Live Action 'Dumbo'

[sueb1863]

Guess the "Greatest Showman" crowd wasn't interested after all.

At least they don't have to worry about the Avengers: Endgame box office.

 

[samsnee]

That’s not a fair comparison to TGS though. That movie also opened low but had amazing legs throughout its run.

 

[Web-Head]

$116 million isn't that bad. I know the budget was $170, but they'll probably break even.

 

[psylockolussus]

Just like Marry Poppins, I didn't think something like Dumbo would blow up!

The movie is okay and I saw it Sunday night. It was 1/4 full.

 

[jmc]

It think Disney really need to look at this strategy of having so many big budget movies coming out every few weeks. It's not a sustainable model.

 

[:eek:]

It think Disney really need to look at this strategy of having so many big budget movies coming out every few weeks. It's not a sustainable model.

Especially releasing three of these live action remakes in such short time period might be a mistake. And they also decided to release Maleficent 2 later this year. Crazy really when you look at the line-up Disney already had for this year.

 

[writer0327]

It was okay.

It felt like a live-action Disney movie should. Lovable heroes, a couple of cool, chuckle moments but no real big laughs, a lot of well done special effects, a mustache-twisting villain (although he didn't have a mustache, but you get it), charm and smiles from the leads, and all the heart-swelling music you could ever want, played right on cue with the action on the screen. Exactly what I expected from a Disney movie, however this is the kind of film where it probably needs to give you a little bit more than what you expect since its based on an almost 70 year old film. Unfortunately it didn't. It was a connect-the-dots, paint-by-numbers Disney standard film that felt decades old. Now if I was a huge fan of the Dumbo animated film, I guess I would have been highly pleased to see one of my favorite films brought to life.

But since I'm not, it was okay.

6/10

 

[psylockolussus]

It think Disney really need to look at this strategy of having so many big budget movies coming out every few weeks. It's not a sustainable model.

When a handful of their movies are earning a billion plus, It shouldn't be a surprise. They have the money. Though I hope they would do more The Jungle Book than Dumbo, Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh. I don't think I want to see an adaptation of Bambi.

 

[samsnee]

Unless it’s this one.

 

[TheVileOne]

When a handful of their movies are earning a billion plus, It shouldn't be a surprise. They have the money. Though I hope they would do more The Jungle Book than Dumbo, Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh. I don't think I want to see an adaptation of Bambi.

You know it will happen at some point. It's not a surprise, but look how it can backfire with the SOLO film.

 

[psylockolussus]

Yeah Solo happened but after that Incredibles earned a billion. Before Solo, A3 and Black Panther alrady earned a billion. Captain Marvel will soon hit the 1 billion mark. Toy Story 4, Avengers 4, Frozen 2, The Lion King are surefit billion grossing films. While I can see Aladdin, just like Ant-Man 2, doing good enough if it doesn't perform that big. Star Wars Episode 9 would still make a money, if it flops, Disney still have Marvel, Pixar and WDas, their remakes and their newly Fox purchased properies.

Disney like every studio out there has their share of flops / underperforming films. Movies underperform all the time, Disney will have them in the future just like they will get more billion grossing films. But they don't really release as many films as the other major studios out there and yet they are the one that makes the most money. Compare their state to pre-Disney Fox, Paramount, Universal, WB and Sony, they are definitely doing much better, box office wise. I can't even name 3 films coming out this year from those other studios. I would be concerned of the other studios before Disney.

 

[Greens]

One thing that annoyed me was that nobody had a PROPER reaction to Dumbo. They all seemed mildly amused at the sight of a flying elephant.

 

[sueb1863]

I wouldn't bank on Toy Story 4 making a billion dollars. A lot of people think they should have stopped at 3 and so far nothing in any of the trailers is making me think a fourth movie was absolutely needed.

 

[samsnee]

So globally it’s made its production budget back. So it may still break even,but barely.

 

[Dr.]

So globally it’s made its production budget back. So it may still break even,but barely.

At this point, It's only made about half of its production budget back.

 

[Schlosser85]

One thing that annoyed me was that nobody had a PROPER reaction to Dumbo. They all seemed mildly amused at the sight of a flying elephant.

I thought that while I was watching. No one really seems as shocked as they should be.

 

[samsnee]

At this point, It's only made about half of its production budget back.

Where are you getting your numbers? Wiki says its production budget was about $170MM and it's made $214MM. That's not to say it is profitable yet since the general rule of thumb is 2x production budget for that to happen. But it may still come close to break even.

 

[Micromind]

I think ( 2 X Production budget + Marketing budget ) is the break even point. That's the thumb rule.

 

[Legendver2]

You know it will happen at some point. It's not a surprise, but look how it can backfire with the SOLO film.

Eh I personally I think Solo was more a result of extreme fan backlash from TLJ than fatigue of any sort. And these Disney remakes are all their own things as opposed to one big continuing story and franchise.

 

[Dr.]

I think ( 2 X Production budget + Marketing budget ) is the break even point. That's the thumb rule.

You can use an even simpler rule-of-thumb : Subtract the production cost from 50% of the box office gross. If the result is positive, that’s the profit; if negative, that’s the loss.

Take, for instance, Black Panther. 50% of its gross ($1.3B) is $650M. Minus production cost ($200M) = a $450M profit.

Now, Deadline did a much more detailed analysis - which included additional costs (like ~$200M for marketing and profit participation). But it also included additional revenues (from streaming, DVD and TV). So all told, Deadline’s profit calculation was $477M - not that far off from the $450M rule-of-thumb calculation.

Using this same “rule,” Dumbo - against $170M in production costs - is about halfway toward breaking even.

 

[tanita_mors]

Well, I loved it. I think this was my favorite Disney re-imagining so far. What I wasn't expecting was that Dumbo would actually be the star of his own movie. The human characters had nice stories, but they were very much in the background, almost like a pop up book. The animation with the elephant's was AMAZING, the expressiveness of the eyes, you could read everything without dialog or explanation. The only truly visible CGI were the flying scenes .

I loved the fact that the only times I felt actual joy when he flow was the second flight with Colette and his flight with in the jungle at the end. Every other time, there was a sense of dread or anxiety. I also loved that contrary to The Greatest Showman, which showed the romance and fantasy of the circus, Dumbo showed the dirty brutality of it's show-business mentality and animal cruelty, without it being too graphic.

The cinematography and music in particular, gave me throwbacks to Edward Scissor-Hands and Batman Returns - vintage Burton.The actors were all in their element, but the characters themselves were very one or two dimensional at best, as I said, the background to the drama of Dumbo. Colin Farrel is beginning to specialize in great father roles, and I'm loving it.

All in all, I really enjoyed it, even the clear emotional manipulation, a Disney staple after all.

Pink Elephants on parade was AMAZING.