Reasons for the disappointing numbers-Discussion

[Tony Stark]

Very true, you would think they would have learned from the last time....

An early August release would have been perfect for this movie, it could have stood no 1 for at least two weeks.

The biggest thing that hurt is that people did not go to the movies at all the weekend of June 22.

 

[Hunter Rider]

it cost 20 million less to make. Die Hard is going to struggle to make 100 mil domestically.

$20M is a hell of a lot and that's not even talking marketing not to mention that DH4 already has $85M so $100M is gonna happen easy and it only dropped 48% in it's second weekend.

 

[Mercurius]

An early August release would have been perfect for this movie, it could have stood no 1 for at least two weeks.

The biggest thing that hurt is that people did not go to the movies at all the weekend of June 22.

I don't think so. I really don't believe the release date had anything to do with it. It is just bad, people fell for it in the first FF, but two times would be a bit of a stretch. Even for Mr. Fantastic. t:

If it was pure greatness (all the issues we've been discussing), it would have ruled.

 

[phillip phonix]

$206,291,523 - for 24 days that isnt to bad for a film that no one went to see all i can say is that i will get better lets face it, it hasnt yet opened in spain or japan which ashould bring in another 20 - 30mil and then there is everywhere else that will still bring in the moola!

 

[Batman>all]

The movie had no legs

I am guessing due to negative word of mouth. Not that the film was bad or anything but it didn't have the reaction like "Hey guys, you should see FF2 its a really good movie and its so worth the money" from friends.

honestly, the movie was good but I didn't urge any of my friends to go watch it. The Marketing was brutal too because once the movie aired I rarely saw any commercials of FF2.

 

[silversurfur65]

The reason FF2 has posted such low numbers is because it's a terrible movie. It has nothing to do with the negative impact of the first movie or the competition from other summer movies; if this were truly a good movie, then the word-of-mouth would be attracting viewers (and bringing in money) left and right. But FF2 was just a bad movie and it's box office sales are suffering for it.

Couldn't agree more.
Bad WOM and the movie doesn't deserve repeat viewings !!

 

[JamalYIgle]

We have a BO thread full over numbers and lots of talk of other movies figures in comparison but what has caused this film to under perform ?

It seems pretty much agreed from critics to fans that it is better than the first and yet it is gonna make less which is a real shame IMO

Possible reasons for discussion

-The negative impact of the first movie

-The months competition

-Lack of action

-seeming small in scale compared to the rest of the summers big hitters

-Improved but not enough for people to care after the first

How about it was just badly written, poorly acted and had plot holes you could flie an F-18 through?
Nice special effects though.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

An early August release would have been perfect for this movie, it could have stood no 1 for at least two weeks.

The biggest thing that hurt is that people did not go to the movies at all the weekend of June 22.

I know i didnt, i was too busy getting drunk for my birthday t:

 

[Tony Stark]

Gotta love the revisionist spin from the n00bs. The movie did not have Bad WOM. You look at yahoo movies user reviews and Rotten tomatoes user reviews and most people liked it.

 

[Tony Stark]

I know i didnt, i was too busy getting drunk for my birthday t:

No problem there, that's a legit excuse.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Gotta love the revisionist spin from the n00bs. The movie did not have Bad WOM. You look at yahoo movies user reviews and Rotten tomatoes user reviews and most people liked it.

I dont think its getting bad WOM, i just dont think its getting positive WOM. Most people i know say its average and they wouldnt recommed going the cinema to see it.

No problem there, that's a legit excuse.

I know t:

 

[DieSmiling]

The release date had nothing to do with it.

The number one factor, without a shadow of a doubt, is that the first movie sucked and had bad word of mouth. Why pay to see a second chapter in a story when the first chapter wasn't good?

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

I agree,the date had nothing to do with it.Added to that,Transformers,Die Hard and Harry Potter is extremly hard competition.FF2 cant hold up to it.Which is a shame,the acting..it was bad...

 

[Steyin]

I never saw the first FF film in the theaters since I didn't like the FF; I always found them to be the dullest superheroes ever. I saw the movie on HBO last year, enjoyed it, and wanted to see the sequel. All of the films faults have been discussed, but I feel that many people shared my train of thought:

The FF are just dull in general.

I know many may disagree, and I am an avid comic/hero fan, but FF is just one group that never caught my attention and was one I usually mocked. Even in the Civil War series I can't stand them. I like the play on struggle between Sue and Reed, but I find Reed to be a ****, and don't care for the characters overall. When you add in the fact that normal movie goers may view these heroes as boring, and most likely know nothing of the comics, there is no hype or interest in seeing it.

Overall I really enjoyed the sequel and thought it was better than the first, but when people asked me about it I didn't recommend it. I agree it needed a more serious tone, especially with SS included.

 

[Bishop2]

I know many may disagree, and I am an avid comic/hero fan, but FF is just one group that never caught my attention and was one I usually mocked. Even in the Civil War series I can't stand them. I like the play on struggle between Sue and Reed, but I find Reed to be a ****

That's because Reed was so INSANELY out of character during Civil War that it's absolutely pathetic.

Hopefully it was a Skrull imposter.

 

[acemace]

The reason FF2 has posted such low numbers is because it's a terrible movie. FF2 was just a bad movie and it's box office sales are suffering for it.

This seemed to be a movie about a wedding, with some heroics thrown in.
One the most boring hero/action movies, me and my wife have seen.
I'd find it amazing if any more are made.

