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2003-07-04
dnesday’s and Thursday’s numbers, this situation this weekend is much clearer. And all three of the new movies have had their estimates reduced.
Coming in first this weekend will be Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but not with the numbers the studio was hoping for. $12.4 on Wednesday was significantly below initial predictions. It was also below current July 4th record holder, Men in Black II. However, Terminator 3’s Wednesday to Thursday drop-off was much better, (just 4.43% compared to 11.32%) and Terminator 3’s reviews are also much better, (71% to 38%.) Terminator could come from behind to earn the $52.2 million needed take the record, but it will be very close.
In comparison, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde beat estimates, albeit by just $147 thousand, but then dropped farther on Thursday than expected. With the two factors almost balancing each other out, it should fall just shy of the original prediction with $27 million.
The first of the holdovers, coming in third will be Charlie’s Angels 2. Given the sequel effect, recent history and poor word of mouth, this movie is almost guaranteed to lose more than 50% this weekend. And with direct competition in both the action genre and the female demographic, this movie will lose much more. We’re not talking a Hulk like collapse, but $15 million is still a big drop.
In a summer dominated by huge drop-offs, Finding Nemo has been one of the few exceptions. It continues to do strongly and is set for $10 million in its sixth weekend of release. That will not only give it top spot for computer animated movies, it should also give it the overall lead for 2003, passing The Matrix Reloaded.
Rounding out the top five is The Hulk, which is continuing its downward spiral. Granted, this week it will only drop a little more than 50% to $8 million, not the 70% drop that happened last weekend. Even with this decline, there still is talk of a sequel. (Although a sequel would probably do much better. After all, the first Hulk comic book series was cancelled after 6 issues.)
Doing much worse than analysts predictions was Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, which managed only $1.5 million on Wednesday. It did improve on Thursday, but not enough to get much more than half the original prediction of $14 million. Traditional cell animation was in trouble before this, and since Sinbad will only get a little more than $10 million after Sunday, studios could drastically cut back on future productions.
Submitted by:
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2003-07-02
onight to take advantage of the July 4th long weekend. And despite each of them having a distinct audience, they are entering a crowded market and at least one of them will be squeezed out.
The seemingly never-ending parade of high profile, high expectation blockbusters continue with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Since May almost every week another blockbuster hits the screen, and for the most part they’ve lived up to box office expectations, for at least at week. Judging how well this one will do it a bit tricky. While this has the sequel hype to help the first weekend, it also has to deal with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent slump. But after factoring in all the variables, including impressive reviews, I’m confident it will make $20 million today, and $61 million this weekend. A record for both July 4th and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Its long-term success is still up in the air, but it could beat its predecessor.
Another sequel opening today is Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde. The original was a surprise hit for MGM studios in 2001, and they are hopefully it the sequel will build on that success. And for the sake of the studio, it better. So far in 2003, MGM/UA as only had one hit (Agent Cody Banks) in seven tries. By the end of the long weekend, Legally Blonde 2 could match Agent Cody Banks’ Box Office Total, but I think that’s a little optimistic. Reviews are very weak when compared to the original, but on par with Reese Witherspoon’s biggest hit, Sweet Home Alabama. $9 million today, and another $29 million on the weekend, with $100 million overall the target.
Traditional animation has been in quite a slump since Pixar hit the scene. Last year, only one cell-animated movie made more than $100 million at the box office, and the year before that, none did. And Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas doesn’t look like it will buck the trend. Not that the reviews are bad, but at just above 50% they certainly are not good. Combined with the over-crowded market and $6 million today and $14 million on the weekend could be too optimistic.
Predictions for holdovers will be posted on Friday.
Submitted by:
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2003-07-02
k promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here’s a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: Issue 3, which used to deal with the original Bad Boys, was added, again. But this time it has Bad Boys II info. Specifically, an interview with the costume designer Carol Rasmey (to be added later), the Finesse TV Spot, Jay-Z music video, six more images and two more wallpapers and Buddy Icons. Issue #4 was also added, and along with the standard 6 images and 2 wallpapers and Buddy Icons, this issue had production notes and two more TV Spots, (Time Out and We’re Going In.) Overall this site is coming together nicely.
