Monday Morning Quarterback
By BOP Staff
February 22, 2010
Reagen Sulewski: There's something to be said for accessibility, for sure, but that doesn't explain a $41 million opening for a Hitchcock pastiche. I'm not sure I agree with Josh that audiences are beating down the doors for moody supernatural period thrillers - it's not even a genre that we get a lot of films in. I'd say he owes a lot to Leo, but an Oscar win does a lot for your recognition with the public.
Really, there's probably no such thing as a director that guarantees box office - even Spielberg or James Cameron. But the right director in the right genre will lead to audiences giving a film a chance. Scorsese directing a Julia Roberts romantic comedy, for instance, would be as wild a mismatch of styles as I could think of.
Jason Lee: Personally, I think that this is result is more due to the fact that Shutter Island is just going to be a lot more marketable and accessible than his past work. Seriously, do you want to see a biopic on Howard Hughes or would you rather see a creepy film about a creepy prison on a creepy island? I think the $41 million opening is less about Scorsese's box office draw than the attractiveness of the story.
Max Braden: He's a multiplier, but as with DiCaprio it's got to be a package. What's worked for him, and what shows his mastery of the film industry, is that he's been able to put together the package time after time.
David Mumpower: Jason, it's interesting to me that you make that point, because I've seen a couple of comments along those lines recently. My counterpoint would be that The Aviator inflation-adjusts to $124 million, which is a sum I'm not certain Shutter Island will reach. If anything, this exemplifies the thought process that the intrigue created by subject matter is in and of itself completely subjective.
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