...and it's as popular, here on AJB, as a house guest carrying the Black Death
The Loeffs doth exaggerate too much, methinks! C'mon, plenty of people like the movie! Or are you just trying to make sure your latest neologism--The Reviled, etc.--stays on the radar?
Vox clamantis in deserto
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
The Loeffs doth exaggerate too much, methinks! C'mon, plenty of people like the movie! Or are you just trying to make sure your latest neologism--The Reviled, etc.--stays on the radar?
Well...hyperbole, to the negative, seems to be the norm with this one---and if there's hyperbole, you know I'm there! {[]
No worries...The Reviled QoSTM isn't going anywhere---not while this threat still stalks the cinemas :v
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
In its fourth week, Bond took more than the rest of the top five put together (including the openings of two new films). QoS's fourth week takings are comparable with CR's fourth week takings though, as the Guardian points out, as it had a larger opening weekend it's still ahead.
BOM's review of the American weekend should be quoted here:
Holdovers took a hit over the weekend opposite Twilight and Bolt, including big guns Quantum of Solace and Madagasacr: Escape 2 Africa. Quantum fell a steep 60 percent to $26.7 million, a second weekend that was less than its opening day. The Bourne Ultimatum, which opened to a similar number, was off less than 53 percent at the same point and had a $131.6 million ten-day tally versus Quantum's $108.8 million. Other recent James Bond movies had holidays in their second weekends, rendering them incomparable for percentage drops, but Casino Royale was at $94.1 million at the ten-day mark and Die Another Day had $101.4 million (or over $123 million adjusted for ticket price inflation)
Note that in comparism with the two previous Bond movies, over the ten days QoS hasn't suffered much of a drop at all, even taking into account the holiday weekends. And there's still that Thanksgiving weekend to come.
Good word of mouth or bad? That's the question yet to be answered IMO, as the drop in this time frame and against two relatively big releases is about where one would expect it to be.
Thanksgiving weekend should be a better indicator of its legs IMO.
QOS made $4 mil Wednesday, and another $4.5 mil Thursday edging out BOLT for the #3 spot in the US. Gotta bode well for this weekend proper (and fess up now, who's been giving QOS good word of mouth??? ).
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
and fess up now, who's been giving QOS good word of mouth???
I'll take credit for that B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
QOS made $4 mil Wednesday, and another $4.5 mil Thursday edging out BOLT for the #3 spot in the US. Gotta bode well for this weekend proper (and fess up now, who's been giving QOS good word of mouth??? ).
But, but, I thought QoS was a front-loaded release? What happened to the inevitable terrible word-of-mouth? Then again, as we know, continued box office success does not mean that people like the film!
I see it is estimated to have made over $8 million in the United States on Friday. {[]
QoS is proving to have legs that would make a Rockette jealous. I really thought QoS would get clobbered over Thanksgiving: that Four Christmases would beat it is no surprise, since holiday movies always do well on this day; and since school is out I knew the tweens would still be flocking to Teenage Mutant Ninja Vampires--or whatever that movie is--and the rugrats would be dragging Mom and Dad to Bolt. . .but for QoS at the start of its third week in release to clobber such heavily-hyped newbies as Australia and Transporter 3 is amazing. The reviews have been mixed and plenty of fans have grumbled, but something in this movie has really clicked with moviegoers.
Well the common review reaction has been: great film, so-so Bond film. I guess the general public likes it being the former and is okay with it being the latter. :007)
Well the common review reaction has been: great film, so-so Bond film. I guess the general public likes it being the former and is okay with it being the latter. :007)
Maybe on Planet Blue someone said it is a "great film", but nowhere else. Variety 2 1/2 out of 5, Associated Press 2 1/2 out of 5, Roger Ebert 2 out of 4, Rotten Tomatoes meter 65%. Not exactly "great film" status. I believe most of the AJB members had a less than great film review.