Envy
Current Content: The site launched this week, but it’s set up to look like an ad for VaPOOrize. You can watch the Infomercial, or the Flash animated add, and there’s even a free giveaway marked coming soon. Of the usual suspects, only the movie trailer is there.
Freddy vs. Jason
Current Content: They’ve completely redone the format and the new format is a little too bright. Besides the new format there was some new content added, namely a timeline for both franchises and a tale of the tape.
Hidalgo
Current Content: This site just opened and so far there’s just a flash intro and the synopsis and trailer.
The Incredibles
Current Content: Just the logo and the teaser trailer. I’ve must have watched the trailer a hundred times and I still can’t figure out who’s doing the voices.
Johnny English
Current Content: Already a hit overseas, the North American version of the site just launched. And it’s an excellent site. There’s a section on the movie that has a lot information, trailer, cast and crew bios, synopsis, image gallery, production notes, etc. But most of the content is elsewhere. A section on MI-5 contains an interaction dossier, (including a very well done picture of John Malkovich as a naughty nurse), demonstration on some of the latest gadgets, surveillance footage of Johnny English, more than a dozen audio clips from the movie, 2 animated E-cards, a screensaver and 2 wallpapers. Then there are three games the plays as well. Combined with the good segues and sound FX, this site definitely earned the extravagant Weekly Website Awards.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: The third section is up, this time about warriors … sort of. Doesn’t seem to fit well with the rest of the site, and certainly isn’t as compelling as the last addition on the Samurai code.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde
Current Content: First of all, “sponsored by a genuine natural beauty, Barbie©.” That is so wrong on so many levels. This is an unusual site with only a little of what is normally found. There is a trailer and a very short synopsis, but no cast and crew bios, for instance. In fact, the only other content that’s strictly movie related is the photo gallery and the character bios. What it does have is a lot of information to help you live like Elle. Elle-strology, Sty-Elle, Elle-ssentials, Elle cetera. There’s also a brief history of Blondes and a web board. There are, however, no animated segues and no sounds after the intro. This definitely hurts the overall effect.
Masked and Anonymous
Current Content: This movie has a huge cast of very famous people, and the site wisely focuses a lot of attention on them. There’s page after page of information: Cast and crew bios, production notes, two essays, etc. The amount of multimedia is limited to the trailer and a couple of songs. But the text is so well written that no more is needed.
Mona Lisa Smile
Current Content: Typical Sony placeholder site. Right now, it has just the trailer but that should change.
Sharkaslayer
Current Content: The movie is still more than a year away, so there’s very little on the site. Just the cast and the character they play. Although, the way they are introduced is well done.
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Current Content: With just as few days before the movie opens, the site added a couple of new games and eight clips from the movie.
S.W.A.T.
Current Content: The flash site opened this week and there’s a lot to it. Trailer, synopsis, cast and crew bios (coming soon), games, music, Animated E-cards called Veepers (doesn’t work with Mozilla), screensavers, wallpaper, etc. There is also a lot of information on the real world S.W.A.T. forces; this included history, training and equipment. The music is quite good for this site, the clip is very long so it doesn’t get repetitive. However, the looping is not as well done as it could be. Transitions are also done well, and the sound effects add to the experience without overwhelming it.
Terminator 3
Current Content: This site has more multimedia content than any other I’ve reviewed. It was overwhelming at times. The information about the movie was well done; trailer, synopsis, cast and crew bios, production notes, it’s all there. But when in came to images and such, they could have trimmed it down. For instance, there are more than 200 wallpapers to choose from, more than 90% of them user created. It seemed to dilute the effectiveness of the official content. Which is too bad, cause this is an otherwise good site.
Submitted by: UK Box Office Report
2003-06-25
ttp://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/MTRX2.php>Matrix Reloaded made its sensational debut in May, no one could really tell how far THIS rabbit hole would go.
