It certainly is a downfall for the Transformers franchise but it's still making money so surely another one is due in 2-3 years. I still think it will hit the billion.
Glad to see PotA off to a good start. Along with good reviews, thus should do well.
Saw Transformers at the weekend and never been so bored in a cinema... the explosions really lost their momentum after the first 500 and the film was excessively long at almost 3 hours...
Has Godzilla really not been released in Japan yet? Feels like so long ago since it was released here!
^ Godzilla gets a Japan release very soon (end of month IIRC). Currrently at $491m
Others:
Still at roll-out stage, Dawn of the Apes hits $240m worldwide.
Edge of Tomorrow becomes The Cruiser's biggest film for a while with $358m.
T4 still dominates with $886m, and X-Men: DoFP, now very much slowing down, hits $738m.
Maleficent continues apace with $697m. The Ange-based fantasy will probably move ahead of both Spidey 2 ($702m) and Cap 2 ($712m) and may even rub up against the X-ers. Who'd have thought it, eh.
Maleficent is doing really well considering the dark tone and mixed critical response. Disney must be pleased.
Godzilla releases in Japan on Friday. Apparently the Toho execs liked it, but it'll be interesting to see whether the hardcore fans over there take to it.
Seems Godzilla didn't exactly go down a storm in Japan. It took $7m there on its opening weekend to creep up to $498m. The Japanese for 'Godzilla boring' was apparently trending over the weekend. Read into that what you will.
Transformers 4 roars to become the first ever film to break the $300m barrier in China, and moves to $966m worldwide after 4 weeks, perhaps saving some face after its relatively disappointing domestic performance. 'Apes' continues its roll-out overseas next week but is already boasting impressive figures both domestic and foreign with $353m worldwide.
Maleficent has shown its got legs as it moves to $715m and becomes the 3rd highest grossing film of 2014 to date. X-Men occupies the 2nd spot on $739m which may just be out of reach for Disney's dark fantasy.
Maleficent has shown its got legs as it moves to $715m and becomes the 3rd highest grossing film of 2014 to date. X-Men occupies the 2nd spot on $739m which may just be out of reach for Disney's dark fantasy.
She's just crept ahead:
X-Men: DOFP - $744m
Maleficent - $745m
Elsewhere:
'Apes shift up to $540m with markets still to play and just above 'Dragon 2 at $539m
'Turtles power to $194m with loads of markets still to play, while Godzilla runs out of puff at $508m.
GOTG surges up to $428m. Too early to say if its international takings will match its impressive US take, but for a first time SH outing it's doing extremely well. Another franchise to add to the schedule then.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For appears to have bombed on its opening weekend in the US, taking just $6.4m on a budget of $60m. The R/18 rating will no doubt hurt it but those are still very low numbers.
Guardians of the Galaxy has overtaken TF4's domestic gross with $252m while TF4 sits on $244m. I wasn't sure GOTG would make over $400m but it's already nearing $500m. Impressive numbers for Marvel.
An estimated $6,477,000 on it's opening weekend on an apparently $60 Million budget. Obviously not opened worldwide yet, but I'm kind of hoping it's not a complete turkey.
It's funny... Without China's insane figures, Transformers 4 actually performed way below the last one. You can see why certain 'filmmakers' and studios are now courting that market, instead of concentrating on the domestic front... Not sure whether this is a good thing for 'quality' storytelling... But it is interesting nevertheless.
An estimated $6,477,000 on it's opening weekend on an apparently $60 Million budget. Obviously not opened worldwide yet, but I'm kind of hoping it's not a complete turkey.
I think the problem is probably timing, 9 years after a film is a long time for a sequel, especially considering the film doesn't have a cult fanbase in the same way others do. And TWC didn't exactly give it that much promotion, which didn't help matters.
It also has a fairly hard R rating, which is probably more of a problem these days than it was in '05. In the UK, it's got an 18, so it might struggle over here, but Wolf of Wall Street topped the chart for two or three weeks, so it's not completely disastrous for the film. Even the sequel to the much loved The Raid struggled in cinemas. (Although that was cut for an R, so it's possible some of the American audience stayed at home waiting for the unrated cut - which Sony didn't put on the US blu-ray or DVD.)
And possibly, the problem might be that it isn't a film that needed a sequel in the first place...
I think the problem is probably timing, 9 years after a film is a long time for a sequel, especially considering the film doesn't have a cult fanbase in the same way others do. And TWC didn't exactly give it that much promotion, which didn't help matters.
It also has a fairly hard R rating, which is probably more of a problem these days than it was in '05. In the UK, it's got an 18, so it might struggle over here, but Wolf of Wall Street topped the chart for two or three weeks, so it's not completely disastrous for the film. Even the sequel to the much loved The Raid struggled in cinemas. (Although that was cut for an R, so it's possible some of the American audience stayed at home waiting for the unrated cut - which Sony didn't put on the US blu-ray or DVD.)
And possibly, the problem might be that it isn't a film that needed a sequel in the first place...
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly really. A completely unecessary sequel. The first one should have been left to stand alone - what they probably should have done is wait until the 10th anniversary and release the extended version at the cinema.
