The Avengers The Avengers Box-Office Prediction Thread

[itchyscratch]

Teenage niece and all her Twiglet friends are all doing backflips about Hunger Games. Great reviews would give it legs and broaden the audience.

 

[Xeno]

I'm really have no issue with how huge it's going to be. I am rather baffled by it however, because I've looked at the trailers multiple times and I cannot see anything looking spectacular or even interesting. In fact I'd go so far as to say sometimes it looks rather sci-fi-channel-ish. I guess it's just a mystery to me.

Any like I said earlier it will be good to have a big hit around now that draws people to the theatre. Hopefully more positive exposure for THE AVENGERS via the trailer.

The appeal of THG is that it's an adaptation of an immensely popular young adult novel aimed squarely at the under-served female audience. This is the same demographic that made Twilight into a blockbuster series. Smaller studios seem to be positioned to tap into that potential market in ways that the bigger ones have not. I suspect this is because the major studios buy into the view that women and teenage girls do not like action/sci-fi movies. One would have thought that a decade of Harry Potter films would have convinced them otherwise, but apparently not.


On another note: I just saw an ad for Prometheus. Ironically enough, it aired during a Science Channel show called Alien Encounters, which explores what might happen to humanity if aliens actually came to Earth. Maybe I'm just burned out on 30+ years of the Alien/Aliens concept, but I'm not at all excited by Prometheus.

 

[flickchick85]

It's the opposite for me: Prometheus is the first one of that franchise to get me excited about it. I mean, I loved the 1st Alien, but I wasn't exactly there when it came out to be hyped for it. All the others of the franchise I've never given two hoots about. But Prometheus? Hell yes.

 

[redhawk23]

So Disney will be very dependent upon this movie bringining in hella bank after telling their stockholders to expect a 200 million dollar loss on John Carter.

 

[kedrell]

I saw Hunger Games yesterday and I can tell you that it's going to me the movie to beat this year. I doubt it will beat Twilight because of the final chapter and all, but it will come damn close to it. Truly a wonderful film that I would gladly pay to see (and I have't paid to see a movie in two years). It crosses so many demographics that I'm shocked Lionsgate were the ones to pick it up and not WB.

Also, regarding tracking, it's SO damn hard to track a film like this because it's the first in an unproven franchise. I don't predict a monster opening weekend but I see word of mouth spreading like wild fire across the globe.

Well I'll be skipping it anyway. I can spot movies I'm not apt to like a mile away and THG smacks of it big time. But I'm sure it's target audience will be pleased with what they get.

 

[DarthAlani]

Twilight films usually due 280-300, Hunger Games will probably due a similar number. Avengers will easily beat that.

 

[kedrell]

No doubt.

 

[Xeno]

It's the opposite for me: Prometheus is the first one of that franchise to get me excited about it. I mean, I loved the 1st Alien, but I wasn't exactly there when it came out to be hyped for it. All the others of the franchise I've never given two hoots about. But Prometheus? Hell yes.

The only one of the series I liked was Aliens, and that because it was so action-packed and suspenseful. The others just bored me. I prefer the Predators to the Alien creatures because the former are hyper-intelligent, savage hunters with their own ethical code (if no regard for human life). Mindless creatures like the Alien aliens aren't all that interesting to me. Sure, they're vicious and disgusting, but they don't seem to have any other purpose than fulfilling their instinctive biological imperatives. As bad as the AVP movies were, at least it showed the Predators taking control of the Aliens and using them to some intelligent if horrifying purpose.

 

[Poni_Boy]

It's the opposite for me: Prometheus is the first one of that franchise to get me excited about it. I mean, I loved the 1st Alien, but I wasn't exactly there when it came out to be hyped for it. All the others of the franchise I've never given two hoots about. But Prometheus? Hell yes.

Prometheus is everything I've waited for in a summer movie since Jurassic Park. Hate to say it but The Avengers comes second to that on my most anticipated list. Plus I've been hearing that they keep screening it over and over for Fox employees who can't get enough of it.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Well I'll be skipping it anyway. I can spot movies I'm not apt to like a mile away and THG smacks of it big time. But I'm sure it's target audience will be pleased with what they get.

My review will be up tomorrow, but something to consider is that -- while I firmly place the books in the 'young adult' category -- the film is multi demographically pleasing. I loved the hell out of it. It's a really, really solid movie with the best female protagonist I've seen since, probably Ripley.

 

[eddy]

Between January and February's big openings. Hunger Games being potentially huge. Avengers, Prometheus, Spider-Man, Dark Knight Rises, Bourne Legacy, and The Hobbit can we all agree this year has the potential to be one of the biggest box office years ever? The Box office is definitely going to be bigger than last year's.

Its times like this that make me wish Boxofficemojo forums were still up.

