Does Potter's number's impress you?

[BUFFJEDI]

It really shouldn’t. Now do not get me wrong it’s making a TON of money ,But why is it making all this record breaking money? It opened in a record 3,672 movie theaters on about 8,000 screens. That is about a FOURTH of the nations screens. There are even movie theaters that are only showing Harry Potter. Not to mention the ticket prices and the cheap prices JUST for HP. Also think of this

Lets say (just using a number) 1 million kids go and see HP. Well someone has to take them ,and in this day and age sit with them in the theater. Lets just say that out of every 3 kid’s that see’s the movie 1 paying adult goes (one that doesn’t really want to). That’s what a little over 300,000 tickets sold to someone who really could care a less about HP.


Throw in the hype. Oh we are getting demographic’s from all age’s that love HP. It’s a form of hype that say’s to adults (come watch HP it’s for you too.) that’s utter BS.I have now spoken to 36 adults who has seen HP and they didn’t get it (the movie) nor the hype. I have Now spoken with about 39-40 kids, I still am mostly getting IT SUCKED but I am getting a few It’s cool . But if you watch the kids that they show on the news in front of the camera (Oh my IT’s the greatest movie ever !!) what do you expect them to say (it sucked ?? )


And of course the critic’s are raving about it. Well believe it or not the critic’s DO get there palms greased for great reviews (your kidding yourself if you don’t believe that)

Kids movies are ALWAYS going to do well. Give me a movie that is based 75% on adult revenue , that makes HP kind of money than I will be impressed .

Harry potter I’m betting will cool way off by next weekend (minus turkey day’s ) but after that notta.

Oh well , That’s just how I feel about Harry Dorky Potter, I’m sure there will be AOTC bashers saying even worse things when it comes out. But keep in mind these are JUST MY opinions
:D

[BUFFJEDI]

Don't get me wrong I'm sure it's fine movie BUT NOT 100mil in 4 day's Great.

[Mu Satach]

I wasn't impressed with the flick. It roughly holds true to the events in the book but I wouldln't say it deserves the hype it's been getting. And as for special effects... don't get me started. I've seen better from cheesier flicks. There was a few really bad blue screen shots. :b

but that's my opinion and anything that I would say about the character development would only mimic what bashers of TPM would say and I don't wanna do that.

Sufice to say, as a flick it's mildly enjoyable. Nothing to get horribly excited about. It had its moments. Haggrid being one of them but my issues with the flick are really issues with the book.

What it all boils down to is I don't like Harry Potter.

End of Line.

[darth_mcbain]

I'd have to say Yes and No. I am impressed with its opening statistics. That is a heck of a lot of dough. But, from what I've heard, I've only heard mixed reviews of it. I get the idea that the rewatchability factor will probably not play into this movie. Most of the revenue is coming from parents taking their kids to see it. Now, when it comes to Star Wars, a large percentage of the viewers are old enough to see the movies on their own, but with HP, the biggest fans are probably too young to go out to the theaters on their own to see it. Given that, how many parents would take their kids to see the same movie more than once? Of that small percentage, its doubtful that a third viewing would happen. Also factor in that LOTR comes in a month and will quickly put an end to HP's run, so HP won't do well with an extended release. So, my prediction is for a big opening, but a quick dropoff.

Oh, another thing - the movie is really long (2.5 hours) I read that the initial cut of it was about 4 hours and they were having trouble trying to figure out what to cut. It seems to me that they might have been trying too hard to follow the book and subsequently, the continuity and flow of the movie might be adversely affected. I couldn't say - I haven't read any of the books, but that could also be a factor which could contribute to it not doing as well as it could have.

[ReaperFett]

some SW fans seem so bitter and desperate to knock the film, dont they?










j/k :)

[BUFFJEDI]

yes:mischief

no really ,I wouldn't bash HP until I see it (if ever) Just saying a few thinks on my mind.:D really:D

[darth_mcbain]

Weeeelllll, I am a little biased... :) I haven't seen HP yet, though, so I'm not saying anything about the film itself - just making some predictions as to its B.O. run. Actually, I probably will go see it when the hype dies down a bit - I'd like to see it without having to wade through tons of kids...

