E.T.: Before a phenomenon, now a bomb

[JonathanLB]

Haha, its own studio has termed the newest release a real disappointment and Screen International said its international box office grosses so far are quite disappointing.

That is definitely nicely fitting because some people simply think you can re-release any old movie and make a ton of money with it, but that's just not the case. It's a rare movie like Star Wars that returns with such force (excuse the pun) to theaters and it is not going to happen again anytime soon. If it were that easy, they'd just re-release every old movie over and over again.

I think a Titanic re-release in the future would fare about equally as pitiful. People just don't care about E.T. now or already have it on video and don't care to go to theaters to see it again. It's not like Star Wars. There is no fanbase for E.T. and it was foolish of them to think it would do better than this.

It's right in line with my expectations, which were about $40 million for the entire run. It seems like it'll get there... could be $45 million I suppose but I doubt it.

I don't see why they are so disappointed, but I guess Star Wars set the bar a bit higher. :D

[JMK]

Well what exactly were they predicting? 100M? That would have been nuts. Didn't all of us here predict roughly 40-45M give or take 10M? I wouldn't call it a bomb per se, especially for a re-release, but if they were using Star Wars re-releases as their basis for comparison, then they absolutlely mental.

[BUFFJEDI]

O_o

[BUFFJEDI]

I still Love ET and think it is sitll one of the great movies,and can't wait for it on DVD. But to do 100 mil on a re release there as nuts as I amO_o


What I'd like to have now , Is all you Fat , Out of shape Star Wars geeks to keep the noise down While I take my Jedi Robe off and show the ladies what a real man is supposed to look like.

[Shawn]

It's a rare movie like Star Wars that returns with such force That's because not many movies have a huge fan-following 20 years later. :) Not only do you have all the old-fogies who still love the movies, but even young kids love Star Wars (even moreso now that the prequel movies are being released). Star Wars is really a unique case.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Which proves Star Wars' greatness. If it can still draw huge crowds 20 years later, it must be loved.

Personally, ET was an overated POS. I rather glad to see it did nothing.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think they had too high of expectations really, still the film is doing awful overseas its has barely made 10 million, at least ANH is safe for good.

[BUFFJEDI]

There is no doubt ET is Nothing compared to SW, nor is any other movie.But ET I feel is still a true classic that will never die ,FADe and wither but never die . There is just something about it that alot of people still love.(not a 100 mil worth) but still alot. I feel one reason it fell flat this go around is that alot of the population is does not want to see a movie with alot feel good qualities to it they want foul language, sex, and just a general low morals in there movies.Dont get me wrong alot of us(me) are guilty of that to a degree. which does say alot for the SW movies it's still VERY popular without alot of that junk. Altough I still and will always not believe it beat SW at the box office 220mill to 194 mil I will always hold ET as one of the true greats in Movie history.

[CMJ]

I also think the timing of the re-releases is an importnat factor. The Special Edition of ANH came out in January(a huge dumping season for films). By the time ROTJ was issued...we were in March, thus it only did like 45-50M(if I remember correctly).

Not as for "E.T."..it was issued in March...a tougher competition time frame. Do I think that's the sole reason for it's low BO(I figured it'd gross 60M or so personally)? Nope...but it's larger factor than you think.

[JMK]

As well you should you ravishing jedi you! ;)
I guess in the way that we love E.T., kids today aren't enamored by him and prefer their Pokemon and Rugrats. I guess more than anything this re-release was a barometer to see how E.T.'s popularity has stood the test of time, and while he's still respected and has his place in moviegoers hearts, most people can't find it in themselves to spend $7 to feel all warm and fuzzy again.

[sirdizzy]

i went and saw it but that was just out of morbid curiosity because i had enevr seen it


the kids propelled it the first time today the kids don't care

[JonathanLB]

That brings up another really good point.

