Any guesses on how many theater seats Disney will be buying-up to cook the numbers?
I'm betting they'll be using half the marketing budget in the first month to inflate attendance numbers.
shareThey didn't do it last night for Frozen II.
That only brought in 8.5 million. Why didn't they buy seats? Or do you only think they do that with films you have an axe to grind against?
The 'why' would involved the $10+ billion they have wrapped-up in the total franchise investment between the initial outlay, the movies, the failing theme parks, the merch, and the opportunity cost of a failure.
shareI'm confident they will buy as many seats to this film as they have to all their previous films combined: zero. If you truly believe otherwise, seek help.
shareI used to work in marketing for two major corporations that dealt with consumer products, I have a general idea how the game is played, and to what lengths they'll go - fear of failure & job security is highly motivating in executive level staff.
If you truly believe otherwise, pull your head out of your a$$.
Jesus what an idiot , why on earth would they buy seats for one of the most popular movie franchises created? You buffoon
shareBuying seats is part of marketing. Disney needs some movie to be successful, sometimes because of brand image, sometimes because of politics. Captain Marvel was the perfect example: they couldn't allow that movie to fail.
Here there's a similar situation: they can't allow Rise of Skywalker to fail, if they want to continue the franchise in the next decade. And test screenings look VERY bad, so chances are they are gonna buy.
The question, as the OP says, is how many.
And the answer, as it was with Captain Marvel, is zero. Just because you worry something to be true doesn't make it so. There is no evidence whatsoever that Disney bought tickets. The idea is ludicrous. How many people would have to be involved? How many bystanders would have to turn a blind eye to the conspiracy? Yet, not one single Disney employee, theater owner, or any other who would know about it has ever come forward, or even made an anonymous statement, to this effect. That Disney would risk financial ruin in order to illegally inflate perceived profits for a film that was clearly going to succeed, or even for one they know would fail, is absurd. And it begs the question-- why do it with Captain Marvel, a film that was obviously going to succeed, and one that ended up earning over a billion dollars, and not with, say, Dumbo, a film that was as important to them as Captain Marvel, and one about which there was worry going into its release that it may under-perform?
shareFilmBuff,
Zero? And, you base that on what, exactly?
There are plenty of stories out there on boards & blogs, with feedback from theater seats workers relating to empty theaters and e-purchased tickets that were never picked-up or used for a host of films the past few years.
Stories on boards and blogs aren't evidence of anything. Anyone can say anything online, anyone can photoshop a picture showing seats bought or vacant, and one person can easily create several accounts and share whatever story they want. If I say right now that Avatar didn't make as much as we think because James Cameron hired a hacker to alter the ticket data, and the numbers we accept are in fact gross exaggerations, does that make it true? Or plausible? Because that's all you have-- a few people claiming to work at a theater, or claiming a screenshot they share is real, and claiming that Disney must have bought seats. There is literally, absolutely, positively zero evidence.
With zero evidence, and only a few anecdotes from anonymous, unreliable sources, we can only use common sense, logic, and instinct to decide what we believe, so...
Possibility 1 - We know that long before Captain Marvel came out that there were a lot of angry people posting hatefully about the film. Look at this board as exhibit A. Plenty of them rated it 1 star on various sites before it came out, and never bothered to see it when it did. These are known facts. Is it possible a few of those people also made up a story about Disney buying tickets in order to cast doubt on the massive success of the film they hated so deeply?
Possibility 2 - Disney, one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, who had turned out 20 consecutive hit MCU films, and had a growing fanbase that was buying more tickets than ever to each new release, decided to risk everything by secretly buying tickets to their own movie. It would take dozens or more people, and thousands or more fake credit cards, and involve countless people, any of who could accidentally or purposely spill the beans, which would lead to criminal charges for investor fraud, and land Disney execs in jail. And all this for a film that had an opening weekend that grossed over $150 million. The average movie ticket costs a little over $9, which means over 140 million tickets were sold. How many would Disney have needed to buy in order to guarantee a hit? Would they pad it by $20 million? $30 million? How many accounts, credit cards, etc. would be needed? And even so, a smoking gun of a paper trail would exist. Plus— just how many execs had to okay this? It’s utterly nonsensical to imagine a company that made about $4.5 billion in 2018 would risk so much just to inflate the numbers of a film they knew in advance would be a hit— every MCU film has been a hit— but that’s the theory, that’s possibility 2.
