Avengers: Age of Ultron (spoilers)

[Robotman]

i don't think they consider it a "failure" but they were probably expecting it to make even more money than the first movie. add to the fact that it got average reviews from critics and fans. it was just a cookie cutter Marvel superhero movie. enjoyable but not spectacular. but overall it was still incredibly successful. i think if this is true it was mostly Kevin Feige and co. trying to gain leverage with their Disney overlords.

[UltimateTy]

What are the chances a movie would make more than 1.5 billion though its not the norm.

[Holt]

I think the important thing is how much did they spend? Because I'm guessing Age of Ultron was a good sight more expensive than the first one. They had a much larger cast than the first one (including three brand new Avengers, and however much they paid to get those cameos from Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Idris Elba, and Hayley Atwell), they got to shoot on location in Korea and South Africa (which means transporting all the actors and equipment, which is expensive and time consuming), and then unlike Loki, the main villain was entirely CGI this time around. Also correct me if I'm wrong but the Hulk got more screentime too, right?

[AJBopp]

add to the fact that it got average reviews from critics and fans.

You can't add that to anything. Studios don't care what kind of reviews a movie gets, unless they are hoping for a prestigious award to give it longer legs in theaters or more DVD sales.

I think the important thing is how much did they spend? Because I'm guessing Age of Ultron was a good sight more expensive than the first one.

It was $250 million vs Avengers $220 million. Not a pittance but not a good sight more either. If they expected the same rate of return in terms of budget vs box office, then it could be argued they made about $200 million less than expected. How much better they might have expected it to do is anyone's guess.

[AJBopp]

and however much they paid to get those cameos from Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Idris Elba, and Hayley Atwell), they got to shoot on location in Korea and South Africa (which means transporting all the actors and equipment, which is expensive and time consuming),

I doubt they paid much for the cameos, except perhaps for Cheadle. The others are chump change.

Oddly enough, shooting on location overseas is often less expensive than shooting domestically. Foreign markets tend to want to attract the business more (particularly in California), and shooting locally means a lot of extra effort and expect in building sets - and more CGI.

[Doctor Know]

RedLetterMedia made a mash up video using James Spader's voice and Ultron scenes.

I found it hilarious.

[Arfguy]

I actually got the feeling that innocent people died in this film, unlike in the first one. Especially when Hulk kicked that police vehicle into the cops.

You can bet at least one officer died in the movie, because there was the scene where Ultron made a run using the quinjet and the high-powered gun and you see that one officer who was helping direct everyone to safety get mowed down.

[Doctor Know]

Cinemasins Age of Ultron

[Cyke]

You can't add that to anything. Studios don't care what kind of reviews a movie gets, unless they are hoping for a prestigious award to give it longer legs in theaters or more DVD sales.

Well, yes and no. Superman Returns and The Last Airbender both pulled in profits that would normally call for a greenlit sequel soon after for any other movie. But reception was tepid for the former and terrible for the latter. Studios care if a movie can build anticipation, and sometimes reviews (from critics or fans, or both) factor into that.

[Liven]

Well, yes and no. Superman Returns and The Last Airbender both pulled in profits that would normally call for a greenlit sequel soon after for any other movie. But reception was tepid for the former and terrible for the latter. Studios care if a movie can build anticipation, and sometimes reviews (from critics or fans, or both) factor into that.

Last Airbender made $320 million on a $150 budget, which means it may have broken even, but not by much. No way a sequel would be green lit.
Superman Returns made $391 on a $270 million budget. I know that budget has a lot of extras in it, but how much I don't know. Again, if this made money it wasn't a lot.

The rule of thumb as I understand it is that the worldwide take must be 2x the budget before you break even. Of course that's not exact, but it's a guide.

[t hedge coke]

The rule of thumb as I understand it is that the worldwide take must be 2x the budget before you break even. Of course that's not exact, but it's a guide.

Considering how many promotional tie-ins, toy and t-shirt and inflatable water wing tie-ins this movie had, it broke even before it was even released.

[Doctor Know]

Last Airbender made $320 million on a $150 budget, which means it may have broken even, but not by much. No way a sequel would be green lit.
Superman Returns made $391 on a $270 million budget. I know that budget has a lot of extras in it, but how much I don't know. Again, if this made money it wasn't a lot.

The rule of thumb as I understand it is that the worldwide take must be 2x the budget before you break even. Of course that's not exact, but it's a guide.

The Last Airbender made enough to merit a sequel, however critical and audience reception dissuaded Paramount from green lighting one.

The bar Superman Returns had to clear was $500 million WW. For a popular and reputable hero such as Superman, this shouldn't have been a problem. However the movie was boring and there wasn't enough story or action to support it's epic length. You know you suck, when the 1st Thor and Ant-Man have grossed more worldwide than you.

Even if you are a success, like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, you can still be cancelled by a studio. TASM 2, was sold to investors by Amy Pascal as a "billion dollar movie". TASM 2 underpreformed, and Sony cancelled planned spin offs and sequels. Even without the deal with Marvel, Sony was going to cancel TASM series and try to start over.

[billee0918]

Watched AOU at home this weekend, our second viewing since we saw in theater in May.
While I enjoyed it overall, it pales in comparison to the best in the series (first Avengers, Winter Soldier, first Iron Man).

My biggest complaint is the script is too Whedon-y. The quips were all too frequent and were mildly amusing at best, cringe-worthy at worst (Hill's "testosterone" cough is especially painful). Not sorry to see Joss leave the series, TBH.

[Doctor Know]

Watched AOU at home this weekend, our second viewing since we saw in theater in May.
While I enjoyed it overall, it pales in comparison to the best in the series (first Avengers, Winter Soldier, first Iron Man).

My biggest complaint is the script is too Whedon-y. The quips were all too frequent and were mildly amusing at best, cringe-worthy at worst (Hill's "testosterone" cough is especially painful). Not sorry to see Joss leave the series, TBH.

The one that sucks me out of the movie every time, is when Hawkeye and Black Widow are driving through the destroyed city of Sokovia. Thousands dead, ten of thousands will be displaced refugees who are about to lose their homes (when Thor and Iron destroy the land mass), and Hawkeye (driving the prodcut placement BMW) decides it's a good time to talk about renovating his farm house.

Like seriously. What's next? A TLC show called "Trading Spaces With Haweye"? Or perhaps "Top Design with the Bartons".

[krazijoe]

The one that sucks me out of the movie every time, is when Hawkeye and Black Widow are driving through the destroyed city of Sokovia. Thousands dead, ten of thousands will be displaced refugees who are about to lose their homes (when Thor and Iron destroy the land mass), and Hawkeye (driving the prodcut placement BMW) decides it's a good time to talk about renovating his farm house.

Like seriously. What's next? A TLC show called "Trading Spaces With Haweye"? Or perhaps "Top Design with the Bartons".

It's an emotional defense mechanism. If they get to drawn in emotionally, then they would never be able to handle the stress.