Godzilla (2014) - - - - Part 13

[DarthSkywalker]

Because they aren't comparable when people are still going out to see Godzilla and it still has a 4th place spot amongst new competition. If it truly had terrible legs, it would've fell further down the list than it did, but as it so happens it's still in the top five. TASM 2 fell off the radar fast, & the numbers almost seem as if it's completely dead at the box office right now.

Okay, but how is that good? Godzilla will end up being far more profitable than TASM 2. The movie cost a ridiculous amount of money. You seem to think that because it'll hit the $700 million number that bails it out. But that's not how it works. Sony doesn't keep even close to all of the money that comes from overseas.

Sure, they may have made some nice coin but them not getting a large share of all of those profits coupled with the fact the movie hasn't made $200 million domestically proves its a failure with terrible legs.

Godzilla, on the other hand, will most likely remain in the top five for another week, and the top 10 for a couple more weeks. TASM 2 is going to fall lower and lower on the list.

I'm not seeing how they are comparable. And I won't see how because yet again, the data doesn't support the notion.

I'm done repeating myself now, tho.

Placement doesn't matter, actual amount of money does. Godzilla probably won't be in the top 5 next week. Two new films are coming out next week that will finish higher. So unless A Million Ways to Die in the West just dies, it should be in 5th.

And while TASM2 cost way too much, Godzilla has fallen flat on its face.

$160m to make $450m or $255m to make $700m. Seems comparable right now unless you think Godzilla is going to smash in Japan and China. Either way, but have shown terrible WOM domestically.

 

[Persona]

i really, really dislike this thing with talking about WOM like it is some easily quantifiable thing directly correlated with dropping box office. it's a tough and unpredictable domestic market now with home releases coming sooner or certain demos just reluctant to shell out 10+ dollars for a movie ticket, and this is a loaded summer stretch where every movie faces a ton of competition. i dunno that anyone can claim Godzilla's WOM is "terrible" or "great." the critical consensus was mostly positive, though obviously not highly so. my friends all mostly liked it with some quibbles. just cuz it's not dominating the B.O. it doesn't mean it's getting outright bad W.O.M.

 

[Liam_H]

Its not an exact science so anyone can disagree how to interpret the data or choose to interpret it a different way. But to use it to say Godzilla is showing better legs than ASM2 or one is doing bad but not the other is just false.

 

[Persona]

i say just talk about the box office numbers and leave WOM out of it, entirely.

if a small film with little marketing builds momentum and makes more and more money then maybe we can talk about good WOM. or if a big movie absolutely tanks the second week with little competition of note, ok. otherwise, 95% of the time it makes most sense just to talk about the actual numbers. and, i mean, i know there's Cinemascores and all that, but we're talking about small cross-sections of the thing as a whole.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

TASM 2 dropped 61.3% in it's second weekend and 52.7% in it's 3rd weekend.

Godzilla dropped 66.8% (on a holiday weekend) in it's second weekend and 61.2% in it's 3rd. So yes Godzilla has had worst legs so far.

 

[Wildcard]

Placement doesn't matter, actual amount of money does. Godzilla probably won't be in the top 5 next week. Two new films are coming out next week that will finish higher. So unless A Million Ways to Die in the West just dies, it should be in 5th.

And while TASM2 cost way too much, Godzilla has fallen flat on its face.

$160m to make $450m or $255m to make $700m. Seems comparable right now unless you think Godzilla is going to smash in Japan and China. Either way, but have shown terrible WOM domestically.

I don't think Godzilla is doing bad domestically. Obviously, the numbers could be a bit higher & a gross over $230 million would probably be ideal, but it's at least crossed the $160-170 million mark, which was its budget. A feat TASM 2 hasn't accomplished.

 

[DA_Champion]

I don't think Godzilla is doing bad domestically. Obviously, the numbers could be a bit higher & a gross over $230 million would probably be ideal, but it's at least crossed the $160-170 million mark, which was its budget. A feat TASM 2 hasn't accomplished.

Why are you using the awful ASM2 as a metric?

 

[Leenie]

TASM 2 dropped 61.3% in it's second weekend and 52.7% in it's 3rd weekend.

Godzilla dropped 66.8% (on a holiday weekend) in it's second weekend and 61.2% in it's 3rd. So yes Godzilla has had worst legs so far.

