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

[MARVEL ROCKS]

I am starting to think that Matthew Vaughn is a boxoffice curse. All his american movies have got critical acclaim but disappointed at the boxoffice.

1) Stardust
2) Kick Ass
3) X-men: First Class

Feel bad for him.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

I am starting to think that Matthew Vaughn is a boxoffice curse. All his american movies have got critical acclaim but disappointed at the boxoffice.

1) Stardust
2) Kick Ass
3) X-men: First Class

Feel bad for him.

He's neither a benefit or hindrance to a movie's chances of box-office appeal. Few-to-none filmmakers are.

 

[josh8]

I am starting to think that Matthew Vaughn is a boxoffice curse. All his american movies have got critical acclaim but disappointed at the boxoffice.

1) Stardust
2) Kick Ass
3) X-men: First Class

Feel bad for him.

He's definitely doesn't have any major hits yet. XM:FC should have been his breakout, but time will still tell on that one.

Regarding Kick-Ass though, that was a cheap movie made to look more expensive, so its mediocre box office was deceiving. The effort that Vaughn took to get that movie made without compromising will always give me respect for the man as a filmmaker.

 

[Marvel]

I'm really hoping this doesn't drop too bad next weekend, but I'm sure it will. I don't think there is going to be enough good word of mouth to save this film.

I don't understand myself. Either theatres are shortchanging Fox with the numbers or else I live in a pocket of a super x-universe or something. Theatres were packed last weekend around me.

I also wanted to boost the good word of mouth around the Net at various movie sites I visit and found that I don't need to. Everyone either loves or likes this film. Usually, it's always a war on the RT general movie forums but it's a love fest. What's the deal?

 

[josh8]

He's neither a benefit or hindrance to a movie's chances of box-office appeal. Few-to-none filmmakers are.

That's actually my major gripe with audiences. Hollywood actors are more "successful" if they can command an audience to come into the theaters and so studios want big-names in their movies. And the sheep audience respond exactly as expected.

I wish more people would pay attention to who the filmmakers actually are when they determine whether they are interested in a project. To me, that is the biggest factor in whether a movie will turn out well.

For example, one of my favorite books "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is being made into a movie, and they cast Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks in the roles of the parents. No disrespect for the two, however I'm sure they weren't the best fit for the roles but rather high profile actors.

 

[Marvel]

super 8 i hear is'nt tracking well the secrecy might of bit them in the butt

Early on I heard talk of comparing it to the Happening... that doesn't help any film.

Critics are going to be kind to Super 8 regardless of quality because of the name Spielberg. No one wants to badmouth the master unless it's truly awful. If it's middle of the road, most critics will go out of there way to be kind.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

That's actually my major gripe with audiences. Hollywood actors are more "successful" if they can command an audience to come into the theaters and so studios want big-names in their movies. And the sheep audience respond exactly as expected.

I wish more people would pay attention to who the filmmakers actually are when they determine whether they are interested in a project. To me, that is the biggest factor in whether a movie will turn out well.

For example, one of my favorite books "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is being made into a movie, and they cast Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks in the roles of the parents. No disrespect for the two, however I'm sure they weren't the best fit for the roles but rather high profile actors.

The problem with said mentality of wanting big-names (and yeah, it's as old as time itself) is few actually translate to dollar-signs.

Will Smith and Adam Sandler. That's it. Those two (especially the former) have had the most consistent box-office performance of any actors domestically, where it counts.

 

[X-Maniac]

I am starting to think that Matthew Vaughn is a boxoffice curse. All his american movies have got critical acclaim but disappointed at the boxoffice.

1) Stardust
2) Kick Ass
3) X-men: First Class

Feel bad for him.

And the critics seemed to love Stardust and Kick-Ass as being quirky and genre-defying and indie, and going against typical Hollywood formula. Those same critics didn't like X-Men: First Class, feeling it was too much of Hollywood formula or that adding in Bond and real history showed desperation and created a clash of styles.

You can't make an X-Men film in the style of either Stardust or Kick-Ass because it would be some sort of off-the-wall comedy.

 

[josh8]

The problem with said mentality of wanting big-names (and yeah, it's as old as time itself) is few actually translate to dollar-signs.

Will Smith and Adam Sandler. That's it. Those two (especially the former) have had the most consistent box-office performance of any actors domestically, where it counts.

I would say they do translate but only fleetingly. People will flock to an A-list actor's movie if their previous one was a big hit and the new one doesn't "mix it up" too much haha.

I would add Denzel Washington to that list. He's the consistent $20 million open man. Not amazing, but he always gets the job done, which is a testament to how long one formula of movie can survive.

 

[JP]

It's kinda like the people who think Zookeeper is going to be huge because Kevin James had one modest hit a few years ago.

 

[josh8]

It's kinda like the people who think Zookeeper is going to be huge because Kevin James had one modest hit a few years ago.

Did Salma Hayek really play Kevin James' love interest in Grown Ups? Please tell me it isn't so.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

It's kinda like the people who think Zookeeper is going to be huge because Kevin James had one modest hit a few years ago.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop was a huge hit actually and everyone thought he was the best part of popular comedies like Hitch and Grown Ups. Not to mention, his sitcom The King of Queens was popular and on the air for just under a decade.

People love Kevin James.

 

[JP]

And yet The Dilemma bombed hard.