But it soon became clear that Reloaded was a big thing, Critics say it has dropped off to quickly in the US. Nonsense,
reloaded has stuck in the top ten for 40 days. Thats a Long time for any flick to stay in that reigon, and its takings offshores are still strong despite the same stiff competition that knocked it off the US top rolling out across the world. But reloaded is set to stop at around 720-740 Million, depending on US performance in the months to come. "2 Fast 2 Furious" furiously smashed in at number one in the uk after extensive advertising. It took $2.7 Million($4.5 Million) for its first weekend, but Reloaded only took 660k. But with a healthy $30 Million ($50.5 Million) from the UK alone in its bank, And no sign of slipping to let the nearest rival, Identity, overtake it, Reloaded should stay in the top three for a few weeks yet.
But Identity has started out strong, knocking Anger Management down to fourth. The movie has opened to brilliant reviews and good buzz, being likened to intellegent hits like "The Usual Suspects" it did take a fairly healthy $51 Million in the us, enough to cover its budget.
But the main competition for all, sure to crush the other grosses, its the mega-hyped and Uber advertised "Bruce Almighty" which hits cinemas this friday in the UK. With three weeks of pre-release advertising under its belt, Bruce is sure to demolish the box office competition, In previews alone in limited theartres this weekend, it took an astonishing $1.8 Million($2.9 Million).
The hit comedy looks like its legs will be challenged too, with Charlies Angels 2 making its debut the week after Bruce's release, it will just show how Mighty he is. One things a dead cert, 2 Fast wont be Furious enough to fight of Bruce and The Angels, its expected to drop to fourth when Bruce is released. Reloaded could make big dropoffs, but due to a surprisingly strong UK support base, its likely to fluctuate between 2-4th positions for a while.
Elsewhere on the UK Charts, Igby Goes Down, the "Indie-Teen Movie Of The Year" rose a place, knocking X-2 down to 11th while it nestled into the top ten. And John Travolta's "Basic" debuted with an embarrasing £248k ($412k) Weekend, while a good figure for UK, the number was much lower than the millions expected, but the critics trashed the return of travolta, "Connie Nielsen is like a walking acting folio, she morphs her accent more than she blinks, and Travolta is totally outshone by Jackson"
Bringing Down The House slipped three places in the charts. The Queen Latifah hit had not mirrored the huge success it enjoyed in the US, it is expected to close in the UK at around $5 Million.($8.3 Million)
British Classical Diva, Charlotte Church's acting debut, "I'll Be There" is also opening soon, but reviews have been mixed, one speaking on Church-"Is worse than Madonna and makes you realise Britney wasnt that bad in Crossroads" and another on the same subject "Church is up to the role, it was written with her personality in mind, so the acting wasnt challenging, and it shows"
Forthcoming UK Releases Summer 2003
Sure Hits:
Bruce Almighty, Charlies Angels 2: Full Throttle, T3: Rise of The Machines, Legally Blonde 2*, Tomb Raider 2
Maybes:
The Extraordinary Leauge Of Gentlemen, Hollywood Homicide, Bad Boys II, The Hulk, Spy Kids 3D
Report Researched and Writ
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2003-04-25
y released what is in
my opinion, the first movie to ever successfully marry computer effects with
live action scenes and actors. The saga
pitted Jeff Bridges,
a computer gaming programmer gone rogue against an evil electronic A.I. that
abducts him into a cyber world and places him in combat scenarios against
hordes of battle vehicles and humanoid programs. This movie - Tron - was in essence the Matrix of its
time. Since then, Visual Effects
technology has been used to create character enhancements and action scenes
that previously would have cost production companies millions of dollars in
time and materials. A technology so
advanced, that we now have CGI characters playing important roles in
movies. A technology that is so well
received and relatively economical that the advent of completely digitally
animated features are common place. A technology which has trickled down to
every day use in video games and small screen productions.
And a technology that is so excessively used
in film, and at times so poorly rendered, that it smacks of the campy falseness
that was a Godzilla costumed, Japanese actor, stomping through a miniature of
1960’s Tokyo.
T M I?