On a holiday weekend against a highly anticipated X-Men movie, though. TASM2's competition on its second weekend was a Seth Rogen comedy, and it got beat.

I'm not denying that Godzilla has weak legs right now, but I don't think one can compare this to TASM2 ... It's kind of like apples and oranges at this point. Like I've said before, every May 2014 release has experienced a ridiculous drop on its second weekend.

Also, I wouldn't compare TASM2 to Godzilla, because despite its weak legs, the total domestic gross for Godzilla has already exceeded many expectations (especially since a lot of people predicted that this movie would bomb; see the Forbes article, as an example). TASM2, on the other hand, was aiming to make a billion worldwide (as Sony revealed, which was stupid of them to do), and is underperforming domestically by Spider-Man standards.

Like I said, difference circumstances, different expectations ... Different movies. Apples and oranges. Both movies have had pretty weak legs; that similarity is certain. That's pretty much where the comparisons end, in my opinion.

I do hope that Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. takes notice to the weak domestic legs, though. While the total domestic gross might end up making them happy, the legs are very telling. The big opening weekend says that people ARE interested in Godzilla movies. The weak legs should tell the studios that they should listen to the audience and the things that didn't work for them. Like I've said before, I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it's not a perfect film. I loved how they used Godzilla in this movie, but it'll be really frustrating to present him in the same way for future movies. As Ken Wantanabe said, "Let them fight." And show the audience those fights in future movies.

 

[dude stannis]

Guys it made enough for a sequel and that's good enough. Beyond that it shouldn't matter. Gareth Edwards is an absolutely made man in Hollywood.

 

[Wildcard]

Guys it made enough for a sequel and that's good enough. Beyond that it shouldn't matter. Gareth Edwards is an absolutely made man in Hollywood.

Pretty much this & Leenie's post. No matter what anyone says, the sequels are going to happen & Gareth Edwards is going to have a long career. Godzilla didn't bomb, it wasn't universally panned, & its performance is in no way comparable to the abysmal one of TASM 2.

 

[Wildcard]

Why are you using the awful ASM2 as a metric?

I'm not. Perhaps a longer read would've informed you that Godzilla's legs were compared to TASM 2, hence the discussion.

 

[Tanin]

I liked the film. I'm glad I didn't hate the human characters reading some of the reviews I thought I would. I love how they handled the monsters like real animals with real reasons for coming to the surface.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

i say just talk about the box office numbers and leave WOM out of it, entirely.

if a small film with little marketing builds momentum and makes more and more money then maybe we can talk about good WOM. or if a big movie absolutely tanks the second week with little competition of note, ok. otherwise, 95% of the time it makes most sense just to talk about the actual numbers. and, i mean, i know there's Cinemascores and all that, but we're talking about small cross-sections of the thing as a whole.

I say I can discuss what I like. Considering the discussion of numbers, what they mean for the film and trends, I don't know how you avoid something like WOM.

I don't think Godzilla is doing bad domestically. Obviously, the numbers could be a bit higher & a gross over $230 million would probably be ideal, but it's at least crossed the $160-170 million mark, which was its budget. A feat TASM 2 hasn't accomplished.

They doesn't change how much both will end up making. Around the same domestically, with TASM2 taking the WW crown by a pretty large margin. TWS cost just over $10m "officially" then Godzilla, and will make somewhere around $60m more domestically. Does that not make Godzilla look bad? There is always a bigger fish.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

On a holiday weekend against a highly anticipated X-Men movie, though. TASM2's competition on its second weekend was a Seth Rogen comedy, and it got beat.

I'm not denying that Godzilla has weak legs right now, but I don't think one can compare this to TASM2 ... It's kind of like apples and oranges at this point. Like I've said before, every May 2014 release has experienced a ridiculous drop on its second weekend.

Also, I wouldn't compare TASM2 to Godzilla, because despite its weak legs, the total domestic gross for Godzilla has already exceeded many expectations (especially since a lot of people predicted that this movie would bomb; see the Forbes article, as an example). TASM2, on the other hand, was aiming to make a billion worldwide (as Sony revealed, which was stupid of them to do), and is underperforming domestically by Spider-Man standards.

Like I said, difference circumstances, different expectations ... Different movies. Apples and oranges. Both movies have had pretty weak legs; that similarity is certain. That's pretty much where the comparisons end, in my opinion.