[Jedieb]

If TPM, EP2, or EP3 opened on that many screens and on a Friday instead of a Wed. then I think each of those movies would have easily taken whatever opening week record was standing. That's one of the things I was trying to get at in my other thread. As for staying power, I think this Thanksgiving holiday will host the majority of HP's repeat viewers. After that however I think you'll see HP slow down considerably. I don't see it holding on as well as TPM did. So I can see HP reaching $300M, but falling short of $400M. Then again, it could shock us all again and keep going and going and going....

[JMK]

I'd like to coin the phrase "Harry loses his magic at the box office". You know that line is bound to be the title of the box office gross section of any paper/column...

[Jedieb]

If I hear "Harry conjures .........." one more time I'm liable to go postal! People actually get paid to write that crap?!

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL JMK I am sure that line will come out, the question is when. I am also curious HP had a huge drop from Sat to Sun does that make anybody wonder if it will drop even further starting today. I be shocked if it did more than 10 today considering its a school day I doubt it will do very well. Then there is Thanksgiving, I still say it will drop between 47-53% making the gross somewhere between 42-47 million for the three days and counting Wed and Thursday probably 60-65 for the 5, which would be pretty good still considering how big of opening it had. But then I bet it will still drop another 40% again because most everybody who has wanted to see it would have by know. One other thing two movies come out Wed, Spy Game and Black Knight. Now will either one knock it off. Spy Game looks pretty good from the previews I've seen and Black Knight does look kind of funny but both are targeting more of adult/teens and they should both do well, I am just wondering if either one can take the top spot.

[JonathanLB]

Haha, Jedieb, these guys don't have too much time. They are stuck on these dinky deadlines and they honestly come up with the most cliched, boring, used phrases around and throw them up. Ugg, it is getting boring.

Hey I do not want to sound bitter here, although I am sure it may seem that way, but I am sorry I am just really sick of the whole Harry Potter craze. I was sick of it about 6 months ago before I even realized there was going to be a movie let alone saw how well it is doing. I just am not into this whole fad. It's just another fad like Titanic, Beanie Babies, and any number of other things.

Does $90 million in THREE DAYS impress me?! Heck yes it impresses me. I mean oh my god, who would have thought Lost World would hold its record for 4.5 years, first of all (BRAVO! Quite impressive :clap), but still, who would have thought ANY film could make this much money in three days? I guess it is a theory that simply has never been tested.

There has never been a truly, truly anticipated film that opened in the max number of theaters. Yes you have the Mission: Impossible's and the POTA's, but these are not Star Wars films or Harry Potter either...

Jedieb said it best and in the shortest amount of words (I use so many words eh?). Star Wars could have set any opening weekend record it wanted. That's Tom Sherak's quote in my book, actually, too. It's a great quote.

LFL was never trying to break the opening weekend records and the media never understood that. I mean, they kept thinking, "This is the most anticipated movie ever [true], so it should break all records." Well, if LFL wanted to do so, this isn't rocket science people! I mean, DUH, you open it on Friday of Memorial Day weekend where you have the benefit of a boost on Sunday because of a Monday off, plus you have the opening day fall on a Friday. This is extremely obvious. TPM would have easily made $75 million in that scenario EVEN ON just 5,500 screens and in 2,970 theaters. Short of $90 million, yes, but short of 8,000 screens and 3,675 theaters too!!! Plus, inflation. Don't pretend that it doesn't exist. Try 15% in two years. It happened. Awful for moviegoers, great for Harry Potter and AOTC, hahaha.

Open AOTC on a Friday in 3,700 theaters (yes this is possible), 8,500 screens (still possible), and you would see $120 million in three days with theaters playing the thing around the clock to meet demand. It would make Potter's record look like, well, child's play.

Instead, I think LFL will play the smart game, which says the opening records are for the commoners, the kings enjoy the larger meal: the biggest overall domestic and international grosses.

