Predicting the Movie Hits & Bombs of 2022

$50 only for the tickets? Wow! I thought there would be cheaper options. Here, in most places there are discounts for little kids, so parents can afford a trip to the theater without breaking the bank!

 

You said the "C" word here!

Concessions today will rip the fabric of your wallet. I can't believe what concessions cost today! Not just in movie theaters but EVERYWHERE!

I worked in a concession stand a couple if years back, when things were just reopening and tourists were chomping at the bit.

This was in the lobby of a live show. Because of reopening rules, we only had about half the normal audience.

Before the shows and during intermission, the concession stand was mobbed! And the prices!

 

I always hit up the stand for at least a soda when I go. It’s the only thing that keeps theaters in the black so I support them because I want a local cinema around.

 

That reminded me of a conversation I had with my friend's wife, some years ago.

We might agree that Michael Criton is an excellent author. He wrote The Andromeda Strain while he was still in medical school.

But remember this movie!



When I commented on how "lackluster" the movie was, my friend's wife replied, "That movie is just about monkeys, JP is about dinosaurs!".

See how very true this is?

 

Congo was truly horrible. And you find out that the intelligent apes have been killing men by pounding them with giant sticks, which is beyond bizarre.

Meanwhile, Elvis is getting mixed reviews...

‘Elvis’ Review: Baz Luhrmann’s Deliriously Awful Biopic
Is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at 4,000 M.P.H.

Incurious yet frantic, Luhrmann’s spangly epic is off-key
– and Austin Butler flounders in those blue suede shoes
Elvis review – Baz Luhrmann’s squeaky-clean King is shaking no one up

Yikes! I'll see it anyway, but this gives me pause...

 

Still haven't seen it - might go today - but NOW if I understand correctly, "Lightyear" is supposed to be the 1990s movie that Andy from "Toy Story" liked and inspired him to get the toy.

I always thought Buzz was taken from a TV series, but I could be totally wrong about that. I never thought Buzz was a movie character, though.

Anyway, it's a strange concept: a movie that's supposed to resemble a 1995 movie that inspired a toy in another movie actually from 1995.

I can't help but think that the confusion over the basic idea hurt ticket sales.

 

There seems to be a lot of confusion around Lightyear with many people thinking this is a Toy Story movie and it's not. Good discussion here around Disney + and their treatment of recent Pixar movies causing potential issues moving forward.

 

Probably because there *was* a post Toy Story animated movie, and cartoon on the Disney Channel called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, which *was* supposed to be the cartoon that the toy was based on.

The pilot movie even frames it as such, as the 3d animated toys of the Toy Story franchise are going to watch a VHS copy of the "Buzz Lightyear" movie.

I guess Lightyear is supposed to be... the in-universe reboot of the original Buzz Lightyear cartoon? Yeah it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

That's disappointing but I can't say I'm surprised. To me Luhrmann didn't bode well for this project.

 

Here are a few raves from the Elvis movie thread that have my hopes up:

 

Every year, I buy the special popcorn buckets from the two theaters near me - the ones that you can bring back and get filled for around $5. Never go see a movie without one. The funny part is $5 is still a huge markup, but compared to the regular price it seems like a huge bargain. But like you, I want to support the business. There was even one near me that sold popcorn to go as fundraisers when they were closed for the pandemic & I bought it for movie watching at home.

 

Elvis 80% is very solid, but a 10% move either way, could make a huge difference in Box Office

 

interesting in retrospect
the Queen film is at 60% , huge $$$ maker
Elton is at 89% , and did just $$ ok

Bohemian Rhapsody
Rocketman

 

The TOP 10 of 2022 so far.

Rank/Release/Worldwide $$/Domestic $/Foreign $

1- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness $943,155,698 /$405,333,340 43% /$537,822,358 57%
2- Top Gun: Maverick $887,568,000 /$466,168,000 52.5% /$421,400,000 47.5%
3- The Batman $770,345,583 /$369,345,583 47.9% /$401,000,000 52.1%
4- Water Gate Bridge $626,571,280 /$117,294 <0.1% /$626,453,986 100%
5- Jurassic World: Dominion $623,287,690 /$249,796,690 40.1% /$373,491,000 59.9%
6- Uncharted $401,517,726 /$148,417,726 37% /$253,100,000 63%
7- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore $401,069,682 /$95,769,682 23.9% /$305,300,000 76.1%
8- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $399,778,000 /$190,478,000 47.6% /$209,300,000 52.4%
9- The Bad Guys $237,360,005 /$94,239,005 39.7% /$143,121,000 60.3%
10- Too Cool to Kill $217,254,604 /$185,882 <0.1% /$217,068,722 99.9%

 

I have my $5 refill bucket!

 

It really is confusing.

Saw "Lightyear" today and found it moderately entertaining but not especially vivid. It' offers 104 minutes of decent entertainment but it lacks the "fun factor" of that Buzz animated movie from 2000.

It never really feels like a movie from 1995. It feels like a Pixar stab at a space-based action movie and not something with a lot of verisimilitude.

It's perfectly watchable but not memorable.

 

Disney has been p@ssing off religious groups since at least the 80s. Always shouts of "boycott". Yet the same people always capitulate and buy more Disney stuff. Hilarious.

 

We've already bought out tickets for one of the 10PM showings later on in the week. I loved the trailer and hope the Elvis movie does well.

 

The family movie of 2022?? I think I've flown on this airline .

 

Excellent. I'll be waiting for your thoughts.

 

Certainly similar thinking kept me from seeing The Irishman in theatres a couple of years ago.

 

Very true. Big studio’s (Disney for example) demand a big percentage of the sold ticket price (sometimes up to 65%).

A theather can’t live off those numbers. Concessions is the only way to make some money.