Universal has started working on damage control/excuses. We'll see if this claim turns true as the #s come in throughout the day:
Quote:
Universal’s Battleship is “certain to be soft,” according to my studio sources. ‘There’s no indication it’s going to break out and do huge numbers.” It opened with only $420K midnights from 1,074 theaters: that’s weaker than Warner Bros’ underperforming Dark Shadows last weekend and even Disney’s notorious 2012 bomb John Carter. Universal cautions that “both of those films have a bigger ‘geek base’” whereas the strength of Peter Berg’s military vs aliens actioner is “that it’s the anti-geek, anti-midnight movie of all time”. What does this mean? That the studio is hoping the patriotic pic does well in flyover country.
But it's well-regarded and has devoted fans. It will live have a long life.
It definitely has a cult following, but that doesn't translate to movies very well. There's been plenty of instances (Dark Shadows, anyone?) where a cult following doesn't translate to box office success.
But yeah, I always felt like Battleship would flop in America. It looks like a watered down version of G.I. Joe, which was a watered down version of Transformers, which just so happens to be the worst movie franchise in film history.
Midnight #s don't always tell the whole story though. Avengers had only the 9th biggest midnight #s but by the following day it was breaking every record. Which isn't to say that Battleship will see an enormous bump or anything. But it may (and probably will) do better than John Carter's $30M opening weekend despite softer midnights.
The movie was NOT good. I wanted to get out of the cinema after 15 minutes in.
Burton failed so many times to be funny. Johnny Deep could have also done better, it wasn't awful but I expected more just because it was Tim Burton.
Good numbers overall for the box office this weekend!
Forecast (May 18-20):
1. The Avengers - $53.2 million (-48%)
2. Battleship - $38.7 million
3. What to Expect - $21.9 million
4. The Dictator - $17.5 million ($24.5 million five-day)
5. Dark Shadows - $14.6 million (-51%)
LAME EXCUSES!! Anti- Geek?