Predicting the Movie Hits and Bombs of 2017

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Vidiot, Dec 3, 2016.

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  1. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Boss Baby = BOMB

    Sorry, but the movie just doesn't look funny. At all.

    Other possible theories about which ones will flop.

    The Mummy

    The upcoming live action Disney remakes
     
  2. Morpheus

    Morpheus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    Blade Runner was a career-threatening bomb? Perhaps I'm reading that wrong and you meant that as the exception. That said though, I don't think the stars in those other films were hurt that bad.

    One of the films you left out was The Matrix. I think that qualifies. So does The Thirteenth Floor (though low budget, still a pretty good movie), and eXistenZ.
     
  3. Maggie

    Maggie like a walking, talking art show

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Thirteenth Floor and eXistenZ are both interesting films that were not commercially successful. We spoke about the Matrix (indeed, an obvious one that I missed) a couple of posts ago.

    As for Blade Runner being a "career-threatening bomb," I'm not sure what part of that statement you take issue with, but it is definitely true. It's also my favorite movie, but if you do some reading about its troubled production, you'll get a better sense of what I mean. Its budget overruns and lack of commercial success definitely hurt Ridley Scott's career, at least for a while
     
  4. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    It's already done pretty well at the box office, so it can't be called a financial bomb.

    And how do you "predict" a film will bomb when it's been out for a week? :confused:

    With the exception of "Pete's Dragon", all the Disney live-action remakes have done well: "Cinderella", "Jungle Book", "Maleficent" and especially "BatB".

    Betting that all the rest are going to flop makes no sense given the track record...
     
  5. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Whoa, Ghost in the Shell is already being called one of the biggest bombs of the year, losing over $60 million...

    ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Will Lose $60 Million-Plus: Here’s Why


    Remember there's a difference between movies you don't like personally, movies the critics don't like, and movies that don't make any money. So far, Boss Baby is a much, much bigger hit than anybody would've predicted, and has already made $140M domestic -- which is enormous for an animated film that came from out of nowhere. I never thought Beauty & The Beast would hit $925 million worldwide, but it's gonna do that in the next few days. I wouldn't see either film unless you paid me -- but I would pay to see them. I'm not their target audience.

    I've seen clips of The Mummy and it doesn't look too good to me, either, but if it comes out at a time the public wants to see an action/horror film, it might do well.
     
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  6. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    By the trailer of the film.
     
  7. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Some of the viewer reviews have been ok for that film. I wonder if the white washing controversy had a lot to do with it, or if it's just not that good of a film? I haven't seen it yet. A rental for me so I'm waiting for that.
     
  8. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    Well it seems you were wrong as it did very well opening weekend. Number 1 in the US. It seems to be very popular here as well, I think it's the only real kids film out at the moment and it's the easter holiday.

    Looks OK in the clips I have seen although I have no interest myself (I'm not the target audience).
     
  9. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Oops. My apologies.
     
  10. Maggie

    Maggie like a walking, talking art show

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    And, ironically, Pete's Dragon was the best of those films. A genuinely touching movie.

    The others are more mundane, but you can't argue with a successful formula.
     
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  11. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    I really loathe the recent spate of Hollywood movies featuring "over the hill" actors and actresses. The most recent venture is Going in Style, starring Allan Arkin, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine. (It's made ~12 million so far . . . ). Yes, that Morgan Freeman, who never turned down a movie or voice-over opportunity. (Reportedly, he is filming a new movie, entitled Overexposed, a biopic of his life).

    The general trend is to display old people as complete dufuses, mentally incompetent imbeciles who are wildly and obliviously out of touch with the modern world. Another example: Sally Fields in Hello, My Name is Doris. Here is a picture of Sally Fields later in life (I don't know her exact age in this photo:
    [​IMG]
    Now that is one pretty older woman. She seems to have really taken care of herself and has good genes. The name "Doris" is a very old (and seldom if ever used today) name, deliberately chosen for "humorous" effect -- old name, old person, out of touch. I don't want to digress on this point (a la freakonomics analysis of name trends). Why not a dignified role for Sally, as an intelligent well-adjusted older American? Well, that doesn't fit Hollywood's stereotype of older Americans.

    Here is a shot from "Going In Style":
    [​IMG]

    Let me ask you something: have you ever seen three older American men who were all wearing the exact same shirt (excepting those on a bowling team, which again, would point to an older sport)? Of course, they all have to have hats on, because they must be bald. And it's such a chore, from the puzzled look on Morgan's face, to read/understand that letter. Maybe, just maybe, all three of dumbbells can combine their intelligence to figure it out.

    There has been many of these movies, some featuring many fine actors and actresses who were once in really good movies: Robert Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, William Shatner, Henry Winckler, Terry Bradshaw (not an actor, but in these movies nonetheless), George Foreman (ditto on Bradshaw, in the tired, cliched produced for TV Better Late Than Never), etc. In one of these pictures, the four old guys are carousing in bar, and a young woman asks if person X was "good in bed", and of course, since he is stupid and has memory lapses, he replies "I don't know, I can't remember." Isn't that funny?

