New releases with limited appeal

Shaun666

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Noticed that Frost/Nixon and Milk which both opened last weekend to strong critical reviews are both down to one screening only at local cinemas near me.

Seems they're not pulling in the punters. Can't say I'm that surprised. I'd imagine most people in the UK have no idea who Harvey Milk was and Frost/Nixon at first glance doesn't sound too appealing. An adapatation of a stage play based on a series of tv interviews is not going to grab most people's attention but having seen it last night I have to say it was very entertaining.

Milk I have no plans to see, Revolutionary Road sounds depressing as hell. If I wanted to see couples arguing I'd watch Eastenders !

Also not sure about Watchmen either. Yes, it's getting plenty of hype but I don't detect much awareness amongst the general public. At least Batman, Spidey and the Hulk were well known in this country before the films came out.

I can't see Watchmen doing big business to be honest.
 
You want to talk limited appeal, how about The Damned United.

Who in their right mind is going to pay to go to the cinema to see a film about Brian Clough? :suicide:
 
You want to talk limited appeal, how about The Damned United.

Who in their right mind is going to pay to go to the cinema to see a film about Brian Clough? :suicide:

Quite a lot of people. He was a very interesting character IMO.
 
You want to talk limited appeal, how about The Damned United.

Who in their right mind is going to pay to go to the cinema to see a film about Brian Clough? :suicide:

Bet it will go down well in the US though !
 
Noticed that Frost/Nixon and Milk which both opened last weekend to strong critical reviews are both down to one screening only at local cinemas near me.

Seems they're not pulling in the punters. Can't say I'm that surprised. I'd imagine most people in the UK have no idea who Harvey Milk was and Frost/Nixon at first glance doesn't sound too appealing. An adapatation of a stage play based on a series of tv interviews is not going to grab most people's attention but having seen it last night I have to say it was very entertaining.

Milk I have no plans to see, Revolutionary Road sounds depressing as hell. If I wanted to see couples arguing I'd watch Eastenders !

Also not sure about Watchmen either. Yes, it's getting plenty of hype but I don't detect much awareness amongst the general public. At least Batman, Spidey and the Hulk were well known in this country before the films came out.

I can't see Watchmen doing big business to be honest.

I'm not sure what the point is you are trying to make. Are you suggesting that only films with the widest possible appeal should be relased here ?
 
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I thought the same thing about Wimbledon, and The Queen. I don't really think I would ever want to watch them.
 
Who in their right mind is going to pay to go to the cinema to see a film about Brian Clough? :suicide:

I don't go to the cinema for any film but I'm quite interested in this one. That's coming from someone who hates football. An interesting person played by a good actor. At the end of the day a good film is a good film.

Cheers
Bri
 
Stuff like Revolutionary Road and Milk are Oscar-bait movies, though Leo must be getting cheesed off about his continuing lack of nominations (they're probably saving them for when he's an old codger and he "finally gets that Oscar he should have got years ago" etc etc). I don't agree about Watchmen, don't want to tempt fate but I'm sure comic book fans are capable of spreading the word about this 1980s classic (come to think of it, that decade has some claim to being the real Golden Age of comic book storytelling).
 
I don't agree about Watchmen, don't want to tempt fate but I'm sure comic book fans are capable of spreading the word about this 1980s classic (come to think of it, that decade has some claim to being the real Golden Age of comic book storytelling).

If the film's good I hope you're right. I wouldn't be that shocked if it was a failure as not many have heard of it. There's been a Green Lantern film in development hell for years. I'd love to see a decent version of this but I gather the average person have no idea who he is.

Cheers
Bri
 
It shouldn't matter who has heard of what:confused:. If the film/cast etc is good then it should do just fine. You would think Ironman would be all the proof you need of that:)?
 
Many football fans will go to see The Damned United. It is meant to be one of the best sports books ever written, so will appeal to many.

You don't need to be a football fan to see it. I hate wrestling but enjoyed The Wrestler. I hate Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but looking forward to seeing Slumdog. I hate comic books but enjoyed The Dark Knight and IronMan.
 
Many football fans will go to see The Damned United. It is meant to be one of the best sports books ever written, so will appeal to many.

You don't need to be a football fan to see it. I hate wrestling but enjoyed The Wrestler. I hate Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but looking forward to seeing Slumdog. I hate comic books but enjoyed The Dark Knight and IronMan.


Well said. As I said before a good film is a good film. It's subject may be odd or different but it may just work. The number of blokes who said a male striper film wouldn't work were well wrong with The Full Monty.

All the very best
Bri
 
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It shouldn't matter who has heard of what:confused:. If the film/cast etc is good then it should do just fine. You would think Ironman would be all the proof you need of that:)?

