Could X3 Be Wolverine's "Last Stand"?

[Theweepeople]

Ok, there are many things about X3 that I complained about, but when it comes to it's second weekend drop I must put this in context. It seems everyone thinks it had this huge drop, which it did, but what people must understand is that the film opened on Memorial Day weekend. Everyone was off on that Monday and therefore the opening weekend was inflated due to it's first Sunday acting like an additional Saturday. Therefore, it was expected to have a huge drop because of this. Let's not forget that the X-Men films have never had good legs when it comes to Box Office and the trend continued throughout the series. So, when talking about the second weekend drop of X3, put it in context of when it was released.

You are wrong about this. Boxofficemojos 66.9% dropoff was calculated without the money X3 made on monday. If the memorial day's gross was taken into account the dropoff would have been 72.3%. X3's dropoff was definitely real, unexpected, not inflated, and the general audience was disappointed. There's no reason to debate this topic anymore.

 

[Downhere]

You are wrong about this. Boxofficemojos 66.9% dropoff was calculated without the money X3 made on monday. If the memorial day's gross was taken into account the dropoff would have been 72.3%. X3's dropoff was definitely real, unexpected, not inflated, and the general audience was disappointed. There's no reason to debate this topic anymore.

I am not wrong, as I did not include the Memorial Day box office. What I stated was that it's first Sunday acted like an additional Saturday considering it was a holiday weekend and therefore the weekend was inflated due to this. I wish people would read my post before making assumptions.

 

[Theweepeople]

I am not wrong, as I did not include the Memorial Day box office. What I stated was that it's first Sunday acted like an additional Saturday considering it was a holiday weekend and therefore the weekend was inflated due to this. I wish people would read my post before making assumptions.

My mistake. I was responding to an idea I've heard some misguided people state in the past. Some people have claimed that X3's huge second weekend dropoff was the result of it making 120million over the 4 day weekend when monday's gross was not included in Boxofficemojo's analysis.

On the other hand I think your argument is very weak. There's nothing unusual about the statistical variation in the money X3 made over Friday(45mil), Saturday(31mil), and Sunday(25mil). X2 made 31mil(Friday), 32mil(Saturday), and 22mil(Sunday).

The comparison of these trends shows that the percentage variation dropoffs from saturday to sunday are somewhat similar. Theoretically, if X3 made 3 million less during that sunday like X2 it's dropoff would still be significant(65.6%). Another thing to consider is if X3 had not been released during memorial weekend what would happen to the 20million made on that monday? Theoretically, I believe a significant percentage would be made during whatever weekend it was released. The rest would be made the monday after. Therefore, in theory X3's second weekend dropoff could have ended up being even larger if released at another time.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Nice to see you around LS.t:

Thanks. Good to read you as well.

As strange as it might sound i do think Fox and the producers know that many diehard x-men fans weren't happy with how the movie turned out. How else can you explain the questionable additions of fan favorites such as Cyclops, Gambit, Emma Frost and even young Storm.

Those additions are consolation prizes as far as I am concerned...nothing more. They knew that without Gambit, etc. that this film would have no chance of being a significant success. It's just fodder for the fans.

When you think about it, there is nothing really new to learn about the cinematic version of Logan that hasn't already been discussed in X1-X3. To be honest, this film didn't really picque my interest until I found out that a young Storm character would make a cameo. Now I've heard that scene has been cut. So guess where that leaves my overall interest in Wolverine?

I think the character is quickly reaching "overexposure" status and basically, these other characters are BAIT to get butts in those seats on May 1st.

 

[ThanosOfTitans]

I wonder how the movie will fair with the work print being sold on DVD in major cities in the U.S. and overseas. My friend in NY has a copy of the workprint on DVD, as well as a friend in Kuwait and a friend in the UK.

I really hope this movie performs terribly at the box office. After Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, this movie is just sub-par on all levels.

 

[chaseter]

I agree with both of the above.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

You are wrong about this. Boxofficemojos 66.9% dropoff was calculated without the money X3 made on monday. If the memorial day's gross was taken into account the dropoff would have been 72.3%. X3's dropoff was definitely real, unexpected, not inflated, and the general audience was disappointed. There's no reason to debate this topic anymore.

This is the only portion of your post that I feel is inaccurate.

When X-Men 3 released, both in theaters, and later on DVD, I worked in a CD / DVD store at the mall. During the theatrical run, I heard TONS of people coming through my store talking about the movie.

