Box office roundup

[stray]

If you simply don't like Sabbath, that's one thing, but just say that then. Don't get all douchy about what should be good for movies though. Especially this one. You could not have found a guy with better instincts on how to present it.

I have no problem with Sabbath, stop trying to make it about that.  It's on the nose and I can't believe they got away with that.  In fact, it significantly dulled the awesomeness of the trailer for me.

But you're right, people ate that shit up.  People eat a lot of shit up.

Well, you're a Cradle of Filth fan. You guys tend to be Sabbath haters.

[Llava]

I'm not a typical CoF fan.  I think their best attribute is the lyrics.  I don't think other fans even read the lyrics.  A lot of them don't have the vocabulary for it.

[Engels]

I'm not a typical CoF fan.  I think their best attribute is the lyrics.  I don't think other fans even read the lyrics.  A lot of them don't have the vocabulary for it.

Is that like reading Playboy for the articles?

[Llava]

I'd say that's a pretty good parallel.

[Evildrider]

Iron man was like.. Awesome on a stick. 

The only thing I would add is more buttstomping goodness.

[Abagadro]

Final numbers aren't out but it is shaping up to be about a 80-90 million dollar weekend open for Iron Man.

[Velorath]

That can't be right.  A very reliable source here assured us that "liking a guy in a cyber suit" wasn't socially acceptable.

[stray]

Punch him.

If it's a woman, then just act repulsed and tell her, out of the blue one day, that she stinks.

[schild]

80-90M sounds about right. The hype and marketing for this one was strong. Of course, it's probably about 20% of what GTAIV did in the first 3 days.

I like apples, but I REALLY like oranges.

[stray]

80-90M sounds about right. The hype and marketing for this one was strong. Of course, it's probably about 20% of what GTAIV did in the first 3 days.

I like apples, but I REALLY like oranges.

Whether you're serious or not, I think it's an interesting comparison. Gamers tend to come out of the woodwork all at once when something's released. And then it drops off. With a game like gta, of course, the drop off isn't as steep, but I think even that couldn't hold up to the kind of cash a successful popcorn flick like this could make (I'm talking a film's ticket sales as well as dvd's down the road).

Or basically what I'm saying is - games get old quickly.

[schild]

So do movies. You've got the first 2 weeks of theatrical release and then DVDS. They're just like games, except confined to Thurs-Saturday night. Now, you've then got the DVD Release which is another spike for comedies and action movies in particular. Games however drop of 90% or so. When you subtract the first 2 weeks and look at a graph, you can see what kind of legs something has. Look at Wii Fit in Japan for a good recent example. It dropped aoubt 60% in sales after the first week but has stayed very steady.

[Abagadro]

It actually opened at 104 million domestically, 200 million total.

[Murgos]

God, we're going to have to listen to Schild tell us why Iron Man sucks for weeks.  This is possibly his most retarded stance on a subject yet.

I just got back from seeing it and it is, one of, the best comic book to movie translations I have ever seen.

[schild]

God, we're going to have to listen to Schild tell us why Iron Man sucks for weeks.

No, you won't, I don't care enough about Iron Man (of all Superheroes) to keep going.

I just got back from seeing it and it is, one of, the best comic book to movie translations I have ever seen.

However, this ^^^

While it may be true, that barrel previously had like 4 movies in it (if you even count X-Men 1) assuming the other 3 movies are Spiderman, Sin City, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Which isn't even really a translation.

[Velorath]

While it may be true, that barrel previously had like 4 movies in it (if you even count X-Men 1) assuming the other 3 movies are Spiderman, Sin City, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Which isn't even really a translation.

Uh... I guess if you leave out the first two Superman movies, Batman/Returns/Begins, The Crow, 300, V for Vendetta,  etc...

[schild]

What comic book was Batman/Returns adapted from? Or are we just talking about characters that made the jump to the big screen? That's a longer list, obviously. But fuck yea I wouldn't count the first two supermans. I'd count 300 though. Because, you know, Sparta etc.

[Velorath]

What comic book was Batman/Returns adapted from?

