Looks like ROTS will be the 2005 BO king.

Looks like I was right when I predicted that KK would be all hype and not much business. Check out BOM, KK has had a fairly unimpressive opening thus far. A huge short coming for all those who believed that KK would smash BO records and possibly even surpass Titanic. It seems the Internet and the media created massive expectations for KK, when all they did was set it up for a massive fall. Unless KK has extroidanary legs or something, I think its safe to say that ROTS is the BO champion of 2005. Its time to get out your star wars themed party gear and rejoice, ROTS is king of 2005.

After some thinking I think I have come up with some fairly good reasons why KK wasn't the huge hit people thought it would be ( at least its opening couple of days anyway), here they are.

KK long length- Most people are rushing around trying to get things ready for christmas, who has the time to spend 3 hours in a cinema.

KK themes- After some world events this year, people want to watch a happy film at the movies, not a film about the exploits of humans and tragedy. I think the movie would have done much better during next years summer season.

Remakes of a remake- I think people are becoming tired of remakes, believe or not people do like originality.

There are some other reasons I could tell you but I think you have heard enough. There are also some things that the movie has got that you would think would attract the masses, such as good reviews, good actors and a good director. The general audience behaivour can be very hard to gauge.

Like I said earlier, unless KK has some miracle run like titanic did, or a huge surge in interest I think ROTS will finish the year as BO king. Do you agree?

P.S- I know some of you don't really care about the BO, but to have the movie you like finish at the top says something about its popularity and effect on society. Please don't turn this thread into a PJ versus GL or PT versus LOTR argument, lets keep discussion about ROTS BO victory etc.

 

We'll still have to see since it just did come out, but I do generally agree. it's the holiday season -- people are busy traveling, celebrating, seeing family, buying gifts, etc. etc. so....
And I personally am not all too interested in seeing King Kong. I always did find the storyline preposterous. It may have been fine in the ultra-ignorant decade in which it first showed up, but it's just absurd now. I'm good at suspending my disbelief for many films (I'm a big SW and LOTR fan) but one pet peeve I have is when filmmakers project specific human biases/traits/prejudices/tastes onto animals.
As if a big gorilla would even care that a woman is "blonde" and "pretty." Such things are very subjective, and why couldn't it be the ol' one minute movie. King Kong sees "blonde" woman, and proceeds to eat blonde woman, end of movie.
And yes, i'm also tired of remakes.... seems this year was full of them. Too many TV show-based movies.
I actually was disappointed to learn that PJ was going to waste his skills and time on King Kong.
I'm not one to care about Box Office, but I do think that, yes, ROTS will be the biggest one this year.

 

Do you agree?



Yep, King Kong is looking to be King Flop.

 

I recall Titanic's opening weekend gross was a measly 18 million. And all the below could apply to Titanic too.



long length- Most people are rushing around trying to get things ready for christmas, who has the time to spend 3 hours in a cinema.

themes- people want to watch a happy film at the movies, not a film about the exploits of humans and tragedy. I think the movie would have done much better during next years summer season.

Remakes of a remake- I think people are becoming tired of remakes, believe or not people do like originality.

 

Damn, I wish I could figure out why my picture posts won't work!

Okay, just imagine that I've posted a picture of King King standing atop the Empire State Building with his massive hairy arms stretched out wide like Leonardo DeCaprio.

"I'M KING OF THE KONG!!!"






(Well, it would have been funny, if I had posted the picture.)

 

Don't count your chickens just yet. This is just the first week, and Kong may be one of those films that becomes more successful as it goes due to word of mouth, etc. The hype for King Kong was bigger on the internet than it was in the real world. Hell, I've seen more ads for "PETER JACKSON'S KING KONG: THE OFFICIAL GAME OF THE MOVIE!" (yes, that's the full title. Geez.) than I have for the movie itself. Jackson and company may be counting more on reviews and viewer buzz than any actual marketing.

Or maybe it's just not doing too well. I dunno. Either way, I'm pretty sure it's going a bunch of crap at the Academy Awards.

 

I think ROTS will be King of the box office for 2005 also. It's the best movie of the year and I don't see King Kong beating it. I don't have any interest in seeing KK either.....maybe when it comes out on dvd.

 

long length- Most people are rushing around trying to get things ready for christmas, who has the time to spend 3 hours in a cinema.

I have, so has the thousand other people in the theater that were there...



themes- people want to watch a happy film at the movies, not a film about the exploits of humans and tragedy. I think the movie would have done much better during next years summer season.

People want happy films,... yeah, episode III isn't really a happy film either you know


Remakes of a remake- I think people are becoming tired of remakes, believe or not people do like originality.

No they don't like originality. That is why most people complained about the PT, they wanted it to be a ``remake`` of the OT....


Anyway I agree with you, ROTS will win at the BO.

 

i saw "goodnight and good luck" today - amazing film, BTW (my degree is in history, but we all need to know abouth this period of american history-it's relevant to today-right now) and there was virtually nobody in line anywhere to see KK - nothing. just might have been a slow day in general as it's the holiday season but i was actually surprised to see i wasn't alone in g & good luck - it's only playing in one theater and a small screened-one at that but there were about 30 people with me. no lines for kong.... very few people.
that really surprises me but can't say i'm unhappy about it.