Leading up to the release of the DVD, our promo DVD that we played in the store had a promo for the movie, advertising it's release. Just about everytime it would come on, it would spark conversation amongst the customers in the store.

Upon it's release, it was one of our top sellers for quite some time. Overall, it sold 5 million copies it's opening weekend alone. That indicates that general audiences did indeed like the movie.

Everyone talks about "I know people who..." this, or that, or the other thing, whether they liked it, or not. But I was actually in the business. I saw firsthand what people thought of the film - not friends, not family - average, everyday people, and lots of them. The only time I heard disappointing remarks about the movie was from comic book people who couldn't get over the fact that certain things were changed. Outside of this board, I have never heard ANYONE, comic fans or otherwise, complain about the things that are complained about here. I've never heard complaints about pacing, or character development, or bad battle plans, or any of that. I've heard comic book fans complain about Cyclops, Psylocke, and Phoenix, and I've heard the general audience state great things about it.

That's backed up by the 5 million copies sold.

 

[night0205]

Yeah people weren't disappointed with X3, it just didn't blow them away enough to get them to come back.

 

[Theweepeople]

This is the only portion of your post that I feel is inaccurate.

When X-Men 3 released, both in theaters, and later on DVD, I worked in a CD / DVD store at the mall. During the theatrical run, I heard TONS of people coming through my store talking about the movie.

Leading up to the release of the DVD, our promo DVD that we played in the store had a promo for the movie, advertising it's release. Just about everytime it would come on, it would spark conversation amongst the customers in the store.

Upon it's release, it was one of our top sellers for quite some time. Overall, it sold 5 million copies it's opening weekend alone. That indicates that general audiences did indeed like the movie.

Everyone talks about "I know people who..." this, or that, or the other thing, whether they liked it, or not. But I was actually in the business. I saw firsthand what people thought of the film - not friends, not family - average, everyday people, and lots of them. The only time I heard disappointing remarks about the movie was from comic book people who couldn't get over the fact that certain things were changed. Outside of this board, I have never heard ANYONE, comic fans or otherwise, complain about the things that are complained about here. I've never heard complaints about pacing, or character development, or bad battle plans, or any of that. I've heard comic book fans complain about Cyclops, Psylocke, and Phoenix, and I've heard the general audience state great things about it.

That's backed up by the 5 million copies sold.

I understand your point and I partially agree. However, it's possible to find enjoyment in something that's disappointing. My friends and I thought the phantom menace was one of the most disappointing movies we had ever I've ever seen yet, that didn't stop us from buying the DVD because it was Star Wars. Star Wars episode 1 sold very well and there's overwhelming evidence that it disappointed fans of the original series.

 

[X-Maniac]

I understand your point and I partially agree. However, it's possible to find enjoyment in something that's disappointing. My friends and I thought the phantom menace was one of the most disappointing movies we had ever I've ever seen yet, that didn't stop us from buying the DVD because it was Star Wars. Star Wars episode 1 sold very well and there's overwhelming evidence that it disappointed fans of the original series.

I don't think it's the case that people found enjoyment in something despite feeling disappointed about it. Some people enjoyed it period.

Some people like movies that are more popcorn in their approach. They just want to be entertained. Sad though it is to say, some people look for nothing more than entertainment - they are not analysing technical details or comparing it with comic books or anything else. Not everything has to be high brow art.

For the same reason, we have Britney Spears as well as Beethoven, Madonna as well as Mahler. There is a huge market for pop culture. The business is called the 'entertainment industry' not the 'technically and narratively flawless motion picture industry.'

The other thing is that some of the dislike of X3 stems from the fates of certain characters. I first read X-Men comics more than 30 years ago (in the 70s) and yet I can be forgiving of the storylines shown on screen. Yes, I can moan too...but I am far more flexible and less hardcore about it than many on here. When I started reading the comics as a child, I was drawn in by the colourful characters, amazing powers, exciting storylines and pseudo-realistic application of science, not by deep themes about oppression.

In my view, none of the X-Men films has been a disaster. We all wish for serious treatments and consistent visions...but that's in an ideal world. The third movie definitely is the least consistent (as it has the worst areas as well as some of the best) but I don't feel it's the horrific thing people are in meltdown about on here.

I've a feeling Wolverine will stray furthest from the mythos. It seems to be that the films are peeling away more and more from the source as time goes on.

 

[chaseter]

So is X3 Britney Spears in your scenario?

