Days of Future Past The Official X-Men: First Class Box Office Discussion Thread!

[Jennifer Walters]

Yeah. Pretty much. The Phantom Menace would've made bank regardless because it the first Star Wars in forever.

 

[merbass]

Instead of whining and looking for a reason, why don't you all just go out and see the film as many times as you can to get the box office high ? I do not live in America and saw the film 3 times already, but that doesn't seem to mean anything since it's all about US BO ?

Narnia 3 opened to 24 m. but ended up with 105 m. and 400+ Worldwide. The movie is good then people will talk and will see it. Narnia 3 cost 140 m and the sequel will be made. This is X-men, guys ! We shouldn't give it up. Otherwise they will keep making X3 and XO with Wolverine and others thrown in as extra and it will make millions on opening weekend no matter the quality of the movie.

 

[Chewy]

It is easier for films to have long legs in the winter.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

That didn't stop Phantom Menace from making about a billion dollars

The Phantom Menace was basically the most anticipated film of all time.

TPM was way more anticipated than First Class was, but it's not just that. On the previous page, Marvel posted about how the hardcore fanboys are much tougher on The Last Stand than the general audience was. The mainstream audience enjoyed TPM, and that movie (as well as the other prequels) had legs at the box office.

In fact, TPM only made $64.8 million in its opening weekend. Although those were 1999 dollars, it still only made 15% of its total in its first weekend.

Legs are more important than opening weekend when it comes to the grand total.

 

[John Creese]

You are so arrogant. You think you know absolutely everything.

If Jackman's Wolverine sells a film then why did his solo film only make 170 domestic?

So no...that doesn't strike out anything.

The Wolverine, not Wolverine 2, is being made because Wolverine still made money and The Wolverine will make money but it's budget will be scaled back.

This movie isn't doing gangbuster because the audience remembers the suck that was Wolverine and X3. Fox has to rebuild the fans trust and this does that. The sequel to this movie will do better and they know that.

 

[Chewy]

TPM was way more anticipated than First Class was, but it's not just that. On the previous page, Marvel posted about how the hardcore fanboys are much tougher on The Last Stand than the general audience was. The mainstream audience enjoyed TPM, and that movie (as well as the other prequels) had legs at the box office.

In fact, TPM only made $64.8 million in its opening weekend. Although those were 1999 dollars, it still only made 15% of its total in its first weekend.

Legs are more important than opening weekend when it comes to the grand total.

Movies don't have legs anymore, except for the occasional anomaly. That is just the reality of the market as it stands.

 

[thejon93]

This film makes me hope and pray that 'Green Lantern' fails at the box-office. Unlike 'First Class', 'Green Lantern' seems to be a "been there, done that" effects-trip that adds nothing to the genre. 'First Class' finally revives the dying genre that was slowly just becoming a fad/marketing gimmick for Hollywood. 'Green Lantern' looks to be keeping that fad alive and fueled (watch out for Ebert's 3/4 star review in comparison to his 2.5/4 star review for 'First Class', I guarantee it).

 

[ClarkLuther55]

Movies don't have legs anymore, except for the occasional anomaly. That is just the reality of the market as it stands.

It is more uncommon now, though some movies do hold on. Last year, WB's big tentpole Inception debuted at $62.8 million. It had the same exact CinemaScore exit polling grade as First Class, which was a "B+" grade. That grade was the average of the under-25 crowd that loved it and gave the movie an "A," and older audiences who disliked it and gave it a "B-" grade. Inception held on extremely well afterwards on strong word of mouth from younger audiences.

I'm not sure if First Class also had such an age divide, although I've already seen articles stating that its opening audience skewed older, at 59% over 25.

...I don't think First Class will end up like Inception, although that movie provides a ray of hope. Teenagers are still in school, and I can see some more of them coming out to see this movie in the next couple of weeks. I can even see this movie holding on well next week, and I don't think Super 8 will be that much of a killer (kid characters, unclear plot, no stars). The movie that will knock First Class off for real will be Green Lantern.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

This film makes me hope and pray that 'Green Lantern' fails at the box-office. Unlike 'First Class', 'Green Lantern' seems to be a "been there, done that" effects-trip that adds nothing to the genre. 'First Class' finally revives the dying genre that was slowly just becoming a fad/marketing gimmick for Hollywood. 'Green Lantern' looks to be keeping that fad alive and fueled (watch out for Ebert's 3/4 star review in comparison to his 2.5/4 star review for 'First Class', I guarantee it).

You haven't even seen Green Lantern yet. Unless you've read a leaked script, you probably don't know how good that movie is and therefore shouldn't wish it ill. It's a film in the same genre, and as fans we should hope for this genre to do well.

 

[thejon93]

You haven't even seen Green Lantern yet. Unless you've read a leaked script, you probably don't know how good that movie is and therefore shouldn't wish it ill. It's a film in the same genre, and as fans we should hope for this genre to do well.

That's why I said "seems to be". Just because you buy into the marketing doesn't mean I do.

