They were very kind in calling it a flop.Looking forward to seeing this film very much. Unfortunately, the Hollywood press already considers it a flop, underperforming badly.
Cowboys and Aliens - 2011
#271
Posted 01 August 2011 - 12:51 PM
#272
Posted 01 August 2011 - 03:04 PM
As for "COWBOYS AND ALIENS", it's one of my top five favorite movies this summer. I thought it was one of Craig's best movies in quite a while.
#273
Posted 01 August 2011 - 03:20 PM
#274
Posted 01 August 2011 - 04:37 PM
#275
Posted 01 August 2011 - 06:13 PM
Enjoyable movie. Not perfect nor a classic, but entertaining. Craig was solid in the lead, but Ford really gave the movie its strength. Best performance from him in years.
Indeed, a very entertaining nite at the movies.
#276
Posted 01 August 2011 - 06:37 PM
The Hollywood press is calling it a flop, because "THE SMURFS" beat it at the box office this past weekend. If it doesn't premiere at the #1 spot, it's a flop. The Hollywood press has called movies that actually made a profit a flop. Ironically, they never called "CASINO ROYALE" a flop, considering that it never reached the #1 spot on the U.S. box office. The kiddie movie "HAPPY FEET" did.
As for "COWBOYS AND ALIENS", it's one of my top five favorite movies this summer. I thought it was one of Craig's best movies in quite a while.
I think it's more a matter of expectations. Cowboys And Aliens had been forecast to have an opening weekend exceeding $40 million (at least at one point), while Smurfs was projected to be about $30 million. So it got written up that Cowboys And Aliens underperformed and Smurfs exceeded expectations. In 2003, the Ang Lee-directed Hulk movie had an opening weekend of about $60 million but it was cast as disappointing because there were forecasts that'd it do better.
The $36.2 million figure for both released Sunday consists of actual ticket sales on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday's being estimated. The final figures are released on Monday. It's possible Smurfs may have edged ahead in the final figures because of higher 3D ticket prices while it's possible more people may have gone to see Cowboys And Aliens.
Another example, in addition to Casino Royale, of a Bond movie not opening at No. 1 but not being called a flop was Tomnorrow Never Dies, which finished a close second to Titanic. Titantic's huge gross was because people kept going, rather than because of a monster opening weekend.
#277
Posted 01 August 2011 - 07:54 PM
#278
Posted 01 August 2011 - 08:08 PM
UPDATE: Cowboys And Aliens did come in at No. 1 in final figures, $36.4 million to $35.6 milion for The Smurfs.
I would bet you doughnuts for dollars that the media will still call it a flop.
#279
Posted 01 August 2011 - 09:24 PM
UPDATE: Cowboys And Aliens did come in at No. 1 in final figures, $36.4 million to $35.6 milion for The Smurfs.
I would bet you doughnuts for dollars that the media will still call it a flop.
That may indeed happen for 2 reasons:
1. The $36.4 million is below the $40m-$45m that had been forecast.
2. The $36.4 million, while No. 1 for this weekend, is small compared to a budget reportedly over $200 million. Deadline Hollywood calls Green Lantern a flop, and it had a $50 million-plus opening weekend but also an estimated $200 million budget.
One reason why C&A's budget was so high was it has been in development for 14 years.
#280
Posted 02 August 2011 - 09:54 PM
#282
Posted 03 August 2011 - 02:02 PM
Edited by univex, 03 August 2011 - 02:03 PM.
#283
Posted 03 August 2011 - 03:58 PM
http://www.bloomberg...s-misfires.html
Wow! A movie is judged a failure after its first weekend. I find that disturbing. And "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" won't be facing any new real competition until what? "Conan"? Oh well. Who cares if it's a flop or not? I loved it. And regardless of its box office performance, it's already one of my favorite movies of the year.
#284
Posted 03 August 2011 - 04:45 PM
http://www.bloomberg...s-misfires.html
Wow! A movie is judged a failure after its first weekend. I find that disturbing. And "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" won't be facing any new real competition until what? "Conan"? Oh well. Who cares if it's a flop or not? I loved it. And regardless of its box office performance, it's already one of my favorite movies of the year.