As for the good box office, I personally attribute that to lack of competition. before this weekend the only other two movies out there were Twilight (teenage girls) and Bolt (family). Leaving QoS for everybody else. This weekend added Australia and Transporter 3, both poorly reviewed and Nicole Kidman has become box office poison.
Good for Bond.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
QoS is proving to have legs that would make a Rockette jealous.
Nice B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Barry, I don't know if the film's success is due just to lack of competition--although I'll admit that it would be a different story if Warner Bros. hadn't yanked the new Harry Potter film--I think the case can be made that average folk really do like QoS. Consider:
BoxOfficeMojo has a feature where regular users can rate each movie. QoS came out with an overall "grade" of B, with the grade breakdown looking like this:
A's: 428
B's: 313
C's: 85
D's: 20
F's: 76
RottenTomatoes' "community" has also been kinder to the movie than have been professional critics. 1,042 of them gave QoS a "fresh" rating; 405 were "rotten." Overall, the movie gets 72% from the RT community.
OK, none of this is scientific, but enough people have expressed pleasure with the film that I'm convinced they're seeing it more than once and spreading the good word.
Some of the first reviews I read (er, skimmed, to avoid spoilers) either trashed it pretty well, or said things like, "great action film, so-so Bond film." So even acknowledging that it did what it did very well, reviewers did seem to come down on it for not meeting their expectations for a Bond film. The point I was trying to make: general audiences don't seem to share that view (judging on BO), and are simply going to see it (cuz it's pretty darn good I guess ).
But skim through some of the headline comments here, I just did and the little I read did seem to support the point I was making re reviewers judging QOS thru their particular "Bond-vision" glasses. Here's a good one, from Steve Saragossi at Filmink:
"Director Marc Forster has made a first rate action thriller -- in fact, it's one of the year's best. Next time, however, we'd like to be reminded that the hero of the movie is called Bond...James Bond."
What I find incredibly ironic and very amusing is that for decades reviewers have slammed Bond for including ad nauseum the very things QOS is getting slammed for excluding: Q, Moneypenny, gadgets, wink-wink one-liners, and just a generally silly air of glibbly bouyant entertainment. Forster delivers a taut thriller - seemingly exactly what reviewers have wanted from Bond in the past - and gets raked over the coals for "messing with the formula." Crazy world.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
What I find incredibly ironic and very amusing is that for decades reviewers have slammed Bond for including ad nauseum the very things QOS is getting slammed for excluding: Q, Moneypenny, gadgets, wink-wink one-liners, and just a generally silly air of glibbly bouyant entertainment. Forster delivers a taut thriller - seemingly exactly what reviewers have wanted from Bond in the past - and gets raked over the coals for "messing with the formula." Crazy world.
I think that's it in a nutshell...but I've a feeling that the pendulum is at the apex of its swing now---with Quantum still duking it out respectably in the U.S.A., two weeks on, vs hyped fare like Transporter 3 and Australia---and, with #23, it will begin to come back in the other direction. When some of the traditional trappings make their inevitable return, it will most likely not enough for some ( :v )...but probably too much for others )
Such will be Craig's tenure as Bond, I think. Like QoS, he continues to polarize fandom, while less obsessed 'civilian' audiences seem to enjoy him on a broader scale.
'Tosca' isn't for everyone...and you can't please 'em all.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Well the common review reaction has been: great film, so-so Bond film. I guess the general public likes it being the former and is okay with it being the latter. :007)
Maybe on Planet Blue someone said it is a "great film", but nowhere else. Variety 2 1/2 out of 5, Associated Press 2 1/2 out of 5, Roger Ebert 2 out of 4, Rotten Tomatoes meter 65%. Not exactly "great film" status. I believe most of the AJB members had a less than great film review.
As for the good box office, I personally attribute that to lack of competition. before this weekend the only other two movies out there were Twilight (teenage girls) and Bolt (family). Leaving QoS for everybody else. This weekend added Australia and Transporter 3, both poorly reviewed and Nicole Kidman has become box office poison.