Still, I'm looking forward to seeing it. It's hard not to have high expectations though as I loved the first one so much, but we'll see.
It'll be interesting to see which markets take to it the most though.
I've seen Sin City 2 and it is a pointless sequel!
I'm wondering how well it does in the UK as it will have a 7 day weekend as it opens today!
Also good to see Guardians doing so well worldwide.Also it hasn't yet opened in some markets including China so looks like it will be one of the best performing films of the year which is funny for a film that a lot of people thought would flop!
Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Predicted: around the billion
Actual: not yet released
The Hobbit: Battle of the five Armies
Predicted: Hit the billion
Actual: not yet released
I overlooked Maleficient and How to Train Your Dragon, getting $750 m and $600 m respectively. I was way off on the turtles but I knew it would go one way or the other and I leaned the wrong way. I underestimated Guardians but I got Transformers and Apes spot on. And two not yet released.
Comments
Glad to see PotA off to a good start. Along with good reviews, thus should do well.
Has Godzilla really not been released in Japan yet? Feels like so long ago since it was released here!
Others:
Still at roll-out stage, Dawn of the Apes hits $240m worldwide.
Edge of Tomorrow becomes The Cruiser's biggest film for a while with $358m.
T4 still dominates with $886m, and X-Men: DoFP, now very much slowing down, hits $738m.
Maleficent continues apace with $697m. The Ange-based fantasy will probably move ahead of both Spidey 2 ($702m) and Cap 2 ($712m) and may even rub up against the X-ers. Who'd have thought it, eh.
Godzilla releases in Japan on Friday. Apparently the Toho execs liked it, but it'll be interesting to see whether the hardcore fans over there take to it.
Transformers 4 roars to become the first ever film to break the $300m barrier in China, and moves to $966m worldwide after 4 weeks, perhaps saving some face after its relatively disappointing domestic performance. 'Apes' continues its roll-out overseas next week but is already boasting impressive figures both domestic and foreign with $353m worldwide.
Maleficent has shown its got legs as it moves to $715m and becomes the 3rd highest grossing film of 2014 to date. X-Men occupies the 2nd spot on $739m which may just be out of reach for Disney's dark fantasy.
Still $120m to go to beat Dark of the Moon.
X-Men: DOFP - $744m
Maleficent - $745m
Elsewhere:
'Apes shift up to $540m with markets still to play and just above 'Dragon 2 at $539m
'Turtles power to $194m with loads of markets still to play, while Godzilla runs out of puff at $508m.
GOTG surges up to $428m. Too early to say if its international takings will match its impressive US take, but for a first time SH outing it's doing extremely well. Another franchise to add to the schedule then.
Very impressive for Maleficent! Now at $748m.
Guardians of the Galaxy has overtaken TF4's domestic gross with $252m while TF4 sits on $244m. I wasn't sure GOTG would make over $400m but it's already nearing $500m. Impressive numbers for Marvel.
An estimated $6,477,000 on it's opening weekend on an apparently $60 Million budget. Obviously not opened worldwide yet, but I'm kind of hoping it's not a complete turkey.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sincity2.htm
I think the problem is probably timing, 9 years after a film is a long time for a sequel, especially considering the film doesn't have a cult fanbase in the same way others do. And TWC didn't exactly give it that much promotion, which didn't help matters.
It also has a fairly hard R rating, which is probably more of a problem these days than it was in '05. In the UK, it's got an 18, so it might struggle over here, but Wolf of Wall Street topped the chart for two or three weeks, so it's not completely disastrous for the film. Even the sequel to the much loved The Raid struggled in cinemas. (Although that was cut for an R, so it's possible some of the American audience stayed at home waiting for the unrated cut - which Sony didn't put on the US blu-ray or DVD.)
And possibly, the problem might be that it isn't a film that needed a sequel in the first place...
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly really. A completely unecessary sequel. The first one should have been left to stand alone - what they probably should have done is wait until the 10th anniversary and release the extended version at the cinema.
Still, I'm looking forward to seeing it. It's hard not to have high expectations though as I loved the first one so much, but we'll see.
It'll be interesting to see which markets take to it the most though.
I'm wondering how well it does in the UK as it will have a 7 day weekend as it opens today!
Also good to see Guardians doing so well worldwide.Also it hasn't yet opened in some markets including China so looks like it will be one of the best performing films of the year which is funny for a film that a lot of people thought would flop!
I thought I'd do a little check up on my predictions earlier this year.
Transformers
Predicted: hit the billion
Actual: $1.087 billion
Guardians of the Galaxy
Predicted: $500m
Actual: $732 m
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Predicted: $700m
Actual: $707 m
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Predicted: $800m - $900m
Actual: $375 m
Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Predicted: around the billion
Actual: not yet released
The Hobbit: Battle of the five Armies
Predicted: Hit the billion
Actual: not yet released
I overlooked Maleficient and How to Train Your Dragon, getting $750 m and $600 m respectively. I was way off on the turtles but I knew it would go one way or the other and I leaned the wrong way. I underestimated Guardians but I got Transformers and Apes spot on. And two not yet released.