Rider, not enough 'wow' scenes, and the "Anybody who sells his soul for love can change the world" quote sounded awfully cliche. Also there was no scenes in the trailer that really stood out, the last part of the trailer shows a mish-mash of quick scenes that don't let anybody remember anything memorable. I was really frustrated when I saw that. I was thinking to myself, is this movie trying to take itself seriously? Did I overhype this film for myself?

After a while, I changed my mind and realized I'm not watching this movie for anybody else, or because of their opinions, I'm watching it for me. I get to see the character I grew up reading, on the big screen, what more could I ask for?

MSJ was nice enough to respond back to all our questions about the infamous voice, the skull, the fire, and all the things he promised to make look spectacular during it's release. I trust the direction he is taking this character into, and I respect the fact that he goes the extra mile to reach out to us and it shows that he is not afraid of taking criticism.

The best example of why I should judge Ghost Rider for myself was Daredevil.

I never had seen Daredevil (although everybody told me it was bad) and I went out and bought the Director's Cut used for a bargain, and after watching it, it was not bad at all, it was much better than I expected. Ben Affleck was great in those little scenes where he was talking with his lawyer partner and friend. The only part I didn't like was the scene in the playground where they were sparring, the rest of the movie stood out as a great comic book adaptation.

In fact, I've shown the movie to a few other people who have never seen it, and they all have loved it. What this proves to me is that the majority of people base their information on rumours other people spread without ever seeing it for themselves. So it's our duty as loyal GR fans to spread the good news about this movie, anywhere, and everywhere we can.

Oh and...let the people who have based their entire prediction of a movie on an online trailer to go f themselves.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

BTW, I send this comment to that website...minus the go f'ing himself part..

 

[Tempest19]

I never had seen Daredevil (although everybody told me it was bad) and I went out and bought the Director's Cut used for a bargain, and after watching it, it was not bad at all, it was much better than I expected.

Difference being- the "bad" rumors started because of Fox's damn hack and slash version of the film. MSJ and a lot of people at MARVEL were angry over how Fox treated the final film in it's theatrical release.

The director's cut is one of my favorite super hero films and shows the film as it was supposed to be, before Fox got their hands on it. Although there are still some who hate DD and say so on the net, a lot of them also admit to never having seen the director's cut. And those that have said that it was a million times better than the theatrical cut.

So, Daredevil: The Fox Cut got all the bad press, while Daredevil: Director's Cut actually has gotten a lot of good press.

Thank god MSJ has GR with SONY.

 

[Retroman]

What an idiot. Did he mention Cage has always been into GR hence the Tatoo. LOL I There is no logical reasoning behind anything in that entire blog. Yeah it'll crash and be the biggest dud ever because I say so. No I won't tell you why. LOL Yeah and Nic Cage lost his acting fastball yet wasn't his last mainstream film "National Treasure" his biggest hit?? Not only that isn't it spawing off the first sequel of his career??? You can find a blog with any opinion if you search for it. There's always someone on the negative extreme. Feb 16th is not the movie studio graveyard either. Passion of the Christ, Hitch, and Daredevil all did will in February. It's a holiday weekend and the way things are frontloaded now, and with no other major studio competition...to me it's as sure of a bet as GR could possibly have. Having Ghost Rider open up in the Summer Sandwhiched between Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, and War of the Worlds with incomplete effects would have been foolish. Uninformedmoron.com

Well said.

 

[Spider-Fan]

35 million opening

105 million domestic gross

GR has about the same popularity DD did when his movie opened, so I expect similar numbers.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ Not true. Also this is in 2007 dollars and Daredevil made more than 35 so by that reasoning you're saying GR will make significantly less than DD.

 

[Riding Ghost]

I'm seeing some potentialy bad signs on the mass publics acceptance of this movie.
1- I was listening to a morning radio show and the djs started disin on Cage saying he must be desperate to star in such a stupid looking movie. What surprised me was that it was a rock station/ plays metallica on up to all the new stuff -3 days grace, etc. Im thinking, what kind of candy asses are these that think the GR is stupid ?!?
2- The Jackson Hewlett commercial, I saw the GR one twice, now its all Zorro everytime, seen that one like 20 times. Thing is i saw the GR one first, which leads me to believe perhaps the GR one was getting negative feedback. Anyone else notice that GR commercial seems to be gone, or is it just my area?
3- My brother, who actually got me my first GR comic and is also a fan (though not nearly as much as me) saw the commercial they aired on the premier of 24 and said he thought it looked "cartoony"
4- My wife, typical female. Said if she didn't know about GR from me she would easily dismiss it as a stupid movie and never give it a second thought. She said the story of GR that I've given her, she finds interesting but none of that comes through in the commercials, IHO.
The thing about my wife isn't that big a deal, just trying to get all viewspoints in.
Now, I disagree with all the above, but its giving me a bad feeling about the prospects for his acceptance by general public, not that I really care, I agree with Biggun, I'm just glad I get "my" movie. Its just it will be kinda a shame if it doesn't catch on....thats all.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Those DJ's are ignorant obviously. The public will eat this one up because of how visually amazing the trailers are. Remember Howard Stern saying how good Elektra was. LOL