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

[Marvel]

Well, those of you who love the film need to see it again...

Those of you unsure about it need to see it once more to clarify your thoughts..

And those of you who hate it without ever having seen it need to go and watch it first before trashing it... then you are entitled to come and tell us what's wrong with it.

And if you are very interested in Super 8, then go see that as well...

Results don't come from babbling on forums, they come from doing something. Show support with your money.

We live in this age where campaigns and petitions and fighting for something involves effortlessly clicking a button online, not actually going out of the front door and taking action. But you need to 'vote' at the box office to make a difference.

AMEN! I've paid to see it at least six times so far and, frankly, it'll be the only movie I pay to see until July 22nd. What I pay to see and what I actually sit down to watch are two different things, however.

I'm making it a point to go to see it again Saturday for sure.

 

[X-Maniac]

Sorry I have to disagree. LOTR had a nice sized cast and none of the characters seemed to be under developed. Even the secondary hobbits Pippin and Mary.

I just think that Singer and possibly Vaughn didn't feel that his secondary or tertiary characters were important enough to give speaking parts and develop or he didn't have the budget to pay them to speak. Remember you make more when you actually speak in films because it is a union thing.

I just don't think Singer is good in that respect. Look at X1 & X2 there were so many characters that didn't say crap, but were put in just to be put in. I'm sorry, but the man doesn't know how to juggle multiple characters. Same thing happened in Superman. In fact if you look at any of his secondary/tertiary characters they are all used in the same way.

Hmmm, interesting. I hadn't thought of it from a financial angle.

I would have liked more from the secondary and tertiary characters, I must admit. Dialogue that showed motivations, more than backstory.

 

[Midnight Black]

AMEN! I've paid to see it at least six times so far and, frankly, it'll be the only movie I pay to see until July 22nd. What I pay to see and what I actually sit down to watch are two different things, however.

I'm making it a point to go to see it again Saturday for sure.

See I will probably see it only one more time while in regular B.O. The movies just cost too much, especially when you have kids, a girlfriend, etc. etc. Tickets are $20 and food is almost $20. Even if I just go by myself during the day that's $5 bucks that can go to a few other things. Sorry, but I can only do one more, maybe two more times.

 

[X-Maniac]

See I will probably see it only one more time while in regular B.O. The movies just cost too much, especially when you have kids, a girlfriend, etc. etc. Tickets are $20 and food is almost $20. Even if I just go by myself during the day that's $5 bucks that can go to a few other things. Sorry, but I can only do one more, maybe two more times.

Forget the food, it's disgusting most of the time and way overpriced. Smuggle drinks in by hiding them in the pockets of a padded coat, and either have a snack at home first or call at a store on the way and hide the snacks inside your jacket. t:

 

[josh8]

Sorry I have to disagree. LOTR had a nice sized cast and none of the characters seemed to be under developed. Even the secondary hobbits Pippin and Mary.

I just think that Singer and possibly Vaughn didn't feel that his secondary or tertiary characters were important enough to give speaking parts and develop or he didn't have the budget to pay them to speak. Remember you make more when you actually speak in films because it is a union thing.

I just don't think Singer is good in that respect. Look at X1 & X2 there were so many characters that didn't say crap, but were put in just to be put in. I'm sorry, but the man doesn't know how to juggle multiple characters. Same thing happened in Superman. In fact if you look at any of his secondary/tertiary characters they are all used in the same way.

Not criticizing or praising anyone, but I just wanted to point out that the LotR movies averaged 3 hrs apiece and were developed together. That's 9 hours of time for developing characters. Singer didn't exactly get that kind of freedom.

 

[Midnight Black]

Not criticizing or praising anyone, but I just wanted to point out that the LotR movies averaged 3 hrs apiece and were developed together. That's 9 hours of time for developing characters. Singer didn't exactly get that kind of freedom.

Yeah, but he still could have found of way of letting his characters speak or interact in away that didn't make them seem like atmosphere. If you look at X1, X2, and Superman you will see the same theme of having a central bad guy and then having these henchmen around that say nothing and give no emotion. I mean if you are not going to give dialogue or can't at least allow them to express emotion in other ways. People talk about formulaic, but this guy can be predicted to a T.

Then again his lack of budget, as I stated, may have caused him to just focus on his central cast.

 

[josh8]

Yeah, but he still could have found of way of letting his characters speak or interact in away that didn't make them seem like atmosphere. If you look at X1, X2, and Superman you will see the same theme of having a central bad guy and then having these henchmen around that say nothing and give no emotion. I mean if you are not going to give dialogue or can't at least allow them to express emotion in other ways. People talk about formulaic, but this guy can be predicted to a T.

