Dredd - Box Office

[hazy efc]

I think what disappoints me most is that the general public is clearly happy for movies to continue targeting the lowest common denominator. You so often hear complaints about how action movies in particular have been heavily sanitised since the 1980s, in order to draw in more kids. In the UK, 18 movies became 12As, largely through the removal of blood (because a massive body count means nothing if you can't see the red stuff!), and themes were softened. Should Dredd not do terribly well, it showcases that this argument is also by and large niche, and that the majority happily eats up whatever's put in front of them.

For me, Dredd wasn't so much just about 2000 AD nor the property nor a bunch of people whose careers I respect creating a movie, but also a toe in the water as to whether cinema could take on such a movie without it being extreme (torture porn like Saw 3463, say) or part of an ongoing series.

Yep, this is exactly how I feel. I've commented on that Den of Geek piece a similar sentiment. Dredd bombing isn't just bad for Dredd - it'll have ramifications for British films and genre films in general. There was always more at stake here than the success or failure of one film.

Perhaps this signifies a broader trend in film - people like us have become used to being the centre of the universe for filmmakers, but maybe that's not the case any more?

Maybe the sad truth is simply that we're not that valued market any more, and the younger generation coming of age now - as hard as it is to swallow - genuinely prefers Resident Evil 5 and Underworld 4 and The Sweeney and Total Remake and House at the End of the Street to (in our eyes) more considered, sophisticated fare like Dredd, or Moon, or District 9, or Children of Men. They adore The Hunger Games, but would reject Battle Royale. It seems utterly bewildering to us, but only in the way our favoured pop-culture was to our parent's generation - we just don't understand how people can lap up this shit.

Because their sheep they follow the herd just like with avatar not one person i no could tell me why they went to see it other than its in 3D its nuts i didnt go and see dredd twice because its in 3D i went because its a great movie all round a guy posted on here saying he was gonna go pay to see resident evil knowing it was probably going to be crap i mean what the hell is up with people   

[Mudcrab]

From Box Office Mojo (not Scojo!):

In sixth place, comic book adaptation/remake Dredd bombed with just $6.3 million from 2,506 locations. That's less than one-third of Kick-Ass's $19.8 million, and only a little over half of the original Judge Dredd's $12.3 million (and that movie was considered a flop 17 years ago!). It's at least up on Shoot 'Em Up ($5.7 million) and about on par with April's Lockout ($6.2 million), though those comparisons suggest Dredd is on track for less than $20 million through its entire run. The audience was predominantly male (75 percent) and older (69 percent were 25 years of age or older) and they gave the movie a "B" CinemaScore. A 3D share is not currently available.

Dredd's awful performance is the latest example of how the Comic-Con/online fanboy crowd just doesn't make up a large portion of the moviegoers in this country. The movie came out of its Comic-Con screening in July with tons of online buzz and very strong reviews, and it maintained a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes through at least its first 25 reviews (though it ultimately wound up at a more-reasonable 77 percent). As a result, the fanboy audience was very aware of this movie ahead of release, and anticipation seemed to be pretty high among this group as well. Ultimately, though, it's just not a big-enough group to drive strong business. For a good dissection of the hazards of targeting fanboys, check out this piece from earlier this year in The Hollywood Reporter.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3530&p=.htm

Well there's another site I won't be generating clicks for. Dunno about the rest of you, but I absolutely fucking detest being referred to as a "fanboy". As far as I'm concerned it's nothing but a derogatory term (esp. in gaming) and whoever wrote that can suck my balls.

[Keef Monkey]

I think what disappoints me most is that the general public is clearly happy for movies to continue targeting the lowest common denominator. You so often hear complaints about how action movies in particular have been heavily sanitised since the 1980s, in order to draw in more kids. In the UK, 18 movies became 12As, largely through the removal of blood (because a massive body count means nothing if you can't see the red stuff!), and themes were softened. Should Dredd not do terribly well, it showcases that this argument is also by and large niche, and that the majority happily eats up whatever's put in front of them.

For me, Dredd wasn't so much just about 2000 AD nor the property nor a bunch of people whose careers I respect creating a movie, but also a toe in the water as to whether cinema could take on such a movie without it being extreme (torture porn like Saw 3463, say) or part of an ongoing series.