Of all the movies you listed, Sin City is the only one directly adapted from a comic.  300, The Crow, From Hell, and V for Vendetta, would likewise be adaptations (some more faithful than others) of single storylines.  Spider-man, X-men, Iron Man, Superman, Batman,TMNT,  and others all use stuff pulled from multiple storylines as well as original stuff.  In other words, if you're trying to draw a distinction between adaptations and other comic books movies, you're drawing it in the wrong place, and it wouldn't really be relevant to Iron Man anyway.

[schild]

I was just responding to Murgos' choice of words, it's fairly evident I haven't and am not seeing Iron Man, I'm also not a maniac about comics (I leave the maniac part of me to cigarettes and games). Needless to say, I was more picking nits about what he said than caring about any sort of distinction.

[stray]

I was never a big Iron Man fan before either, and I've said as much here, I believe (look in the civil war thread). But RDJ changes things. I'm a complete fag for the guy, and.... so are you. So watch it. Do it in "secret" if you must. It's a fun movie, and wins on just his efforts alone.

[WindupAtheist]

I don't give a fuck about comic books.  Everything I hear about them gives me the impression of a fucked up mess of muddled continuity spoiled by both too many cooks and the urge to keep the narrative running clear through to the end of time.  As far as I'm concerned, the characters are better off on film.

I don't give a fuck about comics, but that Iron Man movie kicked all forms of ass.

[NiX]

Just got back from seeing it. Awesome as all hell. The highlight was after the credits when Nick Fury shows up and I shouted "He's black!?"

[stray]

Just got back from seeing it. Awesome as all hell. The highlight was after the credits when Nick Fury shows up and I shouted "He's black!?"

It's a bit of life imitating art imitating life.



The "Ultimate" version of Nick Fury was redone to look like Sam Jackson several years back.

[Velorath]

So do movies. You've got the first 2 weeks of theatrical release and then DVDS. They're just like games, except confined to Thurs-Saturday night. Now, you've then got the DVD Release which is another spike for comedies and action movies in particular. Games however drop of 90% or so. When you subtract the first 2 weeks and look at a graph, you can see what kind of legs something has. Look at Wii Fit in Japan for a good recent example. It dropped aoubt 60% in sales after the first week but has stayed very steady.

Another part of the difference between movie and games sales is that game companies still have yet to come up with a way to keep their back catalogs from previous gens available for sale and playable on current consoles.  Movie studios can put stuff from over 90 years back on DVD and sell it, but while things have improved somewhat in the last decade with various compilation discs, backward compatibility, and PSN, VC, and Live Arcade, there's still a lot of room for improvement.  The result is that movies have a much longer lifespan than games.

[NiX]

The "Ultimate" version of Nick Fury was redone to look like Sam Jackson several years back.

Yeah, my roomie explained it all to me. I'm just used to the FOX Spiderman cartoon version of Nick Fury, so it confused me and I blurted it out. The only person who laughed openly was a black guy.

[NiX]

Next blockbuster movie right here!

[WindupAtheist]

I'd be a lot more understanding of Schild's beret-wearing tendencies if they were more consistent.  But you can't stick up for Will Smiff movies and then rip Iron Man.  It just doesn't work that way.

[K9]

Next blockbuster movie right here!

 

[Velorath]

Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Carribean) has signed on to direct and produce a Bioshock movie.

Universal and Gore Verbinski are going into "Bioshock."
Studio has signed a deal to turn last year's hit videogame, which won numerous awards and sold more than 2 million units worldwide, into a film.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer is attached to direct and produce. "Aviator" scribe John Logan is in talks to pen the screenplay.

"Bioshock" publisher Take-Two Interactive is getting a multimillion-dollar advance against gross points on the pic. It's believed to be the biggest videogame-to-movie deal since 2005, when U and Fox signed onto the since aborted "Halo" pic, for which Microsoft got $5 million against 10%.

Take-Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick said the "state of the art" deal is structured so that "Bioshock" won't end up in turnaround like "Halo," which is back with Microsoft.

"The reason I structured it the way I did is to make sure it gets made," he emphasized.

"Bioshock" takes place in an underwater city based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, but things have gone disastrously wrong. Players control a pilot who crash-lands at a secret entrance to the city, called Rapture, and is drawn into a power struggle during which he discovers that his will is not as free as he'd thought.

