Thanksgiving Weekend

[DylanG]

I'm really hoping Old Dogs just had a poor first two days (ala Tropic Thunder) and will grab the #2 spot over the weekend. I think it looks quite funny.

[Buscemi]

I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox today. That movie did not deserve the dumping that it got. It is Wes Anderson's second best film and perfect family entertainment (like with Up, I feel that it should have been G instead of PG).

[J.I.]

I really don't think Fantastic Mr. Fox got dumped. It had a good release date and pretty good marketing. It could have not done well for a number of reasons, probably that the animation didn't look as good or as high-tech as all of the 3D computer animated releases we've had this year and the fact that it doesn't really appeal to kids. Not saying its a bad film or anything, and I will be seeing it tomorrow.

[Buscemi]

I never saw anything for it (TV, internet, other media) once it opened in limited release. It's as if Fox didn't really want to release it, they simply did because it was doing well in Europe. That and they have Avatar and Alvin and The Chipmunks opening so their promotional money will go towards those two films.

Similar to how Fox dumped Whip It and Amelia to give a bigger ad campaign to Jennifer's Body.

[W]

I'm fairly certain that if Fox thought the film was going to make more money if they advertised it more then they would have advertised it more. Movies are a business and studios still use (what they perceive as) profit maximization. They have enough money to advertise whatever they want to, so they're going to advertise on what (they think) will make them money. Simply, if they feel they're going to make more money than they give out, they're going to advertise. It has nothing to do with any other films they have going on at the time.

Do you derive pleasure from beating that three month old dead horse? Because you're starting to get into S&M territory with it if you are.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

The Fantastic Mr. Fox was never going to do well. Stop-motion pretty much turns off a lot of people right there.

And it looks like Old Dogs is floppinf (thankfully). I'd be surprised to see it get higher than #4 this weekend.

[Shrykespeare]

Yeah. What a way for Bernie Mac's legacy to end. Gack.

[W]

Yeah. What a way for Bernie Mac's legacy to end. Gack.

Good thing it wasn't billed a his last movie. I haven't seen a thing promoting him in it.

[Shrykespeare]

Just checking the standings in the Ultimate HY.... wow. I tentatively have five people within a point of each other, two above the cut-line, three below. Who makes it through will have a great deal to do with how many PTA points The Road pulls in. The five people on the brink are:

Nycguy84
W
Joko
A_Roode
Aquamann2001

[undeadmonkey]

from hollywood reporter


'Summit Entertainment's vampires-and-werewolves phenom "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" rose again to the top of the domestic boxoffice Friday, following a one-day slip to second place on Thanksgiving.

The second in a planned series of pics based on teen novels by Stephenie Meyer, "New Moon" rung up $17.9 million Friday for a cumulative boxoffice of $206.1 million through its first eight days in release.

Warner Bros.' Sandra Bullock starrer "The Blind Side" -- which topped daily rankings Thursday -- was second among all Friday grossers with $16.2 million. That gave the college-football drama a smashing cume of $76.3 million at the start of its second weekend in the marketplace.

Elsewhere, the week's newest releases placed further down the daily pecking order.

Disney's PG-rated "Old Dogs" was top dog among the new pics, fetching $6.9 million in fourth place Friday. Starring John Travolta, Robin Williams, Seth Green and Kelly Preston, "Dogs" totes a $14.2 million take since its release Wednesday.

Warners' martial-arts actioner "Ninja Assassin" grabbed $5.7 million in fifth place for a three-day cume of $13.5 million.

Wes Anderson's animated feature "Fantastic Mr. Fox" from Fox -- which broadened into wide release Wednesday after two weeks of bicoastal exclusive engagements -- ranked eighth Friday, with almost $3 million from 2,033 playdates yielding a $6 million cume.

Sony's sci-fi actioner "2012" took the daily bronze medal, with $7.1 million shaping a $128 million cume at the start of its third frame in theaters.'


i was really hoping that blind side could take the weekend from twilight after thursday's win, but i guess that's not going to happen

[J.I.]

i was really hoping that blind side could take the weekend from twilight after thursday's win, but i guess that's not going to happen

Its going to be really close. But that is still AWESOME that Blind Side is heading for a $40 million weekend. Only Star Trek, Up, and Transformers have done that so far this year, and this weekend we will have two movies do that.

[Geezer]

I'm fairly certain that if Fox thought the film was going to make more money if they advertised it more then they would have advertised it more. Movies are a business and studios still use (what they perceive as) profit maximization. They have enough money to advertise whatever they want to, so they're going to advertise on what (they think) will make them money. Simply, if they feel they're going to make more money than they give out, they're going to advertise. It has nothing to do with any other films they have going on at the time.

Do you derive pleasure from beating that three month old dead horse? Because you're starting to get into S&M territory with it if you are.

Man W, you are a common sense guru! Someone has to lay out stuff like this for Boush when he gets on one of his crazy, non-sensical rampages. You're awesome at it!

[DylanG]

Well, Old Dogs might not be a flop yet. I heard the production budget was a mere $35 million, probably less than Ninja Assassin's. Nonetheless, I'm glad I didn't pick it up in either league.

[Buscemi]

However, some films do get delayed or dumped due to lack of advertising money or to put more money into one film. Back in 2007, Warner Bros. had several films on their Spring slate and not enough money to promote them all. In the end, Warner Bros. sold the US theatrical rights to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie while dumping the long-delayed Lucky You (which actually wasn't that bad of a movie) while putting most of its money into 300's ad campaign after its opening.

Meanwhile, advertising is basically spoonfeeding to the masses. If you are advertising, why not spend your money on quality and good projects and dump the shit? Which brings me to another Fox example: Idiocracy. Fox dumped the movie because it was a good movie that people liked. What was given a major ad campaign by Fox instead? The Marine, a cheap cash-in on John Cena's fame that should have gone straight-to-video.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Studios do not care about quality (We all know FOX doesnt! BOOM ROASTED!), they're a business first. Gotta spend money to back money, hence throwing many advertising dollars towards easily consumable movies that mass audiences will go see.