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Usenet Posted 19 years ago
Screenwriting
Hollywood's hope for record summer fades
Hollywood's hope for record summer fades
Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:45PM EDT
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - April's rosy forecast that Hollywood would reap a record $4 billion at the box office this summer has been replaced by hopes of merely keeping pace with 2006 as Friday's midpoint of the season nears.
Blame it on the old guys of "Ocean's Thirteen," God in "Evan Almighty" or simply the widely hyped sequels like "Spider-Man 3" that opened to huge ticket sales but failed to keep audiences returning the way their predecessors did.
"It's time to rein in the expectations or, at least, make them more modest," said Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Media By Numbers. Hollywood's summer, which runs from early May to the end of August, is critical for the major movie studios because they can generate up to 40 percent of annual ticket sales.
But box office watchers are now trimming seasonal estimates in the United States and Canada after this past weekend's stumble by Christian comedy "Evan Almighty," whose debut weekend tally of $31 million was less than half the $68 million opening of its predecessor, "Bruce Almighty."
"Ocean's Thirteen" starring Brad Pitt, 43, and George Clooney, 46, also failed to catch fire with many of the younger moviegoers who typically turn out in the summer.
"Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" all debuted strongly, but faded faster than expected. Most box office watchers now believe all three will top the $300 million mark, but likely fail to match the final tallies of their series' second movies.
JULY TRANSFORMATION?
Heading into Friday's kids movie "Ratatouille" and action flick "Live Free or Die Hard" with Bruce Willis," U.S. and Canadian domestic ticket sales stand at $1.6 billion, up 3.68 percent from 2006, but attendance at 244.6 million is roughly equal to 2006, according to Media by Numbers. Ticket sales for summer 2006 totaled $3.85 billion. Boxofficemojo.com President Brandon Gray reckons that to get to $4 billion by end of August, summer ticket sales would have to reach nearly $2 billion by the end of this week.
"It looks like we're headed to about $1.82 billion," Gray said. He gave the notion of besting 2004's $3.95 billion record summer only a "slim chance."
Still, box office watchers see rays of hope in summer's second half due to several widely hyped movies starting with the July 4's action flick "Transformers" and followed by July 11's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
"Transformers," the movie about aliens who transform into cars and battle their rivals on Earth, enjoys a loyal fan base among young men who also make up the core moviegoing audience.
Likewise, the "Harry Potter" movies have proven to be huge crowd pleasers in past years. Overall, the four previous films in the series have raked in more than $3.5 billion worldwide.
Other top titles in July include musical "Hairspray" based on the Broadway production about an overweight teen-ager who dances her way to local TV stardom, and "The Simpsons Movie," which is derived from the long-running hit TV cartoon.
Big stars are on the way, too, with Adam Sandler in comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and Lindsay Lohan in thriller "I Know Who Killed Me."
Finally, more than in previous years the traditionally slow month of August is loaded with movies that could be break-out hits, such as action-adventure "The Bourne Ultimatum," comedy "Rush Hour 3" and fantasy "Stardust."
"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks
Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:45PM EDT
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - April's rosy forecast that Hollywood would reap a record $4 billion at the box office this summer has been replaced by hopes of merely keeping pace with 2006 as Friday's midpoint of the season nears.
Blame it on the old guys of "Ocean's Thirteen," God in "Evan Almighty" or simply the widely hyped sequels like "Spider-Man 3" that opened to huge ticket sales but failed to keep audiences returning the way their predecessors did.
"It's time to rein in the expectations or, at least, make them more modest," said Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Media By Numbers. Hollywood's summer, which runs from early May to the end of August, is critical for the major movie studios because they can generate up to 40 percent of annual ticket sales.
But box office watchers are now trimming seasonal estimates in the United States and Canada after this past weekend's stumble by Christian comedy "Evan Almighty," whose debut weekend tally of $31 million was less than half the $68 million opening of its predecessor, "Bruce Almighty."
"Ocean's Thirteen" starring Brad Pitt, 43, and George Clooney, 46, also failed to catch fire with many of the younger moviegoers who typically turn out in the summer.
"Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" all debuted strongly, but faded faster than expected. Most box office watchers now believe all three will top the $300 million mark, but likely fail to match the final tallies of their series' second movies.
JULY TRANSFORMATION?
Heading into Friday's kids movie "Ratatouille" and action flick "Live Free or Die Hard" with Bruce Willis," U.S. and Canadian domestic ticket sales stand at $1.6 billion, up 3.68 percent from 2006, but attendance at 244.6 million is roughly equal to 2006, according to Media by Numbers. Ticket sales for summer 2006 totaled $3.85 billion. Boxofficemojo.com President Brandon Gray reckons that to get to $4 billion by end of August, summer ticket sales would have to reach nearly $2 billion by the end of this week.
"It looks like we're headed to about $1.82 billion," Gray said. He gave the notion of besting 2004's $3.95 billion record summer only a "slim chance."
Still, box office watchers see rays of hope in summer's second half due to several widely hyped movies starting with the July 4's action flick "Transformers" and followed by July 11's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
"Transformers," the movie about aliens who transform into cars and battle their rivals on Earth, enjoys a loyal fan base among young men who also make up the core moviegoing audience.
Likewise, the "Harry Potter" movies have proven to be huge crowd pleasers in past years. Overall, the four previous films in the series have raked in more than $3.5 billion worldwide.
Other top titles in July include musical "Hairspray" based on the Broadway production about an overweight teen-ager who dances her way to local TV stardom, and "The Simpsons Movie," which is derived from the long-running hit TV cartoon.
