Jump to content


Photo

Solo


  • Please log in to reply
57 replies to this topic

#21 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 13 June 2018 - 07:50 AM

I still think Ron Howard is a class act... and his latest interaction with fans just re-enforces my opinion.

 

It seems there is news saying Solo won't make money...  but this seems to be more a function of the chaos around the film... than the quality of the final product...  i.e. re-shoots because of changes in directors.

 

Solo may be the type of film that makes its money in the aftermarket, which isn't the goal of course, but its better than an outright loss all around... and I don't think thats a discredit to Howard, he may have been the person to bring the project to "break even" in the theaters and set it up for success in the aftermarket.

 

 

We predicted Solo: A Star Wars Story would earn about $30 million during its second weekend of release and it earned $29.3 million over the weekend. I’m calling that a victory. It did fall 65%, but this is a standard decline for a tentpole release after a holiday weekend. The film has $148.89 million after 10 days of release and is on pace to top $200 million domestically. Internationally it has $115.3 million, including $30.3 million this past weekend. It doesn’t open in Japan until the end of June, but once it does, it should reach $400 million worldwide. Had the film not needed extensive reshoots, this would have been enough to break even, eventually.

 



#22 MisterPL

MisterPL

    Yes the Troi figures hair worries me.

  • Members
  • 940 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 13 June 2018 - 09:13 AM

I'll be happily surprised if Solo manages to break even at the box office. The film deserves better. I've no doubt it'll break even on home video and with merchandising.

 

The problem was that the budget was too big. Lord & Miller were doing far too much improv, which required a crew of hundreds to get overtime pay. Reportedly Howard was asked to reshoot at least 85% of what they'd already done. In one instance an actor wasn't available for the reshoots so they had to recast and both performers got paid. 

 

If they'd been able to get this movie the first time, they'd be making a profit. Unfortunately they spent almost twice as much as they needed to.



#23 VulcanFanatic

VulcanFanatic

    Leonard Nimoy fan

  • Members
  • 3,165 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Southeastern North Carolina

Posted 13 June 2018 - 09:39 AM

I don't think the disappointing returns for Solo are as much about the quality of the movie or the director, it's about the direction of the Star Wars franchise. Many people despise "The Last Jedi" and feel like the Star Wars movies they loved are being ruined with all of the political correctness bs and the way to show their disgust is to boycott Solo. I was a die-hard Star Wars fan from 1977 and used to see the movies on day 1 but no more. If Star Wars and Star Trek movies are going to continue in the direction they are headed then they can head there without me and I think the same goes for many others.I honestly don't see either franchise returning to a place where die-hard fans will be happy with them so I will just say that I will just be content with the past movies and will not spend my money on any product from any of the newer incarnations of the shows I cared about for many decades.If these movie companies decide they want to listen to the fans that made them rich and successful and make movies they want to see, they may return but it's hard to see how they can salvage either franchise now that they have made these terrible movies.

#24 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 13 June 2018 - 09:40 AM

If they'd been able to get this movie the first time, they'd be making a profit. Unfortunately they spent almost twice as much as they needed to.

 

that seems to be the consensus... and if you had to re-shoot that much Lucas Films was probably already in "minimize the loss" mode before Howard ever got involved.

 

This film is a solid fun addition to the franchise... I tried to re-watch AOTC over the weekend... and I really think the pacing and story of Solo is better... AOTC just seems so frenzied and even awkward. 

 

VF, I found Solo to be enjoyable... I didn't have a lot of expectations based on the chaos surrounding it... but if you generally liked the OT I would think you'd enjoy it.



#25 VulcanFanatic

VulcanFanatic

    Leonard Nimoy fan

  • Members
  • 3,165 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Southeastern North Carolina

Posted 13 June 2018 - 10:29 AM

 
 
 
VF, I found Solo to be enjoyable... I didn't have a lot of expectations based on the chaos surrounding it... but if you generally liked the OT I would think you'd enjoy it.

You may be right about that but it's hard for me to stomach another Star Wars movie after the steaming pile of crap that was "The Last Jedi", so I may never know.

