Monday Morning Quarterback

By BOP Staff

October 28, 2014

Do you think we could clone some more Gronks?

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Jason Barney: Well, you can't fault Universal for using the Halloween formula to try and make a few bucks. If they had released this next weekend, it would not have done so well. Releasing such a small project too early doesn't allow it to take advantage of the seasonal aspects. So one week prior to Halloween, we have a genre film Universal didn't spend that much on and earned a decent amount. Ouija's reported $5 million budget is great for the company, as the next couple of days are going to push this one well beyond the marketing costs. Even if the film is terrible, and by all indications it is, Universal continues to be one of the more successful filmmaking companies at present. They have an impressive track record over the last year or two. Many, many moneymakers, not a lot of misses.

This was really easy for them to figure out, I would imagine. You can't fault them. The last couple of years have seen more than a handful of cheap horror flicks enter the market place and do extremely well against their budgets. The Purge and The Conjuring are probably the best examples, but there are many more. These films are easy to make and produce. Marketing muddies the water a little bit with respect to expenses, but in the end they nearly all do well.

Ouija will probably exit the top 10 pretty quickly. Next weekend there are three new releases. Not many people will be going to the movies, and you may see it drop below John Wick, Fury, and maybe even Gone Girl. It will have made its money, though.

Kim Hollis: It’s probably about in line with expectations, I would say. It’s a PG-13 horror film released at the right time of the year. Considering that all of the stars are basically unknown, Platinum Dunes was able to keep production costs down and turn this into a tidy little profitable venture. What’s next? Bop It! The Movie?




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Kim Hollis: John Wick, a revenge flick featuring Keanu Reeves, earned $14.4 million this weekend. What do you think of this result?

Matthew Huntley: A lot of analysts are calling this a "solid" result, but I'm not exactly sure as to why. Were expectations for John Wick really low to start out? Is it because it only carries a reported $20 million budget? Is it because it stars Keanu Reeves and people now view him as a washed up box-office draw? In any event, the numbers are solid, I suppose, but far from great, and despite the very positive reviews, I can't see this sticking around for too long because of the busy season coming up. Still, I'm more than curious to see it.

Felix Quinonez: Given the budget, I'm inclined to call this a win. But I can't help but feel a little disappointed. I saw the movie today and thought it was great. It was by no means a mind blowing movie but it was definitely a lot of fun. But even a couple of weeks ago I had no idea what the movie was about. The posters revealed nothing. And since I don't own a TV, I only see trailers when I go searching for it online or see it in theaters. But once I saw the reviews it was getting I had to see the trailer. And as soon as I did I went from not even thinking about John Wick to "I have to see it." I guess I was hoping a lot more people would feel that way, I guess that wasn't the case. But it did beat its tracking and because of its budget, it could see some profit. I'm hoping it has some legs and turns into a nice little hit for Keanu.


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