Not to offend die-hard Godzilla
fans mind you, or you aspiring computer
visual effects specialist, because for one, I am a Godzilla fan from
way back and I am annually parked in-front of the Sci-Fi channel during their
October Godzilla marathon. Believe me,
campy, cheesy over sized lizards are my passion.
Two, I am a die hard
technologist, and Generation X-er who not only appreciates the hard work and
effort behind the 3D-modeling, rendering programming, CGI, and various other
skills involved, but I regularly pray at the alter of Bill Gates while back
flipping, high kicking, and round house punching my way through a well designed
game using a half naked, bouncy, digitally rendered babe named Divinity on my
X-Box. Believe me, I salute you
computer artists, and subsequently so do the good people of Kleenex Tissues and
Saint Ive’s Hand Lotions.
But... (and you knew the "but" was coming)
There are some movies that did it right, and others, that
just plain did it wrong. Instead of
treading through the murky depths of what can be a very categorized field
encompassing a wide array of technologies and techniques, I will instead look
at specific movies and scenes that were impressively done and I will look at
other movies that weren’t so impressively done. In the interests of server space and tired fingers (there are
so many movies using and/or abusing digital effects these days I could
write a book) I will concentrate on the top-earning visual effects movies of all
time, and some particular movies that I feel need to be pointed out for one
reason or another.
[Author's Note: The original top 10 list that inspired this article was compiled by www.digitalmediafx.com, a group that
provides content and information mainly for people who are in the industry.]
Top 16
Visual Effects Movies of All Time
The following is a list of
the highest grossing FX movies of all time.
Note: "Visual Effects Movie"
refers to a film that heavily relied on special effects in the telling of its
story. Visual Effects can be
model-based or computer generated.
Results are based on how much money the movie made in the U.S./Canada
Domestic box office and may include money made in re-releases (depending
on circumstances). In addition, the list
does not allow for inflation or higher ticket prices. The original list is at http://www.digitalmediafx.com/specialreports/topfxmovies.html
Men in Black
Starting from low to high
in terms of box office numbers on this list and working our way up, we have Men
in Black. A feature which I felt
crossed the line regularly with their use of digital visual effects, only to be
saved thanks to the on screen chemistry of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
Frank the Talking Dog was
well done, and so were many of the scenes involving various space aliens and
technology. But it’s always easier to
animate something that doesn’t exist in real life, because no one can really
say what an alien with an exploding head looks like when growing a new noggin,
or what worm aliens should look like when drinking coffee. Still, these effects-laden films have to
remember that digital effects, computer rendering, and modeling, is far from
perfect, mostly because it looks too perfect on screen! The clarity and smoothness of CGI
characters, slightly off color and shading, and almost too fluid motion, makes
for glaring examples that can overpower a scene with its blatancy. Occasionally, MIB did the smart thing
balancing a mix of CGI, Special effects robots, make up, and live models for
this film. Because it could have been a
lot worse and because the acting and story helped pull my attention away from
all of the CGI, it is in my personal "Did It Right" category.
Batman and The Grinch
The next two films on our
list were surprises to me but welcome ones nonetheless. I group these two films together because
more traditional effects magic were used in the making. Computer animation was held to a minimum and
modeling and make up specialists took the lead.
More movies should do it this way; at least until the computer VE (Visual
Effects) side of the house is perfected.
Not
much to say on The Grinch. There wasn’t
a chance in the world that any type of visual effects would have been able to
direct the audience away from Jim Carrey's
acting. Mostly make up effects here,
and I believe that if you can’t notice the effects, if it doesn’t pull you
away from the story, then it "Did It Right!".
Batman,
which used a lot of green or blue screen shots (Placing an actor in front of
a blue or green screen and then inserting the back round later) and city
modeling, played well in the dark comic book world that was Gotham City. It might not have been so in another
film. However, the fight scenes were
tight, realistic, used simple camera shots, and great martial arts
choreography, really making this movie memorable. A more recent visual effects movie similar to Batman that isn’t
on this list, but I feel really shows an important contrast, is the Blade series
starring Wesley Snipes. The first Blade being well done, and the
fight scenes being just as impressive as the first Batman movie. However, Blade II, which I
still found to be thoroughly enjoyable, made the mistake of using CGI for their
vampire on vampire fight scenes.