Paul Blart was released in January with zero competition.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

Paul Blart, The Dilemma, as you rightfully noted, and Taken were all dumped in January because the studios didn't have faith in them and/or knew they were crap.

Nobody banked on Blart or Taken to pull in the huge numbers they did and click with the masses. The Dilemma did exactly what everyone expected.

 

[X-Maniac]

Box office would also be influenced by the X-Men being made more into household names, like Transformers (which has no megastars, just robots).

We've had three X-Men animated series, but it's not enough. Why aren't those series re-run before the films come out? Why aren't there books for kids - the X-Men and its theme of tolerance would make perfect material for children's stories, and even for educational books on genetics, magnetism, etc. Why aren't there more toys? I hardly see an X-Men item of merchandise anywhere I go.

 

[josh8]

Paul Blart: Mall Cop was a huge hit actually and everyone thought he was the best part of popular comedies like Hitch and Grown Ups. Not to mention, his sitcom The King of Queens was popular and on the air for just under a decade.

People love Kevin James.

Haha they do! I'm conflicted. Talented comic actors deserve success as well, but Paul Blart? Seriously??

 

[Figs]

Box office would also be influenced by the X-Men being made more into household names, like Transformers (which has no megastars, just robots).

We've had three X-Men animated series, but it's not enough. Why aren't those series re-run before the films come out? Why aren't there books for kids - the X-Men and its theme of tolerance would make perfect material for children's stories, and even for educational books on genetics, magnetism, etc. Why aren't there more toys? I hardly see an X-Men item of merchandise anywhere I go.

I'm wondering if the general audience is just burnt out on X-men. Not because of the last two films being subpar either, but the whole thought of "another one?! Are you serious?". That or they're getting tired of comic films in general. Who knows. I'm hoping it doesn't have too big of a drop this coming weekend.

 

[josh8]

I'm wondering if the general audience is just burnt out on X-men. Not because of the last two films being subpar either, but the whole thought of "another one?! Are you serious?". That or they're getting tired of comic films in general. Who knows. I'm hoping it doesn't have too big of a drop this coming weekend.

I definitely got that impression from some of my friends. But it all goes back to how they perceived the last few movies. If coming off of a good movie, one wouldn't be so inclined to think "again?" but more like "again, please!".

 

[SuperSoldier985]

We've had three X-Men animated series, but it's not enough. Why aren't those series re-run before the films come out?

I don't know how things are in the UK, but they've been running reruns of the 90's animated show here for a few months now.

I know because I've been DVRing them...

 

[c-saw]

I am starting to think that Matthew Vaughn is a boxoffice curse. All his american movies have got critical acclaim but disappointed at the boxoffice.

1) Stardust
2) Kick Ass
3) X-men: First Class

Feel bad for him.

but it's not exactly his fault. The director's job is to make as good of a movie as possible and so far all of his productions were very well received. I can't speak for stardust but both kick-ass and first class suffered from the same issues: they were poorly marketed and a lot of people were reluctant to see them.

 

[Tony Stark]

If the film has any problem, it's that it's too tied to the other films. It would have been better to do a flat out reboot than a pseudo prequel/reboot thing. It was the same problem for TIH. It was a reboot, but they panned it off like it was some sort of pseudo sequel. The film even starts out with him in South America with Betty believing him to be dead just like Hulk left off.

 

[Lelouch]

He's neither a benefit or hindrance to a movie's chances of box-office appeal. Few-to-none filmmakers are.

As someone who spent this entire last semester studying auteur theory and how a Director can have an influence on the audience...I strongly disagree with this statement.

Anyways, even though the Summer is packed I think XM:FC will do just fine and make enough to warrant a sequel. The weekday totals will help it a lot, and hopefully this weekend it stays strong with WOM. Fox knows that they are rebuilding a franchise, so a sequel will end up performing better due to all the praise this one is getting.

 

[c-saw]

As someone who spent this entire last semester studying auteur theory and how a Director can have an influence on the audience...I strongly disagree with this statement.

So you're saying you have a lot of knowledge on the matter and yet you just state your opinion without any real reasoning behind it. Don't be afraid to share the knowledge :P

Obviously I'm no expert so all I can do is make logical assumptions (that can be more or less accurate depending on how much info I have to base them on).

I think it depends on the director. Everybody knows who spielberg, lucas or nolan are and they'll flock to the cinemas no matter what movies they put out. However I don't think the majority of the movie going audience is savy or interested enough about the people making the movies. They go to see movies like these because they know the franchise. Or they go to see a movie because they know the leading actor or actress. They don't care that the director might be a hack or that the movie has been getting rather negative reviews. They're more marketing driven than they are knowledge driven.

 

[JP]

I don't think Fox is surprised by these grosses, or disappointed by them. I think they certainly knew. The film cost 160 million ($135 after tax breaks) so they already kept the budget low (unfortunately it shows in a select few moments in the film). Plus, they didn't really bother marketing it all that much either. Outside of the TV spots (that began 2 weeks before release), and internet trailers, the film had no presence anywhere else. The only promotional tie in was some insurance company. This was actually the first X-Men film that NYC wasn't covered head to toe in. Not even a single billboard.

On the other hand, NYC is currently engulfed in Green Lantern. Ryan Reynolds face is everywhere.

 

[Electrix]

Green Lantern needs to be marketed. Nobody knows who/what he is. Plus Warner Bros. need people to see it before Transformers rolls in 12 days later.