“W.” Slips From #2 To #4
Posted by Dirty Harry on Sunday, October 19th, 2008
Stone with his arm around his kind of president dictator…
Here’s some good news:
There was tremendous curiosity not just in Hollywood but also in political circles nationwide surrounding the George W Bush biopic’s North American weekend gross, with predictions ranging wildly from a low of $5 million to a high of $12 million. On Friday, it opened No. 2 with $3.8M from 2,030 theaters, then on Saturday fell to #4 with $4.1M for a $10.5M weekend.
You don’t often see this kind of slippage over a single weekend. Friday evening indicators are usually pretty reliable.
Filed in General |
Tom Aricoon 19 Oct 2008 at 10:19 am 1Opening with 3.8m, and only 10.5m for the weekend? This is what they call a smash hit????
Jack Marinoon 19 Oct 2008 at 10:23 am 2This is a sign that Americans are FED UP with these mad dog liberals pissing on Our President for 8 years and this lousy film by the worst propagandist out there can’t save his boy Obama and his ideals that liberals are ahead of the curve. Everything they do ends up the same way…..SHIT
WHo thought this film was going to make an impact? When was the last time Stone made an impact. I said this after Platoon, Stone has no talent. he is just a technocrat and a propagandist. He will never be a filmmaker or an artist, he just knows how to edit images together to piss off half the country, but guess what, after 20 years of his shit, who that hell wants to pay 15 bucks to be preach too and told our President and country sucks by an ingrate who is living fat and high off America. People know what to expect from this son of Gobbels and we all stay home to deny him putting him into a higher tax bracket so Obama can’t tax him. See how nice we conservatives are.
Michaelon 19 Oct 2008 at 10:24 am 3Very simple, the high concept idea got people in for early screenings, then they saw and and spread the word - it sucked. Word of mouth wins out.
Next week with put the lilly on its coffin.
Johnny Ed's Babyon 19 Oct 2008 at 10:56 am 4If it is still running at our local plex at this time next year maybe I’ll go check it out.
I don’t think I’ll be seeing it.
Jeff Baileyon 19 Oct 2008 at 11:08 am 5I’d love to ask Stone how he likes getting his ass kicked by Beverly Hills Chihuahua AND a movie (Max Payne) that got a miserable 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. Kind of out of touch with the American public, huh pal?
Emilyon 19 Oct 2008 at 11:36 am 6Ha! That’s all I have to say…
NeoConJedion 19 Oct 2008 at 11:48 am 7I really can’t wipe the grin from my face.
God bless America and George W. Bush.
Reality Checkon 19 Oct 2008 at 11:59 am 8I went to see W. and got a ticket for An American Carol. Should I start whining like Zucker and Co.?
Acushlaon 19 Oct 2008 at 12:21 pm 9He confused LBJ with Nixon. Apparently, he has confused Slick Willy with W.
Phoenixon 19 Oct 2008 at 12:50 pm 10The BDS audience tried, really really tried, and Stone failed even them.
The whole movie is a Hand Puppet in a padded room.
wfon 19 Oct 2008 at 12:50 pm 1113 million or ten, while it could have been worse nobody can call this a hit. In the end it will barely make 20 million domestic. I remember a time when that was called a disappointment and ticket prices were lower back then.
Mashaon 19 Oct 2008 at 12:58 pm 12It would be really cool if at the end, including DVD sales, American Carol beats it.
PerfectTommyon 19 Oct 2008 at 1:10 pm 13I did kinda of love on The Soup when they did The Children’s Television Workshop presents “W”, brought to you by the letter “W.”
I have no desire to see the Beverly Hills doggie film, but it has been fun to watch it whup leftie behind.
ExUrbanKevinon 19 Oct 2008 at 1:29 pm 14It’s called “Front-loading”, and it usually happens to movies that appeal to a fanatical fan base but have little to no mainstream appeal.
You know, just like Obama.
amzarakon 19 Oct 2008 at 2:03 pm 15I watched “300″ again last night. I’m going to admit something on this post. I weep everytime Leonidas stands up just before the arrows rain down on him and says, “My Queen! My wife. My love.” I weep not only because it is an emotionally moving moment on film, but also because it has become so rare in Hollywood to make such wonderful movies. If they would just make a dozen or so movies a year like that, I might be able to overlook their contempt for the country that has enriched them so. Sadly, a “300″ or a “Dark Knight” are too few and far between with too many “W”s thrown in the middle. I guess that is why they prefer socialism. They won’t have to worry about making any money.
