Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
August 12, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 earned $10.7 million over the weekend as well as $19.6 million over five days. Given its $26 million budget, should Warner Bros./Alcon Entertainment be satisfied with this result?
Shane Jenkins: Sure. They greenlit a sequel that will make more money than its predecessor, which is always nice, and this will unquestionably be a DVD hit. They kept costs down (reportedly, this only cost two million more than the first), connected with their audience, and should make a tidy profit. Not bad.
Scott Lumley: It's going to make its money back Sisterhood will be profitable before it even leaves theatres and even more so with DVD sales thrown in. That's the hallmark studios really use for success. "Did it make money? Yes. Good, buy me another ivory handled back scratcher." Hopefully, they recognize that they've gotten all they are going to get out of this particular franchise. Otherwise the next installment is going to get ugly.
Daron Aldridge: They were probably hoping that the Blake Lively's Gossip Girl audience would have been more willing to part with their money, but it is a respectable take for a movie that no one really asked for.
Brandon Scott: Audiences traveled faster to the turnstiles than they did for the first Sisterhood excursion. It had a slightly better per theater average and a bigger opening weekend. So yeah, this is a small movie that will pocket some profit in its pants...a reasonable result.
Ladies Night
Kim Hollis: 90% of people who saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 were female. Was it possible for this movie to succeed any more without reaching a larger percentage of males?
Max Braden: A cosmo in each of their hands would have closed that 10%.
Pete Kilmer: Perhaps if they talked about Prada and Jimmy Choos....maybe.
Brandon Scott: I'll call up every one of my boys and see if they went to see it...and if they did, I will promptly bag on them worse than Bernie Mac would (RIP, you went too soon). This film could have been Mamma Mia! or Sex and the City but I guess those drew more males, albeit (hopefully - for their sake) nobody that I know. I guess anything's possible, just ask Kevin Garnett. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!!
Daron Aldridge: The obvious and most recent comparison with a high percentage of a female audience is Sex and the City. But this sequel had appears to have no appeal even to a larger group of women over the age of 25, let alone men, and as mentioned before, there was no demand for it. In contrast, Sarah Jessica Parker's film benefited from all the momentum and hype it generated with the series. I would argue that these two films are apples and oranges.
Scott Lumley: I think I felt my testosterone levels dropping just watching the trailer for this movie. It's pretty safe to say that any males in that theater were dragged there, were paid to do so or thought the girls looked "FABULOUS!" in those pants.
Nobody loves my Mummy
Kim Hollis: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor fell 59% to $16.5 million, giving the movie a ten-day total of $71 million against a budget of $175 million. On the other hand, the movie is a blockbuster overseas, winning again with $56.1 million from 49 territories. Are you focused more on the negative of the $71 million in North America or the huge positive of $141 million in ten days overseas?
Tim Briody: It's going to go down as a massive flop here, as it's going to limp over $100 million if it reaches that mark at all. The worldwide grosses are pretty solid so I guess we may very well see Mummy 4 if Brendan Fraser is interested.
Shane Jenkins: This is one of the sloppiest, laziest cash-ins I've ever seen, on par with everyone's favorite franchise killer - Batman and Robin. Universal should be thrilled to have avoided the 100% drop-off it deserved. I suspect it's doing well overseas because CGI yetis making visual football jokes don't require much in the way of translation, but as one of the shlubs who paid ten bucks to see it, I'm glad that its ineptitude will not be rewarded, at least on the domestic front.
Max Braden: Jet Li is still a worldwide name, and this is the summer of China. But greenlighting Mummy 4 would be a foolish play. Did anyone notice that The Scorpion King 2 comes out on DVD next week?
Pete Kilmer: The complete and utter mishandling of the Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh matchup really angered me. I really wanted to like this film as I enjoyed the first two movies. Rob Cohen's track record as a director continues to be a disappointment and I hope he's far, far away from Mummy 4.
Can you imagine having to talk about Titanic week after week (after week after week after week after week)?
Kim Hollis: The Dark Knight is the number one film for the fourth straight weekend, taking in an additional $26.1 million. With $441.6 million, it has passed Shrek 2 to become the third biggest movie of all-time. What is left to say about The Dark Knight, a movie that appears certain to be number two of all-time?
Max Braden: I predict its place on the list won't be threatened by Bale's third installment of Batman.
Shane Jenkins: I think they really missed the (ferry) boat by not putting out Dark Knight: The Cereal. Crunchy oat detonators and marshmallow Michael Caines! Why so delicious?
Tim Briody: Um, that's a lot of money? Yeah, I got nothing. Good thing we weren't doing this when Titanic came out.
Scott Lumley: Please don't screw up the next installment? (I'm serious. Please, god, please let the next one be as good as this one was. Give Nolan and Bale whatever the hell they want, just do not blow this.)
Daron Aldridge: Dear Christopher Nolan, et al.,
Thank you for a brilliant film and two and half hours that I didn't want to end. Can I ask you a favor? Please completely ignore the Internet clamor about the story, characters and casting of the next installment. You have proven to me you can and should be trusted with our beloved Batman. So, simply rely on your impeccable instincts. Thanks again.
Brandon Scott: (insert sound of crickets chirping)