Yep, this is exactly how I feel. I've commented on that Den of Geek piece a similar sentiment. Dredd bombing isn't just bad for Dredd - it'll have ramifications for British films and genre films in general. There was always more at stake here than the success or failure of one film.

Perhaps this signifies a broader trend in film - people like us have become used to being the centre of the universe for filmmakers, but maybe that's not the case any more?

Maybe the sad truth is simply that we're not that valued market any more, and the younger generation coming of age now - as hard as it is to swallow - genuinely prefers Resident Evil 5 and Underworld 4 and The Sweeney and Total Remake and House at the End of the Street to (in our eyes) more considered, sophisticated fare like Dredd, or Moon, or District 9, or Children of Men. They adore The Hunger Games, but would reject Battle Royale. It seems utterly bewildering to us, but only in the way our favoured pop-culture was to our parent's generation - we just don't understand how people can lap up this shit.

Because their sheep they follow the herd just like with avatar not one person i no could tell me why they went to see it other than its in 3D its nuts i didnt go and see dredd twice because its in 3D i went because its a great movie all round a guy posted on here saying he was gonna go pay to see resident evil knowing it was probably going to be crap i mean what the hell is up with people

Full stops!

That was me. What I meant by it is that film-goers are creatures of habit. I went to the first Resi movie in the cinema with my brother, it was bad but we had a laugh and it generated a lot of enjoyable bad movie banter so I've gone back with mates every time one has come out and had a similarly good time each time. In the right company a certain kind of bad movie can be really, really fun.

I do consider myself discerning film fan, and wouldn't for a moment try and suggest something like Resident Evil is more worthy of my money than something genuinely well crafted like Dredd. I just saw some comments that seemed to assume Resident Evil would flop because it looked bad, or even that Dredd would outperform it because it was the better film, I was just pointing out that regardless of these factors neither of those things really had any chance of happening. And they didn't.

[radiator]

a guy posted on here saying he was gonna go pay to see resident evil knowing it was probably going to be crap i mean what the hell is up with people

I don't get it either. My sister and her husband have been to see all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films at the cinema, but if you press them on it, in truth they only actually genuinely enjoyed the first one. It's almost like they keep going to see them out of habit.

I have to force them to watch stuff like District 9 (which they'd never heard of, but which blew their minds) - and it looks like I'll have to force my brother in law to watch Dredd, because he didn't go to the cinema to see it. But I know he did go to see The Expendables 2, and he was probably underwhelmed by it. Go figure.

It's frustrating - some people need to be reassured by seeing a face, a name they recognise. Personally, I've never understood the allure of 'stars'. All I want to know is 'Is this film any good?'.

[JamesC]

Timing is everything. I think it's a shame the 3D bubble burst - if Dredd had come out a year or 18 months ago I think it may have had a bigger impact. I'm glad they took their time and gave us a quality product though. I think quality always shines through in the end.
Even if we don't get a sequel straight away we may not have seen the end of Dredd on film. I hope the IDW comic sells well and helps to boost Dredd's profile in the US. I never thought we'd see another Rocketeer film but this is now on the cards. A combination of cult-love for the old (a flop at the time) film and rising comic book success has made Disney think about re-booting the franchise on film. So never say never!

I wonder where the comic book movie is heading as a genre in general. After the mega-success of the Avengers and Dark Knight there doesn't seem to be much room for the lesser known characters to make their mark. Films like Ghost Rider, Jonah Hex, Punisher, The Spirit or Green Hornet never seem to make any money (and yes I know that most of those are crap). It seems strange that one of the first successful comic adaptations that helped kick off the upsurge of comic book movies was Blade. I went into that film expecting another Phantom or The Shadow and came out amazed. But if they made another Blade film now, with a similar budget, would it perform any better than Dredd?

I'll be interested to see how Ant Man and Guardians of the Galaxy perform with the might of Disney and the Marvel brand behind them (I'd actually argue that the Marvel brand works similar to the Pixar brand - a mark of quality that brings in an audience regardless).

I think the next major shift in trend will be an upsurge in gamer films. Another genre that's traditionally panned. If the upcoming Assassin's Creed film is even half decent and Halo ever gets made we can expect a slew of game IPs on the big screen.
Maybe the smart move for Rebellion would be to get their IP's into some decent games for the next generation of consoles. It's the only stepping stone that's likely to see a Rogue or Stront film made.

