Dredd - Box Office

[flesario]

I think any gnashing of teeth and heavenward wailing is precisely because we do appreciate the efforts of the creative team.

Anyway, as has been said, we should all do what we can to suppport this great film.

[DrJomster]

I do understand the temptation to fret, I really do!

Now then, I've just signed into imdb for the first time and given it 10 out of 10. The user ratings are looking very positive. Here they are!

I've already given Dredd vs Zombies top marks on iTunes, but duly updated my comments to give some love to the new film content they've added. And to shamelessly comment how players should also see the film LOTS.

Subtle, I know.

[TordelBack]

Ultimately Dredd is a damned good film, visually unique, action-packed and with some real depth in the performances: it's a genuine success, all the more so because it's also true to the source material.  Regardless of opening weekend figures, it will do business over the long haul.  It will also do the property a lot of good, giving Judge Dredd back the gritty cult status that '95 transformed into a plastic codpiece and a running joke.

Back when all the movie talk started up, I was pretty negative. I'd no real interest in seeing an adaptation of a comic I loved for being a comic (never went to see Watchmen, for example), and I really feared what it would do to the Prog - I couldn't face another disaster like the Stallone year.  As the images and clips came out I rapidly warmed to it, and as the reviews came in I got really excited.  But deep down I suspected people were being resolutely bullish, especially people who'd seen it in preview screenings, comic-cons and the like, with stars and hype in attendance: I went all the way to New York to see TPM on opening day, I know how the excitement of being at a special event with other fans can blind you to even the most egregious of flaws.

And then I saw it myself, on my own, at an early evening showing with about 8 other people in a 400-seater screen, with some annoying light-spill at the bottom right and slightly fuzzy sound: about as clinical a viewing experience as is possible.  I loved it.  It has some very minor problems, but it's both a clever adaptation, and a film that stands on its own legs as a powerful action piece set in a believably horrific dystopia, with memorable characters and visuals.   

Dredd is a better film than I could ever gave hoped, and it will stand the test of time and make its money.  Opening weekend box-office numbers will be fondly scoffed at in a few years time. 

     

[judge devs]

I have to say Beaky's post is the most sensible thing to turn up on this thread for a little while. There has been far too much throwing out the baby with the bath water.

That Punisher Movie was also (IMHO) total balls. There is a very long way to go yet before we can totally write off the future potential of this brilliant movie. It could easily make good money on DVD and bring us upto that magic $50M mark. I know a big noise has been made about it having make $50M solely at the box office to trigger a sequel, but that is with the current distributors only. There are a whole load of factors that can be added together that could grab the attention of other backers and distributors and the over all financial return is likely to be one them and no just it's box office take.

Let be honest they have managed to make a franchise out of Resident Evil, so absolutely anything is still possible.

If you ask me you can not seriously starting think about the possibility of there being no more Dredd until at least 2-3 months after the DVD comes out

[Keef Monkey]

I admire your optimism, we're all just going on what Garland said about sequel possibilities. I'd imagine the $50 million at the box office that he mentioned was in relation to the cinema distribution deal. The distributor paid almost that for the rights if I recall correctly, so I think the problem would not be whether it can make the money back on dvd/blu-ray later in the day, rather I would assume that if it doesn't give the cinema distributor specifically a return on their investment then trying to sell distribution rights to a sequel wouldn't be possible, so it would be in trouble before it even got off the ground. 

Also, Resident Evil isn't a valid comparison as regardless of quality every Resi movie has made a great deal of money at the box office, usually in its opening weekend.

That was my reading of it anyway. I've had the night to sleep on it and now feel bad about being as kneejerk doom-and-gloom about the US box office, it still has the rest of the weekend and on closer inspection it may have only come in 5th but it's not like the films higher on the list did particularly great business, so it stands a good chance of another week, where the word of mouth will hopefully do it some justice. I'm quietly optimistic now and hoping for the best, and at the end of the day they made an incredible movie, so no matter what it isn't going to go down in history as the turkey that the '95 movie was, and the comic/GN sales have clearly seen a knock-on effect which is fantastic.

[Keef Monkey]

It was worth returning to the thread for that Beaky. Good stuff!

Look you other lot. Get out there with your own positive word of mouth on the net or in (gasp) real life rather than fretting on here. See the film again cos it's great, get the soundtrack, blast away on Dredd vs Zombies (which has had a cool makeover for the film including the trailer!) and give a good review on iTunes, buy trade paperbacks on Dredd and other 2000AD characters... I'll stop as it's probably obvious where I'm going with this!

Ps. And as before. Just hang on in there. Be positive and DO positive things. If that's not too hard. Ta.

And I've just read Beaky and Jomster's comments and now feel bad for even perpetuating the box office banter, these guys are right, we shouldn't be so glum, let's be positive.