#26 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 13 June 2018 - 11:29 AM

Maybe rent it for free from your local library branch... they are sure to get it eventually!



#27 MisterPL

MisterPL

    Yes the Troi figures hair worries me.

  • Members
  • 940 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 14 June 2018 - 07:26 AM

 

that seems to be the consensus... and if you had to re-shoot that much Lucas Films was probably already in "minimize the loss" mode before Howard ever got involved.

 

Based on what I've read, yeah, that's exactly what happened.

 

Kathleen Kennedy is obviously a successful producer but her track record hiring directors for this franchise hasn't been terrific. In all fairness she'd never produced a Star Wars film before Lucas handpicked her to take over. For a guy who was making hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, he was always pretty frugal when it came to production budgets. Disney almost spent as much making Solo as Lucas did on the entire prequel trilogy.

 

Kennedy's talent seems to be in operations, not recruitment. It's also possible that she and Disney don't see eye to eye since no one has a common vision. At least Lucas knew where the story was headed even if he didn't know how he was getting there. The final trilogy of the Skywalker Saga has become a game of creative hot potato with different writers and directors passing it to the next poor schmuck as if this was a TV series instead of the end of a venerable volume of films.

 

And prejudiced fans certainly aren't helping. The Last Jedi is the second highest grossing film in the franchise so clearly plenty of people enjoyed it. Solo was Disney's second highest Memorial Day release ever but the media decided to spin it in a negative light despite generally positive reviews. Angry "fans" insist this vindicates their puerile outrage but it's like shunning your favorite restaurant because you don't like vegetables despite the fact that the place has always had a salad bar.

 

Again, expectations were far too high and comparing it to previous films released in a different season with far less competition wasn't exactly fair.

 

I still fully expect Episode IX to perform better than TLJ but not as well as TFA. That's been the established pattern for the saga. Disney really should dial back the production schedule though. One film every two or three years is more than enough. Give the licensees more time to deliver product consumers actually want.



#28 Alteran195

Alteran195

    Their ACTION FIGURES, not dolls!!

  • Members
  • 3,461 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Minnesota

Posted 14 June 2018 - 10:09 AM

Them not having the general story planned out for this trilogy is just stupid.

I just cant understand how they thought letting each movie have different writers with different ideas was in anyway a good idea for a triliogy.

For the Story movies, sure because they arent connected, but not for movies that are supposed to be a coherent story.

I wasnt a fan of Rian Johnsons vision in TLJ, but that doesnt mean he cant do good Star Wars movies on his own, and am curious to see what his trilogy is like.

#29 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 14 June 2018 - 12:33 PM

The final trilogy of the Skywalker Saga has become a game of creative hot potato with different writers and directors passing it to the next poor schmuck as if this was a TV series instead of the end of a venerable volume of films.

 

Whats my line! Star Wars Version??!!!

 

Them not having the general story planned out for this trilogy is just stupid.

Yeah, I think this was the revolution Marvel Studios brought to the industry... if your gonna have multi-year, multi-archs multi whatever... you should have a general road map and frame work to keep all the different writers, directors etc consistent... essentially marvel brought their "House of Ideas" concept to film...  where an overall editor has some control of where all the individual stories are going. 



#30 MisterPL

MisterPL

    Yes the Troi figures hair worries me.

  • Members
  • 940 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 14 June 2018 - 01:28 PM

As Warner Bros. is still learning, the trick is to stick to the plan. 

 

I'm often reminded that they originally wanted to relaunch DC films with a Batman vs. Superman movie (since everyone was already familiar with the titular characters, no introduction was deemed necessary). Then they decided it was better to do solo film reintroducing the heroes for a new generation and dovetail into a crossover flick. Batman Begins was successful but Superman Returns was ill conceived. After The Dark Knight, Chris Nolan didn't even want Robin in his Batman universe let alone a flying alien so than initial plan of a shared universe fell apart pretty quickly.

