"Fantastic Four" Box Office Estimates Lower with Poor Word of Mouth

[ChaoticScholar]

I still think FOX and other movie studios will take this as a cue to keep a tighter leash on what casts and crews can say about their film before it comes out. Interviews turned audiences on this movie from the jump, and audiences didn't show up.

[shamus]

It's crashing harder than initial low expectations would have had. According to Variety “Fantastic Four’s” opening weekend returns are looking less and less promising: the superhero pic is now on track for a $28 million opening weekend after pulling in $11 million on Friday." Original estimates had it closer to 43 million."He's dead Jim"

[Gray Lensman]

You understand how the X-Men are perceived differently than the Avengers are, right?

"A world that fears and hates them..."

There's public perception in the fictional universe and then there's poor hatchet jobs by the writing staff. The first is understandable, and can make for a very compelling story. However, what brought up the comment (AvX) was the second scenario. I thought it was the low point possible for Marvel events until I saw AXis.

[shamus]

Just looking at the picture of the team at the top of this article, there's no wonder this is doing so bad.
They look absolutely nothing like their comic counterparts (except for Thing), with their suits not even having the "4"
symbol on it, on top of the suits being grayish blue (almost black). If I had not known better, I would have sworn this was a DC movie
since they are apparently somewhat embarrassed of the superhero look in movies and try to darken them (no vibrant colors,etc...)
Like others have said, the only hope for this franchise now is for Disney to get the rights and finally make a real 4 movie...

I think the problems with this movie run much deeper than the costumes or visual style. The script, the edits, the fact it is a horrible movie experience and then all of the bad buzz for months culminating in the mob picking at the corpse of this stillborn beast.

[shamus]

The majority of the general audience doesn't care about any of that. The only thing they care about is whether they movie they just paid to see is worth the time and money they paid for it. Their opinions of the FF will have no bearing on any non-FF movie. That's fandom-think.

This is absolutely true. The general public won't even notice. FF stands for Forgotten Film at this point. By Monday everyone will be onto something new, not that the general public will even notice that this movie came and went.

[HUTHAIFA]

Hate to break it to you but the GOTG hasn't been true to the source since the 70s. And too many crap movies become hits because something in them is recognizable to fans.

LOL. They looked like the FF,it just wasnt a good movie. Its not complicated. You can be a bad movie but at least be a popcorn flick. From most reviews, its not even a popcorn action flick. Just meandering sci fi movie with no heart, and those always do poorly.Hell, the only positive I have heard about the movie is the Human Torch.Paying movie goers want to see big effects and action in their popcorn movie. FF gave them neither. The studio knew that why they didnt want the movie reviewed until the last minute.

[AndrewHuerta]

Putting aside the fact that there's nothing even approaching a general consensus that those movies were "crap" (okay, Transformers maybe) . . . A list of movie names isn't actual evidence that the movies were only successful "because something in them is recognizable to fans" if for no other reason than because, in order for them to be successful, they would have had to be seen by many more people who weren't "fans" than who were. The idea that Star Trek, Transformers, or X-Men were successful solely, or even primarily, due to the patronage of "fans" is something that only fans themselves--with their myopic, self-entitled, we-are-the-world view--would think.

You understand that those movies have millions of fans right? And they range from casual to hardcore? Most don't even buy the toys, comics or follow the stories, they just like these characters they grew up with. Theres a reason why one of the shittiest movies on earth, Transformers, has made over a billion dollars and its not because of explosions or good movie making, its because they're TRANSFORMERS.

[kalorama]

Sorry that's total crap. Your Movie is failing for the very reasons fans have been giving for what? The better part of a year? If "fans don't matter" then neither should Comic-Con yet the studios seem to think so, (Even to do damage control).You think buzz doesn't matter, that word of mouth doesn't matter? The only way for Fan-4-stic to have been a hit was to be a truly good movie that would overcome negative buzz by guess what? Positive fan reaction. Your movie was DOA. It had nothing for the casual fans, the hardcore or the general public.

First of all, it's not "my movie." I had nothing to do with it and have nothing invested in its success or failure (unlike the legion of whiny self-entitled fanboys who clutched their pearls and prayed to Dormammu or whoever for it to fail as if their lives depended on it). And to the extent that the movie is failing it's doing so because, by most accounts, it's not a very good movie. Period. It's not any more complicated than that. The idea that the movie's box office is somehow a result of a years worth of self-obsessed fanboy whining on the internet is self-delusion of the highest order. And no one said that "fans don't matter." But the simple reality is that they don't matter anymore than anyone else who buys a ticket. And because there are fewer of them than there are general audience movie goers then, on the whole, they (and by "they" I mean you) matter less than the rest of the aggregate audience.

