Dredd - Box Office

[IndigoPrime]

Dredd was very slightly flabby at the end of the first act, but beyond that I cannot fathom how someone would consider it boring. It rockets along at a fair old lick, and is a pretty dense movie from an action standpoint. Bonkers.

[radiator]

I also get slightly angrier every time someone says/Tweets that Dredd has 'NO story or NO plot'.

What that says to me is that modern audiences have become so accustomed to flabby, convoluted and unnecessarily complex action/adventure movie plots (The Dark Knight series, Prometheus, The Matrix Trilogy, Star Wars prequels etc etc) that they can't appreciate a simple story well told.

Dredd was very slightly flabby at the end of the first act, but beyond that I cannot fathom how someone would consider it boring. It rockets along at a fair old lick, and is a pretty dense movie from an action standpoint. Bonkers.

A lot of people point to a pacing problem with the sequence leading up to and following the miniguns. Sounds like a really fanboyish thing to say, but I found the films pacing to improve a lot on repeated viewings - I guess because you know what's coming the film seems to really flow the second, third+ time round and you can see just how tight it is.

[radiator]

I also don't understand the common complaint of "It wasn't funny/there was no humour in it".

I think the dryness of the humour went over a lot of heads...

[von Boom]

Boring my arse. Dredd was lean and to the point. Dredd is a force to be reckoned with, not a simpering hero that agonises over what to do.

Dredd had a dry wit that made me laugh many times. It probably doesn't bode well for the future that so many people found it difficult to grasp.

[GordonR]

No, it's awful. All throughout the production of this film I've been confident that it was eventually going to do well. This is worse than I ever imagined it could be. Totally depressing considering the film is so bloody good.

Don't mean to wallow in the mire, I'm sure everyone feels the same.

It doesn't get any better here. According to the UK Film Council numbers, the film's currently at 28 in the UK charts (big drop from 13 the previous week) with a UK box office gross to date of £4,322 198. A couple of weeks ago, the Guardian film blog noted that "UK distribution rights alone for Dredd are rumoured to have cost significantly more than The Sweeney's entire production budget." The Sweeney's budget was £3 million, so assuming that 'significantly more' might be £4 million (if it's more than that, the story gets worse) then, once you deduct the cinema chains' cut of that £4.3 million, and add on the UK marketing costs, then the UK distributor is possibly looking at a fairly hefty loss here.

Of course, the UK DVD rights may have been part of the package, which would help significantly later down the line.

[JOE SOAP]

Dredd had a dry wit that made me laugh many times. It probably doesn't bode well for the future that so many people found it difficult to grasp.

How do you quantify many though? I've heard 'many' say the opposite to all these arguments but considering how few people went to see it in comparison to Looper or Taken and considering that it reviewed well with both critics and punters, it can be hard to generalise.

[Gonk]

It's down to "many" people being in the dark about what the film is about. They can"t, or won't let themselves, hear the music in it all. Most just want a quick fix. There are also depths to that film, which is quite differant to "many" action movies... I put this dowqn to the heritage of 2000ad and the amount of talent pooled into that publication over the decades.

[IndigoPrime]

It's the way of the world—why do you think so many people 'enjoy' the guaranteed mediocrity of McDonald's, rather than trying something new when wanting to grab a bite to eat while out shopping. When spending cash, people would rather go for something they know will be OK rather than risk money on something they might not like.

[Gonk]

Aye.....(sighs)... Well at least we can regard ourselves as the self elect.

[Beeks]

Majority of cinema goers i'd hazard a guess don't read online reviews before they go see a movie. Some might see an ad and think they fancy it...others just rock up at a cinema and choose..Just don't think Dredd had enough footfall appeal

[The Sherman Kid]

No, it's awful. All throughout the production of this film I've been confident that it was eventually going to do well. This is worse than I ever imagined it could be. Totally depressing considering the film is so bloody good.

Don't mean to wallow in the mire, I'm sure everyone feels the same.

It doesn't get any better here. According to the UK Film Council numbers, the film's currently at 28 in the UK charts (big drop from 13 the previous week) with a UK box office gross to date of £4,322 198. A couple of weeks ago, the Guardian film blog noted that "UK distribution rights alone for Dredd are rumoured to have cost significantly more than The Sweeney's entire production budget." The Sweeney's budget was £3 million, so assuming that 'significantly more' might be £4 million (if it's more than that, the story gets worse) then, once you deduct the cinema chains' cut of that £4.3 million, and add on the UK marketing costs, then the UK distributor is possibly looking at a fairly hefty loss here.

Of course, the UK DVD rights may have been part of the package, which would help significantly later down the line.

Are the figures for the UK so bad?What total would you realistically expect from just the UK box office?Dredd has made 3 times more than Resident Evil, more than the Sweeney and is not a million miles behind Total Recall with its big budget.Dredd was always going to be a bit niche so ,although the figures so far for the US are poor, how much were they really expecting just from the UK box office?I don't think the distributors would pay so much for Dredd unless DVD sales were included, so hopefully they won't lose out.

[MR. ELIMINATOR]

If it was equal quality to this Dredd I would be happy with a direct to DVD. Yeah 'direct to DVD' brings up the idea it is cheap and shit, but I think people would still check it out. I think this one is gonna do really well on dvd/blu-ray so a lot more people will see it. Then when it comes to a sequel there will be a built in audience, plus maybe some new people that will see it, and then go back and get the first one too!


And with all the ways you can advertise stuff for free now a days you probably wouldn't have to spend much on the promotion side of things.  All it would take is a facebook page and release a trailer on youtube which all the film websites would pick up on and share raising awareness.

[Mabs]

Yep, safe to say with those figures that there will be no sequels (and frankly I'd prefer no sequels at all to straight to DVD sequels - and I'd like to think that there are contracts in place to prevent that from happening).

It's sad - very sad, but as others have said we should be grateful that a film like DREDD can still be made at all in the age of Taken 2, Underworld and Resident Evil.

I've seen an alarming amount of people on Twitter saying Dredd was 'boring', and I've come to the conclusion that what they mean is that it didn't have loads of ludicrously staged and choreographed OTT action scenes, because it seems empty spectacle is what the majority want to see above all else in these type of films.

I've been watching Red Letter Media's reviews of the Resident Evil series, and having never seen any of them before (I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole) I'm genuinely staggered at what passes for an action movie these days. If this is what the new generation has grown up with no wonder they didn't respond to Dredd. Their loss.

Oh dear! I don't know what film they watched but the Dredd I saw at the cinema's was anything but boring! And i'm with you too - I do not want to see any direct-to-DVD films of Dredd. I would rather have this one solid film over that possibilty. It's a shame really because I would loved to have seen where a sequel would go. Now it look's like we'll never know. : (

[Mabs]

It's the way of the world—why do you think so many people 'enjoy' the guaranteed mediocrity of McDonald's, rather than trying something new when wanting to grab a bite to eat while out shopping. When spending cash, people would rather go for something they know will be OK rather than risk money on something they might not like.

I think I know you from another forum mate!

You know the one about films and other bits and bobs? I'm known as Nexus Wookie over there.

[judge devs]

I do not want to see any direct-to-DVD films of Dredd. I would rather have this one solid film over that possibilty.

Gotta say I don't think I'd be keen on direct to DVD editions, they don't have a history of being worth a bucket of warm shit. If we're going to talk about different options I'd rather see a TV series.

But for now one great movie is a good enough for me, and it's a great legacy.