The Box Office

[WestPhillyPunisher]

It's the next big release from Christopher Nolan. In theory, that should do massive business. But at this rate, Tenet is going to end up having more missed release dates than New Mutants.

I think I read somewhere that Tenet cost $200 million to make, so Warner Brothers has one hell of a good reason for wanting to get the film into theaters to recoup that astronomical expense, delays and missed release dates be damned.

[Kirby101]

My guess, sometime late in 2021 or 2022, studios will start re-releasing a lot of big movies back into theaters.

[luprki]

I think I read somewhere that Tenet cost $200 million to make, so Warner Brothers has one hell of a good reason for wanting to get the film into theaters to recoup that astronomical expense, delays and missed release dates be damned.

I don’t think it will be enough brave (or stupid) people to makeup $200 million budget. A lot of of business has lost tons of money during this pandemic, I don’t know why the movie industry think they are immune.
They is no way Tenet will be a success at the box office. I can’t understand why WB is releasing the movie this soon, it would be better to wait next year.

[Holt]

Anyone surprised? Anyone?

This has been coming for a while now, for sure.

[basbash99]

I don’t think it will be enough brave (or stupid) people to makeup $200 million budget. A lot of of business has lost tons of money during this pandemic, I don’t know why the movie industry think they are immune.
They is no way Tenet will be a success at the box office. I can’t understand why WB is releasing the movie this soon, it would be better to wait next year.

I think the issue is, going forward, how can studios justify making big-budget movies like Tenet or the mcu/dceu films when there is no way they will get the box office revenue they could in the past from packed theaters. If you do VoD at a higher price point, you still have the issue that you're charging per household and not getting individual ticket purchases, and many people will just wait it out until the rental price drops. Plus more pirating.

Not sure what the solution is.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I think the issue is, going forward, how can studios justify making big-budget movies like Tenet or the mcu/dceu films when there is no way they will get the box office revenue they could in the past from packed theaters. If you do VoD at a higher price point, you still have the issue that you're charging per household and not getting individual ticket purchases, and many people will just wait it out until the rental price drops. Plus more pirating.

Not sure what the solution is.

There probably isn't a solution as I don't know if Hollywood factored in the effects an ongoing pandemic would have on the movie watching public. People will be understandably wary, if not worried about returning to the multiplex, and VOD won't bring in the box office numbers studios need to justify money spent on films. Is this the death knell for the big ticket blockbuster? Who can say, everything depends on when a vaccine hits the street, how effective it is, and how long it takes for herd immunity to set in. From all indication, COVID is here to stay, and the world, including Hollywood has to adjust to it, not the other way around.

[Gaastra]

The rental stays in first place. Odd thing is they didn't say what the rest of the movies were?


https://deadline.com/2020/08/dave-fr...in-1203001768/


China update. Dolittle in first place. Sonic didn't do as big. China had a 38% jump but still low.

https://deadline.com/2020/08/dolittl...es-1203000712/

[Ruby Quartz Diamond]

I'm sad that Sonic didn't perform well in China and Japan. I have doubts that the sequel will perform well overseas at this rate.

[Gaastra]

China update.

SUNDAY UPDATE: As expected, Warner Bros’ re-release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar had a blast in China on Sunday, grossing $2.85M. That gives the 2014 saga bragging rights to the Middle Kingdom’s biggest single day and highest ‘opening’ day gross since cinemas in low-risk areas resumed operations on July 20. At about $7.6M, Sunday was also the highest grossing day overall in the market post-COVID closures and contributed to a three-day weekend that was worth $17.6M across all titles.

Interstellar’s original run in China grossed $122M, and the reception on the re-release is a good sign for Nolan’s Tenet which starts rolling out internationally on August 26. A China date has yet to be confirmed, though the timing could line up.

https://deadline.com/2020/08/dolittl...es-1203000712/

Also that zombie train film has done well in korea!

Come what may, the resounding success of Peninsula in South Korea especially ($21 million thus far) is incredibly encouraging in terms of audiences going back to theaters when it’s safe to do so. The film has earned $26 million worldwide (as of Sunday, natch) and is, by default, the season’s biggest global grosser. We’ll see if Bad Boys for Life (August 14) or Sonic the Hedgehog (July 31) can hit paydirt when they open in China over the next two weeks.

$26.5 million worldwide (as of Sunday) is not a barn-burning number, and I’d be shocked if it made more than $3 million domestic (Train to Busan earned $2.1 million in North America theaters). However, it’s it’s a terrific start on a $16 million budget. It shows that audiences may indeed show up in relatively normal numbers when there is something specific they wish to see. That would be an obvious point in normal times, but right now it’s the most optimistic possible result for the big movies still set for 2020.

It implies that, yes, where it’s safe and possible to do so, 007 fans will show up for No Time to Die, Marvel fans will show up for Black Widow, Agatha Christie die hards will show up for Death on the Nile and horror fans of taste and culture will show up for Nia DeCosta and Jordan Peele’s Candyman when those films open theatrically. That’s double true for reasonably-budgeted genre flicks like Peninsula or Death on the Nile that don’t have to break records to break even.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme.../#5e99464a57ea

[Holt]

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/dis...rs-1234725409/

[Gaastra]

Mulan heading to disney plus. And you have to pay $30 to watch it! Yes disney plus is putting a movie behind a paywall like vudu and itunes on disney plus. You can guess how ticked the fans are.

Put it on amazon and vudu like scoob. If they start locking movies behind a paywall on disney plus lots of people are going to be ticked. Plus if this is a hit netflix may do it next then hbo max, then boomerang, then---

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/4/21...tenet-theaters

[luprki]

Mulan heading to disney plus. And you have to pay $30 to watch it! Yes disney plus is putting a movie behind a paywall like vudu and itunes on disney plus. You can guess how ticked the fans are.

Put it on amazon and vudu like scoob. If they start locking movies behind a paywall on disney plus lots of people are going to be ticked. Plus if this is a hit netflix may do it next then hbo max, then boomerang, then---

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/4/21...tenet-theaters

The paywall was eventually going to happen anyway, but the question is, will there be enough people willing to pay $30.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The paywall was eventually going to happen anyway, but the question is, will there be enough people willing to pay $30.

For a family of four, yeah, that might even be seen as something of a bargain. For an individual like myself? No way, Jose!

[Kirby101]

And the other question is: Is Mulan any good. Will there be a big buzz about it once people start watching? A lot of people saying it's not worth the $30 could put a big dent in the VOD.

[Jim Kelly]

I feel like MULAN has gotten a lot more attention than it would have under normal circumstances. I've never seen the original (as with most cartoons from that era) and I certainly have no interest in the "live action" version of the movie (with all the songs removed)--yet I've absorbed a lot of information about it over the last several months just because of all the news coverage. For some people that awareness will probably translate into views when it comes out. Whereas, prior to theatres closing, I think the expectation was it might do well in China or not (depending on whether China was offended by it or welcomed it) but only so-so for the American audience, since it's not one of Disney's biggest cartoon musicals and the fact that it isn't playing to the same audience cut outs a lot of families. However, now if it's playing on Disney+, all those subscribers are going to passively watch it, even the families for which it wasn't intended.