You release AOTC on a Thursday, you are automatically guaranteeing an incredible sum of money on opening day. Probably $35 million, maybe $40 million. TPM did $28.54 million with lower ticket prices on a Wednesday. Thursday wouldn't be a whole lot different theoretically. Then you are guaranteeing very little significant decline on Friday, maybe to $25 million at the very lowest, and a nice solid increase Saturday to maybe $33 million, a small drop Sunday to $28 million maybe. A new record? Not quite. Harry Potter still holds its record. The gold is at the end of the journey, though. In the second weekend, you have a four-day Memorial Day weekend frame where AOTC should fall no more than 25% and still absolutely kill (looking at the new record for highest second-weekend gross in history). Then a continued successful box office run in a modest 3,000 theaters for at least 6 weeks guarantees a speed record to $400 million and maybe even a shot at $500 million.

I am pleasantly surprised thus far with how AOTC is shaping up, not just as a film, but as an event. None of this ridiculous "Star Wars vs. Titanic" stuff anymore, nobody in the media apparently expecting it to do amazingly well (haha, dunno why), and even journalists thinking Harry Potter is the new king, step aside Star Wars. This is all very good. The lower the expectations the better. You have a ton of people going in to see "a popcorn film" or whatever they want to call it and come out having seen this mindblowingly detailed story with a cliffhanger ending that begs for another few viewings, you have the adult crowd hooked more this time.

Emphasize the romance side, I guarantee there are more girls who do not protest seeing a Star Wars movie with their boyfriends and even girls saying, "Oh Hayden is so cute, we have to see this movie, and the romance looks really great. I like Portman, she's not like that (insert bad word) Britney Spears. She is pretty and classy. I have not seen a Star Wars movie before but this looks good."

All of these are valid possibilities and reasons why AOTC may even have an edge on TPM despite the first prequel's sixteen years of built up anticipation.

Notice how the films that reached #1 at the box office (all time) were never eagerly awaited. Nobody gave a you-know-what about Jaws before it came out. It just caught on. Star Wars was a stupid sci-fi movie that barely got made, hehe, and went on to change the entire world (saved 20th Century Fox as share prices doubled in two weeks, influenced the lives of millions, changed movie marketing forever, forever changed the ways movies are made, etc.). Then you have E.T. People expected something great from Spielberg, fair to say, but the film caught on much like Titanic did (a disaster of a film before it was released, turning into one of the most successful ever).

Lower expectations work well for any film. Too much hype tends to kill all but the most powerful films, and there are few examples of these. Godzilla, wasted, Batman & Robin, annihilated, Speed 2, crashed, TPM, survived months of backlash and criticism to become wildly successful. Phew! :)

Harry Potter has done well. That doesn't detract from Star Wars, though. The media will continue to act as though Potter is now the superior franchise and destined for greatness above Star Wars, but we all know better than that and so will they come May 2002. A giant shooting star is coming towards earth, they just haven't looked up to see it ;)

What disturbs me is that in 8 years when the prequels are out, no more new films to be seen (probably), we will have to listen to this kind of BS about whatever new fad comes along and how it compares to Star Wars. We all know nothing can ever compare to Star Wars in every respect, though. There is more to a movie's success than money and I don't think Potter is going to influence people's lives as Star Wars has. What, are they going to become magicians or something? Hehe, yeah, whatever.

Star Trek has made far more impact even than Potter ever will and it's not even going very strong anymore.

[BUFFJEDI]

BRAVO!!!!!!!BRAVO!!!!!!! JONATHAN LB.That is the post I wanted to make.I think you said it all perfectly.Now send that to the media ,and have them for once print what should be said.LOVED IT :)

[Mu Satach]

::upon reading Jon's post and realising she agrees with it 100%
falls over and faints from the shock::

*THUD!*

;)

well said dood.

[JonathanLB]

Haha, thanks. I hope I said that ok.

Anyone notice how poorly Harry Potter did Monday? Even by normal standards that is not a very impressive Monday gross whatsoever...