Anyway, I haven't written off Dredd yet. It's a slow burner, that's all.

[painbros22]

Wish this thread would just get locked so we can all move on basically then we can update 3-4 months down the line. Everyone is saying give it time, and i agree. Lets give it time, lock the thread and update later on when there is good news to report, this thread is just collective depression with some denial thrown in. Beyond caring what BO Dredd does now, seems a little irrevevant.

[atp]

Ok we can all speculate on why Dredd is not pulling in the punters, be it lack of a decent add campaign/imdb etc. Bottom line is this is a big forum with a lotta luv for Dredd and all things 2000ad so it's up to us to raise awareness about this movie. See http://forums.2000adonline.com/index.php/topic,36817.msg708216.html#msg708216

It's worth a try.

[NapalmKev]

Well there's another site I won't be generating clicks for. Dunno about the rest of you, but I absolutely fucking detest being referred to as a "fanboy". As far as I'm concerned it's nothing but a derogatory term (esp. in gaming) and whoever wrote that can suck my balls.

Well said, I agree entirely. The term 'fanboy' is a load of arse, it implies you can't have a valid opinion on a subject you're into.

Dredd film is absolute quality and i'm sure it will generate enough in the long-term to secure at least one sequel (hopefully more)!

Cheers 

[Rex The Runt]

Im an Aussie and Im itchin' for it to come out here!
Again I could be in the minority but I would think the character is well known here.

[hazy efc]

Im an Aussie and Im itchin' for it to come out here!
Again I could be in the minority but I would think the character is well known here.

You wont be disappointed mate its fantastic how long have you gotta wait for dredd to come out in oz and is it being promoted well there

[jamesedwards]

Wish this thread would just get locked so we can all move on basically then we can update 3-4 months down the line. Everyone is saying give it time, and i agree. Lets give it time, lock the thread and update later on when there is good news to report, this thread is just collective depression with some denial thrown in. Beyond caring what BO Dredd does now, seems a little irrevevant.

Dude, you can move on any time you want to.

Just checked Prometheus' box office - an extremely well crafted, challenging, horrific and existential movie - and it did a fucking ton at the box office. It's not even out on Blu Ray yet. Dredd appears to have failed because they spunked the budget on boys who are also fans and - can we be honest here? - there's nothing about Dredd that resonates with a wider audience. He's just a robot–like bastard with a gun. Robocop was about a robot that is really a man, Dredd is the inverse.

I got my excellent, tasteful movie. Garland clearly doesn't understand that his wholly original stories are the best way to go for sequels, and I have no interest in more Cursed Earth or the Dark Judges. I'm content.

[hazy efc]

Come on guys 'n' gals, this is the internet age. Look how many people are posting on this site. If everyone with a non country specific email address i.e. .com and not .co.uk etc, sent an email to all the entertainment pages/ editors of the main national newspapers in the countries that Dredd 3D has not yet opened in, asking when the opening date is going to be, or when they are going to add a review, then bigger the number of enquires the greater the interest these papers will pay to Dredd 3D to see what's going on. Then hopefully it will get more international exposure, which in turn may boost bums on seats around the world. While you're at it get your work mates etc to do the same. Before you know it we may well have a whole series of films. If Dredd does well this time round we could see other 2000AD characters on the big screen in the future. If you shout loud enough in the right places then ears will prick up and people will listen.

your 100% spot on mate i watched this review from an american the other day just before it came out there and he said the movie was fantastic but the shame was it probably wouldnt do well at the box office in the states unless we the fans genarated a buzz about the movie

[atp]

In aus Dredd is being advertised as Ma15+ which may be good for ticket sales as it means that it is open to the teenage market, although the description (Strong violence, blood and gore and drug use) may encourage teenagers to see it, parents may be put off. http://www.eventcinemas.com.au/Movie/Dredd
I just hope it doesn't also mean that it has been butchered by some nanny state censor board committee.

[JOE SOAP]

Just checked Prometheus' box office - an extremely well crafted, challenging, horrific and existential movie

I think you just about lost everyone there.

[jamesedwards]

Just checked Prometheus' box office - an extremely well crafted, challenging, horrific and existential movie

I think you just about lost everyone there.

Get off the stage