 

[X-Maniac]

So is X3 Britney Spears in your scenario?

Not really. I don't have much regard for Ms Spears, but she undeniably has a market and a popularity. So X3 sounds more like your Britney Spears.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I understand your point and I partially agree. However, it's possible to find enjoyment in something that's disappointing. My friends and I thought the phantom menace was one of the most disappointing movies we had ever I've ever seen yet, that didn't stop us from buying the DVD because it was Star Wars. Star Wars episode 1 sold very well and there's overwhelming evidence that it disappointed fans of the original series.

Exactly, I bought TPM and X3 despite not thinking much of TPM and thinking A LOT less of X3. I'm sure plenty did the same.

 

[Star]

Oh wow I've missed these debate threads! I remember when you did that FF2 one

 

[Theweepeople]

Exactly, I bought TPM and X3 despite not thinking much of TPM and thinking A LOT less of X3. I'm sure plenty did the same.

Another example is one of my college roomates who liked Alien and Aliens. He didn't like Alien 3 but ended up buying it anyway to complete the trilogy. I lived with that guy for 3 years and can only remember him watching the film once.

 

[chaseter]

Not really. I don't have much regard for Ms Spears, but she undeniably has a market and a popularity. So X3 sounds more like your Britney Spears.

You made the analogyt:

I would consider the X-Men franchise Britney Spears yes She started off as a fresh new face, X1, that gained fans and was at the top of her game, X2, and then she turned into a train wreck, X3, and now she is trying to come back by just doing it for the money and fame, Wolverine.

 

[X-Maniac]

You made the analogyt:

I would consider the X-Men franchise Britney Spears yes She started off as a fresh new face, X1, that gained fans and was at the top of her game, X2, and then she turned into a train wreck, X3, and now she is trying to come back by just doing it for the money and fame, Wolverine.

Well, I wouldn't say I made the analogy. I mentioned Britney and Beethoven to illustrate the existence of a spectrum. I never compared the X-Men films to either of those; I merely stuck a big pin in your balloon of snobbery over the entertainment world.

I think of you more as a moth beating yourself against the headlamp of the X-Men franchise, unable to resist, unable to fly away, forever flapping and fluttering.

 

[chaseter]

We are all unable to resist

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Don't moths eventually fly into flames and burn?

Yeah.

 

[chaseter]

I was already burned then

But LS is back with his great avy's

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I was already burned then

Weren't we all? Basically we're scalded and keloided beyond recognition. Yet, we'll go back again for another dousing of gasoline.

 

[Theweepeople]

Weren't we all? Basically we're scalded and keloided beyond recognition. Yet, we'll go back again for another dousing of gasoline.

I won't be burned. I have no expectations for Fox sci-fi/comic films anymore. I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy until Star Trek comes out. Watching Wolverine won't be one of them.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I won't be burned. I have no expectations for Fox sci-fi/comic films anymore. I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy until Star Trek comes out. Watching Wolverine won't be one of them.

You're not alone.

 

[Retroman]

Those additions are consolation prizes as far as I am concerned...nothing more. They knew that without Gambit, etc. that this film would have no chance of being a significant success. It's just fodder for the fans.

True and the strategy of adding these "consolation prizes" seems to be working too.Just look at which character threads are getting the most posts.

When you think about it, there is nothing really new to learn about the cinematic version of Logan that hasn't already been discussed in X1-X3.

I disagree. IMO there's plenty we haven't seen of the character (e.g. Weapon X, Japan) and his encounters with other mutants that could easily sustain one or even two movies.

That said my personal preferance is for them to make an X4 where Wolverine is a supporting character or even a cameo before they start doing even more prequels and spinoffs.

To be honest, this film didn't really picque my interest until I found out that a young Storm character would make a cameo. Now I've heard that scene has been cut. So guess where that leaves my overall interest in Wolverine?

That's a shame but totally understandable.

I wonder how the movie will fair with the work print being sold on DVD in major cities in the U.S. and overseas. My friend in NY has a copy of the workprint on DVD, as well as a friend in Kuwait and a friend in the UK.

I really hope this movie performs terribly at the box office. After Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, this movie is just sub-par on all levels.

Despite whatever grievances people might have against Fox it still can't condone the selling of bootleg versions of this or any movie.And an incomplete movie at that.

They're going for less than a dollar in China.

 

[chaseter]

Why is Emma Frost and Cyclops on the cover???