Hitchhiker's Modest Take Worrysome?

POSTED BY: Barclay
UPDATED: Sunday, May 15, 2005 16:59
VIEWED: 5964
PAGE 3 of 3

PREV PAGE 1 2 3

WHOISRIVER

Monday, May 9, 2005 1:00 PM

I, too, quite liked Hitchhikers (but then, I'm british, so bound to be weird).

However, I thought it had slight problem: it didn't make me laugh much.

It *WAS* well advertised, though, and I hope Universal do the same for Serenity (in terms of volumes of advertisements).

You've got to remember a lot of people already knew what Hitchhikers was - it's been around for 20 odd years. Not a lot of people know what Firefly is, and even less will know what Serenity is right now.

And that, my friends, is both our and Universal's responsibility. If the movie tanks the first week, either ourselves or Universal (or both) will be to blame. If it tanks the 2nd week, the movie is to blame.

YT

Saturday, May 14, 2005 7:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RiskEverything:
Hell, I'd pay to see the Firefly pilot (both parts, naturally) in a theater.

Now there's a gorram great idea. What would it take? Would four line-doublers in series do the trick (that would be cheap)? Or would that get too weird on action shots? Might call for new software = expensive, but once you've solved it, can't stop the signal. The Dome is installing digital projection for Ep III, & that's a monster screen, but I'm sure the detail is available in the source. Still, worth asking about. This could become a new paradigm.

Keep the Shiny Side Up . . . (wutzon) Jerry Garcia Band, "Tangled Up in Blue", eponymous

PIZMOBEACH

Sunday, May 15, 2005 1:22 AM

I plan on buying 5 extra tickets opening weekend (about the price of the DVDs). I feel like that's one thing I can do to help get sequels made. If everyone of us bought one or more extra tickets that weekend...

Scifi movie music 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.net

ROCKETJOCK

Sunday, May 15, 2005 6:11 AM

I see four potential paths for Serenity.

1. It tanks bad, Ishtar bad, Heaven's Gate bad, and the series potential vanishes forever.

Analysis: Not too likely. What little we know of the finished film shows it to be of too high a quality to become a byword for failure. Nor has it gone wildly over budget -- a prerequisite for this kind of ultimate failure.

2. It performs too poorly for an immediate sequel, but becomes an instant cult hit, (RE: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.)

Analysis: There are worse fates; Banzai still has rabid followers after 20+ years, and has come close to a sequel/sequel series several times.

3. It performs moderately well, not world-class, but well enough for an odd, quirky little medium-budget Sci-Fi film.

Analysis: Given the pre-existing Browncoat devotion, this level of success would probably be sufficient to ensure at least one sequel -- perhaps only direct-to-video, or "A Sci-Fi Channel Original Presentation", but something!

4. Serenity succeeds beyond anyone's wildest dreams, becoming the new paradigm of the Science-Fiction blockbuster. Sequels and spin-offs beyond measure guaranteed.

Analysis: A long shot maybe, but it's happened before. An odd, quirky little medium-budget Sci-Fi film called Star Wars.

You may have heard of it. Which goes to show that you can't second-guess a lightning strike. The performance of any other film has nothing to do with Serenity. She'll blaze her own trail.

"Do you know what the definition of a hero is? It's somebody who gets somebody else killed." -- Zoë Warren

QUICKSAND

Sunday, May 15, 2005 7:38 AM

I don't follow you.

What does Serenity have in common with "Hitchhikers?" Other than the fact that they're both set in space?

Whedon values character-driven action, stunning visuals and witty dialogue.

"Hitchhikers" the movie had stunning visuals and... uh... stunning visuals. Let's not worry.

Cuz, you know.... you REALLY can't stop the signal.

SLOWSMURF

Sunday, May 15, 2005 12:22 PM

Sci Fi, universal, previous work, same budget.

That's quite a bit, though obviously one is a comedy(mostly) and one is a drama/action movie(mostly)

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Sunday, May 15, 2005 4:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Barclay:
So after two weekends, Hitchhiker's Guide had made $35 million domestically, and $43M worldwide, with an estimated budget of $50M.
So here's my question to you wise people, is this an indicator of possible non-success for Serenity as well? Or is Serenity mainstream enough it will succeed regardless?

They just reported that Alexander just made its $165 million budget back worldwide in the last few days, so that gives you an idea of what Hitchhikers will make (and frankly I think HHGTTG has a real chance of doing well in the DVD market).

"I threw up on your bed"

PREV PAGE 1 2 3