The Official Budget & Box Office Thread

[Brainiac 2009]

Big B.O. hits in movies have never needed good writers or directors or actors, they need mindless action and cool music.

Bingo. Someone gets it. Case in point; critically 'rotten' movies like X3 and POTC2.

With the Superman sequel apparently having more action than any DC film prior produced, I think theres a fair chance it can do better business than SR if marketed as an action flick.

You have to remember hits like Spider-man did well mainly because of kid-appeal and families going over and over to see them. Superman Returns had no appeal to that demographic and thus didnt get those same repeat viewings from families and kids who couldnt sit through it. Superman handled more as an action flick would probably do a better job of drawing them in and retaining them for multiple viewings.

It at the very least may not make a big initial impact but could have good legs like BB did, which could in turn justify more films.

 

[Mr. Socko]

So now you're saying Singer should just put useless unneeded action into the sequel JUST for better boxoffice results after you praise the first for focusing more on the story...................

You people are disturbing.

 

[Brainiac 2009]

No...Sock.

I'm saying the studio likely will. I'm not talking about what he 'should' do in my opinion, I'm talking about the approach they are taking.

Yes there is the possibility the sequel could do well because of the action but fail critcally with less focus on the plot.

But theyve decided to go this route, so lets see if they can manage both.

 

[Buford The Sly]

While I've always prefered "the big guys" much more than Superman I'm sure they can do a movie that does better than Superman Returns. The overall vibe of that movie was just a big misfire IMO. They got some things right (Casting, aside from Bosworth, directing, SFX) but the script was just lame.

 

[Mr. Socko]

Too bad Singer didn't get better writers.

 

[dark_b]

Sequels generally make less than the orignals. There are a few exceptions.

However, looking at comic book franchises, Spider-man made 403 million domestic and SM2 made 373 million domestic. Batman made more than Batman Returns, MIB made more than MIBII. However, since Superman Reurns was a huge dissapointment, any sequel might have a good chance of making more if the marketing is done right. Singer's X-2 made more than X-Men, so it's possible. The problem is, no one cares about Superman Returns or a sequel. I'm not talking about the fans on the board, obviously they care. But the general public is not clammering for a sequel, they are pretty apathetic.

a guy sits at home and watched a game. when he sees a trailer like the superbowl trailer for matrix reloaded was .....belive me he will go watch the movie.


singer needs to find the balance between lots of big action and a complex story that will chalange superman that we never saw before.
it can be done.

 

[Mr. Socko]

A man watching a game(I have no clue why he'd be just watching it) for a superbowl trailer with Matrix confused me but I Completely agree on the last sentence.

 

[matthooper]

a guy sits at home and watched a game. when he sees a trailer like the superbowl trailer for matrix reloaded was .....belive me he will go watch the movie.


singer needs to find the balance between lots of big action and a complex story that will chalange superman that we never saw before.
it can be done.

What I meant was as of now, they don't care about it. That means a new buzz will have to be created and will not have a carry over buzz from the first as we had with Spider-Man.

But I agree, if the marketing is done well, and he makes a good film this time that people are excited about, then of course it will do well.

 

[dark_b]

What I meant was as of now, they don't care about it. That means a new buzz will have to be created and will not have a carry over buzz from the first as we had with Spider-Man.

But I agree, if the marketing is done well, and he makes a good film this time that people are excited about, then of course it will do well.

i didnt talk about the marketing and the buzz. i mean that if hte trailer will show great action( if hte movie will have great action) then belive me people will go in the theater to watch this big epic action movie.

i still think that when it comes to comic book movies people whant to first see action in the theater.

 

[matthooper]

i didnt talk about the marketing and the buzz. i mean that if hte trailer will show great action( if hte movie will have great action) then belive me people will go in the theater to watch this big epic action movie.

i still think that when it comes to comic book movies people whant to first see action in the theater.

Like I said, I agree with you. If next time around the trailer blows people away, they will see it.

 

[Mr. Socko]

i didnt talk about the marketing and the buzz. i mean that if hte trailer will show great action( if hte movie will have great action) then belive me people will go in the theater to watch this big epic action movie.

i still think that when it comes to comic book movies people whant to first see action in the theater.

Yeah, like you said, it's the word of mouth being passed around on wheater it's good or not.

 

[dark_b]

Yeah, like you said, it's the word of mouth being passed around on wheater it's good or not.

maybe even a combination of word of mouth and good marketing.

 

[Mr. Socko]

That helps too lol

 

[dark_b]

singer also needs new friends. cameron and spileberg would be the best.

 

[Mr. Socko]

What would that matter? Give him tips?

