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StnMan5 wrote:

It's too late now, of course because all nov. 2 movies are unavailable, but just in case anyone was interested Bee Movie has pulled a pretty impressive 7.6 so far...

Going down as we speak.

Currently at 7.1 as I type.

geezer9687 wrote:

If you are calling spider-man 3 and shrek 3 dissapointments then I don't know what to tell ya. I know I'd take either one at over 300 mil. Bee Movie and American Gangster are going to own the month of November, Bee Movie #1, Gangster #2, and everyone else fighting for third, with my money on Fred Clause.

I didn't see they were disappointments, but I'm sure many people thought they would still be pulling big money in halfway through June, at least. By the middle of June, Spider-Man was out of the Top 10 and Shrek was very close behind it. They had no legs with huge opening weekend due mostly to the plethora of choices that came out soon after. I was saying that that situation is very similar to this situation this weekend.

Now that the column's up, I'm popping my head out o' the rat hole again, so here are some comments / responses, most delayed by a day or two...

Bee Movieis...going to have some competition right off the bat. It might not even win its opening weekend versus American Gangster.

How's that whole prescience thing workin' for ya, glebe? [Grin] Nice call, there.

Does anyone out there know who would be the Vincent Price of our generation? The closest choice I could think of is Samuel L Jackson. There are few established high rep actors out in the industry now who star in as many films as he does with a consistant quality of acting.

I love Action Jackson, but I've gotta go with Anthony Hopkins, or Michael Caine. (A few years ago, before he all but retired, I'd say Gene Hackman. Tom Hanks isn't far off, either.) In a few years we'll be saying George Clooney. As far as persona goes, Hopkins comes closest to Price, but for my money, it's Christopher Lee.

...I Am Legend is a horror movie, which has a smaller audience than, say, action movies like Bad Boys 2.

[Shudder] I hope you're wrong about that, mooreland, but you do have a point...

Loved what vive said about the IAL-WotW comparisons. And I also agree totally with his summary of BM:

...[E]very fiber of my being tells me Bee Movie is crap, but it seems poised to make a whole lotta $ based on starved family audiences.

Lovely, everything you said about parents and Holiday Season kid films rings true, especially:

BEE Movie is in a good position for its opening because of...the lack of good kids flicks for the past month or longer... However, I doubt Bee Movie will draw alot of repeat viewing like say, Golden Compass, National Treasure or Legends. ...I suspect there to be a decent decline after the second week. ...[S]ome families may...concentrate on the more Holiday Oriented films like Enchanted, Alvin, Magorium and possibly Fred Claus...these films might appeal to the parents more as well... After Thanksgiving there are a...load of choices for the kiddies...parents know this.

And also...

...Legend on the other hand has the end of Dec PLUS all of Jan to makes it's haul with little or no competition. I honestly think Legend will end up being the better choice in the long run and will probably have higher user scores as well.

Couldn't have said it better myself. My own projections for the Top Ten Films of the Holiday Season are as follows: *

Beowulf: $240M Box Office, 15-18 Top 5, 7 PTA, 7.8 IMDb
His Dark Materials: $205M B.O., 10-13 Top 5, 3 PTA, 7.6 IMDb
I Am Legend: $190M B.O., 19 Top 5, 8 PTA, 8.0 IMDb
Bee Movie: $165M B.O., 13-15 Top 5, 5 PTA, 6.7 IMDb
National Treasure 2: $162M B.O., 5-10 Top 5, 3 PTA, 7.0 IMDb
Fred Claus: $118M B.O., 10 Top 5, 2 PTA, 6.6 IMDb
American Gangster: $107M B.O., 8-10 Top 5, 1 PTA, 8.5 IMDb **
Enchated: $93M B.O., 12-13 Top 5, 3 PTA, 6.9 IMDb
Hitman: $88M B.O., 10-14 Top 5, 1 PTA, 7.3 IMDb
Cloverfield: $87M B.O., 9-10 Top 5, 8 PTA, 7.3 IMDb
Charlie Wilson's War: $82M B.O., 10-12 Top 5, 6 PTA, 8.1 IMDb
Mr. Magorium: $82M B.O., 6-8 Top 5, 1 PTA, 6.3 IMDb

* All estimates through January 31, 2008 only.

** Whups.

I, Robot is still a lot better than 90% of decent-budget sci-fi films these days.