Kids are extremely disloyal and fickle. They are molded easily into whatever society has them be basically and if their parents do not pay very close attention and instill in them good morals, society (i.e. advertising, TV, the media, and film) will shape their worldview. So, yes, the kids today don't know E.T. as much and they love Pokemon and Harry Potter somewhat now (10 - 13 year olds maybe more so), plus whatever else is new. It's always about what is new, not about what is the best, because kids just like to see whatever is newest and competing for their dollar (in a virtual sense; you're really competing for the parents' dollars) is very hard. I think it always has been.

It is just incredibly remarkable that the Star Wars movies seem almost genetically implanted into kids' minds as something to love, haha. I loved Star Wars when I was about 4 or 5 and had some action figures, we had a very well-worn copy of the trilogy that I am sure I watched 20 to 30 times over the years, but I also saw it at friends' houses and on the USA Network (don't ask why, hehe, I could have just put the tapes in...). My interests changed a lot, from baseball cards, to Marvel comics, then to Magic: The Gathering (never lost interest, but everyone else did so I had to quit), then to Spawn and Image comics, and finally to Star Wars for good. I used to have a new hobby every year or less (actually more like every school year, so 9 months), but once the special editions drew me into theaters, I told my parents I would never stop collecting Star Wars goods and that it was my final major fandom. They of course rolled their eyes because I had switched like 7 times in 5 years, but it is now 5 years, 2 months, 5 days later and I'm still a Star Wars fan and still collect :)

Now, of course, they believe me :) Hehe, it is just part of who I am.

LOL, I always love your no BS attitude, Marcus, it's like Whistler in Blade for some reason, even though you hate those movies, it just reminds me of that same straight-forwardness :)

"Which proves Star Wars' greatness. If it can still draw huge crowds 20 years later, it must be loved. Personally, ET was an overated POS. I rather glad to see it did nothing."

Haha, yeah man but I wish it had really made only about $10 million total because it's still going to pass TPM, which is pretty freakin' lame. Good thing we have AOTC this year, but there goes TPM another spot down I think. I imagine that AOTC will beat ANH too, but that's quite alright. :)

Well I think E.T. was very overrated, so I agree with you there, but I still liked it as a kid and I do like it now too, but that means I think it is a solid 3 star film. It's not a great movie in my opinion, but clearly many other people must have thought so or still do think so. E.T. is not a favorite of mine by any means, though, I have seen better movies in the last 48 hours ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

That is true CMJ, Ice Age had been out a week when ET came out and I think that was a bigger draw for kids than ET. Really though 40 million+ is pretty good for a release I remember when Paramount was happy when Grease made 25 million or so, then there are some movies like The Godfather that do terrible on releases. I just think Universal had unresonable expectations.

[JMK]

I don't think a 3 hour movie could ever have a successful re-release. The people that would pay to see it again probably have the movie at home on VHS or DVD.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
Good thing we have AOTC this year, but there goes TPM another spot down I think. I imagine that AOTC will beat ANH too, but that's quite alright. :)

I would be very suprised if AOTC would surpass either of the two. I don't see it making $400M. I've predicted $350M.


Well I think E.T. was very overrated, so I agree with you there, but I still liked it as a kid and I do like it now too, but that means I think it is a solid 3 star film. It's not a great movie in my opinion, but clearly many other people must have thought so or still do think so.

I loved E.T., but I have no desire seeing it again in theaters. Just the fact that people stay away doesn't mean they think it's not a great movie.

E.T. bombed anyway, though. I read that last Easter weekend it grossed $6.5M in 26 countries.

[JonathanLB]

I think people still very much like E.T. but that is not going to drive them to theaters to see it again...

"I've predicted $350M."

And you shall be wrong as you will find out in just more than two months (it'll be apparent by then). :)

[Super Wookiee]

If you look at the list of Re releast Grosses http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/rerelease.htm 40M to 45M millon for ET this time is not really that bad.