U are so right.
In days gone by films were given the time to build up the audience, but now it's total PANIC if a tent-pole film does less than predicted.
A product of our greedy and all or nothing ( over-night ) times! Sad state of affairs which does nobody any good in the end.
If Cowboy's & Aliens has good word of mouth it will build.
#285
Posted 03 August 2011 - 07:26 PM
If Cowboy's & Aliens has good word of mouth it will build.
I think that is why C&A did not do as well as expected, the word of mouth was not that good.
Casino Royale is a great example of a film that did well based on word of mouth. The opening weekend was softer than DAD, but it picked up steam after its first weekend based on the positive buzz.
#286
Posted 03 August 2011 - 07:42 PM
That said no one should loose sleep over Cowboys and Aliens being labeled a flop. "Flops" are often essentially a media construct and by their definition the film can currently be considered a "flop". But you know Waterworld is one of the most infamous "flops" of all time, and that thing actually turned a profit against the odds. Even the likes of Hudson Hawk made money eventually.
#287
Posted 03 August 2011 - 08:33 PM
Edited by talos7, 03 August 2011 - 08:34 PM.
#288
Posted 07 August 2011 - 11:04 PM
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $54 million (new).
Smurfs, $21 million ($76.2 million to date).
Cowboys & Aliens, $15.7 million ($67.4 million to date)
The Change-Up, $13.5 million (new).
Captain America, $13 million ($143.2 million to date)
#289
Posted 08 August 2011 - 04:27 PM
This weekend's figures (figure includes actual sales Friday and Saturday, with Sunday estimated):
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $54 million (new).
Smurfs, $21 million ($76.2 million to date).
Cowboys & Aliens, $15.7 million ($67.4 million to date)
The Change-Up, $13.5 million (new).
Captain America, $13 million ($143.2 million to date)
It's quite obvious that this movie is going to be a flop . . . at least in the U.S. Too bad. I think it deserves to be a hit. But I guess not everyone can picture the idea of an alien invasion of the 19th West.
#290
Posted 08 August 2011 - 04:41 PM
This weekend's figures (figure includes actual sales Friday and Saturday, with Sunday estimated):
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $54 million (new).
Smurfs, $21 million ($76.2 million to date).
Cowboys & Aliens, $15.7 million ($67.4 million to date)
The Change-Up, $13.5 million (new).
Captain America, $13 million ($143.2 million to date)
It's quite obvious that this movie is going to be a flop . . . at least in the U.S. Too bad. I think it deserves to be a hit. But I guess not everyone can picture the idea of an alien invasion of the 19th West.
Yeah, I think this one, despite the pedigree, wasn't terribly ad-friendly. Noone really quite understood what the film was. A straight faced western called Cowboys and Aliens screams ambiguity. It's really too bad. If people had given it a shot I think most would have liked it. Some no doubt would wish there was more camp involved, but on the whole I think the Craig-Ford twin killing is so appealing that most would be satisfied with the finished product.
#291
Posted 10 August 2011 - 04:23 AM
Lonergan wakes up with the weapon on his wrist at the beginning of the movie, and even though he doesn't yet know how to fully use it, it sort of cheats the audience out of having characters use ingenuity and smarts to defeat the creatures.
I don't understand this. What exactly are you trying to say? Actually, the beginning reminds me of a well written STAR TREK fanfiction story that began with a character suffering from amnesia and was revealed to have been a victim of alien abduction before escaping his captors.
If I have to be brutally honest, the flaws I saw in "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" seemed minor in compare to the flaws I saw in movies such as "THOR", "HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2", "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES", "X-MEN: FIRST CLASS" and even "SUPER 8", which I liked very much.
#292
Posted 11 August 2011 - 02:21 PM
#293
Posted 11 August 2011 - 03:06 PM
then thought I'd just say this...