Good for Bond.
Ebert's review? (found this comment on it by another Bond fan, thought I'd share :v ):
"One review i found laughably was Roger Ebert's review (which he gave Quantum 2/4). He complained for a whole paragraph about the fact that the name "Camille" wasn't a double entendres!"
Okay, that one comment tickled me so I had to go read the review - and here's that paragraph from Ebert!
"The chase has no connection to the rest of plot, which is routine for Bond, but it's about the movie's last bow to tradition. In "Quantum of Solace" he will share no cozy quality time with the Bond girl (Olga Kurylenko). We fondly remember the immortal names of Pussy Galore, Xenia Onatopp and Plenty O'Toole, who I have always suspected was a drag queen. In this film, who do we get? Are you ready for this? Camille. That's it. Camille. Not even Camille Squeal. Or Cammy Miami. Or Miss O'Toole's friend Cam Shaft."
BOM's latest estimates are out, and QoS apparently has stayed strong over the long holiday period. BOM suggests that the movie will make $19.5 million this weekend, putting it at #4 for the week and giving it a total of $142 m in the U.S. So far that makes it the eleventh highest-grossing film of the year and gives it a worldwide take of $450 million bucks. That ain't chump change.
Vox clamantis in deserto
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
That last $150 mil, to get into CR's neighborhood, will be the toughest...but then QoS is still opening in some markets (?!).
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
What I find incredibly ironic and very amusing is that for decades reviewers have slammed Bond for including ad nauseum the very things QOS is getting slammed for excluding: Q, Moneypenny, gadgets, wink-wink one-liners, and just a generally silly air of glibbly bouyant entertainment. Forster delivers a taut thriller - seemingly exactly what reviewers have wanted from Bond in the past - and gets raked over the coals for "messing with the formula." Crazy world.[/quote]
Very good observation regarding the "professional" critics. At least the folks on AJB no matter what their feelings are re QOS, Craig, the reboot, etc are generally giving what I'd like to believe is a heartfelt honest opinion. Some of these "professional journalists" are more interested in trying to be witty in their reviews and boosting their own egos than actually writing an intelligent, interesting critique of a film. Re the box office take of QOS in the US, I would not be surprised if QOS maintains decent numbers through the holiday season (which culminates with New Years Eve and New Years day which are traditionally big box office in the US). Alot of non-fans or even non action film fans may finally get around to seeing QOS over that holiday season as they exhaust all the other films. By the way, it looks like Transporter 3 is going to be a bomb in the US.
Regardless of a person's feeling about Craig and/or the reboot in general, if that person is a Bond fan, he/she will definitely think of this box-office performance as very good news.
Besides, even if the pendulum is not where any particular Bond fan would like it to be at the moment, he/she'd better root for the continued success of the franchise because the pendulum can only get back to "the other side" if it can keep swinging
Regardless of a person's feeling about Craig and/or the reboot in general, if that person is a Bond fan, he/she will definitely think of this box-office performance as very good news.
I wouldn't call it "very good news"...It looks like QoS is going to struggle to make the same amount of money that CR made. It's a huge amount, to be sure, and by itself, it looks like a positive thing. However, the rumour has been that QoS's budget was $230 million (that's more than double CR's budget)...And I'm not even certain that includes marketing and distribution costs. As a producer, I would be disappointed to invest double the revenue for the same box office return that I got before.
Actually QOS is about $27 million ahead of CR at the same point of its run. At the end of 17 days, CR was at about $115 million while QOS is at an estimated $142 million (see Boxofficemojo.com).
With the entire month of December still to go, I'd say QOS has more than a fighting chance to greatly surpass CR.
Ah, you gotta love statistics - you can look at them anyway you want! QoS may have had a stronger opening than CR, but CR came out of the holiday weekend a lot better. In fact, CR managed to hold onto the #1 and #2 rank in the box office for four weeks...something QoS gave up in half the time. I think that QoS will make "more" money than CR in the long run...I was just surmising that "more" may not equal "enough" in the minds of the producers, based on the budget of the film.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
edited December 2008
Five weeks at #1 overseas -{
Congratulations, Eon!