[Jedi Master Carr]

If you look at the list of Re releast Grosses http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/rerelease.htm 40M to 45M millon for ET this time is not really that bad.
That is pretty much what I think, but it did bomb overseas, I think ET is just not that big of film outside of the US which is part of the answer there though.


And you shall be wrong as you will find out in just more than two months (it'll be apparent by then).

I hope you are right, I think it will make at least 400, my guess right now is about 450, it might do a little less but I think it could do anywere from 350-500 that is how hard it will be to predict.

[Jedieb]

I think that many at Universal were expecting SW:SE type numbers. They put in a decent amount of money into promoting it. Recent re-releases like Grease and Godfather films did reasonably well, but I don't think either of those re-releases had the money or expectations behind them that ET had. I thought it had a shot at $75M-$100M and so did many at Universal. Another factor that we have to consider is the whole theater experience. Seeing ET on your TV screen isn't all that different from seeing it up on the big screen. With the OT releases you were getting a real treat. The flying X-Wing through the TV screen summed it up perfectly. ET is a good film, but it plays just as well on TV as it does the big screen, you're not missing much if you rent it at Blockbuster or wait for the DVD.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think the DVD is a factor, I believe it is coming out on DVD in August or September and many people like myself probably just decided to wait, especially since the Harrison Ford scene was cut again, I think it will be on the DVD, at least I hope it will be.

[JonathanLB]

I agree with that. It's just about the same either way. Plus I got a great home theater so most movies look better on my screen than they do at Regal to be honest.

Regal is not THX approved. All of my equipment is. Regal has had projector problems FOUR times in the last month at my showings. My theater has never broken down on me when I'm actually using it (but in other occassions it has required fixing).

Star Wars on a TV screen is just an injustice, hehe. It looks great on my home theater, but yeah it kills me to see them on a small screen :(

I wish someday there could be a theater, entirely digital, that played all six Star Wars movies each day and it kind of had a Star Wars theme shop, restaurant, and some stuff like that. It would need to be in a highly populated area, like Los Angeles for sure, then it wouldn't have 6 screens of course. Perhaps 2 screens and they'd kind of figure out which nights which movies would play and stuff. That way the flame would always be burning at one theater.

If Lucasfilm would allow that, it would be great. I want to make it :)

[CMJ]

Hmmmmm....thats an idea.

Seriously, there's one theatre in Atlanta that I've read about, that shows GWTW everyday and has for years. I wish I could remember some specifics about the story....sorry.

[JonathanLB]

That'd be really cool. If I had a lot of money, I would run such a theater a loss even if it meant keeping Star Wars in theaters for people to enjoy. That'd be great. It would be worthwhile. :)

I just saw E.T. today, Thursday (technically it is now Friday)... It was worse than I remembered it even. I'm sorry but I just don't really see what makes it a great film. How it made so much money truly shocks me.

Of course I find Titanic's gross rather amazing, who wouldn't, but it is actually a solid film and you can understand the timeless appeal of the love story and whatnot, even if it is a bit sappy and corny, mostly the film is quite well done.

I really think E.T. is much worse though and I can't understand at all what makes it great. The story is extremely shallow. It's about as deep as a puddle in Southern California following a spring drizzle. E.T. comes to earth, gets home sick, then he goes home. That sums up the entire 2 hour film extremely well and leaves basically nothing of note out. Except the bad acting by a pretty shoddy cast of actors and actresses, most of them just kids. Not to mention how stupid E.T. looks! LOL, he looks like a skinned dog with no legs. I don't find the story emotionally gripping at all; should I? There is little excitement or adventure whatsoever, besides a chase at the end of the film for about 2 minutes.

It's really an overrated film I must say, not too enjoyable whatsoever. I thought it was good as a kid, but wasn't a huge fan, now I'm leaning towards 2.5 stars, and that's pretty generous because if Williams hadn't made such a good soundtrack and Spielberg wasn't directing, it'd get 2 stars.