 

[flickchick85]

The only one of the series I liked was Aliens, and that because it was so action-packed and suspenseful. The others just bored me. I prefer the Predators to the Alien creatures because the former are hyper-intelligent, savage hunters with their own ethical code (if no regard for human life). Mindless creatures like the Alien aliens aren't all that interesting to me. Sure, they're vicious and disgusting, but they don't seem to have any other purpose than fulfilling their instinctive biological imperatives. As bad as the AVP movies were, at least it showed the Predators taking control of the Aliens and using them to some intelligent if horrifying purpose.

That's a case of the different things people look for in their sci-fi. My interest has absolutely nothing to do with the creatures. I loved the first Alien because of the filmmaking - the claustrophobic atmosphere, minimalistic approach, cinematography, acting, etc...it was just brilliant to me. And I didn't care for the direction that Aliens took the series in. The Predator films never struck me as anything special on that front (though I've only seen one of them), so they've never even been on my radar. Ridley Scott's vision of the future is my ideal cinematic take (both in Alien and especially Blade Runner) - it feels so tactile, detailed (read: lived-in) and real to me, so I guess that's why Prometheus appeals so much to me - it'll have Ridley's atmosphere with his biggest scope yet. The creatures don't even enter into it, lol.

Prometheus is everything I've waited for in a summer movie since Jurassic Park. Hate to say it but The Avengers comes second to that on my most anticipated list. Plus I've been hearing that they keep screening it over and over for Fox employees who can't get enough of it.

Ditto. That's great to hear about the screenings.

 

[The Morningstar]

The only one of the series I liked was Aliens, and that because it was so action-packed and suspenseful. The others just bored me. I prefer the Predators to the Alien creatures because the former are hyper-intelligent, savage hunters with their own ethical code (if no regard for human life). Mindless creatures like the Alien aliens aren't all that interesting to me. Sure, they're vicious and disgusting, but they don't seem to have any other purpose than fulfilling their instinctive biological imperatives. As bad as the AVP movies were, at least it showed the Predators taking control of the Aliens and using them to some intelligent if horrifying purpose.

The aliens ain't mindless creatures. If you've seen Aliens you should know that.

And the first Alien the alien is a space rapist, it's not just some dumb animal.

I actually prefer the first one. It was all about tension, atmosphere, the fear of the unknown. The creature was very intelligent and very creepy. Also just from a film making standpoint it's a masterpiece. The scene where Brett dies for example, it's one of the greatest examples of cranking tension ever. And we actually see the alien before it attacks him, but we don't realise we see it at first, it hides in plane sight.

And there is the whole rape/sexual undertones that make it extremely creepy.

Aliens Cameron turned them into a hive of ants that were still intelligent, but didn't think for themselves. The first alien is just so much creepier and nastier.

 

[Poni_Boy]

The aliens ain't mindless creatures. If you've seen Aliens you should know that.

And the first Alien the alien is a space rapist, it's not just some dumb animal.

I actually prefer the first one. It was all about tension, atmosphere, the fear of the unknown. The creature was very intelligent and very creepy. Also just from a film making standpoint it's a masterpiece. The scene where Brett dies for example, it's one of the greatest examples of cranking tension ever. And we actually see the alien before it attacks him, but we don't realise we see it at first, it hides in plane sight.

And there is the whole rape/sexual undertones that make it extremely creepy.

Aliens Cameron turned them into a hive of ants that were still intelligent, but didn't think for themselves. The first alien is just so much creepier and nastier.

Severely lacking in films these days

 

[The Morningstar]

Yep. The idea of horror and scares these days seems to be just making people jump and throwing a load of blood at the screen.

The best horror movies ever made, like Alien and Halloween, really don't have that much gore in them. That shows true greatness on the film makers part.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Yep. The idea of horror and scares these days seems to be just making people jump and throwing a load of blood at the screen.

The best horror movies ever made, like Alien and Halloween, really don't have that much gore in them. That shows true greatness on the film makers part.

Absolutely. Everything is exaggerated these days ad nauseum. Some movies need to be more show than tell (i.e. Avengers) while sci-fi movies and thrillers should practice more innuendo and suspense.

 

[The Morningstar]

Still, the scariest movie i've ever seen is Inland Empire. And nothing scary happens in it. It just freaks me the **** out lol.

 

[Xeno]

The aliens ain't mindless creatures. If you've seen Aliens you should know that.

And the first Alien the alien is a space rapist, it's not just some dumb animal.

I actually prefer the first one. It was all about tension, atmosphere, the fear of the unknown. The creature was very intelligent and very creepy. Also just from a film making standpoint it's a masterpiece. The scene where Brett dies for example, it's one of the greatest examples of cranking tension ever. And we actually see the alien before it attacks him, but we don't realise we see it at first, it hides in plane sight.

And there is the whole rape/sexual undertones that make it extremely creepy.

Aliens Cameron turned them into a hive of ants that were still intelligent, but didn't think for themselves. The first alien is just so much creepier and nastier.