-A

 

[Bishop2]

This seemed to be a movie about a wedding, with some heroics thrown in.
One the most boring hero/action movies, me and my wife have seen.
I'd find it amazing if any more are made.

-A

You really thought the entire movie was focused on the wedding? What, did you leave after 30 minutes?

 

[Erzengel]

Maybe if the producers, writers and director actually read the whole original Galactus storyline?

 

[Memphis Slim]

Maybe if the producers, writers and director actually read the whole original Galactus storyline?

I'm sure they did. But they figgered it was a bunch of crap and decided they were smarter than Lee and Kirby.

They are paying the price for that.

And word of mouth is bad. On the street, many are dissin' it or not going back for seconds.

 

[Memphis Slim]

The release date had nothing to do with it.

The number one factor, without a shadow of a doubt, is that the first movie sucked and had bad word of mouth. Why pay to see a second chapter in a story when the first chapter wasn't good?

Another great point.

 

[Sardaukar]

Maybe if the producers, writers and director actually read the whole original Galactus storyline?

This is a good point. I don't think it was a major reason behind the underwhelming B.O. but the whole "cloudactus" thing definitely didn't help when it came to generating positive Internet pre-release buzz. In fact, I was rather surprised that so many people responded negatively to it; I didn't know there were so many Galactus fans out there.

But what that fiasco reinforced to many people was that the studio didn't have confidence in the original source material, possibly suggesting a belief that there might be something flawed with the FF as a concept. That's not good; you must demonstrate confidence in your own product if you want your target audience to have the same confidence.

 

[Mercurius]

Gotta love the revisionist spin from the n00bs. The movie did not have Bad WOM. You look at yahoo movies user reviews and Rotten tomatoes user reviews and most people liked it.

Just read this place. Compare it to the Iron Man board, or the Batman one, EVEN if here and there you find some complaint about the Joker's smile or Bat's outfit.

They're mostly positive and hyped, the way this place was when the first WETA pics of the Surfer were released (before Doom crappy leaked pics and negative rumors concerning Galactus and the script). People feel the directors RESPECT the characters and storylines we love.

Not the case with Story, not at all. This movie only really pleased those who liked the first installment, in spite of its defects, and those who think it's ok to have only some action and popcorn.

 

[Erzengel]

Granted that Story's past movies of Barbershop or Taxi (ugh) aren't the best resume history for letting him helm the Fantastic Four movie, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But with the first FF being barely average, the best part I thought was the dynamic between Johnny and Ben, you really have to take the sequel to the next level.

And honestly, I'm tired of excuses of, well it's fun, well it's different, well if you turn off your brain. That's bullsh't.

If the last decade of movies with Blade, Batman Begins, X-Men, Spider-Man, it's very possible to turn out a good comic book movie.

Story, Fox and crew have NO excuses for this one. Fantastic Four is such a great team and yet they can't get it right.

No sequel, let this franchise die down. In another 5 years or a decade, restart new with a new cast, crew and director.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

[Joe Rockhead]

Taking them one by one:

-The negative impact of the first movie

Yep... big impact. The first movie wasn't outright horrible, but it was as mediocre a movie as you can get. It had it's good moments, but they were really tough to find in all the bad. The extended edition DVD made it a more cohesive story - but it didn't remove the bad taste I got from the original theatrical release.

Then you take the same actors, writers, director, and producers for the sequel and the recipe for disaster was there. People took what impressions they got from the first one and it crippled the expectations for the sequel. They simply expected more of the same.

--The months competition

Another knock against the movie. While the FF certainly can and should have been able to compete with the current crop of movies - Fox's FF just can't. It's not strong enough a property to be put up against those other movies. The way these movies have hit... you have a 2-week window for success.

FF would have been killed if it opened on the same weekend as Spider-Man, Pirates, Transformers, Harry Potter.

-Lack of action

Not 100% sold on this. The action and quiet moments weren't too unbalanced. Then again, the movie's length contributed to that. I'm sure that any cut scenes from the movie would be character development ones and not action sequences.

Biggest problem with the action scenes - nighttime. That whole pursuit of Doom sequence was muted in the darkness. That was the same problem I had with the ending to The Hulk. You need to see the action to appreciate it. The stuff at the wedding was fine, as was the scene in London and the scene in the mountains when they capture the Surfer.

-seeming small in scale compared to the rest of the summers big hitters

Surprisingly true considering they were dealing with the complete destruction of the Earth. The threat of destruction wasn't realized until the last 5 minutes of the movie. At least with a movie like Armageddon, you knew from the very beginning of the movie that Earth was doomed.

-Improved but not enough for people to care after the first

Very true. Again, it was too much a case of "more of the same".

Some other things....

I REALLY wanted a sequence or montage to show just how the FF became the celebrities they're portrayed as in the movie. They show Sue being concerned about raising a normal family in the midst of all the extraordinary circumstances surrounding their lives. Sorry... but I didn't see anything extraodinary about their lives prior to the arrival of the Surfer.

They could have done a cut-scene montage where they showed newspaper clippings, magazines, TV news reports and the images could have come from classic scenes and covers straight off the comics page.

I know I was underwhelmed by the first one. The second fared slightly better in my eyes. In both cases, I feel the creators didn't strive to create the best movie they could.

In the end... I want to see the Fantastic Four, not the Tepid Four.

 

[thegameq]

Bad filmmaking.

The first film.

Unforgiving audiences.

Fool me once........