Big stars are on the way, too, with Adam Sandler in comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and Lindsay Lohan in thriller "I Know Who Killed Me."
Finally, more than in previous years the traditionally slow month of August is loaded with movies that could be break-out hits, such as action-adventure "The Bourne Ultimatum," comedy "Rush Hour 3" and fantasy "Stardust."
"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks
Top answer
" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers.
- " Good grief!
- What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break?
- 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers.
- 'Supremacy' crossed $100 million in 11 days.
- 'Ultimatum' is being looked forward to as much as "Spiderman 3".
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10 Answers
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[nq:1]Finally, more than in previous years the traditionally slow month of August is loaded with movies that could be break-out hits, such as action-adventure "The Bourne Ultimatum," comedy "Rush Hour 3" and fantasy "Stardust."[/nq]
"Could be break-out hits?" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers. 'S
"Could be break-out hits?" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers. 'S
00
[nq:2]Finally, more than in previous years the traditionally slow month ... "The Bourne Ultimatum," comedy "Rush Hour 3" and fantasy "Stardust."[/nq]
[nq:1]"Could be break-out hits?" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers. 'Supremacy' crossed $100 million in 11 days. 'Ultimatum' is being looked forwar
[nq:1]"Could be break-out hits?" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers. 'Supremacy' crossed $100 million in 11 days. 'Ultimatum' is being looked forwar
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[nq:1]LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - April's rosy forecast that Hollywood would reap a record $4 billion at the box office this ... like "Spider-Man 3" that opened to huge ticket sales but failed to keep audiences returning the way their predecessors did.[/nq]
You can only "worm over" the same sh... idea so many times.
RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"
You can only "worm over" the same sh... idea so many times.
RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"
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[nq:1]Hollywood's hope for record summer fades Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:45PM EDT By Bob Tourtellotte But box office ... whose debut weekend tally of $31 million was less than half the $68 million opening of its predecessor, "Bruce Almighty."[/nq]
I have a real problem with this being labeled a Christian comedy. Simply because I have no sense of humor
I have a real problem with this being labeled a Christian comedy. Simply because I have no sense of humor
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[nq:2]LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - April's rosy forecast that Hollywood would ... failed to keep audiences returning the way their predecessors did.[/nq]
[nq:1]You can only "worm over" the same sh... idea so many times.[/nq]
Trailers I saw lately. All yesterday, at the same movie representation:
- Rush Hour 3: this time they'r ein France. Think of every clichéd Frog joke, dumb it down
[nq:1]You can only "worm over" the same sh... idea so many times.[/nq]
Trailers I saw lately. All yesterday, at the same movie representation:
- Rush Hour 3: this time they'r ein France. Think of every clichéd Frog joke, dumb it down
00
[nq:2]Finally, more than in previous years the traditionally slow month ... "The Bourne Ultimatum," comedy "Rush Hour 3" and fantasy "Stardust."[/nq]
[nq:1]"Could be break-out hits?" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers. 'Supremacy' crossed $100 million in 11 days. 'Ultimatum' is being looked forwar
[nq:1]"Could be break-out hits?" Good grief! What does the Bourne franchise have to do to get a break? 'Identity' was a "break-out hit", despite the Damon nay-sayers. 'Supremacy' crossed $100 million in 11 days. 'Ultimatum' is being looked forwar
00
[nq:1]This one was advertised as coming out in the UK months ago - February/March. Has it been held back or something?[/nq]
Dunno, but the forum in imdb mentions other countries where the release date was pushed back. Maybe the focus groups went badly with the 12 y.o. crowd and they had to reshoot for eight-year olds.
jaybee
Dunno, but the forum in imdb mentions other countries where the release date was pushed back. Maybe the focus groups went badly with the 12 y.o. crowd and they had to reshoot for eight-year olds.
jaybee
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[nq:1]I'll see RH3 as well. It's Jackie Chan and it's got a Lalo Schifrin score.[/nq]
I really can't tolerate that Chris person in these movies. If Denzel Washington wasn't such an old sober sides, he could have a brand new career in comedy. Or, hey, I know: Will Smith! According to the feelings here, this is just his type of movie.
Jeri Jo & Little Garcia Bear
I really can't tolerate that Chris person in these movies. If Denzel Washington wasn't such an old sober sides, he could have a brand new career in comedy. Or, hey, I know: Will Smith! According to the feelings here, this is just his type of movie.
Jeri Jo & Little Garcia Bear
00
[nq:2]I'll see RH3 as well. It's Jackie Chan and it's got a Lalo Schifrin score.[/nq]
[nq:1]I really can't tolerate that Chris person in these movies. If Denzel Washington wasn't such an old sober sides, he ... in comedy. Or, hey, I know: Will Smith! According to the feelings here, this is just his type of movie.[/nq]
Can't get that chip off your shoulder, can you? Just because some of us
[nq:1]I really can't tolerate that Chris person in these movies. If Denzel Washington wasn't such an old sober sides, he ... in comedy. Or, hey, I know: Will Smith! According to the feelings here, this is just his type of movie.[/nq]
Can't get that chip off your shoulder, can you? Just because some of us
00
[nq:1]I have a real problem with this being labeled a Christian comedy. Simply because I have no sense of humor ... ago. The question becomes, why are Christians embracing this film? Is it simply because it's fun for the whole family?[/nq]
I didn't even know it was supposed to be a "Christian comedy." I thought it was just another schlock film in the tradition of "Oh ***" and "Bruce Almighty."
I didn't even know it was supposed to be a "Christian comedy." I thought it was just another schlock film in the tradition of "Oh ***" and "Bruce Almighty."
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