 

Green Lantern could have been a second chance but... well, apparently no one involved in that film knew Hal Jordan. Man of Steel was promising despite being divisive but audiences were growing weary of the exclusively dark, dreary comic book adaptations. Moviegoers needed an escape and DC wasn't providing that. Instead they were piling it on with Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and Justice League. Fortunately Wonder Woman has found a balance and hopefully Aquaman and Shazam! will continue the trend.

 

Universal Studios needs to stick to its plan, too. The Mummy made money but it's going to take more than star power to put butts in seats for any future installments to their Dark Universe.



#31 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 14 June 2018 - 03:51 PM

Green Lantern could have been a second chance but... 

 

Yeah... that was so bad it almost ended Ryan Reynolds career... and I love Reynolds... and now even he makes fun it in his latest movies.

 

Even the likes of Sony Pictures has come around to working with Marvel Studios to ensure they make money... regardless if Disney Acquires FOX... I think a deal will be struck... in fact in that regard... Disney would be smart to let Comcast have FOX, but make them give back all the Marvel Rights (and maybe Avatar) for the roughly 1.25 Bln they will now have to pay Disney to steal it away now. that would be a great deal for Disney with almost nothing put into the effort!



#32 VulcanFanatic

VulcanFanatic

    Leonard Nimoy fan

  • Members
  • 3,165 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Southeastern North Carolina

Posted 14 June 2018 - 08:23 PM

 
 
 
And prejudiced fans certainly aren't helping. The Last Jedi is the second highest grossing film in the franchise so clearly plenty of people enjoyed it. Solo was Disney's second highest Memorial Day release ever but the media decided to spin it in a negative light despite generally positive reviews. Angry "fans" insist this vindicates their puerile outrage but it's like shunning your favorite restaurant because you don't like vegetables despite the fact that the place has always had a salad bar.
 

Look at tickets sold, not the box office tally, that will tell you where a movie comes in compared with other movies. Current movie prices can be 10 times as high as earlier movie prices. I remember when tickets were $1.00 or so back when Star Wars came out in 1977 and people pay 10 to 15 dollars now for a ticket.How can you gauge success of a movie by box office when prices have changed so much.

If I frequented a restaurant salad bar for many years and they radically changed it to a point that it was utterly disgusting after I had patronized it for decades, I would feel like I had invested enough into that place that I would register my opinion very strongly and probably withhold my patronage until they rectified the offense. I don't blame people for forcefully complaining about what many people see as a travesty being committed against a franchise they grew up loving and don't want to see it being destroyed.

#33 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 15 June 2018 - 06:34 AM

How can you gauge success of a movie by box office when prices have changed so much.

 

Using inflation adjusted numbers.

 

By that standard... It appears that no sequel to a movie has ever been more successful then the original... But Star Wars, is the only franchise with two entries in the top 10. So MisterPL is absolutely correct.. and I suspect he's using inflation adjusted numbers. 

 

Highest-grossing films adjusted for inflation as of 2016

Rank Title                                Worldwide gross (2016 $)        Year

1       Gone with the Wind         $3,640,000,000                    1939

2       Avatar                              $3,196,000,000                    2009 

3       Titanic                                   $3,026,000,000                    1997 

4       Star Wars                         $2,989,000,000                    1977 

5       The Sound of Music         $2,503,000,000                    1965 

6       E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial  $2,444,000,000                    1982 

7       The Ten Commandments $2,314,000,000                   1956 

8       Doctor Zhivago                 $2,193,000,000                   1965 

9       Jaws                                 $2,145,000,000                   1975 

10     Star Wars: The Force Awakens  $2,103,000,000          2015



#34 MisterPL

MisterPL

    Yes the Troi figures hair worries me.

  • Members
  • 940 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 15 June 2018 - 06:54 AM

Even the likes of Sony Pictures has come around to working with Marvel Studios to ensure they make money...

 

Since they can't count on the merchandising revenue they lost to Marvel years ago they didn't really have much of a choice. The films kept trending downward in terms of profitability. They seemed to be on the right creative track with the Amazing reboot but partnering with Marvel Studios was best. (Depending on how the Fox deal shakes out, Disney should buy Columbia Pictures.)