I really appreciate most of the films the AFI chose on its list, but E.T. is just not a good movie. I think the country must have been on drugs when it did so well. It is so vastly inferior to Star Wars there is no comparison. If I had actually seen movies at a rate of 150 new releases per year for a few decades, I have no doubt E.T. would fail to make my top 1,000 list, let alone my top 100.

A weak effort from Spielberg. I love A.I., love JP, love Amistad actually (despite its fairly weak performance), love Jaws (total classic...), and I at least somewhat liked SPR and Lost World (3 stars each), but Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind and E.T.: The Extra Stupid Alien are not films I think are good at all.

[CMJ]

Funny...while I don't find "E.T." one of his best it's terrific.

On the otherhand..."Close Encounters" IS one of Spielberg's best IMHO. In fact I'd go far as to say it's one of the best films(if not THE best) of the 1970's.

[JonathanLB]

Yikes, those two films are not good at all. Especially Close Encounters, though, it's just stupid. My dad saw it when it came out and thought the same as I do now. "What's the big deal?!" A bunch of mashed potato statues and an idiotic encounter. It is such a letdown of a film.

By today's standards, it would be so bad it would bomb hard, worse than a nuclear weapon, lol. It is too slow for today, it's just dated, it hasn't held up well at all and in fact it was outdated the day it came out. That same year, just a few months earlier, audiences saw Star Wars and Close Encounters just looks stupid and lame by comparison. I would forgive it because it's old except that Star Wars is older and ten times better, so Close Encounters could have been better clearly too.

I've not seen a few of Spielberg's 80's films so I cannot say Close Encounters is his worst film, but it could be as far as I'm concerned. I've not seen anything else by him that I would classify as only average, two-star work, except Close Encounters.

[CMJ]

Obviously your opinion Jonathan....I'd say a significant percantage of people still really enjoy CE3K(as I like to abreviate it). I know MANY who do, so try not to act as if you're preaching the gospel on how it's held up over time. When people slam Spielberg films, I tend to get irritated(can't help it)....probably even more so than you do when people attack SW films. I just watch myself better...

[JMK]

CE3K, I find is more of an interesting movie rather than entertaining. I love Dreyfuss' performance, and the movie really speaks to the 'believers' out there. The DVD is great and its just loaded with extras. Do you own it CMJ? If not, look into buying/renting.

[CMJ]

Nah I don't own the DVD yet. I have the Special Edition AND the Collector's Edition on video though. I tend to get DVD's of stuff I don't have on video...I'll slowly but surely start to phase all my tapes out, but usually if I buy a new film, it's something I don't already own.

[JMK]

That's the way it probably should work CMJ. :D As long as the quality of the picture & sound is fine on the film, it makes total sense to only buy movies you don't own. I've finally finished replacing all my VHS tapes with DVD except of course for SW, Indiana Jones, and Austin Powers 1. But I only had about 30 VHS tapes when I made the jump to DVD.

[CMJ]

I don't think I own TOO many more than 30 VHS tapes(maybe twice that number). I also own a few Laserdisc's which I have no intention of replacing as the quality is practically as good as DVD's. Plus...those old things are really cool...at least to me. ;)

[Jedieb]

Like many of you, I loved CE3K. One of my favorite scenes is the truck scene. Think of how easy it was to pull that off. Just a few lights and you shake the truck around a bit. Sometimes the simplest of movie tricks can give you amazing results. One of the things I thought was just as important as the effects in CE3K was the music. It was an integral part of the ending and Williams delivered for Spielberg in the same way that he did with Jaws. It's just an all around great movie. What do I care if the spaceships don't look as CGI laden as current effects, what does that have to do with the quality of the movie or the enjoyment I get out of it. I'd hate to be so limited that something looks bad just because it looks aged. EVERYTHING eventually looks aged.

[CMJ]

I actually really dig the surrealistic look of the Alien Spacecraft. :)

As far the truck scene...if I remember right, they shot it on a gimble and tilted the interior of the truck which is why everything "flew" around. Very correct Jedieb...sometimes simple really works.