DTH316 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 This Friday, The Thing barely made 3 million smackers which will certainly lead it to a less than 10 million box office weekend. Those familiar with box office patterns will notice that most movies will only make half of it's money opening weekend, which could possibly mean that The Thing will make only $20 million in it's domestic run. Foreign sales traditionally don't do much better unless it's a worldwide sensation (Pirates of the Caribbean, 2012). The film cost $35 million to make, not including marketing which can be up to another $10 million. And who knows how much money they pushed into the maze at both Orlando and Hollywood. Orlando is used to these failures and is a bigger event anyway and can pull this stuff off without much worry. For Hollywood though, this was a risky experiment that surely failed and I can't see them doing a tie-in with one of their own films again for awhile, which is unfortunate because this was an exciting time for us fans as this was a first. We probably won't be seeing many more "firsts" like that for awhile. Meanwhile, HHN has only had ONE sold out night so far (which is debatable due to the new way Sundays and Thursdays are done now) and it's about half way through it's run. Could "The Thing" and the lack of any major motion picture mazes be at fault? Was there simply just not enough awareness or interest in either the 1982 film or the recent prequel to bring people into the park like last year or the year before? Imagine how silly it must feel to know that The Wolfman, which was shoved into the House of Horrors, made quadruple the amount of money and they held off doing a maze for that for 3 whole years. Sadly, The Thing is the main marketing push right now for HHNH. This is all a shame since the new film is frickin' awesome, as is the maze. And we all know the 82 film is a masterpiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grindhousehero13 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 well The orignal Thing also suffered from low box office as well but lets wait till halloween passes by horror movies are usualy shafted and with the big dog right now the Family Film Real Steel it was boned from the beggaining but Im sure its not tied to the maze, the maze has been recieving possitive reviews so lets just wait till The Thing Ends its run to call it a bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 The movie will probably be playing in VERY few theaters by Halloween (2 whole weeks away). Usually, movies that under perform like this get the boot from half of it's theaters after week 2. And then with Paranormal 3 hitting next week, which is sure to be big, The Thing will be decimated and turn into just dust by the time Halloween rolls around. Not to mention big action flicks like The Three Musketeers (which will be in 3D), Johnny English Reborn which is getting somewhat of a limited release but is doing great overseas, and then you got Puss in Boots (which could very well DOMINATE the Halloween weekend), the Justin Timberlake action flick In Time, and Roland Emmerich's Anonymous which isn't his usual end of the world film but even his smaller movies usually do pretty good. The Thing will be VERY lucky if it's even in the top 10 come Halloween weekend as there is 6 movies that will surely top it when they open and 2 other films that will probably find it easy to stay afloat (Real Steel, Footloose) while 2 other films refuse to leave the top 10 (Moneyball, Dolphin Tale). THINGS aren't looking good and with a less than 10 million dollar opening weekend, I can assure you that it will INDEED bomb. I remember having the same hope for Scream 4 when it opened with merely 20 million and it only pulled in $39 domestic (another example of where the "half of opening weekend is half the revenue" rule is true as well). So by the time the final weekend of HHN comes around, they'll have a maze for a movie that absolutely nobody saw and will no longer be in the top 10. Crowds will still go in the maze and love it, I'm sure but Universal will see this as an embarrassment. The problem isn't the maze, it's the movie isn't generating enough interest (which is a shame because they've been plugging the hell out of both). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) I celebrated the opening of The Thing last night by watching John Carpenter's The Thing on Encore HD May just pop in my obsolete HD-DVD version and documentary tonight. Darn you Blu-Ray!! This may be one of those movies that confused enough people not to show up in masses: Same title of an almost 30 year old movie? Pre-quel? Sequel? Remake? No John Carpenter. First time director at the helm. Promise of a return to practical FX only to be replaced by CGI, and ....NO SHINY VAMPIRE TWEENS (bleh) . I don't remember too many films that reached cult status after bombing at the box office that succeeded in a second life. Myself, I prefer the smaller films,as they seem to capture character development and succeed at story telling. I still have hope for this version at the box office/bluray/dvd sales and will contribute to its run tomorrow. By the way, does the prequel have any of the "feel" of Carpenter's version? Edited October 16, 2011 by AsylumSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) Not to get too much into it since this is more for HHN discussion but this new movie is a GREAT companion piece to Carpenter's film. Every detail shown in the first 20 minutes of the 82 film while they searched the Norwegian camp is explained throughout this film. It's a bit faster paced than Carpenter's style (not ADD-like though, just smoother) but it does a good job of looking like it's in the same universe. It's a really great monster movie and there are ZERO scenes that copy frame for frame the 82 version like some people have been saying (they're on crack if they thought that). Most people have been bitching about the use of CGI though (but honestly, what frickin' movie doesn't