I do hope that Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. takes notice to the weak domestic legs, though. While the total domestic gross might end up making them happy, the legs are very telling. The big opening weekend says that people ARE interested in Godzilla movies. The weak legs should tell the studios that they should listen to the audience and the things that didn't work for them. Like I've said before, I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it's not a perfect film. I loved how they used Godzilla in this movie, but it'll be really frustrating to present him in the same way for future movies. As Ken Wantanabe said, "Let them fight." And show the audience those fights in future movies.

Complaining about competition avoids one simple fact. None of these films had the staying power, which is why this was the lowest grossing May since 2010.

http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3852&p=.htm

Thanks to two major comic book sequels and a highly-anticipated monster movie, May box office wound up over $1 billion for the fourth year in a row.

Without any of those movies truly breaking out, though, overall business was at its lowest level since 2010.

Those three movies—The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla and X-Men: Days of Future Past—all opened over $90 million. That's only the second time that's ever happened: the first was in May 2007, when three titles debuted north of $110 million.

Unfortunately, all three of the May 2014 blockbusters dropped off at least 60 percent in their second weekends: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Godzilla are going to struggle to reach $200 million, while X-Men: Days of Future Past will fall short of its franchise record.

These films didn't eat each other. They all in fact left a lot of money on the table. The only "true" success of May was probably Neighbors.

Neighbors didn't earn quite as much as the aforementioned titles, but it's arguably a more impressive performer. The Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy opened to a massive $49 million, and has had decent holds since then (though it has fallen off harder than most comedies). Through the end of May, Neighbors had earned $126.8 million, and is on track for around $150 million total.

Also I think it needs to be said. Godzilla (2014) will end up selling less tickets domestically then Godzilla (1998). That is all you need to know about its legs and WOM.

Godzilla took second place in May with $171 million. As one of the most-anticipated movies of the Summer, it opened to a fantastic $93.2 million; unfortunately, poor word-of-mouth translated in to a massive 67 percent second weekend drop. Ultimately, it will struggle to reach $200 million total, which means it's going to sell fewer tickets than the much-maligned 1998 Godzilla movie.

That is not good. Also, notice how Mojo even mentions the bad word-of-mouth. This is not a figment of people's imagination.

 

[Rock Sexton]

Also I think it needs to be said. Godzilla (2014) will end up selling less tickets domestically then Godzilla (1998). That is all you need to know about its legs and WOM.

Yuck.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Alot less people are going to the movies these days for a wide variety of reasons, so it could've been pretty easily predicted this would sell less tickets than the '98 Godzilla before it was released.

 

[DA_Champion]

Alot less people are going to the movies these days for a wide variety of reasons, so it could've been pretty easily predicted this would sell less tickets than the '98 Godzilla before it was released.

Indeed.

If movies gross more domestically these days, it's because of inflation.

 

[TheVileOne]

Not much of an excuse IMHO.

Gareth Edwards in his quest to be rebellious upset a lot of fans and moviegoers. It was a gamble that did not completely payoff.

Look there is a silver lining to this. The movie did well enough to garner a sequel. It was much better received than 1998. But the point is, learn from these lessons.

 

[AnneFan]

TASM 2 dropped 61.3% in it's second weekend and 52.7% in it's 3rd weekend.

Godzilla dropped 66.8% (on a holiday weekend) in it's second weekend and 61.2% in it's 3rd. So yes Godzilla has had worst legs so far.

Makes sense. His legs are massive thus they're lumbering.

 

[Gold Samurai]

There was like 2 to 3 movies each Friday. Each a blockbuster. How the heck can you compete when it's one big competitor after the other?


Godzilla one week

X-men the next

Maleficent after that

There's no breathing room is what i'm trying to say. How could X-men expect number 1 at the box office in a second row when something like Maleficent comes out the week after it.