Particularly noticeable were the acrobatics preformed by Wesley Snipes
character Blade and the Leonor Varela character Nyssa during the GOD
lights fight sequence. Also of
particular note was the end fight scene between Blade and Luke Goss character
Nomak. Again, production companies
using any type of visual effects have to remember that new technology and
methods doesn’t always mean better or more entertaining. I would personally prefer not to see digital
effects in action sequences. If you
need to make for a more stunning sequence, The Matrix style wirework plays well
and is visually stunning in most respects.
My call on all of these films, Batman, The Grinch, and Blade "Did It Right!". Blade II, in most vampire on
vampire scenes, "Did It Wrong!"
Star Wars: All Of Them
No big surprise here in regards to Star Wars. Currently holding 5 of the top 16 spots,
this is again a perfect example of how it was done right the first time, and on
the second go around, just didn’t quite make it. George Lucas pioneered some impressive modeling techniques and
make up work during the original production of Star Wars. Ground breaking work to which my words just
can’t do justice (Note: Death star scenes where X-wing
fighters were making strafing attacks on the surface, used miniatures and drive
by camera work off the back of a pickup!). On its recent re-release, the George Lucas studio and George
Lucas himself, decided to add some upgrades via CGI. In my opinion, all of these scenes are obvious and not worthy of
the original visual effects craftsmanship.
The Star Wars opening scene with the chasing Imperial Destroyer is still
one of the most realistic and awesome scenes I have seen to date and it was
done in 1977. In regards to Star Wars
Episode 1, just three words: Jar Jar Binks!
My call for the Star Wars series, great movies, awesome story lines,
great acting and the first time around, "Did It Right!". On re-release
and on the newer series, "Did It Wrong!".
Independence Day
The visual effects in this film were stunning. The shots of the alien saucers floating
above various US monuments and in orbit were amazing and I couldn’t tell just
by looking at it that they were all digitally inserted. Some of the F-15/alien ship dog fight scenes
were suspect, but overall, an amazing job.
Animatronics/puppeteering type technology was used for close up shots
involving the aliens and the blue/green screen shots were flawless. Fox did it right in this film and coupled
with a fantastic cast and script, the only surprise here is that it isn’t
closer to the number 1 spot. Simply put
"Did It Right!"
Jurassic Park
I was going to duo this film with Independence Day, but it was so well
done, and the technology used to create the dinosaurs so groundbreaking, it
needed its own line. One of the first
to use CGI on such a large scale, Jurassic Park really demonstrated to other
production companies and film makers that the sky is the limit in terms to what
you can do with effects, as long as your budget is sky high as well. I can still pick out the CGI, but only
because I know dinosaurs have long been extinct. Close up shots of the dinos were animatronics and it was all
superbly done. Hey, we have all seen
clips of the old stop motion dinosaurs from the movies past, and the scenes in
movies where nothing but animatronics (Skins and artist created sub-dermals
stretched over remote control robots) were used. Anyone remember Baby - Legend
of the Lost Dinosaur? By the end of
this movie, I was hoping that Baby would just die. Jurassic Park, "Did It Right!".
Spider-Man
I don’t know where to start with this film. A big Marvel
Fan, and Spider-Man fan myself, I was happy to see a live action Spider-Man film
being released into the theaters. The acting was fantastic and I really loved
how they brought the character to life on the big screen; not many characters
can make such a successful transition. But I was really not impressed with any
scene involving Spiderman climbing, jumping, and web slinging through the city
streets. I was down right disappointed in the fight scenes between Spider-Man
and the Green Goblin. The movement of CGI characters just doesn’t look right.
No, I have never seen a crime fighting spandex clad human with the powers of a
spider making his way through a city, so no I don’t have a point of reference
to which I make that comment; But I do know what looks real and natural and
proportioned and Spider-Man CGI was not. As unfortunate as it is because I
really loved the movie, the CGI in the film in almost every action scene, "Did
It Wrong".
