Author : UnknownTidak ada komentar
THE 5 POTENTIAL BOX OFFICE BOMBS OF SUMMER 2014
For most studios in Hollywood (okay, let’s be honest here, ALL studios in Hollywood), the Summer Movie Season is considered to be the most lucrative time of year. It’s when almost all the big blockbusters are released, and when those blockbusters in question have the biggest chance of breaking out and becoming billion dollar hits. Because of that most studios absolutely load the summer with a billion big comic book movies or sci-fi spectacles and, though it’s quite likely a good amount of those films will succeed, there’s always the unlikely films out there that just won’t be able to connect with audiences, and fail as a result. Your The Lone Ranger’s or Cowboys and Aliens or, god forbid, your R.I.P.D.’s. Last year was a banner year as far as those high profile bombs go and, though 2014 likely won’t have as many, just like there’s always big successes every summer, so is there always big failures. Here’s our predictions about what flops those films could be.
Keep in mind though, this isn’t the list of LOWEST grossing films of Summer 2014 — there will probably be a lot of smaller films that will do worse than all five of the films mentioned here. But those films will cost significantly less than the ones here, three of which are guaranteed to be budgeted at or over $100 million. That disclaimer noted, let’s jump right in:
Jupiter Ascending
Prediction: $55 million
The Wachowski’s have had a pretty rough time at the box office lately, with not a single success under their belt since the last Matrix film (unless you count the pretty successful V for Vendetta, which they only wrote, though some argue that they had a bigger hand in that film then they let on). And, yeah, looking at Jupiter Ascending, that streak of box office bombs is not likely to change. I’m not even saying that the film looks bad; honestly, it’s hard to tell. But what it does look like is a film that is too freaking weird for mainstream audiences, and with a huge budget well over $100 million, I can easily smell another John Carter situation on WB’s hands. This would make three bombs in a row for the Wachowski’s after massive flops Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas so, if the rules of baseball applies (which, in Hollywood, they ALWAYSdo), then that means the Wachowski’s are out. If Jupiter Ascending fails, they may not be trusted with a budget like this again…until they are forced to do another Matrix movie, of course.
Edge of Tomorrow
Prediction: $85 million
Poor Tom Cruise. Though I generally enjoy the actor and think he has a great screen presence rivaled by very few others, ever since his whole Couch jumping thing and the subsequent Scientology scandals, dude can’t catch a break. And unfortunately, I don’t think Edge of Tomorrow will really be the film to launch him back into action movie star status. It’s been a rough few years for original sci-fi properties (or unknown brand sci-fi properties in Edge of Tomorrow’s case — it’s based off a Japanese light novel, but one that is far from mainstream), and I can’t imagine Edge of Tomorrow breaking out in a big way considering what it has to go up against this summer, which is a shame because I’ve actually heard the film is quite good. Honestly I keep getting an Elysium vibe from the film, which made around $93 million last August upon its release. I’m assuming that’s where this one will likely land domestically as well and, though it will probably make things up internationally, will be far from the career revitalization that the guy needs. Thank god for Mission: Impossible 5, eh Tom?
Blended
Prediction: $47 million
Okay yeah, I’ll admit, this one makes me happy a bit. Blended opens in theaters today and is easily the most immediate film on this list (actually, the only reason I got off my lazy ass and finally wrote this thing is BECAUSE the release was so imminent), but I’m happy to say that the newest Sandler/Barrymore abomination has been tracking pretty soft, especially when it comes to the films of Adam Sandler. His influence has started to wain over the years with a few other high profile underwhelmers (That’s My Boy only made $36 million in 2012, and Jack and Jillcould only muster up $74 million the year before), and it looks like Blended might be one of his highest profile disappointments yet. Audiences just aren’t responding to the thing in the way they have for past Sandler films, and going up against the juggernaut (bitch!) that is X-Men: Days of Future Past won’t help matters much either. Granted the box office will only be low in Adam Sandler standards ($50-$60 million domestic for a $40 million budgeted film isn’t a bomb by technical standards), but it’s a universe away from the $100 million that the guy is used to. Audiences might finally be wising up to the vacation first, film second method the actor has been employing frequently in the last decade–and thank god for that.
Into the Storm
Prediction: $33 million
Sure it’s a good three or so months until Into the Storm actually hits theaters, but you don’t need to be in the film’s immediate release radius to smell this box office stinker. The initial trailer that was released for the film was laughable, and the only name stars involved areRichard Armitage (who is most famous for playing a bearded dwarf in The Hobbit) and Sarah Wayne Callies, whose last main role was playing the most hated character in the entire history of The Walking Dead (god damn Lori, always flipping cars and acting a fool). Honestly I don’t know how much WB spent on this thing though, which could be a deciding factor in whether this one is a big bomb or an expected to fail write-off. The CG in the trailer looked pretty bad, but there was a lot of it, and the way that WB is rolling this out to conventions (CinemaCon, Wondercon, AND Comic-Con) tells me they are desperately trying to find an audience for this film. I don’t think they are going to be finding it.
Hercules
Prediction: $56 million
Honestly, it was a tough call for the last spot between Hercules and Jersey Boys, but Jersey Boys is based on a super popular Broadway musical, so I figured it had to draw in some type of crowd. Hercules, on the other hand, might struggle in this department, as sword-and-sandal epics haven’t been the most stable of blockbuster formulas as of late. It also has the bad timing of being released AFTER the other Hercules film this year, the dreadful The Legend of Hercules. That film could only muster up $18 million domestically and, though this film is guaranteed to do better just because of Dwayne Johnson’s involvement, I still don’t think audiences are really clamoring for a big screen Hercules adventure at this point. And considering that this one is being handled by director Brett Ratner…I doubt that there’s going to be much help in the word of mouth department. Yeah, Hercules might not be a disaster, but it won’t be the next Clash of the Titans either.
So there you have it, my predictions of the biggest “bombs” of Summer 2014. At the end of the day it’s likely these films will make a good amount of money overseas to make up for their underwhelming domestic numbers (most CGI-fest spectacles do), but the point remains that these films aren’t going to make nearly as much money as the studios hope they will…and will probably fail to connect with audiences as a result.
But what do you think will be the films that do that this Summer? Be sure to share your thoughts about it in the comments.
Sumber http://www.geekbinge.com/
Posted On : Jumat, 18 Juli 2014Time : 15.25