Three New Original Movies Bombed At The Memorial Day Box Office And That's A Problem

[Brian in Mesa]

Three New Original Movies Bombed At The Memorial Day Box Office And That's A Problem​

Three New Original Movies Bombed At The Memorial Day Box Office And That's A Problem

Memorial Day weekend came and went, with Disney's "The Little Mermaid" taking the lion's share of the attention from moviegoers, as expected, with a $95.4 million opening weekend. These Disney live-action remakes generally make a lot of money, and that isn't changing yet (huge budget be damned). Meanwhile, movies like "Fast X" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" were still pulling in meaningful amounts of money. Those blockbusters dominated the conversation, and as a result, a trio of new original films flopped hard upon arrival, painting a grim picture of the state of non-branded movies in the theatrical marketplace.

Bert Kreischer's "The Machine," Sebastian Maniscalco's "About My Father," and Gerard Butler's action flick "Kandahar" all arrived in theaters over the holiday weekend -- and all three of them failed to do much business. "The Machine," inspired by the comedian's viral stand-up bit, did the best of the bunch, taking in $5 million. Still, that's a brutal result for a film with a budget in the $20 million range. It gets worse from there. "About My Father," a family comedy that stars Maniscalco and Robert De Niro, made just $4.3 million with a similar budget. Again, brutal. The worst debut went to "Kandahar," which hardly made a blip, taking in just $2.41 million on more than 2,100 screens. Yikes.

In fairness, all of these movies are "Rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes right now, and they carry a so-so B+ CinemaScore. So it's not as though audiences are overlooking acclaimed gems here or anything like that. Still, the fact that none of these movies could garner even a moderate audience out of the gate is pretty concerning, particularly for those of us who wish to see more movies in theaters that are not reboots, remakes, sequels, or branded IP plays.

 

[oaken1]

IMO the big screen wont likely ever fully recover from covid... people got to used to streaming. D&D is the only theater trip I have made in 4 years and that is only because I support the IP and want to encourage more quality movie making.
They might do well to slow the progression from screen to stream. If people know they will have to wait at least a year they might be more motivated to go out and see a movie. As it is....sixty days and your blockbuster is on Disney plus for free.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Sooo....

I will wait for those 3 movies to show up on the small screen. I am not interested at all in going to the theater for adult comedy / drama.

The only thing that will get me to the theaters now is a family movie or a blockbuster escapism movie.

This is the reality of post COVID. I have theater seating and a giant screen at home.

It's coming for sports next.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

I love going to the movies and it's always fun family time.

We just don't have tons of free time, so it isn't frequent.

We do tend to land on the blockbuster type movies where you get some audio and visual punch to go with the showing

Although we did go to see Air, my wife and I saw Black Phone, my son got my wife to take him to Fall, etc

I'm the summer, these are the movies available

I probably have interest in About My Father, but that ground is really well traveled and I'd printing but a ticket to guardians instead. I just started seeing promotion for this one.

Zero interest in the machine. I like the stand-up bit, but much like a Bert show, i don't have a lot of interest in a Bert movie. This i have seen a lot of promotion for.

I'm not sure what a Kandahar is.

 

[Chaplin]

Sooo....

I will wait for those 3 movies to show up on the small screen. I am not interested at all in going to the theater for adult comedy / drama.

The only thing that will get me to the theaters now is a family movie or a blockbuster escapism movie.

This is the reality of post COVID. I have theater seating and a giant screen at home.

It's coming for sports next.

Post COVID, ok. But this was trending even before the pandemic.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

My biggest complaint of the live theater experience is that it seems way worse than before - every nicer theater has smaller screens, and people eating full meals/negotiating with wait staff throughout the movie. It's incredibly distracting and the whole experience is expensive.

The value just isn't there anymore - my entertainment dollars are better spent elsewhere.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

My biggest complaint of the live theater experience is that it seems way worse than before - every nicer theater has smaller screens, and people eating full meals/negotiating with wait staff throughout the movie. It's incredibly distracting and the whole experience is expensive.

The value just isn't there anymore - my entertainment dollars are better spent elsewhere.

Last time I did that was Maverick and by the time the movie and the food was ordered, my bill was over $100. No movie is worth that for 2 hours of entertainment, even really good ones.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Last time I did that was Maverick and by the time the movie and the food was ordered, my bill was over $100. No movie is worth that for 2 hours of entertainment, even really good ones.

Most people have home setups that are as good or better than the viewing experience at your average theater. On top of that, your own food/bathroom...its an easy choice.

It's the same problem for me going to live sports - unless I'm in great seats, I'm happier watching at home.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Most people have home setups that are as good or better than the viewing experience at your average theater. On top of that, your own food/bathroom...its an easy choice.

It's the same problem for me going to live sports - unless I'm in great seats, I'm happier watching at home.

I know I do. I'd be happy never seeing a movie in the theater again.

 

[Chaplin]

I know I do. I'd be happy never seeing a movie in the theater again.