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I have no doubt there's someone at EON/Sony/MGM/whatever complaining that QoS is underperforming. To my mind, movie studio accountancy is a kind of reverse alchemy--it turns gold into crap. I'll even bet the beancounters at Warners are saying The Dark Knight hasn't really turned a profit: "No, the film hasn't even made back its negative costs!", "Too many points were given away!", etc.
Anyway, the actuals have finally been posted by BOM. Over the five-day holiday "weekend," QoS made $27.5 m in America, and its American total is now $141.4 m.
I know this argument is made all the time, but you have to factor in inflation in ticket prices when comparing films released years apart. The best judge of "popularity" would be tickets sold. If anyone has that information I would be interested in seeing it.
I think placing 4th in the biggest Thanksgiving weekend in nearly a decade is still within where CR was at the same point in its run (oh, and there's the "made more money" thing too ).
At $482 mil worldwide (and counting), pretty sure we'll be seeing 23 on schedule, I think MGW said 2 - 2.5 years this time? Summer 2011, maybe?
I think EON and MGM will continue to avoid the summer for releasing Bond films. The Bond films seem to have found a niche as the 400 pound gorilla in the room for late fall/holiday releases.
Comments
The Loeffs doth exaggerate too much, methinks! C'mon, plenty of people like the movie! Or are you just trying to make sure your latest neologism--The Reviled, etc.--stays on the radar?
Well...hyperbole, to the negative, seems to be the norm with this one---and if there's hyperbole, you know I'm there! {[]
No worries...The Reviled QoSTM isn't going anywhere---not while this threat still stalks the cinemas :v
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2008/nov/25/uk-box-office-body-of-lies
In its fourth week, Bond took more than the rest of the top five put together (including the openings of two new films). QoS's fourth week takings are comparable with CR's fourth week takings though, as the Guardian points out, as it had a larger opening weekend it's still ahead.
BOM's review of the American weekend should be quoted here:
Note that in comparism with the two previous Bond movies, over the ten days QoS hasn't suffered much of a drop at all, even taking into account the holiday weekends. And there's still that Thanksgiving weekend to come.
@merseytart
I doubt that it will make 200 million in US as Casino Royale did, hardly
Thanksgiving weekend should be a better indicator of its legs IMO.
QOS made $4 mil Wednesday, and another $4.5 mil Thursday edging out BOLT for the #3 spot in the US. Gotta bode well for this weekend proper (and fess up now, who's been giving QOS good word of mouth???
I'll take credit for that B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I see it is estimated to have made over $8 million in the United States on Friday. {[]
Maybe on Planet Blue someone said it is a "great film", but nowhere else. Variety 2 1/2 out of 5, Associated Press 2 1/2 out of 5, Roger Ebert 2 out of 4, Rotten Tomatoes meter 65%. Not exactly "great film" status. I believe most of the AJB members had a less than great film review.
As for the good box office, I personally attribute that to lack of competition. before this weekend the only other two movies out there were Twilight (teenage girls) and Bolt (family). Leaving QoS for everybody else. This weekend added Australia and Transporter 3, both poorly reviewed and Nicole Kidman has become box office poison.
Good for Bond.
Nice B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
BoxOfficeMojo has a feature where regular users can rate each movie. QoS came out with an overall "grade" of B, with the grade breakdown looking like this:
A's: 428
B's: 313
C's: 85
D's: 20
F's: 76
RottenTomatoes' "community" has also been kinder to the movie than have been professional critics. 1,042 of them gave QoS a "fresh" rating; 405 were "rotten." Overall, the movie gets 72% from the RT community.
OK, none of this is scientific, but enough people have expressed pleasure with the film that I'm convinced they're seeing it more than once and spreading the good word.