I'm very happy about this. Not to say I wish for other people's failures, but Potter is FAR from a failure! It will still make enough to be incredibly profitable.

$10.9 million in its sixth day of release on a Monday (TPM) vs. $6.64 million in its fourth day of release on a Monday (Potter). One film (Potter) had 40% more screens than the other (TPM). Which is more impressive? LOL!

I'd say the biggest, obviously, and the fact that Potter bombed so hard Monday is just another sign of this film's terrible prospects in the future. Can you say PLUNGE?

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
$10.9 million in its sixth day of release on a Monday (TPM) vs. $6.64 million in its fourth day of release on a Monday (Potter).

But now it's $8.2M for TPM (7 days) on Tuesday vs. $7.7M for HP on Tuesday (5 days), which makes it look quite different. Even though of course TPM's numbers are still ahead, but less than on Monday.

[BUFFJEDI]

According to Yahoo E. Harry potter hit the 100 mil in 5 day's but like 1.6 million behind TPM :)

[Darth23]

"But now it's $8.2M for TPM (7 days) on Tuesday vs. $7.7M for HP on Tuesday (5 days), which makes it look quite different. Even though of course TPM's numbers are still ahead, but less than on Monday."

Yep, that TPM really fell apart on the first Tuesday day of it's release. ;)

I think there are some kids that have the whole week off, not just Thursday and Friday - so that could help HP a bit.

[ReturnOfTheCB]

Hmm...well, as much as Potter was supposed to be nothing short of the Second Coming, and seeing as how they've said how it was going to be better than Star Wars, and how "universal" Potter is, I am thoroughly unimpressed with Potter...not to mention the difference in between several years from TPM and Potter, the increased number of screens, and hell, even the increased number of children...for a book that's so amazing, sold "over 100 million copies in 47 languages", and one that's been hyped to death, I don't see anything remarkable...but I've yet to see the full-scale assault on it that was present on TPM, which makes me think that the media is even more biased against Star Wars than I once believed...I can't even count how many people I saw talking about how much of a failure TPM was because it didn't shatter everything in it's path, yet Potter's being called a success and it's doing very similar in the box office....and the disappointment has continued in my mind, as I finally secured a copy of Potter, and began reading it, based on the recommendations of others, and I've made it through the first 100 pages, setting aside everything and trying to give it a chance, but I just don't see what's supposed to be so amazing by it, and in fact I've found it a chore to even keep reading it, though I imagine I'll finish it just to say I took it in in its entirety...but as "well written and imaginative" as I've heard it is, I thus far see it as nothing more than fantasy/magic/witchcraft/wizardry stereotypes fleshed out into a childrens book of 300 pages...and it has left me sorely wanting to get back to "The Two Towers"...perhaps LOTR has spoiled me :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I just saw the movie and I will have to agree with Fox that it was a very good movie. I don't think it was great but defintely 8 out 10 kind of film. The special effects were pretty good especially during that quiglestic(can't spell it at all) game that was one of the best parts. I also enjoyed the acting of some of the British actors Richard Harris and Robbie Coltrane. I also like Alan Rickman as Snape he played the role effectively to the point that the ending completely fooled me as I did expect who the villian actually was The younger stars were good too especially Radcliff who did a good job playing Harry Potter.

[Jedieb]

The only age group that I see HP standing toe to toe with SW is the Elementary School crowd (K-5). I'd say from first hand experience that it's generated more of a buzz there than TPM did. I would give TPM the edge in every age group above that however which is why I don't believe HP will cross $400M and surpass TPM or ANH.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I admit I like Harry Potter but I like TPM better still. I also think it will fall short of 400 not only because of the reasons you state Jedieb but also because of LOTR coming next month.

[Darth23]

I'd go see it this weekend if AMC was showing the AOTC trailer with it. RIght now I'm thinking I'll probably go see Monsters Inc. again.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That was my only disapointment the stupid idiots at regal didn't show the trailer with HP, I have no clue why:mad. Oh well I didn't go to see it because of the trailer but because I was intrested in the movie and I still have it on tape and can watch it a million times if I want :D