Monday Morning Quarterback

By BOP Staff

November 2, 2009

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David Mumpower: The box office failures of the Jonas Brothers concert and This Is It (relative to expectations) only further demonstrate what a remarkable performance The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour managed. It's proven inimitable.

Josh Spiegel: I'm not sure the comparison fits for This Is It, considering that the movie wouldn't have been made (or, at the very least, it wouldn't have been released this year, let alone this weekend) if Michael Jackson was still alive. The Jonas Brothers concert film flopped for a few reasons; the concert film is not usually a money-maker, so when Hannah Montana, with its allegedly limited engagement, 3-D prices, and general malaise in terms of other competition, made a big splash, some people figured all concert movies would do likewise. Again, though This Is It is going to be seen as disappointing, I'm still under the belief that if you make a movie that makes $100 million in five days, you shouldn't be drowned in your sorrows for too long. Concert movies aren't ever going to be massively successful, though, as only a few artists would inspire millions to come to the multiplex.

Pete Kilmer: At least until the next Disney child/group is pushed out of the Disney machine factory. The days of the concert film making huge bank are few and far between. I think This is It was certainly worth putting out there and seeing what kind of money it would make. They already had the footage so they would have been foolish NOT to make the movie.

Jim Van Nest: I've never really understood the concert film. If I want to see someone that bad, I'll find my way to the concert.

David Mumpower: We went to see Shine a Light, the Martin Scorsese-directed concert film by the Rolling Stones. I enjoyed it and the IMAX sound gave it a true concert feel in some ways. Even so, I found the entire experience largely artificial. It simply could not replicate the experience of attending a live concert. I think what we've seen in the aftermath of Best of Both Worlds is that most people have formed the same conclusion. It's hard to imagine a concert film that could have more going for it than This Is It, but that meant little to its box office.




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Reagen Sulewski: I hinted at this in my last response, but I'll elaborate a bit here. So much to do with these films is about timing. You need to catch lightning in a bottle and if you're even a week too late, your audience has moved on. Basically make them quick and fast so that you at least ensure yourself a baseline profit, and if you stumble on a hit, so much the better.

Sean Collier: Concert films simply aren't for the general public, and they won't be. Hannah Montana was an anomaly; keep in mind that all every little girl in America wanted out of life at the time was to see Miley live, and the film was as close as many could get. That's not a kind of fan devotion that translates to adults - or even slightly older children, as the Jonas film demonstrated. Concert films are permanently a niche for particularly dedicated fans of an artist, and even most of that group didn't come out this weekend.

George Rose: I think concert movies have the potential to reach Hannah/Miley heights, we just haven't been offered one nearly as exciting as it since then. The Jonas Brothers? U2? Michael Jackson? Three disappointing male driven concert events follow a successful young woman and people are asking why they all failed. Apparently what sells 3D concert movie tickets is a celebrity with an image that take advantages of the extra dimension. Young girls aspire to be busty indecent women and young men are attracted to busty indecent women. I'll concede and admit expectations are being inflated when Britney or Madonna's 3D concert movie debuts below $25 million. Until then, I say the expectations aren't inflated, just the male ego. The 3D concert movie is one market where women clearly succeed, or at least have the better track record.

Michael Lynderey: There may be inflated expectations, but the box office seems to generally reflect the popularity of the musician in question, and it's the size of the fan base that sometimes surprises. For better or worse, Cyrus was at her absolute peak last year. The Jonas Brothers are frankly more B-list. And while MJ has a dedicated core of fans, the general public may well be suffering from Jackson fatigue. Besides, his movie will probably end up with a total not much lower than that of the Cyrus picture.


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