Outside influences....
 

<BR>With the thought that other fantasy/sci-fi movies will be coming out before LOTR does, do you think that how they fare will affect LOTR? For example, if some misc. fantasy movie tanks the month before, do you think people will be less likely to see it, or will it depend more on the critics views, special effects, acting, etc.<br> I know it's early to start predicting, but just wondering.... <p></p>

<BR><br><br> Have you ever noticed that movies always come out in pairs (and sometimes in triplet or more). <br> <br> Armageddon vs. Deep Impact<br> Tombstone vs. Wyatt Earp<br> Ants vs. Bugs Life<br> Babe vs. some other talking pig movies<br> Mission to Mars vs. (the upcoming) Red Planet<br> <br> Its a repeating Hollywood phenomenon that has been happening more and more as the world's hunger for films grows.<br> <br> So will a stinker fantasy film in November ruin it for LotR? Probably not. The hype-machine at New Line will have driven most of the public into such a frenzy that a bad film will most likely go unnoticed and be quickly forgotten in the surge (and subsequent following wave)of Tolkien Fever.<br> <br> So will a great fantasy film in November hurt the Fellowship? Again, probably not. It'll just make'em hungry for more. But in this case, the earlier film will not be forgotten but will be used as a point of comparison... especially by those viewers getting their first taste of Tolkien. <br> <br> Actually, the Fellowship will effectively behead any film that dares to open within a month of it. The smart producer of another film will give at least 2-3 months leeway to ensure their film gets the most box office dollars it can. Unfortunately, September is a bad time to open a 'blockbuster' movie. November and the Thanksgiving (USA) weekend are when most big films come out before Christmas.<br> <br> I think that any movie that attempt to 'compete' against the Lord of the Rings in the Fall/Winter of 2001 is going get crushed for all the reasons above and many not stated.<br> <br> Ai! Ai! <p>The Barrow-Wight (RKittle)<br> I usually haunt <a href="http://www.barrowdowns.com">The Barrow-Downs</a> and The Barrow-Downs <a href="http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi">Middle-Earth Discussion Board</a>.</p>

<BR><br><br> they only thing i could think of that would compete seriously with Fellowship would be if Lucas released the next Star Wars installment. but i don't think that's going to happen. meetings behind closed doors have already prearranged all of this beforehand i'm sure. <p></p>

<BR><br><br> Star Wars II will be released on Memorial Day (Lucas's &quot;lucky&quot; release date) of 2002. So that certainly won't be a problem.<br> <p></p>

<BR><br><br> I think that the old, er, 'bad', cartoon movies may have some effect on the new ones. Remember them? A huge failure. I don't know anyone who actually liked them. <br> A couple of friends of mine, when they heard that the movies were soon coming out, said something like: 'Oh, that'll be nothing much. They've brought out an old cartoon movie before, which was awful. Naw, this won't be anything much.' The remedy for this, I deem, would be to release a trailer or two so that people can 'taste' the new films. <p>Usually keeping a lookout over <a href="http://pub24.ezboard.com/bmountgundabad">Mount Gundabad</a> and <a href="http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi"> The Barrowdowns</a> Middle-Earth Discussion Boards</p>

<BR>release wars....</b><br><br> True, I forgot that the other big ones' sales will probably die down by Xmas. Also, as for the &quot;doubles syndrome,&quot; I hope that critics aren't jaded by pre-LOTR films. Either way, with the impending actors/producers strike, we may not get movies for a while anyway (though I read that LOTR may have a hiatus and finish production without trouble).<br> <br> <p></p>