Posts Tagged ‘box office’
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There is only one appropriate response to Vin Diesel. Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics to find out what it is.
While exhibiting at Emerald City Comicon and subsequently feeling like I have been off-planet for the last four days, I admit to a certain amount of surprise to have learned that Fast & Furious earned nearly $73 million in a record-shattering debut.
It is the largest box office for an April opening ever, besting 2003’s Anger Management ($42.2 million) and it is also the biggest opening of the year. Bigger than than “the more-buzzed-about Monsters vs. Aliens ($59.3 million) and Watchmen ($55.2 million).”
Most significantly, it’s the “best opening ever for stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster, as well as for director Justin Lin.” Good for them. They all could have used a hit and it looks like their movie delivered. We should all be so lucky.
Moving on to more me-centric topics, of course I wanted to provide you with a recap of Emerald City Comicon!
First, everything you’ve read about the show is true. It is impeccably run by Jim Demonakos and his team of volunteers. Never before have I been treated so well at a con of this size. The staff was friendly and would bend over backwards to help ANYONE. And being on Artist Alley where you are typically ignored, that is significant.
The guy at the table next to me was complaining of a mild headache. One of the show staff overheard him and brought him Excedrin in no time flat. Any other show and he would have been on his own.
Secondly, the fans were WONDERFUL. I’m lucky in that my readers are pretty much awesome where ever I go. But a gold star for Seattle whose patrons seemed more than willing to explore Artist Alley and try new things. I sold more books in Seattle than probably any other convention I’ve been to. Seattle loves to read!
Thirdly, sincere thanks to Indigo Kelleigh who creates The Adventures of Ellie Connelly. Indigo and I split a room at the Hyatt and he did me A WORLD of favors when he both picked me up from and dropped me off at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. Not only that, but the guy is super nice and ridiculously talented. We had great conversations about the nature of our comics and our artistic pursuits. Indigo was also my unofficial tour guide – having grown up in Seattle as a kid. Be sure to check out the rest of his work at his art blog, Lunar Bistro.
One thing I wanted to mention was my participation on the Business of Webcomics panel on Sunday. As you recall, I was on-stage with Robert Khoo from Penny Arcade, Danielle Corsetto from Girls With Slingshots and Jeph Jacques from Questionable Content.
Was I nervous about it? You bet. Was I intimidated? As much as one can be when Khoo showed up wearing a suit! Was I visibly shaking in my chair? A little. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
I had a great time talking on the panel. And while the questions were maybe a little business-light, it felt good to answer questions from people just getting started with their comics, exposing a little bit of our methods and outlining what they can expect if they want to profit from their comics.
I think web comics are a little different now than they were when I started Theater Hopper almost 7 years ago. While there was certainly a lot of competition back then, there is A LOT of competition right now. So it’s very difficult for a new comic to rise up and make a name for itself.
Conversely, I think people look at the success of larger comics and see more and more creators being able to make a living off their comics and ask themselves “Why isn’t it happening for me?” There was a little bit of impatience in tone of the questions we were receiving. A few people point out “there’s a reason you’re ‘up there’ and we’re ‘down here’.”
I fully admitted to dumb luck having a lot to do with my placement on the panel, but I knew where they were coming from.
It sounds simplistic to suggest (and counter-intuitive to the purpose of the panel), but we were forced to suggest that anyone getting into webcomics exclusively to make money was probably doing it for the wrong reasons. Fans see right through it! You have to love what you do, work to improve you craft and be a little bit shameless when it comes to networking. Once those things line up, the audience will come. Maintain your trust and the audience will grow. Word-of-mouth works to some extent, but you have to produce quality work consistently and strive to put it in front of new audiences. Opportunities will spring up from those efforts.
If you’d like to see some photos from the panel, be sure to check out Jonah Gregory’s Flickr page (starting with this classic shot of Jonah, Jeph Jacques and myself). Jonah was also the moderator of the panel and the creator of his own webcomic, Here There Be Robots. I thought he did an excellent job of running the show.
I want to reiterate what a wonderful time I had at Emerald City Comicon and I also want to tip my hat to the webcomic creators I had a chance to meet over the weekend. Kris Straub, Danielle Corsetto, Holly from TopatoCo, Jeph Jacques, Dave Kellett, Chris Yates, Malki!, Sam Logan, Meredith Gran and Alina Pete – it was a pleasure to meet you all.