I respectfully disagree, ohnaut. I even prefer Bicentennial Man to I, Robot, and that's really, really saying something.

geezer: Six's advice about Gangster and His Dark Materials was pretty sound.

mooreland: You're welcome, glad you enjoyed what I had to offer. You were right, btw, in saying...

...[ I ]t is so much harder for a rated R film to [win], especially against a ated G computer generated feature.

...so, here's hoping that, this Season at least, substance triumphs over style. For once.

[J]ust in case anyone was interested Bee Movie has pulled a pretty impressive 7.6 so far...

Wow, that IS impressive, StnMan5, I had Bee Movie almost a full point lower. Maybe it's not the flying turd I thought it was. (More likely, though, the folks who rushed to Rate it on IMDb are EXACTLY the demographic Bee Movie's most likely to satisfy. We'll see more measured responses in a few days. I think.)

Heh...

Going down as we speak. Currently at 7.1 as I type.

I called it first!

And, lastly, I think Banks is right, SM3 and Shrek the Third's grosses, high as they were, were STILL considered disappointing by their studios, which is, really, the only constituency that matters. In fact, Spider-Man 3 did poorly enough and cost enough, that a franchise reboot is in the offing. (BIG mistake, btw.) That could change, but someone over at Sony/Columbia sure pushed the panic button... And there's talk that the series-capping Shrek 5 might not materialize, now, after all (although Shrek 4 is still a go).

Great stuff, everybody. This is one of the best threads I can remember on the Forum, I've really enjoyed it.

I remain, as always...

Nico.

Well Nico, I'm glad my personal dilemma turned into one of your favorite threads. I did end up going with American Gangster and The Golden Compass. Glad I could be of service.

You're right Nico.

I love Bicentennial Man even though a lot of people didn't care for it.

In a wonderful world, if Spielberg had directed Bicentennial Man instead of A.I., well, it would've been swell.

I cried in Bicentennial man > I, Robot.

The Bicentennial Man was a great movie!

SuperShaan wrote:

The Bicentennial Man was a great movie!

It's just Bicentennial Man, not 'The' Bicentennial Man. Unless there's another version I'm not aware of.

ohnaut wrote:

It's just Bicentennial Man, not 'The' Bicentennial Man. Unless there's another version I'm not aware of.

apologies ohnaut, i didn't know you were so touchy on the subject matter.

Bicentennial Man was a great movie!

I Am Legend i think is going to be epic and potenntially could be the 2nd or 3rd highest grossing film of the fall/winter

transformers2 wrote:

I Am Legend i think is going to be epic and potenntially could be the 2nd or 3rd highest grossing film of the fall/winter

thank you, that's what i like to hear.

If Bee Movie makes more money than I Am Legend, I am going to be very, very VERY disappointed.

If the trailer is any indication, Legend is going to rock. Bee Movie, on the other hand, SUCKED. I can't state it any clearer than that. In fact, I just posted a rant about Bee Movie on another thread.

It may note make $200 million, but Legend, if there is any God at all, will far outdual Bee Movie at the box office.

geezer9687 wrote:

I did end up going with American Gangster and The Golden Compass.

I am with you Geezer. While this is an interesting thread, it is a moot point to me, because I totally am going with American Gangster and Compass to put my money on as well.

Just saw american Gangster. It was incredible. Denzel gives his best performance since Training Day, (my personal favorite of his). Russel Crowe was Russel Crowe, if you love him you will love this performance as well. The story is gripping and carries you through the movie. Awesome character developement, leaves you caring for each of the characters. Gives you a great perspective from both sides of the law. It was one of the best films I have ever seen. I personally think it is much better than the Godfather, but I am not too high on that to begin with. Go see it, it is just brilliant. Should get a very strong consideration for best picture.

geezer9687 wrote:

I personally think it is much better than the Godfather, but I am not too high on that to begin with. Go see it, it is just brilliant. Should get a very strong consideration for best picture.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but let's not over-hype this too much as it will cause mental damage.

It's a simple as this, the movie is good, even very-good in parts, but it's not 'great'.

Wow, Geezer, that's a bold statement. I for one think Yankster is far too unoriginal to even be considered anyhting mroe than a watchable crime drama. It borrows a lot from The Godfather, and countless other crime movies. "Been there, done that" should have been the tagline

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