Then again his lack of budget, as I stated, may have caused him to just focus on his central cast.

I agree, but I don't completely mind when henchmen don't speak. And as I was saying, I wasn't praising or criticizing.

And back on topic, unfortunately XM:FC looks like it's heading for a $25 to $27 million weekend. A standard 50+% drop. I'm still hoping for a weekend boost from word-of-mouth to bring it up to maybe 30.

 

[iskrew]

Not criticizing or praising anyone, but I just wanted to point out that the LotR movies averaged 3 hrs apiece and were developed together. That's 9 hours of time for developing characters. Singer didn't exactly get that kind of freedom.

I was going to say the same thing.

 

[Midnight Black]

Off topic: Meh, LOTR only needed one movie to show motivation for all of the characters and it was done well within 2 hours, IMO. Last comment on this. sorryt:

On topic: I plan to see this again. GO SUPPORT!

 

[Lelouch]

I wouldn't say FC is really underperforming. In terms of estimates, perhaps, but I am pretty sure Fox wasn't expecting amazing numbers. They are aware the franchise was damaged, and that this was a new cast so I am fairly sure we will be seeing a sequel. It will definitely make its budget back domestically. It might not be a huge amount, but in this case the long term benefits outweigh the short term benefits in rebuilding a franchise.

 

[Theweepeople]

I dont think that X3 and Wolverine had nearly the negative impact people want to believe.

Comic book fans may not have liked them, but I have yet to find anyone in the general audience that didn't. I've had numerous people tell me how awesome they thought wolverine was, and how they thought it was the best one, and react in total shock when I tell them the fanboys didn't like it.

You can say its a small sample size or whatever, but I feel its pretty telling when its a consistent response across the board. Even today I had a friend give me a look of "wtf??!" when I told him a lot of people didn't like wolverine.

I think its probably more the fact that the franchise is starting to over extend itself. There's the fact that its a June release when all the other movies since the first one have been May releases. There's a lot of factors, and not saying the other movies aren't a factor, but to put them on the same level as a batman & Robin sized obstacle I believe is misguided.

Some of this is relative. If the average joe wanted to determine an accurate collective opinion on how the general public audience perceives a film he or she couldn't just rely on what his friends, family members, and acquaintances thought to acquire such info. A survey with an extensively long sample size would need to be achieved to get the most accurate results.

My theater experiences last Friday and Saturday are the perfect examples of this. I couldn't watch X:FC last Friday because all the showings I went to were sold out. Then the very next day I bought tickets at night and decided to exchange them for a latter showing so I wouldn't have to sit in the front row because the theater was packed. Based on the atmosphere of the movie experience and how crowded the theater was I could have easily taken the perspective of this film having a much bigger opening. However, I didn't hastily form that opinion because that was only one theater in the US.

In contrast to this I watched Thor in the same theater 4 weeks earlier on opening night. I had no problem getting my ticket, finding a seat, and the crowd experience wasn't as exhilarating as my X-Men First Class experience.

After comparing both movie experiences I'm really not that surprised Thor opened better inspite of viewing X:FC as the superior film. It's a new and fresh franchise in comparison to a franchise that appeared to have gotten stale among the general audience with the last two films.

What isn't relative about Wolverine and X3 is how the general audience perceived these films after the opening weekend. X3 has the biggest opening weekend ever for a film that fails to make 300milllion domestically. Wolverine has the greatest opening weekend ever for a film that fails to make 200million. The huge drop off in attendance suggests a collective disappointment with both films. Movies that are well received by the general audience typically have decent to at least modest legs.

I doubt that most of the general audience views these films as horrible. Inspite of bashing X3 for a few years in these threads I never viewed it as terrible. I hated it with a passion for what it could have been but, still give it a 6 out of 10. I can't comment on Wolverine because I haven't seen it and still have no desire to watch it simply because I got tired of the character. Furthermore, I haven't witnessed anyone in these threads compare these films in terms of quality to the depths of the abysmal Batman and Robin. Of course one could make the argument that Batman and Robin was at least better than X3 and Wolverine in terms of run time quality for your typical comic film.t:

 

[lastairbender]

I do really hope we ll get a sequel.. so many stories (comics and human history) to cover, so many mutants they can use..

I'm really mad. The movie opened today here in portugal and i feel nobody knows that the movie even exists.. havent seen not a single spot on TV and on the weekly TV report about cinema releases it wasn t mencioned.. its very strange..

 

[psylockolussus]

We'll calm down as soon as you mods stop calling us children.

Jeez.