 

As for Star Wars, Disney's either going to have to remake the original trilogy for folks who think it still looks too dated (China) or stick to spinoffs after finishing the Skywalker Saga. With two more trilogies and a couple more anthology films in development, it looks like they're leaning toward the latter. Either way, the franchise is just fine, despite what seemingly professional naysayers insist. The Last Jedi was the highest grossing film of 2017 and Solo is doing better than it has any right to all things considered.



#35 Morgan

Morgan

    I can stop I just don't want to.

  • Members
  • 745 posts

Posted 23 June 2018 - 03:25 PM

I think this film teed up sequels in the "Yung Solo series" pretty well, because otherwise the characters of Lando and Qi'ra are kind of "wasted" in this one outing.

 

Anybody else get that feeling that the studio left the door open to these actors returning with these characters?



#36 djc242

djc242

    I know FHC by name.

  • Members
  • 585 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Los Angeles, CA

Posted 23 June 2018 - 10:10 PM

I was so ready to see what Lando and Qi’ra would do next, especially after that surprise moment.

#37 Damon1984

Damon1984

    I know what a Pog is.

  • Members
  • 116 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 24 June 2018 - 04:08 AM

I read somewhere that they had planned to make a trilogy out of Solo (they seem to think that everything needs to be a trilogy these days). I guess that's not gonna happen anymore. Then again, it's Star Wars. The missing stories are certainly told somewhere down the road in another media. In a novel perhaps. Or a cartoon. If Rebels were still on air, I'm sure that Filoni would be all over Maul and Quira by now :D

 

But Star Wars, is the only franchise with two entries in the top 10.

 

Not anymore. As far as I know, Infinity war has taken TFAs place.

Perfectly balanced. As all things should be ;D



#38 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 24 June 2018 - 05:12 AM



 

[Star Wars doesn't have two entries in the top 10] anymore. As far as I know, Infinity war has taken TFAs place.

Perfectly balanced. As all things should be ;D

 

It depends on who and how the numbers are crunched...I think my list above was based on estimates for all time income...  the-numbers.com will look at just box office income... but only since about 1975, so 4 out of the ten on that list would drop out. other sites like boxofficemojo.com and look at the domestic inflation adjusted gross... TFA is #11 and infinity war is way down at #34.  The domestic vs world wide is kinda nice because it gives a contrast of U.S. trends vs the rest of the world.  

 

Oddly its tough to find complete inflation adjusted worldwide data that you can validate... boxofficmojo for example seems to have the raw un-infaltion adjusted data world wide... and just by that we can see that Infinity war hasn't quite overtaken TFA... though I believe it will... but then it has to stretch to beat TFA based on inflation. 

 

Going back to the original point... we like to use inflation adjusted numbers because they can give a decent idea about how many people are going to a film. Of course that not a perfect indicator because ticket prices don't always increase smoothly with inflation, and more recently theaters have found ways to up charge, but its a better indicator than comparing gross sales decades apart. 



#39 MisterPL

MisterPL

    Yes the Troi figures hair worries me.

  • Members
  • 940 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 25 June 2018 - 07:34 AM

I'm still expecting a followup to Solo, just one that costs much less to produce. Given that they had two pay two directors and at least one key actor whose work they scrapped, it should be too difficult. 

 

Gimme a Lando movie with the same cast and more new characters to keep that Maul subplot moving.

 

And make sure The Lady Luck is featured.  :D

 

Ladyluck-NEGVV.png



#40 Gothneo

Gothneo

    Knows Paul Bunyan

  • Members
  • 5,753 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Land of sky Blue Oxen

Posted 01 July 2018 - 12:12 PM

So... TLJ was at the local library... so I could watch it again for free... so I did... and fundamentally... I have to say I liked Solo better... the main reason being that Solo actually took some time to weave together a pretty coherent story line... while I think TLJ suffers from what many fast action films these days suffer from... it felt like we were jumping from one action scene to the next for little reason other than to cram in lots of action. The scene when Rey and Ren confront Snoke was probably one of the better ones... a bit of a slow boiled action sequence.






0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users