Is lack of Ep2 excitement killing off Ep2 too quickly at the box office?????

Just thought I'd ask this question because I've noticed with alarm the very steeply declining audience numbers for Clones.

I've seen it AOTC 7 times now and everytime I see it I feel almost as excited as the first time I saw it (only annoying thing being the numb bum afterwards).

For the general public however the magic surrounding EpII seems to have worn off very quickly.

I remember when Ep1 came out over here in Scotland. It was released in July (correct me if I'm wrong) and was showing in most cinemas regularly for at least 4-5 months afterward with good audiences.

I've noticed with Ep2 though that having been on general release for 2 months now, viewing figures have fallen dramatically and it's dropping out of a few cinemas schedules.

What's the situation like around the rest of the world and do you feel that the publics interest in star wars has died down very quickly this time?

 

Is lack of Ep2 excitement killing off Ep2 too quickly at the box office?????


Is that a rhetorical question?

 

Personally I think the 'underperformance' (if you REALLY want to say that) of AOTC is because of the non-existent promotional campaign...



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

True that Icebreaker!

I know that Lucas was erring on the side of caution after ep1, but it wouldn't have hurt to have pushed it just a little more.

 

Let's see if Lucas goes all-out once again for Episode III...

 

Here is the thread to tell a quick little story (which relates to NO promotion for AOTC):

I was talking with one of my friends about two weeks after AOTC came out (he is a modest fan that owns some collectables but nothing serious) I asked him what he thought of AOTC and his response was:

'From the trailers it looks action packed! I can't wait until it comes out!'
[face_shocked]

I stood in silence for a moment...the movie had been out for TWO WEEKS and a casual fan didnt even KNOW it was out! I was in shock to say the least and I think this speaks for my claim of NO PROMOTION hurting AOTC



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

I think that Lucas has no choice but to go all out for EP3. The main push for ep2 didn't start until 3 weeks before release over here.

What's the current situation stateside?

 

'From the trailers it looks action packed! I can't wait until it comes out!'


Didn't that bozo--err, friend of yours, see the "May 16" date at the end of the Clone War trailer (assuming he saw that one)?

 

I have NO IDEA...I was in too much of a shock to say anything but IMO audiences that see a trailer (which includes my friend) are for the most part BRAIN-DEAD and can't remember a date to save there life...they need it shoved down there throat several times before they remember and apparently AOTC didnt do that



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

The casual viewer usually may not have time to camp out at the theater or go to the movies that often to catch a trailer. That's why you remind them with TV ads. I guess my question would be, what are they doing in Japan? AOTC is on fire there. I know they have a cool Pepsi tie-in...

 

I know...we better get a cool tie-in like that when EP3 comes out...those things kick ass!



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

Lucas may not want to have images of VADER out from EP3 to the public...he will probably keep it hidden until Opening Day but personally I think that we need CLEAR images of Vader for EP3...like at the end of the trailers have blackness and then let it fade to VADER breathing but this time we SEE him...this will help draw in a crowd guaranteed because VADER is one of the greatest villians of all time



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

I believe AOTC got a bad rap and TFM is overrated. I guess it just takes a hardcore SW to realize this.

 

TFM?



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

What's TFM? It's Phantom...with a 'Ph.'

 

Eh...Import_Jedi I think he is to kewl to write it properly! (HaHa)



~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

He's hella being shady...

 

That's sad --- because it's a *good* film. It certainly deserves to do better than it has, although close to $300 million is nothing to sneaze at either....


Audiences, unfortunately, seem more *jaded* than they were at the time of the OT.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that 'The Phantom Menace' did as well as it did. Not because I didn't like the film (because I certainly did), but because it was a film filled with noble and innocent characters released in an age where cruelty, violence and indifference are the norm for movies.

I don't mean this as an attack or insult to those who didn't like TPM, just as a personal observation of the times we live in.

Even the OT got much more (revisionist) negative reviews when it came out again in 1997. Suddenly, the same newspapers that named Star Wars "Film Of The Year" in 1977, The Empire Strikes Back "A Great Sequel And A Major Achievement" and Return Of The Jedi "A Shear Delight" were suddenly dropping little snide comments like, "Sure, the dialog is hokey at times" and "The Trilogy is still great fun --- if a bit creaky". I guess this was supposed to size up their "street credibility" with the pseudo-intellectual snob critics that hated them all to begin with.....