"I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that's cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential," said Verbinski. "Of all the games I've played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative."

Take-Two has been approached by a number of producers and studios since the game came out in August but waited until it had swept most of the end-of-year industry awards and racked up impressive holiday sales before working with CAA to package the project. Universal got a first look and made a preemptive bid.

Zelnick, who was president of Fox in the early '90s, led the dealmaking for his company, rather than set the project up with a producer.

"One of the things we decided early on is that we didn't want to go through a producer," he commented. "It's terribly important to us to have a meaningful influence on how this project is produced. We didn't want any insulation between us."

Verbinski noted that Rapture's art deco design and visually arresting characters, such as the mechanical Big Daddys who protect genetically mutated girls called Little Sisters, particularly inspired him to see the game as a film.

Though no release date is even being targeted, Verbinski said he plans to start pre-production as soon as Logan's script is finished and approved by all involved.

Helmer has been regularly consulting with Ken Levine, the game's creative director, though it's not yet clear if the game developer will have a formal role in the film.

For Universal, project marks a return to the videogame space after the disastrous "Halo" experience. After more than a year of development, during which Peter Jackson was signed to exec produce and Neil Blomkamp to direct the "Halo" feature, U and Fox shut down the project over cost concerns.

"This deal gives Universal the opportunity to have the immersive, addictive universe of 'Bioshock' interpreted by a filmmaker with unrivaled abilities to convey story, action and large-scale, fantastical visuals," said U co-chairman David Linde.

Take-Two is developing a "Bioshock" sequel that will be released in 2009, almost certainly before the film comes out.

Though numerous videogames have been turned into movies and others are in the works, very few have been commercial or critical successes. Take-Two itself has turned down numerous attempts by Hollywood to option its Rockstar label's hit franchise "Grand Theft Auto." "Bioshock" marks the first movie deal ever for the publisher.

[Bunk]

Will it be centered around one guy who just barely misses making it in to various rooms in time to actually catch a human being that is still capable of talking to him? Or will he just listen to cassette tapes for 90 minutes while 15 mutant housewives jump out of a nearby armoire that he just looked in and try cutting his head off?

Maybe they'll have a scene where he attacks a Big Daddy with a crowbar and just keeps running back from the resonomitron and hitting it more until it finally dies.

[murdoc]

Will it be centered around one guy who just barely misses making it in to various rooms in time to actually catch a human being that is still capable of talking to him? Or will he just listen to cassette tapes for 90 minutes while 15 mutant housewives jump out of a nearby armoire that he just looked in and try cutting his head off?

Maybe they'll have a scene where he attacks a Big Daddy with a crowbar and just keeps running back from the resonomitron and hitting it more until it finally dies.

Just wait until everyone sees a Little Sister get murderized as she cries over the body of her Big Daddy protector.

[WindupAtheist]

Speed Racer fucking tanks.

Iron Man dropped off 49% giving it a second weekend of just over $50 million, quite respectable considering the type of movie and the magnitude of the opening weekend.  Meanwhile Speed Racer barely limped past What Happens in Vegas to take the #2 spot at about $20 million.  Bombs away.

[Velorath]

Speed Racer is #2 based on estimates.  It's quite possible (and according to some, expected) that it will actually fall behind What Happens in Vegas once the actual numbers are in.

[climbjtree]

This is news to me, but I think it's very handy and cool.

typing "movie: *" into google will yield reviews for whatever. also, "director: *"

so,

movie: pan's labyrinth (http://www.google.com/movies?hl=en&q=movie:+pan's+labyrinth&um=1&ie=UTF-8)

or

director: the departed (http://www.google.com/movies?q=director%3A+the+departed&btnG=Search+Movies&hl=en)

[murdoc]

Saw 'Iron Man' on Saturday with the wife and we both quite liked it. RDJ makes you ignore how silly and preposterous the story really is. That script could have very easily been made into a VERY bad movie.

[Brogarn]

I saw Iron Man twice. The second time this past Saturday with the fiance. She found it very entertaining which is a ringing endorsement coming from someone who "doesn't get" most fantasy/comic book/geeky type movies. Although she absolutely loved Batman Begins, which still kinda blows my mind.

Anyways, good flick.