But skim through some of the headline comments here, I just did and the little I read did seem to support the point I was making re reviewers judging QOS thru their particular "Bond-vision" glasses. Here's a good one, from Steve Saragossi at Filmink:
"Director Marc Forster has made a first rate action thriller -- in fact, it's one of the year's best. Next time, however, we'd like to be reminded that the hero of the movie is called Bond...James Bond."
What I find incredibly ironic and very amusing is that for decades reviewers have slammed Bond for including ad nauseum the very things QOS is getting slammed for excluding: Q, Moneypenny, gadgets, wink-wink one-liners, and just a generally silly air of glibbly bouyant entertainment. Forster delivers a taut thriller - seemingly exactly what reviewers have wanted from Bond in the past - and gets raked over the coals for "messing with the formula." Crazy world.
I think that's it in a nutshell...but I've a feeling that the pendulum is at the apex of its swing now---with Quantum still duking it out respectably in the U.S.A., two weeks on, vs hyped fare like Transporter 3 and Australia---and, with #23, it will begin to come back in the other direction. When some of the traditional trappings make their inevitable return, it will most likely not enough for some ( :v )...but probably too much for others
Such will be Craig's tenure as Bond, I think. Like QoS, he continues to polarize fandom, while less obsessed 'civilian' audiences seem to enjoy him on a broader scale.
'Tosca' isn't for everyone...and you can't please 'em all.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Ebert's review? (found this comment on it by another Bond fan, thought I'd share :v ):
"One review i found laughably was Roger Ebert's review (which he gave Quantum 2/4). He complained for a whole paragraph about the fact that the name "Camille" wasn't a double entendres!"
Okay, that one comment tickled me so I had to go read the review - and here's that paragraph from Ebert!
"The chase has no connection to the rest of plot, which is routine for Bond, but it's about the movie's last bow to tradition. In "Quantum of Solace" he will share no cozy quality time with the Bond girl (Olga Kurylenko). We fondly remember the immortal names of Pussy Galore, Xenia Onatopp and Plenty O'Toole, who I have always suspected was a drag queen. In this film, who do we get? Are you ready for this? Camille. That's it. Camille. Not even Camille Squeal. Or Cammy Miami. Or Miss O'Toole's friend Cam Shaft."
Yeah, all his Bond priorities are right.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Very good observation regarding the "professional" critics. At least the folks on AJB no matter what their feelings are re QOS, Craig, the reboot, etc are generally giving what I'd like to believe is a heartfelt honest opinion. Some of these "professional journalists" are more interested in trying to be witty in their reviews and boosting their own egos than actually writing an intelligent, interesting critique of a film. Re the box office take of QOS in the US, I would not be surprised if QOS maintains decent numbers through the holiday season (which culminates with New Years Eve and New Years day which are traditionally big box office in the US). Alot of non-fans or even non action film fans may finally get around to seeing QOS over that holiday season as they exhaust all the other films. By the way, it looks like Transporter 3 is going to be a bomb in the US.
Besides, even if the pendulum is not where any particular Bond fan would like it to be at the moment, he/she'd better root for the continued success of the franchise because the pendulum can only get back to "the other side" if it can keep swinging
I wouldn't call it "very good news"...It looks like QoS is going to struggle to make the same amount of money that CR made. It's a huge amount, to be sure, and by itself, it looks like a positive thing. However, the rumour has been that QoS's budget was $230 million (that's more than double CR's budget)...And I'm not even certain that includes marketing and distribution costs. As a producer, I would be disappointed to invest double the revenue for the same box office return that I got before.
With the entire month of December still to go, I'd say QOS has more than a fighting chance to greatly surpass CR.
Congratulations, Eon!
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Anyway, the actuals have finally been posted by BOM. Over the five-day holiday "weekend," QoS made $27.5 m in America, and its American total is now $141.4 m.
At $482 mil worldwide (and counting), pretty sure we'll be seeing 23 on schedule, I think MGW said 2 - 2.5 years this time? Summer 2011, maybe?