Titanic
When I first saw this film on the list, I was very surprised, only
because the visual effects weren’t of long extinct animals, super natural
beings, or aliens and alien technology. The technology wasn’t as a character in
the movie like the others. Titanic was a movie that used visual effects to
recreate an era and an environment and strikingly so. How appropriate that it resides in the number 1 spot, because it
is number 1 in my personal list of movies that flawlessly utilized digital
effects to help present the story. This
movie was shot on a partial mock-up of the boat in a huge water tank. The background was digitally inserted, as was
the vast ocean. The sinking of the ship
and violent collision with the Iceberg was digitally rendered then inserted. Titanic went completely over budget and was
a huge risk for everyone involved.
Hands downed, "Did It Right!".
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE RINGS MAN... THE RINGS AND THE POTTER??
Because I would prefer not to be hunted down in the
streets and flogged by a crowd of readers lead by Bruce Nash for not mentioning
it, lets take a look at Lord of The Rings: The
Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers,
and the Harry Potter movies. Bruce actually updated the Digitalmediafx chart to include the newer movies which is why it's a top 16 as opposed to a top 10. Afterall, as my
editor so keenly pointed out, Lord of The Rings raked in $313 million and The
Two Towers over $337 million. Harry
Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone brought in over $317 million with the
sequel, Chambers of
Secrets only bringing in a modest $261 million; (That was sarcasm by the
way). Sorry Grinch, MIB and Batman, time to move over, here comes
something with bigger box office takes. The first movie in both of these franchises are
without a doubt in the "Did it Right!" realm. However, I wasn’t
necessarily impressed by everything I saw. It looks like the cave troll that
attacked both Harry Potter and the Fellowship graduated from the same
University of crappy CGI. (Would that be CCGIU then?) Other then that, both prequels were
brilliant. Harry deserving particular mention for the Broom flying scenes during the Quibbage Event, and The
Fellowship for the scaling effects used to make the hobbits (played by full
size actors) appear smaller then their co-stars. And then we have the
sequels!!! What is it with these two movies anyway? They must be sharing visual
effects companies because the house elf in the Chambers of Secret looks just as
crappy as Gollum did in the Two Towers. And good thing for Harry that the Mr.
Riddles snake wasn’t in more of this movie or I would have really went off the film. Conversely the ying to their yangs, came in the form of the amazingly
created flying car sequences and again with another awesome broom flying Quibbage game for Harry Potter. In Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, the CGI tower modeling and
environmental inserts were equally brilliant. Those particular CGI marvels,
along with excellent acting, fantastic story lines, and superb cast chemistry
help propel both into the "Did it Right!" category.
A Constantly Changing List
To be honest, this list will probably be defunct by the time this year
is out. With the exception of Titanic
and the first Star Wars, we can expect the rest of this directory to be updated
annually. Digital effects in movies have made for great movie magic and will
continue to do so for years to come.
This year alone we will see The Hulk, X-Men 2, Terminator 3: Rise of
The Machines, and the Matrix: Reloaded
hit the screen and the production of big budget movies with big budget effects
isn’t showing signs of slowing.
Digital effects can be a great thing if done so in a subdued manner, or when the movie
using them is pioneering, but when main characters and huge scenes rely on the
technology, watch out because it is going to distract. With the exception of the Matrix (I wish it was on this list, because it should be a bible of how action computer visual effects should be done), some of the most visually appealing and
realistic movies I’ve seen are early 80’s and 90’s films that relied on make up
and sweat as opposed to numbers and processors. Movies are fun because they pull you into a whole new world with
whole new characters and scenarios, but the illusion is easy to break when hit
with "in your face" CGI and technology. Just remember, if you watch a movie and
it looks like Intel and Microsoft will appear in the credits, then someone has
just committed digital overkill.
(Author End Note: The field is growing and changing on a regular basis.
Especially by movies who aren’t afraid to do something new and exciting for a
first time. Wired
Online Magazine has a great article on The Matrix: Reloaded which is a nice
read)
Additional source: ww
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