I just looked at Box Office Mojo for the UK figures and turns out after its slight 2nd weekend drop it actually went on to make more in week 2 than it did in week 1, which is great news.

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&country=UK&id=dredd.htm

[Jim_Campbell]

It could easily make good money on DVD and bring us upto that magic $50M mark. I know a big noise has been made about it having make $50M solely at the box office to trigger a sequel,

It's not a 'big noise', it's what Alex Garland talks about, specifically, in his own words in the thread that is stickied at the top of this very section of the forum. The number itself is kind of an arbitrary placeholder that you need to mentally translate into: "a VERY strong showing at the US Box Office for a film of this kind". Alex specifically says that the number is the sort of performance that would be needed to secure a US cinema distributor for a sequel, without which a sequel would be dead in the water. A cinema distributor doesn't give a toss about the DVD sales.

Dredd will make money -- I have no doubt about that. However, the sequels were always going to be a long, long shot -- I suspect the $50M quote was actually supposed to dampen expectation, but you can't keep a fanboy down...

Cheers

Jim

[nicklarr]

From the beginning of the Film Discussion thread there has been worrying about the big helmet, look of Lawmaster, cheap van, shoulder pads, no marketing etc the list goes on..
On every point the worry-ers have been proven wrong - the movie is totally Zarjaz! 

Regarding Box-office even Garland said it would probably be a hard sell with the R 18 rating etc.. if it does very well this is to be considered a bonus. If it reamains a cult-classic that will be ok.

So the state of mind shouldn't be worrying and dooming which contributes no positive energy whatsoever and doesn't help at all.
If it's the bonus we want, then continue to sustain the positive buzz momentum the Dredd movie has hade the last couple of months.
In my opinion that's the way to care about this movie, don't abandon it by giving up hope!

[judge devs]

Jim,

Maybe badly phrased this whole 'Big Noise' thing, but what I was getting at was that the figure of $50M box return for a sequel was clearly stated by Alex Garland and the likes of us have been widely referring to it and debating it. What perhaps isn't so clearly is if this is genuinely box office returns only or if it includes wider returns from DVD's and the like.

Anyway. I will remain optimistic for as long as I can becuase there is nothing in the world right now I want more then a sequel to this brilliant movie.

I am right now taking comfort in the fact that at the US Box Office have generally been poor this weekend for everything apart from End of Watch, and that it's still doing decen business in the UK, and that the Word of Mouth effect appears to be pretty strong.

Other then that I shall keep believing that I'll win a fuck off Euromillions jackpot and pay for a sequel myself 

[Jim_Campbell]

What perhaps isn't so clearly is if this is genuinely box office returns only or if it includes wider returns from DVD's and the like.

If the film only grosses $50M total, then it will have been an unmitigated disaster -- that would barely recoup the production budget and would likely register a loss after promotion and marketing expenditure.

At the Q&A at the London Film & Comic Con, Garland said: "...In the sequel. Which we can make as long as the film grosses over $50 million in the States. It might be tough – this is an 18, an R rating."

I think it's clutching at straws to read that in any way other than $50M at the US box office.

Cheers

Jim

[SKD]

 I've not had the time to visit the movie forum as often as I would have liked, but when I started reading the comments from several pages back I thought that Private Frazer was spamming the board. What had happened to all the positivity from a few days ago? All the 'Doom and Gloom' just feeds the Trolls, Dredd is an excellent film which has been getting some really good press. Lets not get disheartened folks. 'It ain't over till the fat lady sings.'

Stew.     

[judge devs]

I think it's clutching at straws to read that in any way other than $50M at the US box office.

In that case to paraphrase Charlton Heston my clutched straws will be prised from my cold dead hands.

[radiator]

Reposted from the other thread:

There just seems to be this unshakable perception, wildly inaccurate and uninformed as it is, among the majority that Dredd '3D' represents some kind of nadir in popular culture - a REMAKE of a woefully unpopular Stallone film, IN 3D!

They always had an uphill battle to sell this movie, and it seems like nothing short of a massive media blitz would have done anything to change that (then the movie would have had to recoup many times more).

I fully expect Dredd to have a RELATIVELY strong second week, but it'll be too little too late.

A cult hit it is. And as others have said, we got a smashing film out of it, that will ultimately do a world of good for the Dredd brand in the long term. But I feel genuinely upset and frustrated at this latest development, this film is so close to my heart, not least because of the fan screening and meeting Alex etc, it's really sad that this is the result after all the build up.

[Zarjazzer]

SKD's right.

It's a great film, well made and acted and it's far too early to write it off. Blows the balls off your usual Hollywood action flick.

[Michaelvk]

..can't we sue Stallone for defamation?