356 replies to this topic

[FLEMINGFAN]

Looking forward to seeing this film very much. Unfortunately, the Hollywood press already considers it a flop, underperforming badly.

They were very kind in calling it a flop.

[DR76]

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.

[robdread]

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.

[Matt_13]

Loved it. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford were very cool. The consensus that the Western parts are the best are accurate (would have loved to see all of those actors involved in a straight western that's put together as well as this one), but the sci-fi elements fit right in with the tone and never feel more absurd than the title itself. Fun, movie-style escapism with cool leads and some brutal action. I'd see it again. Definitely give this one a go guys, you'll certainly be glad you put the money down, which is rare.

[killkenny kid]

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.

[Napoleon Solo]

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.

[Napoleon Solo]

UPDATE: Cowboys And Aliens did come in at No. 1 in final figures, $36.4 million to $35.6 milion for The Smurfs.

[DR76]

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.

[Napoleon Solo]

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.

[DR76]

The movie had a budget of $163 million dollars. This is considered high in 2011?

[Napoleon Solo]

http://www.bloomberg...s-misfires.html

[univex]

Saw it yesterday. What I liked? Craig and Ford were awesome. Craig should have a Trinita/Shane western all for himself He´s the coolest cat in town. Ford has the glint on his eyes again. Highly entertaining and a million times better then some golden compass or Invasion films Craig made between CR and QOS. Can´t wait for TGWTDT.

Edited by univex, 03 August 2011 - 02:03 PM.

[DR76]

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.

[Col. Sun]

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.

[jaguar007]

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.

[Safari Suit]

Steady on old boy, it's only just passed its opening weekend!

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.

[talos7]

I saw it this weekend and really liked it. Solid entertainment. An example of how the press can slant things is how the box office dropoff of the last Harry Potter was reported. I read headline after headline about the shocking dropoff. Well when two thirds of your audience rush to see a movie on the opening weekend, many at midnight screenings, with some theaters doing 24 hr. showings, there is going to be a dropoff the next week. The press are often vultures. they build up something only to relish in any percieved failure. It dosn't matter that boxoffice records were set. Cowboys and Aliens is a fun, summer, popcorn movie. Daniel Craig does a fine job. I don't know how much he contributes to the staging of his fight scenes, but he really has developed a signature fighting style. It.s fast and brutal

Edited by talos7, 03 August 2011 - 08:34 PM.

[Napoleon Solo]

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)

[DR76]

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.

[Matt_13]

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.

[DR76]

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.

[Loomis]

COWBOYS AND ALIENS sounds rather poor.

[Chief of SIS]

I was thinking about writing a long review...

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.

[Matt_13]

Exactly. It's not trying to be high art. It's called Cowboys & Aliens for goodness sake. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

[Germanlady]

For those, who would like to see him relaxed and funny as opposed to stern and serious..

[marktmurphy]

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.

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).

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.

[Harmsway]

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.

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).

Yeah, you were right about Captain America.

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.

I'm not terribly hopeful for Cowboys now; the only positive reviews basically say 'hey, it's fun' in a rather apologetic way.

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 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.

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.

[00Twelve]

It's fun; Craig is the Eastwood type, Harrison is better than I've seen him in a long while (including, very much so, Crystal Skull), Olivia Wilde is lovely as always, Sam Rockwell is underused and underrated as always, and the cliches don't really get in the way of a good ride. That's what they intended, and that is its strength.

[DR76]

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.

[Harmsway]

Hmmmm . . . SKY CAPTAIN is better than CAPTAIN AMERICA?

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.