If I left your name off that list, no disrespect. There was just a lot going on and I was meeting a lot of people at once! 🙂
I think it goes without saying that I would love to attend Emerald City Comicon again in the future. With any luck, I’ll be able to get a cheap flight back to Seattle next year so I can go. Seattle is a wonderful city. I felt comfortable there immediately. I can’t wait to go back.
Thanks again to the show organizers and all of the fans that made this experience so wonderful!
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I don’t know if the punchline for today’s comic justifies the delay, but I was really enamored with the idea of an Away We Go lunch box. So, there you go.
About that delay, sorry everyone. Couldn’t be helped. I was away from home all day Sunday celebrating my sister-in-law’s birthday and didn’t get home until late. By the time I had an opportunity to work on Monday’s comic, Henry decided to have a total fit and basically wouldn’t sleep. By the time I had been upstairs two or three times to help settle him down, it was 2:00 in the morning and I had to call it a night.
I would have had the comic finished earlier this morning, but we keep Henry home from day care on Mondays and I watch over him. He’s taking his nap now. I actually have to wake him up in about 15 minutes, so I’m running this one kind of close.
As you probably heard, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen racked up a little over $200 million in 5 days making it the second-largest opening weekend haul since The Dark Knight. I can’t say I’m surprised. In our little Top 10 of Summer 2009 wager between Joe, Gordon and myself, I picked Transformers: ROTF to be the summer’s biggest film, projecting a $400 million box office haul. Even if the movie loses half of it’s audience this weekend, it’s already more than half way there with probably two more months in theaters to make up the difference.
Incidentally, I did have the opportunity to see Away We Go this weekend and it was the perfect antidote to Transformers: ROTF. I liken the film to Stranger Than Fiction or Last Chance Harvey – the kind of film that wears it’s idiosyncrasies on it’s sleeve and is maybe a little too precious for its own good, but is ultimately an enjoyable film that makes you feel good about your own personal journeys. In that regard, it’s probably the LEAST Sam Mendes-like movie directed by Sam Mendes that you’re ever going to see.
The performances were good, too. John Krasinski is a little more extroverted than normal, but plays the same sweet and nurturing notes he does with Jim on The Office. Maya Rudolph is a revelation, though. A completely formed character played with nuance and sensitivity.
You kind of don’t expect the chemistry between these two actors to work as well as it does and I can’t decide if it’s success of the actors or the script that makes it convincing. I mean, if you sat down and thought about it, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph probably wouldn’t be at the top of anyone’s list to star in a romantic comedy.
Away We Go isn’t really a romantic comedy. I’m just using that for lack of a better term. But the movie is funny and sweet, so it kind of fits. If you have the opportunity to see the film, I highly recommend it. It’s a nice breather during the summer blockbuster season. The more I think about it, the more it has grown on me. Good stuff.
Quick Reminder: Don’t forget to tune in to The Triple Feature tonight where we will most likely spend time talking about Transformers: ROTF. We record live at 9:00 PM CST over at TalkShoe.com.
I hear Henry sneaking down the staircase. I guess he woke up from his nap on his own. So I gotta wrap things up. Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon!
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In my head, Tom looking dramatically over his shoulder was supposed to come off kind of like Bigger Than Cheeses’s CSI: Miami comic. I know it’s not the same thing. I’m just telling you how it played out in my head.
Believe it or not, Box Office Mojo is reporting that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs actually TIED at the box office this weekend with a tally of $42.5 million each.
Granted, I haven’t been following box office reports for all that long, but I can’t think of another time where that has ever happened before. Next thing you know the two movies will start fighting over who had the idea to use a colon in their title rather than call their film “Transformers 2” or “Ice Age 3”.
There is one qualifier, of course. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs actually came out on Wednesday. So if you count the 5-day tally, the box office is in it’s favor – $67.5 million. But the story isn’t interesting if you include that. So everyone is choosing to focus on the 3-day weekend in stead. Ho hum.
Something I said I’d do but never really got around to last week was talk a little bit more about Public Enemies (which, incidentally, came in 3rd this weekend with $26 million).
I looked at my original synopsis – that the film was good but overlong, that Bale hardly leaves an impression and that he and Depp barely share screen time together – and thought “Was there more I wanted to add to this?” But I suppose I officially have to chime in on director Michael Mann’s decision to shoot the film with digital video.
For me, it’s an anachronism that distracts me somewhat. But more glaring was the poor quality of the video. I don’t have a problem with a period film using digital video. But in Public Enemies I thought things were blurry, pixelated and fundamentally inferior. For someone who can pick a shot as well as Mann can, I don’t understand why he’s resorting to such a crude method of capturing his film.