Ironman has a fanbase, it's action, it's techno', it follows a trend of great Superhero Movies. It's not at all in the same category.
 
Ironman has a fanbase, it's action, it's techno', it follows a trend of great Superhero Movies. It's not at all in the same category.

Yes it is. When my post was below a post that mentioned Watchmen and The Green Lantern. I'm sorry Pincho but the vast majority of the film going public hadn't read the comics before going to see Ironman. Therefore it is in the same catergory as Watchmen. The other superhero films you mention for the most part have a loyal fanbase from previous films/TV series etc as well as comics, something that neither Ironman or Watchmen have/had on their release.

I think that puts them in the same catergory in terms of what they are up against in order to be a big seller at the box office. Whether they are techno' or otherwise.
 
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Gone a bit quiet about the subject then Pincho?
 
Gone a bit quiet about the subject then Pincho?

I mentioned.. The Queen, and Wimbledon as the appeal in them is not through story telling. Their fanbase is not a story based fanbase. The Queen has followers of her as she is Royalty. The movie does not even have Royalty in it. Wimbledon has a sporting fanbase, but a sport is not a story, it has balls passing over a net. To watch the movie as a fan of Wimbledon you will not actually be gaining your normal tennis excitement which is factual. You will be watching a story...

Ironman was always a story.
Green Lantern was always a story.
Watchmen was always a story.

The fanbase that watch these movies are encountering their full appreciation of what was a story, and still is a story. The people who do not know about them are still going to expect a story, and not a sport, and not Royalty.
 
But you still told me that what I had said was wrong, my post was clearly carrying on from the 2 previous posts on the thread. That were talking about how Watchmen might not be a success because people weren't aware of the story. If you read brian's post and then mine after you can clearly see they follow on from each other. I didn't say anything about The Queen or Wimbledon and I don't disagree with you on the subject mate:smashin:.

When someone tells me I am wrong and i'm not I get a little bit peeved;). Maybe I could have quoted the 2 previous posts, I very nearly did. Given that it was carrying on with the conversation I didn't see the need because it seemed obvious to me that I was carrying on from the previous couple of posts.
 
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But you still told me that what I had said was wrong, my post was clearly carrying on from the 2 previous posts on the thread. That were talking about how Watchmen might not be a success because people weren't aware of the story. If you read brian's post and then mine after you can clearly see they follow on from each other. I didn't say anything about The Queen or Wimbledon and I don't disagree with you on the subject mate:smashin:.

When someone tells me I am wrong and i'm not a get a little bit peeved;). Maybe I could have quoted the 2 previous posts, I very nearly did. Given that it was carrying on with the conversation I didn't see the need because it seemed obvious to me that I was carrying on from the previous couple of posts.

Well Watchmen, and Green lantern are less known than Iron Man (Iron man was an Avenger, and this put him in a big fan base, along with his own comics.). But I did correct all of those posts in the end........

Ironman was always a story.
Green Lantern was always a story.
Watchmen was always a story.

The fact that I have had Iron Man comics since I was born probably got my attention too. I don't know why you are bothered anyway. You must have realised that you made a risky post with that smiley.
 
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I put the smiley on because I wasn't looking for an arguement. I'm bothered because you tried to correct me when you hadn't read the thread properly and there was nothing to correct. I don't mind being wrong, but if you tell me I am when i'm not then i'm going to reply aren't I?

As I say maybe I could have made myself more clear by quoting the two previous posts, so I am equally to blame. I try to avoid quoting all over the place where possible because it gets really tedious when you see a post and then it is quoted on the very next post again and again as you go down a thread. Rather than just waffling on about the Queen etc maybe you could have just said that you had misunderstood what I had said and left it at that:smashin:.

You are never ever wrong on these forums Pincho, sometimes you have a way of posting that can be a little condescending. It's not a problem, we all have our own personalities and ways of posting/writing. It just doesn't hurt to accept blame for a mistake (or even partially do so) every now and then. Rather than always having to be the person that is always right and never wrong.

You quite often have some very interesting things to say, written far more eloquently than I can put down on paper myself but you can't always be right mate. It wouldn't hurt you to be a little humble every now and then.
 
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It shouldn't matter who has heard of what:confused:. If the film/cast etc is good then it should do just fine. You would think Ironman would be all the proof you need of that:)?

Let's get the thread back on track.

What you say is correct otherwise we wouldn't have any original films. Slumdog Millionaire for example.

It helps break a film if the general public are aware of it beforehand. The studio could spend a fortune on Green Lantern and if the clips and trailers don't grab people it could be a failure. I enjoyed The Phantom but it was a total failure at the box office. Superman and Batman are very well known and have a built in audience that will help them in this manner.

Cheers
Bri
 

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