Conan O'Lenomanon 19 Oct 2008 at 3:10 pm 16Biggest mistake in my life was watching “Natural Born Killers.” I saw it free on cable TV and I want a refund!
Scott Mendelsonon 19 Oct 2008 at 4:36 pm 17Actually, to be fair, the film performed like a normal adult-skewing film. It went up a little bit on Saturday ($3.8 million to $4.1 million) then dropped to under-Friday levels for Sunday ($2.7 million). So basically it had a 3x multiplier which in the old days was par the course. Of course, now with event films and what not, front loading usually occurs on Friday.
As for it ‘dropping’ from 2nd to 4th, that’s just a case where the competition (Beverly Hills Chihuahua and The Secret Life Of Bees) was more targeted to families. That means that the Saturday and Sunday matinee business usually sees a strong bump over Friday, where the Sunday number can sometimes eclipses the Friday number (a rarity in any genre).
Part of the blame for the low number is simply the fact that the film didn’t have much of an audience. Aside from my political leanings (you’ll notice that this is the first time I’ve ever posted here, so you can do the math), it felt to me a film similar to Michael Mann’s Ali - star-studded, impressively acted, and arguably artful; but with little chance of learning anything about the subject. I’ll see it eventually because I usually enjoy Stone’s films (World Trade Center and U-Turn excepted), but it wasn’t something that screamed must see.
Of course, if you are inclined to make film making choices based on political dogma, you’re still in a bind. Liberals and conservatives have their minds made up on the legacy of George W. Bush and don’t need a film to reaffirm or challenge their opinions (from everything I’ve heard, the film is surprisingly sympathetic to the man, if not the presidency).
It didn’t bomb because conservatives took down the evil liberal Hollywood. It had a solid three-day number for a $30 million adult drama that had a major uphill battle to climb in the first place. You can politicize the movie all you want, regardless of which button you’re wearing this November. But the box office gross is completely healthy and normal for the genre of adult drama. Not that it matters. Next weekend, everything is going to get hammered by High School Musical 3 and Saw V will take any leftovers.
I can’t say I agree with much of what I read here (I actually wrote papers in college about how the Dirty Harry movies and Rambo series aren’t as reactionary/conservative as most people think), but I still find the movie-stuff worth reading. I might just troll around here now and then, if you don’t mind a token liberal jew.
maatkareon 19 Oct 2008 at 4:42 pm 18Why is Castro still alive? *sigh*
I do love “300,” but have to do my best to forget the mountain of baby skeletons in the opening scene (the unfit, “puny,” infant Spartans). Other than that, bring on the beefcake!
“W.” lost me from the first trailer. Even when it played in front of an L.A. art house audience the overwhelming vibe was “why make this movie?” “W.” v. “Carol” over the long haul–”W.” will probably break even with overseas grosses, but given its America-centric humor, “Carol” probably won’t play well internationally. Might make some $ back on dvd, but from a lot of comments on this site it seems like it just wasn’t very good.
TROon 19 Oct 2008 at 4:44 pm 19About 45% of Americans - liberals - hate George Bush and yet the movie only made 10 million or so? How sad. For Stone that is. Frankly I find it quite amusing.
(And yes I know his job approval rating is much, much lower, but there is a big difference with being unhappy with how he is doing and hating him.)
Carolineon 19 Oct 2008 at 6:02 pm 20Josh Brolin beats his wife. Actually, he kicked her out of bed. Diane Lane, his wife. He kicked Diane Lane out of bed. And W’s an idiot?
ChristopherMCon 19 Oct 2008 at 7:07 pm 21Thank God for Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
I can’t believe I just wrote that.
Jack Marinoon 19 Oct 2008 at 7:45 pm 22amzarak, let me, let you in on a little gem here. Click on my name and buy the DVD FORGOTTEN HEROES and make a donation through your purchase to the AMERICAN VETERANS DISABLED FOR LIFE MEMORIAL FUND. It is a good little indie film with a lot of heart and show our troop in a positive light. The libs shut me out on many deals I was closing, but I am here, alone on a wind swept hill, bloodied, with my sword in hand, waiting for the final assault. Check out the web site and add FORGOTTEN HEROES to your collection of films that promote the American spirit of liberty for all…. even an enemy.
TROon 19 Oct 2008 at 7:51 pm 23“He kicked Diane Lane out of bed. And W’s an idiot?”
Diane Lane . . . mmmm . . . like warm donuts.
wfon 20 Oct 2008 at 6:08 am 24Here is an interesting review:
http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmJiNDdiOWEwMzE1NmU3ZTk0MTU1MDNlMWJlMTAwYTI=