Box Office duds

Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven, The Island... whats the next super budget film to fall flat on it's face? Stealth?

Much like The Island it looks as Stealth isn't being advertised very well. It's coming off as a futuristic Top Gun on the tv spots, they don't even mention the AWOL AI fighter the full trailer shows.

I think people are finally getting sick of big-budget extravaganzas. With the exception of superhero films and Star Wars (and other films that have built-in fanbases) these films have failed because there are so many of them and they are all the same; the audiences are sick of it. As this website has stated, Troy, King Arthur, Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven all came out within the last year or so. None of these that I've seen were very good and people I've talked to desire something different, something more unpredictable than these trite examples of film. I reccomend films the likes of of Wes Anderson and Charlie Kaufman for those people. Great films such as those are released in a narrower margin and are advertised less. That's not saying that big-budget films can't be great (War of the Worlds and Batman Begins are sweet) but now all of a sudden a big budget doesn't mean a big audience anymore. The barrage of bad films have conditioned the audience to be more careful and critical when choosing what they want to see. Just big synthesized drums and flying letters and big stars in the previews won't allure the audience anymore. Anyway, I think this is a good shift in the trends. Huge films like Fantastic Four etc. make buckets of $ when greater, smaller films like the One Hour Photo, Frailty, Adaptation and Shaun of the Dead go almost unnoticed in theater. However, this trend could also be dangerous because the saturation of crappy movies is what makes the smaller, hidden gems so special. Budget, big or small, does not determine the potential greatness of a film, but when a blockbuster flops it is more widley-known.

TGP I wasn't meaning to attack you, I was merely voicing an opinion that I feel should be shared with the general public. If I have offended you I apologize.

But those movies are still crappy.

I saw King Arthur last night for the first time, and while it is not a very good movie it is a HELL of a lot better than Troy (in my opinion, contrary to the reviews/opinions presented on this site).
Also, I still think that Gangs of New York is the best historical epic since Gladiator, although no one agrees with me...

"But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that just because a film was low-budget and made no money and no one's ever even heard of it therefore means it's a great film and that your a genius and that you are capable of appreciating "true art" having seen it. Becuase that's not true, and it's stupid to think that way." - Onijay

Did you even read my post? The following is directly from it:
"Budget, big or small, does not determine the potential greatness of a film, but when a blockbuster flops it is more widely-known." - TGP

Think before you speak.

I agree that even low budget movies have its share of clunkers. But One hour photo and Frailty are not terrible movies. Infact Frailty is one of the original horror movies one can see.

Onijay ++

But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that just because a film was low-budget and made no money and no one's ever even heard of it therefore means it's a great film and that your a genius and that you are capable of appreciating "true art" having seen it. Becuase that's not true, and it's stupid to think that way.

One Hour Photo sucked and Frailty was terrible. And are we to assume that since Darkness was made on a low budget, no one went to see it and it made no money that therefore it's a cinema gem?

Hollywood has taken chances: Alien3... maybe that's what did it...

The conflict is Hollywood loves formula because of the low risk. Let's face it. If someone greenlights a dud, they can be unemployed the day after the first weeks box office receipts come in. Studio people don't want to take chances, so you have garbage like Fantastic Four and Stealth.

Audiences don't want the garabage at the box office. But I will guarantee between domestic and international box office, DVD and cable. Stealth, Fantastic Four and The Island will all turn a profit. So guess what we'll see next year and the year after that? This is why you have the Dukes of Hazard movie, Bewitched, Stealth. Because of costs, Hollywood has become a very uninspired place.

The reason a blockbuster film takes notice when it flops, and as Chris pointed out on another topic, they end up taking anywhere from 3000 to 4000 theatre rooms when they are released. When they flop they flop hard, and seeing as they take up so much real-estate space in the theatre there is no way you are not going to hear about its short comings.

Now, gathering from Depressions' topic, I asume we are talking about BIG BUDGET films taking a dive because, and technically speaking, "Box Office Duds" could mean any film out there, big or small. Granted, you probably have already heard why I think the Hollywood machine is hitting a brick wall. I say it's lack of originality, no fresh ideas and a lack of intelligent writers. I mean, how much talent can it actually take to make rerun TV shows, comicbooks and remade films into worth while movies? Sure, a few of them have worked but that's no excuse to pile it on all of us. There has to be a point where enough is enough and take risks on fresh ideas and talent. Unfortunately, Hollywood may have dug themselfs into a rutt they may not be able to get out of; so they're banking all they got on we'll come flocking for anything with big CGI and blistering THX.

Either way it's all entertainment. It's just that lately it has been dull and tedious entertainment. Hopefully things will get better, and with the audience decline, it is a good indication that we are starting to make better choices.

Tim ;)