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Could Elliot still develop legs at this point?

posted 8 years ago by gogoschka-1
25 replies | jump to latest

Surprisingly, its legs seem to be a little better than expected; it only fell 34% from last weekend - and that's despite being pulled from 450 theaters during that time. It won't help the film to break even, but when it's all said and done, it might not lose a lot of money. It hasn't opened in all markets yet, among the 17 countries where it's still to open are Australia and Japan (something tells me this could be a film that will do well in Japan). And it could find a second life when families discover it on DVD/Bluray.

So it's not yet all doom and gloom for Pete and Elliot.

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] furdragon 8 years ago

It is reassuring that it's still doing okay despite the large theater loss. I was shocked when my local theater pulled it after only two weeks. And yet they're still showing SLOP, even though according to Box Office Mojo that film only made about half the money that Elliot made on the weekend. They have 8 screens, so I don't get it. I get the feeling that not many people even know this film exists. It could be because the media (at least where I live) practically ignored it; it's almost like they want it to fail. I didn't see any local media reviews of Pete's Dragon, but I saw reviews for Kubo, which is a much smaller film. I hope word of mouth is starting to kick in, because that's the only thing that will save this film now.

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

It can't be saved at this point. Disney needs ti get their act together. They are making great films but everything they released since Civil War(it can be argued it underperformed as well) has flopped or underperformed.

And yes...Finding Dory underperformed overseas.

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

This makes me fear for Moana. It seems like it will be truly wonderful but Disney may bungle this, too. I can see DreamWorks Trolls and Illunination's Sing being holiday smashes while Moana just does "okay" with a much larger budget than those cheapies.

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

'Pete's Dragon's reviews and word of mouth are great to fantastic, with some critics even going so far as calling it the best film of the year. But Disney apparently didn't even try to market this "kiddie" film to adult audiences in addition to the kid/family demographic. There weren't even Thursday evening showings - which seems a bit odd.

Of course it is a film mainly aimed at kids - but shouldn't it have been obvious that this was the kind of film (and made by the kind of director) that would play equally well with adult audiences?

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Gogo...agreed.

Disney needs to take notes from Warner Brothers and Universal on how to market films.

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

Disney needs to take notes from Warner Brothers and Universal on how to market films.

Very true. And WB and Uni need to take notes from Disney regarding how to make quality films. I suggest an exchange program 

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Haha...Gogo...so true!

[–] StephieVee 8 years ago

It was my birthday last Saturday and I am not one for kiddie films. As I had my kids with me, obviously many movies were not suitable. I chose Petes Dragon and all enjoyed. You would think they would market to my generation--the ones that had the original movie to share with our children's generation.

[–] sm-amg63 8 years ago

That's what I did. I took my 2 boys to see it last night and was drawn to it completely out of nostalgia. We all really liked it.

[–] number1212 8 years ago

I don't think Moana has much to worry about. I think the god-awful teaser for Trolls turned a lot of people off. Moana has a month to dominate before Sing comes out.

[–] furdragon 8 years ago

3rd place at the Box Office yesterday!

It also expanded in theaters today.

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

Yep, and the current weekend forecast has it dropping only around 15%.

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] furdragon 8 years ago

Pretty good turnout at my showing tonight. Must have been nearly half full - and lots of adults, too.

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

I really hope 'Pete's Dragon' will end up as a success for Disney. In this day and age, corporations usually don't take chances on mid-budget films like this which dare to be a little edgier and a little more original than what mainstream audiences have been conditioned to like. This film failing could prevent Disney from attempting a similar approach with other films - which would be a shame. I fear they'll learn all the wrong lessons from the failure of a film like 'Pete's Dragon'.

They should have realised this film's potential went beyond kids and familes, but they failed completely to sell this to older audiences. Still, if it continues to rake in between 4-5 million every weekend, it might end up in the black after all, and it still has some big markets like Japan to open.

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

@Gogo

I'm afraid you're still whistling past the graveyard with this. I can guarantee you the only thing Disney is looking at is what Universal/Illumination did with essentially the same budget(75 million)., the worldwide smash The Secret Life of Pets. The merchandise for that crapfest is flying off the shelves and it'worldwide gross is tapidly catching up with Findimg Dory.

Speaking of Finding Dory, that film's production cost was almost 3x thst of SLOP's. Sadly, Disney's already forgotten Pete's Dragon and just chalk it up as write-down #4 for this year.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Not at all. In 2013 Despicable Me vould be written off as a fluke success. In 2016, Illumination is proving to be the most profitable animation company in the world. Universal's marketing and distribution team also leaves Disney's in the dust.

The craptastic hits look to keep blasting through the next year, as well. How much you wanna bet that Sing will be the biggest animated hit this holiday season and Despicable Me 3 easily the biggest animated hit of 2017?

With this current Disney marketing team I fear greatly for Moana. Also, all you see on the internet is moaning and groaning about next year's Cars 3. That will probably Pixar's second film to lose money in less than 2 year's time.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Kidding, right?

Merchandising for Minions and now Secret Life of Pets is through the roof. Outside of Star Wars, Disney has not had a hot merchandjsing property since Frozen.

They haven't been able to give away Finding Dory, Inside Out or Big Heri 6 merchandise away.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

Speaking of Finding Dory, that film's production cost was almost 3x thst of SLOP's. Sadly, Disney's already forgotten Pete's Dragon and just chalk it up as write-down #4 for this year.

I'm afraid you're right. I'm hoping against hope that this film can somehow manage a turnaround, but I know it's not likely. Still, at least regarding their animation department I remain optimistc that Disney will continue to produce high quality films (which has a lot to do with a certain Mr Lasseter being in charge). You have to hand it to Disney, their overall output remains onsistantly on a high level - it's just a shame that their marketing department doesn't seem quite as competent as their filmmakers and producers.

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

@Gogo

Oh, I agree Disney Animation is churning out fantastic stuff and I'm sure Moana will be a continuation of that. I have a bad feeling about it's commercial prospects though. It's sandwiched between DreamWorks Trolls and Illumnations Sing and it is much more expensive than both.

Trolls and Sing seem to be the types of films that audiences flock to these days.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Where is this "early tracking"?

[–] 8 years ago

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