Probably the greater anachronism for me were Mann’s musical selections. Sometimes there would be sweeping orchestra work. Sometimes there would be radio hits from the late 20’s and early 30’s. But during the heists in particular, he would sometimes go with an electric guitar riff that left me asking myself “Were people playing electric guitars back then?” Maybe I’m ignorant, but it felt really out of place.
There were also some strange overlaps, historically speaking. Did John Dillinger really pull all of these heists with Alvin “Creepy” Karpis and Baby Face Nelson? It kind of felt like some kind of greatest hits tour, or something. I don’t know a lot about that era, but it seems to me these guys wouldn’t pal around with each other if they could help it.
I guess more than anything, it’s been interesting reading people’s reaction to the movie. Some people feels like it doesn’t connect and that Mann has lost his touch completely. Others consider Public Enemies to be some kind of art film.
Whatever it is, Mann has not made a conventional Hollywood caper flick. Maybe if this one had found it’s way into theaters later in the year instead of over the 4th of July weekend, it would have played differently. The grit and steel in Marion Cotillard’s performance would perhaps raise the specter of a Best Supporting Actress nomination if it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
It’s odd. For as wrapped up in the movie as I was, I didn’t really enjoy it and I’m not sure I could recommend it to others. It’s not a bad film, but it’s not blithely entertaining, either. I guess you could say I respect it, but even that feels like a left-handed compliment.
I’m sure we’ll be talking about Public Enemies and much, much more tonight on The Triple Feature podcast at 9PM CST. Be sure to listen to us live! Don’t forget to submit your questions to our Facebook group. Sign up as a member and we’ll send you a reminder of when the show is recording so you can join us during the show.
Thanks and have a great Monday!
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I have to admit I was kind of surprised by the response that Friday’s comic got in the comic field. A lot of people were on my side as far as the disdain for Megan Fox went. Some people were outright thanking me as if this was no a complaint already prevalent on the internet.
Then again, Fox seems to have a lot of people in the mainstream media snowed. Take Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly. Although he acknowledges the box office shortcomings of Jennifer’s Body, Tucker seems to think that her “smart, funny, and self-aware” interviews on television this week promoting her movie indicate a move to the small screen.
If you put all of the adjectives known to man and asked me to put them in order of terms that best describe Megan Fox, “smart, funny, and self-aware” would be at the very bottom of the list.
Of course, keep in mind that this is Entertainment Weekly we’re talking about. So take everything they say with a boulder of salt.
Push comes to shove and I was looking for a way to once again strike while the iron was hot and serve up another comic about Megan Fox to get your feedback. In that way, I suppose she has me snowed as well. But Jennifer’s Body dismal fifth place bow at the box office this weekend all but confirms that Fox doesn’t have the star power to launch a movie on her own.
I mean, this movie earned $2 million less than Love Happens. It earned $4 million less than Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad By Myself – which was in it’s second week and lost 50% of it’s business!
Obviously there are multiple factors that contribute to the success or failure of a film. I’ve read some comments that have said the movie was not advertised very well. Perhaps some of the blame should fall on Diablo Cody’s script, which hasn’t been popular in reviews. Some are going so far as to point the finger at director Karyn Kusama – who started her career with the excellent Girlfight and followed it up with the dismal Æon Flux.
But at the end of the day, people don’t usually see movies because they’re fans of the screenwriter or the director. They usually go to see their favorite actors and actresses. And Fox simply doesn’t have an audience large enough to support her in a headlining role this soon in her career.
I’ll leave it at that. For now, I need to crash. It’s been a long, stressful day and I need to get some sleep if I’m going to be any good watching Henry when we’re home on Monday.
Come back to the site this afternoon, though. I plan on writing a blog while Henry’s napping that shares some very important information that you’re not going to want to miss. It’s a game-changer, I can say that much.
In the meantime, did anyone here see Jennifer’s Body? What were your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below!
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I always feel a little bit dodgey doing jokes about box office results. I always fear that it plays a little to inside and the numbers really aren’t that important to the average movie goer. Box office results only matter to the studios, the filmmakers and the movie bloggers desperate for something to talk about.
That said, I’m REALLY pleased that Paranormal Activity beat out Saw VI at the box office this weekend (I pretty much begged for these results on last Monday’s The Triple Feature).
Paranormal Activity earned $22 million over Saw VI’s $14.8 million. That’s quite a smackdown. Especially when you consider Saw VI was on over 1,000 more screens than its competitor and Paranormal Activity was in it’s second week of screenings. Smelling blood in the water, critics are already starting to wonder out loud if this is the end of the Saw franchise.