It's good. It's entertaining. If you're a film critic that can't unwind and just enjoy a freakin' movie without the constant desire to be slapped in the face with a moral lesson, it may not be your cup of tea. Otherwise, I had a heck of a time.
#294
Posted 11 August 2011 - 04:27 PM
#295
Posted 15 August 2011 - 04:21 PM
#296
Posted 15 August 2011 - 08:55 PM
IRON MAN is mediocre at best. I don't get excited at the promise of seeing another film on that level. And if Johnston can match the playfulness of THE ROCKETEER, I'll be pleased, but I'm skeptical he's got it in him (or whether the Marvel movie machine will let him do it; their build-up to THE AVENGERS has been a liability for the films to date).I dunno; both look decent fun and are from the directors of Iron Man and The Rocketeer, doing not dissimilar things from those films which were both very capably handled. I think that's reason enough to be optimistic.
Yeah, you were right about Captain America. I'm not terribly hopeful for Cowboys now; the only positive reviews basically say 'hey, it's fun' in a rather apologetic way.
I yearn for a really well-made fun blockbuster. I know Rise of the Planet of the Apes is supposed to be good, but I just don't fancy that.
#297
Posted 15 August 2011 - 11:03 PM
Y'know, I actually enjoyed CAPTAIN AMERICA. Nothing especially great, but a nice enough excursion into a SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW-ish retro-pulp adventure (though SKY CAPTAIN is the better film, and, for my money, one of the most underrated entertainments of the last decade). CAPTAIN AMERICA largely nails the first act, somewhat loses its way in the second, and closes with a lackluster finale, but it's probably my favorite of the new Marvel universe films, and is the most fun I've had in theaters this year. At least it was more bearable than the dire HARRY POTTER closer.Yeah, you were right about Captain America.IRON MAN is mediocre at best. I don't get excited at the promise of seeing another film on that level. And if Johnston can match the playfulness of THE ROCKETEER, I'll be pleased, but I'm skeptical he's got it in him (or whether the Marvel movie machine will let him do it; their build-up to THE AVENGERS has been a liability for the films to date).I dunno; both look decent fun and are from the directors of Iron Man and The Rocketeer, doing not dissimilar things from those films which were both very capably handled. I think that's reason enough to be optimistic.
Yeah. I keep waiting for Craig to get a really terrific success outside of Bond. I think he's a wonderful actor, really, and has been tremendously underused by Hollywood. But his break never seems to come. He keeps hitching himself to franchise fare that never takes off (ala THE GOLDEN COMPASS). Ah well.I'm not terribly hopeful for Cowboys now; the only positive reviews basically say 'hey, it's fun' in a rather apologetic way.
I like the original PLANET OF THE APES quite a bit, but RISE OF THE APES doesn't seem to have any of its color or wit.I yearn for a really well-made fun blockbuster. I know Rise of the Planet of the Apes is supposed to be good, but I just don't fancy that.
#298
Posted 16 August 2011 - 02:22 AM
#299
Posted 16 August 2011 - 06:20 AM
Y'know, I actually enjoyed CAPTAIN AMERICA. Nothing especially great, but a nice enough excursion into a SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW-ish retro-pulp adventure (though SKY CAPTAIN is the better film, and, for my money, one of the most underrated entertainments of the last decade).
Hmmmm . . . SKY CAPTAIN is better than CAPTAIN AMERICA? I don't think I would agree with that opinion. Although I do enjoy both films. So, some of the critics are calling "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" a "fun" movie, instead of a good one. Not that I really care or should care. I stopped allowing film critics to dictate my choice in movies a long time ago. For which I am glad. I thought that "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" was one of the better movies I had seen this summer and for the year so far.
#300
Posted 16 August 2011 - 10:46 AM
Yep. Better visual design, better score, better action sequences, and it doesn't have the second act/third act problems of CAPTAIN AMERICA. SKY CAPTAIN's characters aren't as strong as CAPTAIN AMERICA's, but characters aren't everything.Hmmmm . . . SKY CAPTAIN is better than CAPTAIN AMERICA?