Surrogates Flops At Box Office Dan Koelsch, September 28, 2009 The official box office returns are in for the weekend, and it looks like there ain’t nothing like the real thing. Surrogates flopped with a three day pull of only $14.9 million, coming in second place behind Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which pulled in $25 million in its second week. For a action film with a $80 million budget, that’s not good for Disney, who owns Touchstone Pictures, the studio behind the Bruce Willis film. Why the poor results? The critical reception of the film was harsh, with the film only earning a 38% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. If you read my review, you’ll know I disagree with most of the critics, though I understand some of their points. The film is a bit moody and cliche, but I didn’t find those elements distracting enough for me not to enjoy the film. You could also blame the failure on people not really understanding the concept the film. When I told people I went to see Surrogates this weekend, almost everyone asked me, “Oh, yeah, what’s that about again?”, even though the trailers are pretty clear about the premise. Probably one of the biggest follies by Disney was it’s marketing of the film. The viral site ChooseYourSurrogate.com went nowhere, and public awareness for the film was very low, despite those creepy bus-stop posters (seen above) all over the place. I’ll have a complete review of the viral for Surrogates tomorrow. Hopefully this doesn’t mean Disney will stop trying to make interesting films like this. However, Michael Bay’s The Island flopped, and everyone came out of that OK. Why do you think Surrogates did so bad? News Surrogates
Tron Legacy Image #3 March 3, 2010Total Film has yet another new photo from Tron Legacy in what is a week long series of daily images. Today’s third of four images continues the scene set by the earlier pictures. Sam Flynn enters the old Flynn’s Arcade and walks by covered arcade machines towards a “Tron” sign…. Read More
“Short Term 12” Interview: Brie Larson And John Gallagher Jr. Talk Film Festival Reaction, Reading The Script, Getting Into Character August 19, 2013August 21, 2013Destin Cretton‘s Short Term 12 is probably one of the most talked about indie films of the year. Making it’s way around film festivals like SXSW and the LA Film Festival, the film, starring Brie Larson and John Gallagher Jr. has been winning numerous awards and found a place in… Read More
News “TRON: Legacy” Roundtable Interviews With Writers Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, and Producer Justin Springer December 4, 2010December 6, 2010TRON: Legacy, Disney’s sequel to their cult hit of the 1980s will hit theaters in just a few days, and I got a chance to have a roundtable interview with the filmmakers to talk about the development of the film and how the viral marketing campaign played a factor. You… Read More