To me, it wasn't about rape and sexuality so much as it was focused on an atavistic (mostly male) revulsion towards pregnancy and childbirth. The aliens themselves were like wasps and other insects that lay their eggs in living hosts, which the larva then consume from the inside and eat their way out. In the films, when humans had the eggs/larvae inside of them it was portrayed as a warped analogy for pregnancy. When the unwanted parasites burst out of their hosts chest cavities, it's like an inside-out caesarean section. Before modern medicine emerged from its own Dark Ages, a C-section was every woman's worst nightmare because it was a brutal death sentence. All of those bizarre pregnancy-related hangups -- parasitism, bodily invasion, fear of death -- are wrapped up neatly in the face-huggers' embrace.

 

[Splat]

Between January and February's big openings. Hunger Games being potentially huge. Avengers, Prometheus, Spider-Man, Dark Knight Rises, Bourne Legacy, and The Hobbit can we all agree this year has the potential to be one of the biggest box office years ever? The Box office is definitely going to be bigger than last year's.

Its times like this that make me wish Boxofficemojo forums were still up.

I could be wrong but I think as a whole box office numbers were down for all of 2011 for some reason. So 2012 will definitely do better numbers then last year.

 

[Shadowlord X]

I saw Hunger Games yesterday and I can tell you that it's going to me the movie to beat this year. I doubt it will beat Twilight because of the final chapter and all, but it will come damn close to it. Truly a wonderful film that I would gladly pay to see (and I have't paid to see a movie in two years). It crosses so many demographics that I'm shocked Lionsgate were the ones to pick it up and not WB.

Also, regarding tracking, it's SO damn hard to track a film like this because it's the first in an unproven franchise. I don't predict a monster opening weekend but I see word of mouth spreading like wild fire across the globe.

Wow. OK.

How would you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, and how would you rate THE AVENGERS comparatively?

 

[Shadowlord X]

Prometheus is everything I've waited for in a summer movie since Jurassic Park. Hate to say it but The Avengers comes second to that on my most anticipated list. Plus I've been hearing that they keep screening it over and over for Fox employees who can't get enough of it.

As great as the trailer for PROMETHEUS was, I'm not completely sold on it for a couple reasons:

1: The trailer had a lot of manipulative editing which is usually designed to make stuff look a lot better than it is. The final part that is so exciting is really just ultra fast cuts with blinking lights and 'crescendoing' music. It's effective though.

2: I don't recall Ridley Scott doing anything that has impressed me in the last 10 years.

3: Having been exposed to sooo much sci-fi over the years I don't know if they can bring something that will genuinely surprise and interest me.

All that said PROMETHEUS is now firmly in my top 5 movies to look forward to.

 

[The Morningstar]

I think the quick cuts at the end of the Prometheus trailer are more to do with keeping it PG-13. As in the trailer, not the film, hopefully.

And Kingdom of Heaven (Directors Cut) is a masterpiece and one of the best movies ever Well that's hyperbole lol, but it's one of the best films in the last 20 years easily.

 

[cherokeesam]

The only one of the series I liked was Aliens, and that because it was so action-packed and suspenseful. The others just bored me. I prefer the Predators to the Alien creatures because the former are hyper-intelligent, savage hunters with their own ethical code (if no regard for human life). Mindless creatures like the Alien aliens aren't all that interesting to me. Sure, they're vicious and disgusting, but they don't seem to have any other purpose than fulfilling their instinctive biological imperatives. As bad as the AVP movies were, at least it showed the Predators taking control of the Aliens and using them to some intelligent if horrifying purpose.

Prometheus isn't about the xenomorphs ("Alien" aliens) at all, though. There is a distant connection to them, but Ridley has said in many, many interviews that it's only a tenuous nod to Alien's DNA at best.

Prometheus is its own movie, and its plot remains a mystery, even with all the trailers released in recent days. It definitely focuses on an entirely different alien race than the Xenomorphs: namely, the so-called Space Jockeys. And these are humanoid (albeit giant) creatures with a VERY advanced culture and technology. They may (or may not) be good; they may (or may not) be evil; they may (or may not) be bioengineers; they may (or may not) have a direct connection to the evolution of mankind.

One thing the trailers and rumors say for certain about the Space Jockeys, though --- they've already been to Earth. And are planning to return.

 

[Shadowlord X]

I think the quick cuts at the end of the Prometheus trailer are more to do with keeping it PG-13. As in the trailer, not the film, hopefully.

And Kingdom of Heaven (Directors Cut) is a masterpiece and one of the best movies ever

Really??? I just remember finding it passable at best; of course this was the theatrical release.

 

[The Morningstar]

Oh god the theatrical release is horrible. Fox made Scott cut over an hour out of it to try and make it this romantic action movie, instead of a sprawling epic about the Crusades that has parallels with the Middle East conflict today. I firmly believe that if you sat a bunch of Christian hating Muslims and Muslim hating Christians down together to watch that movie they'd change their views.

Seriously do yourself a favour and check the Directors Cut out.