have that these days?) and/or they made up their mind on hating it before they even walked through the door. Also "it's too similar" which is a bunch of malarkey too, as the first and third acts are about completely different things that are happening while the second act treads familiar territory but that's only a given as to what the freakin' story is about and would happen no matter what (realizing the Thing imitates people and then a scene trying to find out which one of them is the Thing). Don't leave right when the credits start; if you're a fanboy of the 82 film, you'll be giddy in your seat during this part. I went home and immediately watched the other film. It honestly feels like a sequel now (just a very damn good sequel... that was somehow made 30 years earlier...). So in my opinion, they did a great job of making it all fit together. Now that I've seen the prequel, in my opinion, the only way to watch one is you have to watch the other too. I really wish they could make a part three that takes place after both of them but I guess we'll never get to see that now (unless we count the 2002 game that's a sequel, also oddly titled, "The Thing" haha) The maze captured the film greatly so if you've gone through that, you know what to expect. A lot of the environments looked EXACT (ice block room, autopsy room, pool hall). It'd be really cool if Universal could've done two mazes back to back. One of the Norwegian site and one of the American site. That would be the ULTIMATE maze. Too bad we're probably never going to see anything of such awesomeness though. Edited October 16, 2011 by DTH316 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grindhousehero13 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 just FYI the first Thing bombed too also like this one was majorly due to a family film taking in all the box office cash but as DTH said its a AWSOME movie espeacialy if your like me or DTH a fanboy of the original or carpenter you'll enjoy the living hell out of it, it runs little faster then the original which is a good thing to be honest and it is faithfull to the orignal and fills in gaps you wanted to know about the norwigens (sp?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) DTH316...you used the word "Giddy", the pinnacle of vernaculars!! Regardless of how well it does at the box office, I hope HHN continues with its endeavor to create mazes based on upcoming properties. With the amount of time it takes to get the rights, plan, design, and finalize mazes, I don't think their intial thoughts would be "I hope this thing does not tank at the box office"! Thousands of people per night get a chance to experience the movie itself while in the maze.....its difficult to achieve that in any way out side of attending at the theater. Yes, I had my reservations about the maze because of who directed the original (I do apprectate most of John Carpenter's work). After a second time through the maze, my interests peaked with seeing the new film. The comparisons above are appreciated. Edited October 16, 2011 by AsylumSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Yikes, estimates are in (and they're hardly ever wrong): $8.7 million. The film will be LUCKY if it matches the 82 film's $19.6 million in it's domestic run (adjusted for inflation is 43 million which it has zero chance in making). I wonder if any of the people they shuttle on the Terror Trams they show the trailer to or even the people who go through the maze actually bothered to see this movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Yikes, estimates are in (and they're hardly ever wrong): $8.7 million. The film will be LUCKY if it matches the 82 film's $19.6 million in it's domestic run (adjusted for inflation is 43 million which it has zero chance in making). I wonder if any of the people they shuttle on the Terror Trams they show the trailer to or even the people who go through the maze actually bothered to see this movie. I feel bad for seeing the first show and only shelling out $5.50 for admission. The film is entertaining and had me thinking about how they successfully tied in many elements of Carpenter's version. The Norwegians were great as an ensemble; Winstead OK, Edgerton’s character was weak. The ending, ouch. The HHN maze certainly lived up to depicting the events of the film! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 As I predicted, The Thing didn't even chart in the top 10 this weekend. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/10/30/box-office-report-puss-in-boots-in-time-rum-diary/ For whatever reason, Box Office Mojo hasn't updated yet but when it does, I'll let you know exactly where it came in at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 It appears that the formula for "Winter-Themed" horror pictures is a risky endeavor for studios to play with from the outset; domestic receipts have not fared well: Whiteout: (Bad Box Office-10 Million with 35 Million budget), Kate Beckensale and Tom Skerrit should have been enough to carry this one out of the snowbank. Somewhat resembles The Thing but with a serial killer instead of assimilating alien. X-Files-I Want to Believe (20 Million with 30 Million budget): Winter themed "one off" XFiles story involving creepy transplant surguries. The snowy, mostly nighttime environment made this film creepy. Not many of us showed up to watch it in theaters. Let Me In/Let the Right One In (Together, the films only brought in a little over 14 Million): Both had great winter atmospheres and engaging stories. Too bad the box office did not "Let Anyone In". Dreamcatcher (The film domestically failed to meet half of its 68 Million dollar budget); Great cast, great story source, great director, great winter locales= really bad movie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Hm, I never thought about that. I'm sure Frozen, Jack Frost and Santa's Slay fit in there somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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