[HUTHAIFA]

First of all, it's not "my movie." I had nothing to do with it and have nothing invested in its success or failure (unlike the legion of whiny self-entitled fanboys who clutched their pearls and prayed to Dormammu or whoever for it to fail as if their lives depended on it). And to the extent that the movie is failing it's doing so because, by most accounts, it's not a very good movie. Period. It's not any more complicated than that. The idea that the movie's box office is somehow a result of a years worth of self-obsessed fanboy whining on the internet is self-delusion of the highest order.

Bingo...we have a winner.

[kalorama]

You understand that those movies have millions of fans right? And they range from casual to hardcore? Most don't even buy the toys, comics or follow the stories, they just like these characters they grew up with. Theres a reason why one of the shittiest movies on earth, Transformers, has made over a billion dollars and its not because of explosions or good movie making, its because they're TRANSFORMERS.

You understand that's nonsense, right? First of all, people love big action movies with lots of explosions. Michael Bay's entire career is proof of that. By the time Transformers came out, Bay had already established himself as one of Hollywood's top action movie directors. He had basically become his own brand. To pretend like that didn't have a a major pull on the audience is silly. And sure, there were people who remembered the Transformer toys or cartoons fondly. But most of those people wouldn't have bought a ticket to the movie if they hadn't also seen something in the marketing and PR that made them think that it would be a worthwhile viewing experience, in and of itself. This picture of people storming the box office immediately upon hearing the word "Transformers" with no other knowledge of the movie exists only in your head.

[AndrewHuerta]

You understand that's nonsense, right? First of all, people love big action movies with lots of explosions. Michael Bay's entire career is proof of that. By the time Transformers came out, Bay had already established himself as one of Hollywood's top action movie directors. He had basically become his own brand. To pretend like that didn't have a a major pull on the audience is silly. And sure, there were people who remembered the Transformer toys or cartoons fondly. But most of those people wouldn't have bought a ticket to the movie if they hadn't also seen something in the marketing and PR that made them think that it would be a worthwhile viewing experience, in and of itself. This picture of people storming the box office immediately upon hearing the word "Transformers" with no other knowledge of the movie exists only in your head.

Anyone could've directed Transformers and it would've made money. But go ahead, keep believing that Bay's name can make a billion dollars.

I think only James Cameron can pull that off.

[Hypestyle]

Who are/were the executives at Fox who oversaw production of the movie? Was Tom Rothman still the main boss at Fox Film Studios?

[kalorama]

Anyone could've directed Transformers and it would've made money. But go ahead, keep believing that Bay's name can make a billion dollars.

I hope you're wearing a sturdy pair of gloves while you're "handling" that straw man.

It goes without saying, of course, that I said nothing even remotely resembling "Bay's name can make a billion dollars." But his track record was certainly one of the factors in the film's success. As with any film, of course, there were likely several factors. On the flip side, of course, there's your "It made a billion dollars based entirely on the name Transformers," a name that most people hadn't given much more than a passing thought to in 20 years or so prior the movie's release.

[AndrewHuerta]

I hope you're wearing a sturdy pair of gloves while you're "handling" that straw man.

It goes without saying, of course, that I said nothing even remotely resembling "Bay's name can make a billion dollars." But his track record was certainly one of the factors in the film's success. As with any film, of course, there were likely several factors. On the flip side, of course, there's your "It made a billion dollars based entirely on the name Transformers," a name that most people hadn't given much more than a passing thought to in 20 years or so prior the movie's release.

Enjoy.

[emac1790]

The real lesson here.... Don't piss off the Nerds.... Seriously. We may be a small percentage of the audience, but when riled, we can bad buzz and stinkbomb a film like nothing else. Does it always work? No because other Nerds may want to go see the damn thing. It worked in this case because of the piling on of disregard for the source material, the fans, even audience expectations. Add to it a rather cynical playing of The Race Card and you get a three layer Turd Cake with green vomit icing.

I don't thinks nerds have anything to do with this outcome. To tell the truth, if a movie is nerd-approved, it could still be a flop.

Film studios want to make money from as many people as they possibly can. Not just nerds.