 

[Downhere]

I'm just hoping that this one does well enough to secure a sequel ASAP, with the same creative team behind First Class. I really want this story to continue.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

That's why I said "seems to be". Just because you buy into the marketing doesn't mean I do.

So don't wish for a movie to flop before you confirm anything.

 

[EML420]

I'm just hoping that this one does well enough to secure a sequel ASAP, with the same creative team behind First Class. I really want this story to continue.

This and word of mouth I think will really help this movie its really only us fans who are super critical on the details most other folk just like the movies.

 

[ALP]

So don't wish for a movie to flop before you confirm anything.

I, on the other hand, hope GL flops IF it is a bad movie, and it looks like a bad movie. Is that good enough?

 

[Silver Surfer]

Not exactly surprised by the poor box office showing, an X-Men movie without Wolverine is a recipe for disaster. It's a shame because FC was a really good movie, oh well hopefully Fox learns and puts the same creative effort it put in FC into Wolvie 2. In the meantime hope Cap does better.

 

[merbass]

You already know this movie is a disaster ?

 

[MARVEL ROCKS]

You guys need to brace for the worst....there is a real possibility that X-men does under 50m this weekend.

Let's just say that if the estimates come out as 50m then that means on Monday when the actuals come out, it will be less than 50m.

Studios do that a lot.

 

[Sweet Xstacy]

Instead of whining and looking for a reason, why don't you all just go out and see the film as many times as you can to get the box office high ? I do not live in America and saw the film 3 times already, but that doesn't seem to mean anything since it's all about US BO ?

Narnia 3 opened to 24 m. but ended up with 105 m. and 400+ Worldwide. The movie is good then people will talk and will see it. Narnia 3 cost 140 m and the sequel will be made. This is X-men, guys ! We shouldn't give it up. Otherwise they will keep making X3 and XO with Wolverine and others thrown in as extra and it will make millions on opening weekend no matter the quality of the movie.

That's nice you can afford to do that. But everybody can't.

 

[merbass]

It should do at least 50 millions and could end up around 120 m. Worldwide should be around 350 m. My guess for now. Everyone seems to be talking about the movie. I hope they all go out to see it ! Pirates 5 and Hangover 2 are not loved by critics and audiences, so they should disappear soon.

 

[Silver Surfer]

You already know this movie is a disaster ?

Consideirng the fact that it might not even do 50 mil this wewkend I'd say yes.

 

[mclay18]

Movies don't have legs anymore, except for the occasional anomaly. That is just the reality of the market as it stands.

Occasional anomaly? Movies with legs occur every year -- Avatar, The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Rio, No Strings Attached, True Grit... just to name a few. If a movie is good enough to warrant fantastic word-of-mouth and steady attendance, it will have legs.

It is easier for films to have long legs in the winter.

True. But it hasn't stopped films like No Strings Attached (which came out in mid-January) from making a nice $70M profit on a $25M budget. Or Despicable Me, which came out in July.

 

[SuperSoldier985]

I agree. If Fox does go for a sequel (which I personally think they will) they'll probably want Singer and Vaughn to at least include the three heavy hitters - Cylcops, Storm, and Jean.

It's possible, I kinda doubt it'll happen, personally. I think they'll stick with the characters they have, at least for one more movie I'd say. They'll probably keep bringing in lesser known, yet older X-Men characters like Polaris or Thunderbird..

 

[merbass]

Consideirng the fact that it might not even do 50 mil this wewkend I'd say yes.

Underperformed for an X franchise but hardly a disaster ! Bridesmaid can make 100 m in USA but it is no hit all over the world. Unless you view USA as the world !

 

[SuperSoldier985]

Opening numbers are disappointing to say the least. This is what happens when a film has to follow the disaster that was Wolverine, I imagine that put a lot of people off from the X-Men. In fact I wasn't even hugely excited for this movie till reviews started to come back. And the general audience that doesn't look at overall reviews will just be left with fatigue due to X3 and X-Origins Wolverine.

This is exactly what it was.

A month or two ago, I started hyping this movie up to other message boards and it was slammed almost immediately. After being burned out on the last two movies, tons of people have lose faith and hope in the series, and at this point, XMFC could be considered as a restart point for old and new fans to get back into the mode of expecting more high quality films. So, the numbers don't surprise me one bit.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago when positive reviews started hitting the net that internet folk started getting excited again, but as we've all figured out, it's not the internet folk that make up the majority of the people that watch these movies anymore. There are a lot of casual audience people out there that have enjoyed these X-Men movies, and they're probably in the "wait for DVD/Netflix" or "in no rush and I'll see it on TV" crowd.

And let's not forget how crammed this summer season has been with heavy hitting blockbusters. Taking into account all of this and coupled with Super 8 and Green Lantern on the way, XMFC isn't looking too good as far as having legs for these next few weeks. Not even good word of mouth will significantly shield it from such other anticipated movies on the way.

 

[josh8]

Enough of this "rush" BS. That movie had so many other things against it beside what's just a typically firm production schedule.

I should clarify. What I meant was that if they didn't rush so much on that movie, they would have maybe had more time to find a competent director. I know we will never know the real reason that Vaughn left X3, but one of his reasons was the schedule.