And I don't think it's a "conspiracy" at all. I just think it's "the prevailing wisdom" of the day to knock good-natured films: "We're above that." "It's not Hip." "A Knight wooing a Damsel in a Victorian-style setting by using Chivalrous advances is so *passe*..." "It's not cool."

Unfortunately, with 'AOTC', even the formerly Star Wars-friendly Roger Ebert has gotten in on the act. (It sounds to me like he finally "caved" after years of arguing with the Pauline Kael-types.) Even folks who are down on the PT are saying that 'AOTC' was better than 'TPM'. Maybe it's just me "rationalizing" my own like for *all* the films, but I can't think of any other logical explanation for why Ebert would give only 2 stars to 'AOTC', while giving 3 stars to 'TPM'.

 

Well, GL did say that he expected the PT to have a smaller box office than the OT.

The crowd that were under 18 when the OT came out now have full-time jobs, families, cars to maintain and other responsibilities. In the U.S., people are still unsettled by September 11 and are nervous watching the declining stock market take away a good portion of their retirement savings. Besides, even if they did attend, those with small children would have to hire a babysitter: I can't imagine anyone taking a child under seven-years-old to see this film because of the whole Tusken scene and Confession.

The under 18 crowd? Well, I don't know. I speculate that to them, Star Wars is something their parents or older siblings liked, automatically making it "not cool." Plus, for pure special effects and fight sequences, AOTC has far more competition than the OT or TPM had.

The PT is a harder sell: the hero will become the servant of evil and virtually every major character will be dead or maimed by the end. People like happy endings. This is not simple escapist popcorn fun.

I am just glad that GL has the money to keep creative control and complete the tragedy.

 

I live in Brazil, where there´s a huge amount of Starwars fans, so those guys from local Fox postponed the AOTC release date for July 1, just after the end of the World Cup, so the movie wouldn´t share the public attention with the biggest brazilian passion that is football.

The problem is that Brazil ended up winning the WC, so the country was still in a state of euforia one week after the movie release. Even some hardcores fans like me decided to wait a few days so we could watch the movie with a more clear mind.

Now 3 weeks have passed and the multiplex where I use to go has only 2 rooms showing AOTC, when some of the recent blockbusters like Harry Potter, LOTR and Spider Man lasted much more time in many rooms.

When Episode 1 was released in 99, it lasted almost 3 months here, so it gave me oportunity to watch it 5 times. Now I had to watch AOTC 3 times in a short while cuz I´m affraid the movie won´t last more than 2 weeks in decent theaters.

Anyway, a press release has counted that more than 1,5 million people have already watched the movie here.

I presume that there were 2 factors that contributed for this decrease in the numbers of rooms, at least in here: the World Cup effect and, like some other people had already pointed here, the low marketing campaign.

The lack of excitment is not to be blamed simply because there´s no lack of excitment. Not at all.

 

The lack of promotion is one very good reason--but the story is another one. While AOTC is full of action, adventure, and excitement...there is some serious tragedy.
Shmi is killed, the Clone Wars have begun--


And isn't there this rumor that Anakin becomes Darth Vader? ;p

 

YOU LIE!...

 

K...how many times do I have to SAY THIS:

NO EP3 SPOILERS IN THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES FORUM

I hope you didn't just spoil the ending of Episode III for me, cause I would be VERY upset!




~ICeBReaKeR
His abilities have made him...arrogant

 

Here's my take on it. After 4 weeks release, theatres started to drop AOTC like a bad habit, even though the averages were still good. AOTC is now in less than 600 theatres in the US, whereas TPM was in 1800 theatres the same week.

Is competition more likely for the huge drop in theatre numbers, or did Lucas ask for a bigger slice of the take, forcing theatres to take on other films so they could increase there profit instead. I'd say it's a bit of both.

 

The problem is that Attack of the Clones is BORING. It may not be boring to you, the loyal fans, but to the casual viewers out there, it's boring! Now, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the movie the first time, but the second time, it was a pain to sit through. The reason for this is because there is virtually no action 2/3's of the movie. Star Wars is not supposed to be a snoozefest! Word of mouth is the real phantom menace behind AOTC's early death.