What? How in the hell did you infer all of that? You're way off.

I'm just saying that it makes no sense to believe that J.J. Abrams shouldn't do any other films but Star Trek. That's where I was getting at. I'm super excited for Super 8 (no pun intended) and I might even see it at midnight tonight.

I really don't care about how it may or may not affect XMFC, really. I'm sure XMFC will have legs through WOM and I don't expect Super 8 to pose much of a threat either way.

Yeah I don't understand why won't he make Star Trek 2 already.

Its already out next summer but it looks like they are gonna move it to a new date.

 

[psylockolussus]

If people want a first Class sequel Instead of X4 they better hope for a X-Men level domestic gross and not a Hulk level Domestic gross.

This is what I'm talking about.

Everybody here is like "First class sequel sequel sequel" but they are not being realistic. First Class needs to sell first.

But it doesn't matter to me that much if XFC doesn't reach $150M in US alone because I'm sure FOX will go ahead with X4 if XFC failed to reach $150M and I prefer X4 than prequels. t:t:

 

[BMM]

The X-Men have an immediate disadvantage of multiple characters and bizarre appearances/powers to deal with.

Always have and always will.

 

[Silvermoth]

This is what I'm talking about.

Everybody here is like "First class sequel sequel sequel" but they are not being realistic. First Class needs to sell first.

But it doesn't matter to me that much if XFC doesn't reach $150M in US alone because I'm sure FOX will go ahead with X4 if XFC failed to reach $150M and I prefer X4 than prequels. t:t:

You're being a bit dramatic here. X-men First Class didn't flop. It made the same amount as the original X-men movie, a bit more in fact, and as I remember it got a sequel or two .

 

[psyonic]

You're being a bit dramatic here. X-men First Class didn't flop. It made the same amount as the original X-men movie, a bit more in fact, and as I remember it got a sequel or two .

But X1's budget was far less than FC's .. 75 million compared to 160?

 

[marvelrobbins]

X-Men was relativly cheap.If First Class cost 160 million that hurts chances for sequel.

As I tell people right now Fox Is more willing to spend money on X4 than a First Class
sequel.And If Fox were to risk a First Class sequel they would almost certainly want a
Smaller budget.

 

[psyonic]

X-Men was relativly cheap.If First Class cost 160 million that hurts chances for sequel.

As I tell people right now Fox Is more willing to spend money on X4 than a First Class
sequel.And If Fox were to risk a First Class sequel they would almost certainly want a
Smaller budget.

It makes sense, X4 will have the trilogy cast as they've expressed interest in returning. LSD said Fox loved their X4 and X5 treatment, if she is telling the truth. All the previous X-Men movie have been box office successes despite the quality of X3.

In terms of story, the cure was meant to be temporary with that final scene. Xavier is in a new body. Scott's "death" wasn't confirmed nor shown on screen. There is a reason why Jean is called Phoenix. I am sure someone can think of something to make it work.

 

[Tony Stark]

I think alot depends on how it peforms this weekend, as well as how it does in comparison to GL and Captain America. We already know it won't catch Thor, but Thor had 3D boost and was in a much more favorable spot in the summer.

Everyone is saying Super 8 is this generations E.T., if that's true, that's bad news for X3 and for GL. I'm a little skeptical of that claim, but that's what is being thrown out.

 

[MARVEL ROCKS]

Someone posted this on BOM

Italy:

Wednesday:€0.211M
Thursday:€0.134M

2 DAYS=€0.345M!

Very,very poor!.

I have to admit it bombed in Italy. This is one market where x-men flicks have done solid business.

It released in Germany and Japan as well. In both markets, x-men movies have not done well so don't expect much.

I don't see how this crosses 300m worldwide, which is a shame. At this point, a sequel to this movie is highly unlikely.

 

[Midnight Black]

Well it was fun while it lasted. I still think it will get a sequel or some how be included in the X4 films. Too many good characters.

 

[iskrew]

This is sad.

 

[danoyse]

Someone posted this on BOM

I have to admit it bombed in Italy. This is one market where x-men flicks have done solid business.

It released in Germany and Japan as well. In both markets, x-men movies have not done well so don't expect much.

I don't see how this crosses 300m worldwide, which is a shame. At this point, a sequel to this movie is highly unlikely.

You seem to have a compulsive need to "admit" that it bombed everywhere, when it hasn't.

I'm not going warn you again to quit trolling the board with doomsaying.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

Bombing does not equal under-performing. The latter of which X-Men: First Class is doing.

But if one doesn't have anything else to bring to the conversation outside of doom & glooming, then perhaps they shouldn't say anything at all?