I get that, but nothing will ever compare to a 100 foot screen with the Dolby sound that AMC uses. No matter how great your home theater is.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I get that, but nothing will ever compare to a 100 foot screen with the Dolby sound that AMC uses. No matter how great your home theater is.

If I had that to myself, I'd be much more inclined to go to the movies. I haven't enjoyed going since I worked at Harkins Centerpoint on Mill Ave as a junior/senior. I just can't stand watching movies with others anymore. People are obnoxious.

 

[Chaplin]

If I had that to myself, I'd be much more inclined to go to the movies. I haven't enjoyed going since I worked at Harkins Centerpoint on Mill Ave as a junior/senior. I just can't stand watching movies with others anymore. People are obnoxious.

Some of the modern theaters have addressed that, like the AMC Dolby screens have walls between rows. You'll still have to deal with people in your row, but it does feel more isolating with the walls in front and behind your seat.

I'm seeing the Flash tomorrow in the Dolby theater and then Elemental in 3d on Father's Day with my son. Still love going to the movies.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Some of the modern theaters have addressed that, like the AMC Dolby screens have walls between rows. You'll still have to deal with people in your row, but it does feel more isolating with the walls in front and behind your seat.

I'm seeing the Flash tomorrow in the Dolby theater and then Elemental in 3d on Father's Day with my son. Still love going to the movies.

Modern theaters can't address babies crying, idiots yelling out the plot in the middle of the movie, etc.

 

[Chaplin]

Modern theaters can't address babies crying, idiots yelling out the plot in the middle of the movie, etc.

I literally haven’t experienced that in years and I go to the theater as much as 6 times a month.

Only time I’ve experienced it where it affected the experience is on opening nights of giant movies. There’s also something to be said with experiencing things with an audience. A well behaved audience, that is.

 

[Devilmaycare]

I get that, but nothing will ever compare to a 100 foot screen with the Dolby sound that AMC uses. No matter how great your home theater is.

I'll still take my home theater over any theater. They can't match my sound system due to room sizes and I'll take my 10' screen that I have a 55 degree FOV (same as IMAX) over a larger screen that I'm further away from. Not having other people around talking and moving outweighs everything else.

 

[Chaplin]

I'll still take my home theater over any theater. They can't match my sound system due to room sizes and I'll take my 10' screen that I have a 55 degree FOV (same as IMAX) over a larger screen that I'm further away from. Not having other people around talking and moving outweighs everything else.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just don't be TOO entitled.

I kind of knew your response would be exactly this.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just don't be TOO entitled.

I kind of knew your response would be exactly this.

I put over $15,000 into my setup. I'm sure Devil's is probably more.

 

[Devilmaycare]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just don't be TOO entitled.

I kind of knew your response would be exactly this.

I also know that the theater system that I have is an outlier and don't try to push other people to only watch at home. It's just hard for a theater to keep pace with those of us that treat HT as our main hobby and sink money into it as such. Instead of say a bass boat for fishing I'm dumping it into HT equipment. I wish everyone could have the same experience.

 

[Devilmaycare]

I put over $15,000 into my setup. I'm sure Devil's is probably more.

I'm around $35k and that's with me building half of my equipment. I'd probably be closer to 45 or 50 if it was all retail purchases.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

If I had that to myself, I'd be much more inclined to go to the movies. I haven't enjoyed going since I worked at Harkins Centerpoint on Mill Ave as a junior/senior. I just can't stand watching movies with others anymore. People are obnoxious.

That's why we sit in the second-row center at any Harkins. We get a fully immersive experience with most of the audience sitting a good distance behind us, mostly in the second tier of seating.

 

[jf-08]

I'm around $35k and that's with me building half of my equipment. I'd probably be closer to 45 or 50 if it was all retail purchases.

Next ASFN mod meeting is @ DMC's theater.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

I literally haven’t experienced that in years and I go to the theater as much as 6 times a month.

Only time I’ve experienced it where it affected the experience is on opening nights of giant movies. There’s also something to be said with experiencing things with an audience. A well behaved audience, that is.

Yeah, i never run into that either.

I've had once post COVID where people had to discuss every aspect of the movie during the movie. Thankfully the theater wasn't full and we all just moved.

A couple movies ago a group was really chatty through previews and into the opening scene, but ended up quiting down for the actual movie

 

[Devilmaycare]

Next ASFN mod meeting is @ DMC's theater.

I can rattle out a couple of your fillings sometime.

 

[SECTION 11]

I watch movies on my phone. About once a year.

 

[Stout]

My biggest complaint of the live theater experience is that it seems way worse than before - every nicer theater has smaller screens, and people eating full meals/negotiating with wait staff throughout the movie. It's incredibly distracting and the whole experience is expensive.

The value just isn't there anymore - my entertainment dollars are better spent elsewhere.

Smaller screens and negotiating with wait staff? Don't go to the specialty theaters that serve dinner. That's a simple fix. I get all the complaints about movie theaters, but I'd say the experience has gotten worlds better. Why? Recliners. With my pain issues, I would pretty much not be able to go without them. They aren't perfect or perfectly suited to my size, but are thousands of times more comfortable than traditional seating.