 

Well, that's to be expected. King Kong is a remake. Remakes rarely if ever smash Box Office records unless there is something particuarly special about them.

 

It will be the Domestic king for sure...WorldWide is diffrent ..cause of freagin Potter!!I HATE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Let's make one thing perfectly clear. This thread will not become a Star Wars vs King Kong thread. We're not here to bash Lucas or Jackson. We're here to discuss the box office returns and how it might affect ROTS. If we cannot do that, then there's no point in even letting this thread get to page two.

 

I don't think length had all too much to do with it... just see how many people say the LOTR movies, which were all about 3 and a half hours long or so.

 

I don't think the length played much of a factor as has been stated.

My guess is that some people who would normally see huge box office monsters like King Kong, have stayed away because they know the story all too well. Nothings changed. I'm thinking they want to see something they don't know or know as well as this classic. If they're going to spend the money a week before Christmas to see a show with the family, they're going to choose the story they don't know as well.

LOTR, though it had millions of fans over the years, wasn't a story the general public knew off the top of their heads. It wasn't a book they read. Since there weren't many movies (aside from cartoons) on it, they just didn't know exactly what was going to happen. So that really helped the box office. Same goes for Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia.

But Kong will do well at the box office. Just not enough to equal the hype.

 

It's the same reason the 1999 "Pyscho" re-make was such a flop. Certain movies just don't need re-makes because they are so engrained into the national conscience and are pop icons and so well known not so much because so many people saw the movie, but because of the character or even just the title (such as with Psycho and the name "Norman Bates" or the "Bates Motel"). And Kong being a re-make of re-make is a little ludicrous in itself. It seems like just an excuse to show the snazzy CGI they could use to make him even MORE realistic. It's one of those SFX films that kinda begged to get a CGI upgrade, but it's really not neccesary in the scheme of things to re-make it. Especially not a three hour version!

 

There's that, and even though the movie is respected and loved, there aren't any real King Kong fans like LOTR and Star Wars had. Most of the hype for Kong 2005 came from Peter Jackson fans, not King Kong fans.

 

Given how little of 2005 is left, KING KONG won't be able to top ROTS as the box office champ of 2005 just based on time limitations alone.

 

Now now, don't be so sure that ROTS is the year's top movie...

...you'll hurt Fun With Dick and Jane's feelings.

But seriously, ouch for Kong.

 

I can't believe none of you is worried cause Potter is probably gonna top ROTS worldwide..this makes me so sad..

 

Potter was always going to top Episode III Worldwide. It's bigger over there. Even with 2 weeks left in 2005 and the first 2 months of 2006, Kong will not top Episode III's box office. It's pretty much a given now.

Sure, Titanic and Fellowship of the Ring opened slowly but those films weren't hyped to the level that this remake of Kong was. Whether Universal or Hollywood wants to acknowledge it, they were looking at at least a 100 million five-day gross. Universal openly stated that they were projecting a 75 million dollar five-day total. Kong might not even get 70 million.

Episode III remains King, no matter how much Kong makes in early 2006. Plus, competition for Kong in the coming weeks will get harder. Sure, none of those films will topple Kong for the number 1 spot, but they will take a chunk of Kong's box office. Jim Carrey is on the way with his film and whether the film is any good or not doesn't matter. Carrey opens big period. Narnia is still doing well(not that great of a film though) and Potter is still lurking.

Kong will struggle to make 200 million dollars. And given the budget of 207 million with a marketing budget of 70 million, Kong needs to make close to 600 million worldwide for the studio to break even.

 

Wasn't there a thread about this already about will ROTS be box office champ? Oh wait, this is a positive thread toward ROTS, so it probably won't get locked.

 

Clearly, with this year's box office climate, Episode III is truly an achievement. No pundits or Hollywood types can deny that now. Episode III was massive. Had the film had a one month IMAX release, we're looking at 400 plus million for the finale.

 

For a start, King Kong was never going to outgross TITANIC and anybody who thought it would was deluding themselves - That goes for critics as well as fans.

However, whilst I think ROTS is safe from all competition in the US at least, I think we should wait a while before hailing KK a flop. With Christmas still to come, it may be that a LOT of familes are waiting until post Christmas to go see this movie.

 

Kong is not a flop but given how it's going right now, it is a disappointment. Remember, since July of this year, Kong was touted as the blockbuster of the year, sight unseen. The media and Hollywood bet the farm on Narnia, Potter, and Kong for the holiday season.

As of this moment, Kong isn't holding up it's end of the bargin. Narnia will top off at 225 million. Potter will top off at 275 million maybe. It will struggle to get there. Still, people underestimate the competition out there. Last night, the wife and I went and saw The Family Stone. It was sold out as was the next show. Kong was not selling out whatsoever. The patrons at the theatre were seeing everything but Kong last night.

Again, Kong will be considered a flop if it doesn't make it's money back. I think it will eventually but it will be a struggle.