If you enjoy the Saw movies, then that’s your prerogative. I guess what I’ve resisted is the ritualistic behavior of “Whoops! It’s Halloween! Time to see another Saw movie!” It doesn’t leave a lot of room for innovation. Considering what a jolt to the system the original Saw was, I think it’s a disappointing fall from grace for the franchise to be another by-the-numbers torture porn money maker for Lionsgate.
Then again, Lionsgate as a studio isn’t really known for restraint. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they will run this franchise into the ground after wringing every last possible dollar from it.
It should be noted that Paramount is already considering a sequel to Paranormal Activity. Considering it cost about $15,000 and has earned nearly $64 million at the box office so far, that’s not surprising.
I don’t think fans have to worry about Paramount running this franchise into the ground like Lionsgate has with Saw, though. With an eye toward history, the last time this kind of word-of-mouth phenomenon occured, it was for The Blair Witch Project. When Artisan Pictures turned around a sequel immediately following the original, they gave us Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and it tanked… hard. I could see something similar happening to Paranormal Activity if Paramount isn’t smart.
When phenomenon like this occur, people are reacting to more than just a really good horror movie. I think they’re connecting with the authenticity of it. More than other splatter-fests with no-name actors and unkillable boogeymen, I think the reason Paranormal Activity is crossing over from traditional horror fans into the mainstream is because of its rags to riches story compounded by the excellent word-of-mouth. The idea being “If they can scare the living daylights out of hard-core horror fans with a budget of $15,000, then this must be something to see.”
Long story short, I think if Paramount tries to put lightning in a bottle twice, they going to get electrocuted.
In other news, Theater Hopper: Year One and Year Two were reviewed over at This Week in Webcomics – which is timely, becuase I’m planning another major push to get Theater Hopper: Year Three published by the end of the year.
Noting the success of my friend Gordon’s fund raising for the first print collection of Multiplex using Kickstarter (not to mention the success of Spike from Templar, AZ in her fund raising efforts has convinced me to utilize Kickstarter as a tool to help me meet my goals. So stay tuned for news there.
In the meantime, please go read the book reviews over at This Week in Webcomics. They put a lot of thought and effort into them and I think you’ll enjoy their insights.
In the meantime, I hope you make plans to listen to The Triple Feature movie podcast tonight at 9:00 PM CST at TalkShoe.com. We’ll be talking about Saw VI and, well… I’m not sure what else! But it’ll be a good time, that’s for sure! I look forward to it every Monday night. Be there!
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I had a lot of fun drawing Tom’s wild mood swings in today’s comic. Always fun to do a little cartoon-y over exaggeration.
Cami and I didn’t see Valentine’s Day over the weekend and our lives were no less the richer for it. But I must admit that I was surprised by it’s $52 million haul at the box office.
This goes back to what I was talking about on Friday. I think people were pre-disposed to seeing this movie by virtue of it’s branding. They felt compelled to see a movie CALLED Valentine’s Day ON Valentine’s Day. It’s the laziest, easiest response to “Hey, we need something to do for our Valentine’s Day together. I know what we should do!”
I’m certain the large cast had something to do with it as well. The producers basically played the odds and gambled that at least ONE of those actors would get you to buy a ticket. It looks like their gamble paid off.
I hope the success of Valentine’s Day doesn’t spur a bunch of copycat movies that stack the deck with 2 dozen different well-known actors. Having so many big names to feature makes it sound like the story doesn’t support them. I mean, you can’t really develop that many characters at once and be successful. Even Love, Actually – which has built up a lot of good will over the years – falls down on this point.
My sister-in-law saw Valentine’s Day with friends and my wife asked her a lot of questions about it. I think it reflects the “car crash” interest in this movie. People want to watch it because they want to see if they can pull it off. According to my sister-in-law, they don’t.
I won’t spoil anything for you in case you want to see it, but she referenced two different points in the script where the audience audibly groaned at the contrivance on screen. So, buyer beware.
I will say this… For those of you thinking about going to see this movie for Julia Roberts, my sister-in-law warns that she is on screen for about 6 minutes. But, again, considering there are 19 different actors in this thing and the movie is 125 minutes long… an appearance of about 6 minutes is pretty much on the nose. Do the math. It shakes out right.
I’m curious if anyone here saw Valentine’s Day this weekend. If so, what were your thoughts? Feel free to leave your comments below!
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