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#1 | ||
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 903
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from davem
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The LOTR films had the following non USA reciepts ROTK $742 MIL TTT $584 mil FOTR $556 mil GC is at $245 mil foreign receipts. That is still not half of what the lowest earning LOTR film took in outside the USA. And then consider that USA receipts ranged from 33 to 36 % of the gross. So your description of the rest of the world going mad for GC is a bit of over selling the idea. Quote:
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#2 | ||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
Posts: 4,240
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#3 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 903
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Truthfully, I don't think anyone got it right... or wrong for that matter. Like you said, its simply a matter of taste. The film underperformed in the States probably by a good 50%. If you figure that the Stateside revenues should have been about 35% of the total, you would have to double the actual revenues to get something around that figure.
I realize that you don't like them, but I do think that if they had stacked the film with more action - more epic battles ala LOTR, the film would have performed better here. And the word of mouth was not very good. Why do some nations embrace certain things while other nations do not? Thats a serious questions for sociologists and social anthropologists. Why do the French - with their reputation for sophistication and the better things in life - go gaga for Jerry Lewis? Thats one of the great cultural mysteries. Bethberry has a valid point about the boys not wanting to see the film. I have a six year old grandson who simply adores everything LOTR. One of his favorite things is to watch it when he spends the night and we have seen those movies more times than I can even count. He thought the first Narnia movie was good but nothing like LOTR. He liked SPIDERWICK also. I showed him the trailer for COMPASS and offered to take him but he did not want to see it. When we see the toys in the store he has never wanted them. Last edited by Sauron the White; 03-16-2008 at 02:16 PM. |
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#4 | |
Dread Horseman
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Behind you!
Posts: 2,744
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Quote:
As for the reasons for the film not doing well -- I think Bb might be on to something with the gender gap. Interesting side note -- wasn't it the head of production at Warners who was widely reported last fall as proclaiming that WB was going to stop making pictures with female leads? That wouldn't bode well for sequels either. Anyway, I think there might've been a bit of a demographic gap, too -- "girl and her bear" maybe didn't really appeal to older audiences, especially those coveted 18-25 year old males, but the trailers didn't say "family movie" either. I don't put any stock in the whole atheism factor. Religious protests usually serve to give a picture free publicity, and if anything only increase its box office prospects -- see Harry Potter. From where I stand, the protests seemed pretty half-hearted over here anyway. |
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#5 |
A Mere Boggart
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: under the bed
Posts: 4,737
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I've finally seen The Golden Compass (now we have to wait for DVDs to come out, as going to the cinema is an unattainable luxury with Ye Kraken about). I really do not understand the negative opinions to be honest. My only fault with it was that it was too short, it ought to have been an hour longer and lingered over some of the scenes more.
However I think I know why it failed to crack the US market - it doesn't fit into any of the 'markets'. It isn't a kiddies' film, all saccharin and primary colours. It isn't an all-action sword and gore fest. It isn't a serious 'issues' drama. I'm pretty certain it did much, much better over here as the books are held in such high regard and so it was able to find a way around the stereotypical demands of audiences. It did however have a very 'English' feel to it, and I still think that the protagonist being a girl didn't help everyone appreciate it. Ho-hum, that's their loss. And it's a shame the US audience didn't go to see it as it was a beautiful film, the characters were well done and unlike Jackson's work, the changes to the storyline were totally coherent and actually worked. The special effects and art were especially wonderful, and Nicole Kidman was deliciously evil. I was also amused by Pullman's completely non-precious attitude towards it (as shown on the extras disc); he admitted it was nice to finally see some mega-bucks as a result of his work. ![]() Though if you want to know what the best fantasy film is, even better than Lord of the Rings, just watch Stardust. It knocks everything into a cocked hat and if a Tolkien fan wants to see what faerie looks and feels like then they know where to look and it's not at the films of Tolkien's work! I had the distinct feeling he'd had loved it himself. ![]()
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#6 |
Curmudgeonly Wordwraith
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits
Posts: 2,515
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To be honest, as an American I did shy away from the movie based on the reviews, opting for the DVD release. *shrugs*
But then again, I never read Pullman's His Dark Materials, nor have I read any Harry Potter books. *shrugs again* However, my seven...errr...eight year old daughter (egad, her birthday is this month!) has expressed an interest in the books and the movie. Do you think it's worthwhile for a precocious eight year old? We read together and enjoyed both The Narnia Chronicles and The Hobbit (She enjoyed LotR on film, but the books are a little over her head). Just wondering what the reading level of Pullman's books are ('young adult' is a rather vague category).
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#7 |
A Mere Boggart
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: under the bed
Posts: 4,737
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I think it's a marvellous read for girls, as Lyra is a very atypical female lead character - I just love Lyra and Hermione Granger as modern day heroines. It's also very readable for a good reader, though a lot of the references to Milton, Blake etc would not be noticed - that's not an issue though as the story itself is what's important at that age, and the plot is good. The main criticisms are that Pullman loses control of what he was trying to say as the books go on, but that's an issue for the adults; the kids just want a good story and characters, and it doesn't fall down on those.
It is quite scary though - if it frightened me in places, I think it would definitely scare a child!
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