Box Office Weekend Reality: Old Dragon Almost Slays New Superheroes Dan Koelsch, April 19, 2010April 21, 2010 Although estimates of weekend box office figures are usually pretty accurate, sometimes we get a bit of a surprise. This weekend was a great example, as new release Kick-Ass barely beat out three week old How to Train Your Dragon, which was expected to win out. However, everything isn’t coming up roses for the superhero flick. See the results of the weekend after the break. Kick-Ass nudged out Dragon by less than $200,000, taking in $19.8 million. However, some anaylsts expected it to make closer to $35 million, especially given all the buzz it got in the weeks leading up to its release. The critics generally liked it, it did well at film festivals, and the trailers were pretty solid. So, why couldn’t it even pull in $20 million its opening weekend? Some point to its dyslexic concept that appeals to kids but is intended for adults. The R rating may have made the film better, but it definitely doesn’t help rake in the big bucks. I think the lack of large fan base is what really doomed Kick-Ass. Not a lot of people have read the comic, and without a big name (outside of Nick Cage’s supporting role) to sell the film with, it’s hard to expect The Dark Knight type numbers. The Fantasic Four had a similar problem with stars, but it’s built-in fanbase was enough to make it good money. Top 10 results for the weekend below. 1) Kick-Ass – $19.8 Million 2) How to Train Your Dragon – $19.6 Million 3) Date Night – $16.7 Million 4) Death at a Funeral – $16.2 Million 5) Clash of the Titans – $15.4 Million 6) The Last Song – $6 Million 7) Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? – $4.1 Million 8 ) Alice in Wonderland – $3.7 Million 9) Hot Tub Time Machine – $3.5 Million 10) The Bounty Hunter – $3.1 Million Why do you think Kick-Ass underperformed? News Box OfficeDeath at a FuneralHow to Train Your DragonKick-AssThe Dark KnightWeekend Box Office
Cards Against Humanity Teams With Netflix To Create “House Of Cards” Against Humanity February 11, 2014February 11, 2014Netflix’s original series House Of Cards just got a little bit more interesting. And when I say more interesting I mean more funny in the darkest most horrible way. In the days leading up to its season 2 premiere this Friday, February 14, Netflix and the team that brought you… Read More
News Golden Globes Nominees Announced For 2010, Which Viral Movies Are Nominated? December 14, 2010The end of the year is coming and you know what that means: Movie awards! Yep, it’s the time of year when movies are recognized for their excellence, and we at Movieviral root for the ones with viral campaigns we covered. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced their Golden… Read More
2012: New Sweepstakes and Another SFX Video October 17, 2009Sony must have a lot of overstock, because we have yet another contest for their film 2012. This time the winner gets their choice of cruises from Cruise West as part of their “Voyages of the Great Explorers”, and four runner-ups get various Sony electronics. You can check out the… Read More
Frankly, I am not sure the film has underperformed, yet. The opening weekend was not as big as some analysts expected, but a roughly $20 million debut is not bad for a rated R superhero comedy (of which there is little precedent). It’s really not fair to compare this to a Batman film or expecting it to make the kind of money The Dark Knight made (which is an aberration in my opinion as no Batman film previously made nearly as much). But if we are going to compare this to a Batman film a better comparison may be Batman Begins which started out weakly at the box office but had legs due to good word of mouth. My prediction is that Kick-Ass will as well. We’ll see, but I also don’t expect it to make the kind of money that a more mainstream superhero film would. It is what it is.