So which does common sense tell you is the case?
The idea is ludicrous. How many people would have to be involved? How many bystanders would have to turn a blind eye to the conspiracy?
Very few people are needed. You don't need to buy tickets personally anymore, you can just buy them in internet. You can even have AI bots writing 'verified' reviews using those tickets. You can buy tickets and write fake reviews using the same farm.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Disney bought tickets.
But there's strong clues. Reports about empty seats. Reports about the exact same pattern of seats bought in different sessions.
And above all, Disney itself. If numbers were true, Captain Marvel would have been the most profitable movie in the Marvel franchise (box office/cost). Have you seen 'Captain Marvel 2' greenlighted? Disney says they made big money, but they behave as they didn't. Acts speak louder than words.
share
You can read my reply above, but short answer-- what you refer to as "reports" are meaningless. Anyone can say anything online. We have no hard evidence at all. And no rational reason or explanation for what you allege. It's a tinfoil hat pipe dream conspiracy theory with zero basis in fact.
And why Captain Marvel, of all films? If there was any film on Disney's slate other than Endgame that was a guaranteed hit, it was that one. Why not buy tickets for Dumbo or Aladdin, films that had a much higher chance of tanking?
You, and a bunch of others, have an irrational hate for Disney, driven by politics, and Captain Marvel and Star Wars, with their female leads, are the films you most hate. Come up with all the wacky conspiracy theories you want, but until you can produce even a shred of evidence, it's just sour grapes.
As for Captain Marvel 2... Marvel releases films in phases, and they plan far in advance. We'll get that film eventually, but right now they're already at work on what's coming next. Avengers 4 was the highest-grossing film in the history of film. Does the fact that there is no Avengers 5 in the works mean that was all faked, too? Or does it mean they are methodically building out the universe, and will present those films when the time comes?
We have no hard evidence at all.
But there's strong clues. Reports about empty seats. Reports about the exact same pattern of seats bought in different sessions.
And above all, Disney itself. If numbers were true, Captain Marvel would have been the most profitable movie in the Marvel franchise (box office/cost). Have you seen 'Captain Marvel 2' greenlighted? Disney says they made big money, but they behave as they didn't. Acts speak louder than words.
(Yeap, I copypasted my previous comment. Since you just repeated your point, I just repeated my answer)
It's a tinfoil hat pipe dream conspiracy theory with zero basis in fact. [...] You, and a bunch of others, have an irrational hate for Disney, driven by politics [...] Come up with all the wacky conspiracy theories
I find interesting how people that fill their comments with insults, derogatory statements and personal attacks accuse others of... being hateful!! XDDDDD share
Some evidence is definitely there, I already posted this image of the same bizarre front-row pattern of seats (only for this film) at my local theater, and I'm not the only one: https://i.lensdump.com/i/iSKqHz.jpg
I guess I photoshopped that though, according to FilmBuff. If I wanted to reveal my location I could have him verify it himself, but he'd just make up another excuse.
Is that image original with you, or did you find it somewhere else? Did you alter it? We have no way to know.
It may well be accurate, though if it is it in now way whatsoever proves, or even suggests, that Disney is spending millions of dollars buying tickets to their own movie. All we know is that some anonymous person, somewhere on earth, is sharing a picture and claiming it is real, and the picture doesn't implicate Disney in anything in any way.
Let's assume it is. What does it tell us? That at some theater, somewhere on earth, the front row seats for several showing of the film are sold out. I can think of a number of reasons this may be the case, none of which involve investor fraud, risked jail time, or the pointless waste of money by Disney. Why do you assume if those seats are either sold, or otherwise unavailable, it indicates Disney buying tickets? That's a preposterous logical leap.
[quote]You can even have AI bots writing 'verified' reviews using those tickets.[\quote]
I can always tell when this happens. Here's one example I remember from when Captain Marvel came out:
"I attended this with several other organics and it evoked a positive emotional response. While there were times I failed to comprehend the humor, I found...ERROR...ERROR...POWER INTERRUPTION...SYSTEM RESTART..."
Not only that, but a failure at this level, with Star Wars no less, would be horribly damaging to the Disney brand as a whole in the public's mind - it can affect stock price and future perceived value, at that point the Board of Directors & stock holders take an interest, and no CEO wants that.
shareAny proof to the claims? Did they forget to buy tickets for Solo ? I know you dislike disney but jesus dude , they dont buy tickets , get a grip
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