 

[WormyT]

Completely possible. The reasons you say about Superman being unpopular is because of one reason and one only. He's been out of the picture. Batman has been more popular because he's had more and better movies. The same can be said for Spiderman, FF, Hulk, even Ghostrider. The reason that everyone thinks Superman is boring and still do is for the same reason as in SR. People don't think they need him. What the movie was supposed to do was what Spiderman, X-Men, FF, and DareDevil did. Reintroduce the character in a fresh new way and make him popular again among both comic book fans and movie fans alike. Sadly this didn't happen. Somehow they managed to do it with Smallville but they can't do it in a movie yet. Strange.

My views exactly!
Smallville is proof Superman CAN connect with genX even though he never even wears a costume and every episode is dripping in cheesy Dawsons Creek romance. But he solves mysteries, fights Supervillains, has a very close bond with his parents, the show takes Luthor seriously (and no bloody wigs), and notice how even though Welling plays the Dorky sensitive farmboy, he STILL smacks enemies in the face whether they've got powers or not. In other words, hes acting like a real human/hero we can connect with.

But back to the original Posters point. i DO believe it's possible to make another big screen adaption of Superman and have it be as popular as FF Spidey. But after SR I think it would take 2 movies. ONE to trash SR and reintroduce a new direction (a La Casino Royale, Batman Begins). After that, the next one should be a sure hit.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

So can Superman compete with the big guys on film? Frankly, I am not sure he can, The popular culture interest is just not there from what I see around me.

Not talking Spiderman as he is in a league of his own.

More X-Men, Batman and Fantastic 4. My bet is FF 2 does close to 250 million and the Batman sequel too.

You're getting boring
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=comicbookadaptation.htm
SR made more money than Fantastic Four and the first X-Men movie and more than Batman begins if you consider the worldwide grosses.

 

[matthooper]

You're getting boring
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=comicbookadaptation.htm
SR made more money than Fantastic Four and the first X-Men movie and more than Batman begins if you consider the worldwide grosses.

Not true because those films cost much less to make. SR may have taken in more at the box office but it didn't make more money.

Are there actually still people out there who delude themselves into believing Superman Returns was a box office success?

 

[dark_b]

What would that matter? Give him tips?

yes. i think those two guys cna make a mega action movie with a good story. they both made movies when i saw a balance between good action and good story.

if singer doesnt want action he can go and make a tv superman.

 

[Brainiac 2009]

People dont go to choose to see movies based on budget. Regardless of its initial budget, the figure shows it still attracted that many people to see it, roughly as many as x-men, F4 and BB.

It may not be as healthy from an economic standpoint but from a viewership standpoint and developing a fanbase, it appears just as healthy as the other films.

 

[dark_b]

People dont go to choose to see movies based on budget. Regardless of its initial budget, the figure shows it still attracted that many people to see it, roughly as many as x-men, F4 and BB.

It may not be as healthy from an economic standpoint but from a viewership standpoint and developing a fanbase, it appears just as healthy as the other films.

with that i htink we all agree. it didnt enough money to survive. but WB didnt make a lot of money.

 

[matthooper]

People dont go to choose to see movies based on budget. Regardless of its initial budget, the figure shows it still attracted that many people to see it, roughly as many as x-men, F4 and BB.

It may not be as healthy from an economic standpoint but from a viewership standpoint and developing a fanbase, it appears just as healthy as the other films.

Again, not true. You cite X-Men 1 in your arguement but X-2 and X-3 were huge hits and higher viewership. BB has a wonderful critical aura as well as massive DVD sales and rentals, again more viewers.

I would agree that FF and it's franchise is on a similar path with SR. Dissapointing in one way or another with a sequel with it's sights set higher.

I’ve said it before, I can respect anyone’s coherent positive opinion on Superman Returns. But people can’t delude themselves enough into believing it was a box-office success. It was $100- $200 million less than projections depending on which exec or expert you hear from.

WB however, has felt that they can bleed it some more because it apparently broke even.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Again, not true. You cite X-Men 1 in your arguement but X-2 and X-3 were huge hits and higher viewership. BB has a wonderful critical aura as well as massive DVD sales and rentals, again more viewers.

DVD rental numbers for BB are the same of SR and in the end the DVD sales numbers will equal too. And SR made more money worldwide at the BO.
Both underperformed, as at WB they were expecting Spider-man numbers, and both will have sequels that will make more money. They served their purpose, to restart the franchise.
So let's cut the crap that Superman will never be as successful as Batman or the X-men.

 

[Mr. Socko]

The SR budget was roughly $200M.

SR made roughly $200M domestically.

Therefore, SR roughly gained nothing domestically in theaters.

And $200 was just the budget for SR. That's not counting how much went into trying to get it off the ground and paying for the small amount of Superman Lives. So getting Superman back to the silver screen actually cost them roughly $270M.

Edit: I doubt anyone thought SR would be in line with BB numbers, more like Spidey numbers.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

And $200 was just the budget for SR. That's not counting how much went into trying to get it off the ground and paying for the small amount of Superman Lives. So getting Superman back to the silver

And your point is?
How does this concern the fact that according to lexlives Superman will never be a successful franchise?