Maybe Spielberg was right that there could be an implosion of blockbusters soon


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts-implosion-film-567604

Steven Spielberg on Wednesday predicted an "implosion" in the film industry is inevitable, whereby a half dozen or so $250 million movies flop at the box office and alter the industry forever. What comes next -- or even before then -- will be price variances at movie theaters, where "you're gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you're probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln." He also said that Lincoln came "this close" to being an HBO movie instead of a theatrical release.
OUR EDITOR RECOMMENDS

Crystal+Lucy Awards Toast 'Mad Men's' Women … and George Lucas

Richard Attenborough Tribute: Steven Spielberg Praises Film Legend's 'Divine Inspiration'

Steven Spielberg to Produce Live-Action 'Halo' TV Series

Cannes: Oscar Rivals Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee Bury Hatchet for Jury Duty
George Lucas agreed that massive changes are afoot, including film exhibition morphing somewhat into a Broadway play model, whereby fewer movies are released, they stay in theaters for a year and ticket prices are much higher. His prediction prompted Spielberg to recall that his 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial stayed in theaters for a year and four months.

PHOTOS: Cannes: Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman Attend Awards Ceremony
The two legendary filmmakers, along with CNBC anchor Julia Boorstin and Microsoft president of interactive entertainment business Don Mattrick, were speaking at the University of Southern California as part of the festivities surrounding the official opening of the Interactive Media Building, three stories high and part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Lucas and Spielberg told USC students that they are learning about the industry at an extraordinary time of upheaval, where even proven talents find it difficult to get movies into theaters. Some ideas from young filmmakers "are too fringe-y for the movies," Spielberg said. "That's the big danger, and there's eventually going to be an implosion — or a big meltdown. There's going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen megabudget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that's going to change the paradigm."

Lucas lamented the high cost of marketing movies and the urge to make them for the masses while ignoring niche audiences. He called cable television "much more adventurous" than film nowadays.
PHOTOS: THR's Oscar Nominees Night: Jennifer Lawrence, Steven Spielberg, Naomi Watts Celebrate
"I think eventually the Lincolns will go away and they're going to be on television," Lucas said. "As mine almost was," Spielberg interjected. "This close -- ask HBO -- this close."

"We're talking Lincoln and Red Tails -- we barely got them into theaters. You're talking about Steven Spielberg and George Lucas can't get their movie into a theater," Lucas said. "I got more people into Lincoln than you got into Red Tails," Spielberg joked.
Spielberg added that he had to co-own his own studio in order to get Lincoln into theaters.

"The pathway to get into theaters is really getting smaller and smaller," Lucas said.
Mattrick and Spielberg also praised Netflix, prompting Boorstin to ask Spielberg if he planned to make original content for the Internet streamer. "I have nothing to announce," said the director.
Lucas and Spielberg also spoke of vast differences between filmmaking and video games because the latter hasn't been able to tell stories and make consumers care about the characters. Which isn't to say the two worlds aren't connected. Spielberg, in fact, has teamed with Microsoft to make a "TV" show for Xbox 360 based on the game Halo and he is making a movie based on the Electronic Arts game Need for Speed.

 

[Rock Sexton]

There was like 2 to 3 movies each Friday. Each a blockbuster. How the heck can you compete when it's one big competitor after the other?


Godzilla one week

X-men the next

Maleficent after that

There's no breathing room is what i'm trying to say. How could X-men expect number 1 at the box office in a second row when something like Maleficent comes out the week after it.

Oh c'mon .... Maleficent did $70 million. That's good for 39th place for opening weekends in May. So let's not over-state it's effect on competition.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Oh c'mon .... Malifence did $70 million. That's good for 39th place for opening weekends in May. So let's not over-state it's effect on competition.

Nothing came close to Iron Man 3 last year or the Avengers the year before that. There is no excuse. The overall box office was the lowest since 2010. That is with 4 years of inflation.

Indeed.

If movies gross more domestically these days, it's because of inflation.

Well that is just not true. TDK sold more tickets then Batman '89, which made a half a billion adjusted.

 

[DA_Champion]

Nothing came close to Iron Man 3 last year or the Avengers the year before that. There is no excuse. The overall box office was the lowest since 2010. That is with 4 years of inflation.

Well that is just not true. TDK sold more tickets then Batman '89, which made a half a billion adjusted.

TDK was a cultural phenomenon.

How many total domestic tickets did Hollywood sell in 1994 compared to 2014?

 

[Roose Bolton]

Godzilla needed an Australian heartthrob as it's chief antagonist then

 

[LostSon88]

They can do all these "predictions" about the box office and declining years, etc. what it comes down to is what it has always come down to:

If you make a movie everyone wants to watch, people will go and see it.

This is no different than those YEARLY articles predicting that the "oversaturation" of Superhero films will be the downfall of the movie industry.