MovieChat Forums > The Tender Hook (2008) Discussion > Cost: $7 million. Total box office recei...

Cost: $7 million. Total box office receipts: $40,000.....

posted 15 years ago by Brimac98
10 replies | jump to latest

I have to agree with The Age, Melbourne film critic Jim Schembri who raged over the box office failure of this movie this past weekend following the presentation of the AFI Awards, and seemingly is the only one on the planet to do so--too much of an exaggeration to consider this Australia's version of "Heavens Gate", but not by much.

Consider how many features could have been made from the budget of "The Tender Hook" alone--I have always been a fan of Australian movies and one has to realize that the industry is in a bad state. Many movies are put into production without considering what audience or target market will see them, and those that are seem to be actors going through a Method course on film or are so over produced (like this one) that they have only the smallest niche audience going to theatres in 2008.

I know most likely the movie will make it's money back on international theatrical and television sales and on dvd sales/rentals (at least that's what all the investors are hoping) and nobody goes out intentionally to make a movie that flops at the box office--as William Goldman's maxim tells us, when it comes to making successful movies, "everybody knows nothing"--but I hope the industry can learn from this as not only would Australia lose a great movie producing industry, the world would too.

One of my favorite dvd sets is a documentary series "The Celluloid Heroes" made in 1995, when the film industry in Australia knew no equal--I often wonder what Lee Robinson and Chips Rafferty could have done with $7 million dollars, or Frank Thring Snr. or Ken G. Hall--one could say that the movies that failed during the last 14 years would have been like those made by these men in the 1930s-50s.

Perhaps--but somehow, I don't think so....and producers and film financiers should learn from these men and their production companies.

Also--Australia has so many great writers out of work--how about asking them if they have any scripts lying in their back drawers?

[–] buckystrangelove 15 years ago

i totally agree

what's it going to take for Australia to make a film that the movie going public actually care about seeing?

movies like this and black balloon are destroying Oz's chances at HAVING an industry. sorry to be brutal, but nobody gives a *beep*.

please, i'm begging u Australia, PLEASE, put money into films people WANT TO SEE that will make enough money for more Australian films to go into production!!!

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] vinnie_vegas69 15 years ago

As someone who works in the industry I take offence to that comment. It's not good films like The Black Balloon's fault that the average Australian filmgoer is so brain dead they would rather sit through U.S. trash like Snakes On A Plane than sit through a decent Australian film.

Why do you think American studios make movies like Snakes On A Plane?

They do it so that they can make enough money to finance movies like Slumdog Millionaire that are destined for low-budget straight-to-DVD releases unless they have a near certainty that it's going to get an Oscar nod.

Like it or not, the Australian movie industry is ignoring the need to make films that will make money to finance the more "high-art" films like this and The Black Balloon. The truth is, if the American studio system had the same "high standards" that the Australian film industry seems to have, they'd be out of business too.

You need to make action movies and comedies to make money in film - That's a basic truth that is better acknowledged than ignored. In the end, it's still a business, and if you refuse to provide the customers with a product they're interested in because you insist that THEY are the ones who are wrong, then you're always going to fail.

Things like denying George Miller's Justice League project tax breaks when the money that it brought in could have been used in part to stimulate the local industry doesn't help either.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] vinnie_vegas69 15 years ago

1) Films like The Black Balloon aren't high-art, they are drama.

Your opinion on this doesn't matter. The generic Australian moviegoer hears that it's a movie about a young man struggling to deal with the complications brought to his life by his autistic brother and they decide right then and there that they are NOT going to see the movie.

2) Writers such as myself would never lower themselves to write comedy or an action film. And I've had a succsessful career without ever having to do it.

You'd never "lower yourself" to write a movie like Some Like It Hot or The French Connection? Or to keep it closer to home, like The Castle or Mad Max?

Some of the most successful Australian movies of all time fall into those categories - Mad Max, Crocodile Dundee, The Castle, Muriel's Wedding... The list goes on.

3) Australia does make comedies and action films, but they fail so badly that they don't even make to the cinemas. Cinema goers in Australia don't care if the Aussie film is a comedy, drama or whatever, they avoid the film on the basis it is Australian. It is the Australian Tall Poppy Syndrome at its worst, what they need to do is embrace the local industry the way the French film lovers have embraced their own.

As I mentioned above, they frequently don't fail. Most of the highest earning Australian films of all time fit into those two categories, as evidenced here http://www.afc.gov.au/gtp/mrboxaust.html

4) You need to check your facts about George Miller's Justice Leauge, it wasn't turned down for tax breaks becasue it was an action film, it failed in it's bid because it failed too many of the points you have to pass in order to get the break. Most of the film's money was coming from overseas and wouldn't have been benefiting the Australian Indstry, that's exactley why it was rejected. The rest of us abide by the regulations so should Miller. If he wants to do it in Australia I think it would be great, but follow the regulations, an all Australian cast, all Australian crew and using Australian investors.

I never said it was turned down because it was an action film. My point was that the laws are too stringent.

If they relaxed them in order to get more films being made in the country, then the industry in the country (studios, effects companies, etc.) would get significantly more work, which would result in them being seen as higher quality production outfits, which would attract more films, and leave us with an functional industry capable of producing higher quality films.

You can blame the moviegoer if you want, but it's a business, and blaming the customer won't get you very far. If a business is going to be successful, it needs to provide a product that the public actually wants.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] gotmyorangecrush 15 years ago

Anyone who judges a films overall financial success without factoring in home theater these days is an absolute moron and just doesnt understand the huge profits that SD DVD bring in. In fact SD DVD has become so successful that DVD sales can dwarf the box office take even on successful films. This is why we are seeing such a dramatic increase in straight to video releases and why even some TV Shows like 24, Stargate and even the cancelled Futurama are producing straight to Video movies. A film can have a budget well over 50-75 Million, not make a single penny at the box office and still become profitable.

The bottom line is there is nothing wrong about commenting on a films overall box office performance however to come out and suggest that something was a failure financially without factiring in home sales, well again it just goes to show that such people really dont understand just how wildly successful the SD DVD format has become and just how much money can be made from home sales. You have to wait until at least 8-12 weeks after the DVD release before you can really start to make any accurate predictions on a films overall financial success.

[–] bigtonk 15 years ago

Has this been released on DVD yet? How is it going 'gotmyorangecrush'. If it has been released I would assume it hasnt done huge business, primarily because this film is a pretentious, overblown, piece of crap. Who are these clueless idiots that waste our money on crud like this and who are the geniuses who give them our money? This film is a grade A FAILURE!!!!

bigtonk

[–] Xcalat3 15 years ago

that is simply HORRIBLE!

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

[–] tapalmer99 15 years ago

The financial benefit is not well understood. All the costs incurred - especially to the 'meat and potatoes people' of the production: drivers, carpenters, sound guys,... help to keep them working within a studio structure. If the project breaks-even, it is actual a win, as it keeps the workers happy and involved and available for further projects. There is always the sales after box office - DVD, rental, foreign, liscencing,... which can account for a sizable amount.

Making a 'not-so-good' movie actual has many benefits, including financial benefits, from being made.