    How could Hollywood portray older people? As intelligent individuals, who have mellowed with age, but are wiser for having a life full of experiences. How about Clint Eastwood's movie Gran Torino, where he played Walt Kowakski, former Korean combat veteran who was bitter and alienated, but he had learned that violence wasn't the answer. He was a complex, multi-dimensional character, not some piece of cardboard who wore Depends and was still trying to figure out how to import his calendar into his Mac computer.

    How about Julianne Moore's sensitive and courageous performance in Still Alice, where she is a linguistic professor battling early onset Alzheimer's disease? I also like that a woman is portrayed here as a lingustics professor.

    Decades ago, Bruce Lee objected to the stereotyped portrayal of Asians in movies, and rightly so. So should we object to the stereotyped presentation of older Americans. No, we didn't ask for this. Hollywood determines how something is portrayed, not the public. But we can "vote" with out wallets; and boycott this junk.
     
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  12. Johnny Rocker

    Johnny Rocker Well-Known Member

    Location:
    DFW
    Yaaaa, he fergot Alien Covenant. I reckon it will do alright with us Sci-Fi nuts.[​IMG] [​IMG] Star Trek nerds rule the most, lol!:tiphat:
     
  13. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Well, she did play such a role, not in a Hollywood movie, but in a TV series I enjoyed a lot - Brothers & Sisters.
     
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  14. GlamorProfession

    GlamorProfession Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tejas
    get Will Smith to play young Morgan Freeman
     
  15. "so perhaps LaBeouf fans opted to watch the flick in the comfort of their own homes."

    He has a mother...:D
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2017
  16. I don't think many people care about the "whitewashing" thing. A bigger issue is probably a combination of bad word of mouth and the inherent niche appeal of a dark sci-fi movie based on a Japanese cartoon.
     
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  17. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    From what I have heard its just not very good, misses the mark.
     
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  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Which trailer - the trailer for "Boss Baby", which you claimed would be a "bomb" after it'd already made a bunch of money? :confused:
     
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  19. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I saw "Ghost in the Shell" yesterday and thought it was a snoozer. Aimless and not very interesting...
     
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  20. Wow some of the films I like and wanted to succeed didnt do as good as I hoped. While some of the films I have no interest in are doing quite well. I guess I should have expected that though, never being one too keen on pop culture.
     
  21. mikeyt

    mikeyt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    There's a film called I'll See You In My Dreams starring Blythe Danner, Sam Elliot, and Martin Starr that you may enjoy. It did well with the critics and for an indie film had a decent box-office run.

     
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  22. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    The first time I saw the trailer was what I should've said.
     
  23. Maggie

    Maggie like a walking, talking art show

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Dude.
    * The three guys are wearing the same shirt because they work in the same place. It is a uniform.
    * They are making that face because the letter is informing them that their pensions have been rescinded.
    * They are wearing hats because it is sunny out.

    :shrug:

    As to My Name is Doris.
    * The point of that character was that she was isolated and emotionally damaged (and to some extent mentally ill), not that she was old.
    * I don't think her character was supposed to be as old as Sally Field actually is. The central conflict in the movie is that her mother (who appears to be in her 70s) has just died.

    Holding up Gran Torino as some kind of exemplar of social progress is pretty rich (moral: old racist white guys are actually the best people!).

    There are lots of movies where old people are portrayed as buffoons, but just as many where they are portrayed as wise oracles. One point I'll grant you is that we don't get a lot of movies focused on the elderly. I do welcome them when they appear.

    But your other criticisms are off base.
     
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  24. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    My name is not Dude. That is word and phrase people need to stop using. (See thread to this effect.)

    I live in the deep south, where it is nearly always sunny, and many people do not wear hats. Understand about the uniforms -- good observation on your part. Pensions don't get rescinded nowadays, because no one, at least people who work at places that require uniforms (fast food, etc.) don't have pensions. Most people just read their mail at their residence, alone or with his/her mate, when it arrives.

    The scene is staged for comedic relief, but still goofy and unrealistic. Please generate your list of the two types of old people movies (buffoons vs. wise), and show me that there are "just as many". I didn't hold up Gran Torino "as some kind of exemplar of social progress". I cited it as an alternative to the drivel of these other movies, b/c it had some redeeming elements.
     
  25. Maggie

    Maggie like a walking, talking art show

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    What I will say, or repeat, is that I am in sympathy with complaints about the paucity of films with a serious focus on the plight of the elderly. It's a representation issue and I agree that there could be more. The success of the Best Marigold Hotel (or whatever they are called) films clearly shows there's an audience for this kind of picture.

    However, I really thought you were off base and over the top in your criticism of two films that you clearly haven't seen. The fact that Sally Field is in her sixties was not the point of Doris. She was a complex character, not Mr Magoo.
     
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