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Topic: Single Screen Dilemma 2006: James Bond or Happy Feet?

John T. Hendrickson, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 889
From: Freehold, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 10-16-2006 07:24 PM

Go with Happy Feet.

Pierce Brosnan is gone. Remember a previous Bond replacement by the name of George Lazenby (sp?)? This franchise may have come to a close.

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Frank Dubrois
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 896
From: Cleveland, OH
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 10-18-2006 11:55 PM

quote: John T. Hendrickson, Jr
Pierce Brosnan is gone. Remember a previous Bond replacement by the name of George Lazenby (sp?)? This franchise may have come to a close.

Following that logic, why would a theater book ANOTHER CGI animal movie? I think THAT format has worn out its welcome for a while. At first it was fun and novel, now, every other movie that comes out is a CGI animal flick. When did the public last see a Bond movie? Its new, its different, the trailer looks AWESOME (we've been fooled before, I know) but if I had a choice, I'd definately go with Bond...hands down.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-19-2006 12:13 PM

quote: Frank Dubrois
Following that logic, why would a theater book ANOTHER CGI animal movie? I think THAT format has worn out its welcome for a while.

Well, OPEN SEASON did pretty well for us. Not a blockbuster, but well above average.

Mark: You're right, and everyone who's still on the sidewalks when they roll up is automatically swept into the bars (or the Speedway Cafe).

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Mike Schindler
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1039
From: Oak Park, IL, USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 10-19-2006 12:22 PM

Sometimes being cool is more important than making money, and no one's cooler than James Bond. [Cool]

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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 10-20-2006 11:29 AM

quote: Mike Schindler
Sometimes being cool is more important than making money, and no one's cooler than James Bond.

Yes... Cool is good, however you can't pay the mortgage, utilities, payroll, payroll taxes, film rental, shipping, vendors, etc. with "cool" no matter how cool it is.

At my drive-in, we primarily thrive on what we call "the minivan crowd". Every new kid/family movie that comes out we try our hardest to get it - even going "off-the-break" for a week prior to it's release date in order to make sure we don't have to play another week of something else that hasn't worked so well. Since August of this year, there really hasn't been alot worth showing that will attract our "minivan crowd". Some of the studios withheld the family films from us on the break, citing the "we're not doing drive-ins on the break with this one" CRAP. By doing so, they litterally almost drove us out of business. If I can't get family friendly type films on at least one screen - I'm pretty much done for the entire weekend. Let's face it... mainstream movies now have a 3 week shelf life at the theatre - especially kids films. If we can't get it the night it opens nationwide, it won't be bringing folks in 3 weeks later. Cars and Shrek 2 were definite exceptions to that rule though.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-20-2006 12:38 PM

quote: Barry Floyd
If we can't get it the night it opens nationwide, it won't be bringing folks in 3 weeks later. Cars and Shrek 2 were definite exceptions to that rule though.

I can vouch for that. We've had exceptions too...when Star WArs III came out the same time as Madagascar, we went with Star Wars even though it had a 3 week commitment for us. It turned out to be a good choice - the bloom fell off the Star Wars rose after those three weeks but Madagascar built up a big following during its opening weeks, so we played Madagascar right after Star Wars and wound up kicking major ass with both films.

Usually I've found that if a movie is getting major hype among young adults, we need to get it as fast as possible because the "want to see" fades quickly. Kids movies are more durable if they're good.

The wild card in this situation is that it's Bond -- we've never done well with a Bond picture, so even though this one is getting the major hype, it might not connect with our audience. Based on that and the opinions here, I think we're going to go with Happy Feet (if we can, that is....we haven't been promised a print, yet!)

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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 10-20-2006 02:31 PM

When we played "Cars" this summer, on the opening weekend Saturday night, we had 1,411 people watching on that one screen. Funny thing though... the town our theatre is in only has a population of 1,354. So we actually doubled the population of our town for one night. [Big Grin]

Given the right product combined with the right weather, it's a win-win situation for both us as the exhibitor and the studio.

As our weather here gets colder.. the attendance starts to dwindle, and the amount of return we can give back to the studio becomes less and less. If we get shut out of opening a print and then bring it in 2-3 weeks later, we're lucky sometimes to make enough to cover the minimum film rentals.

Tonight we open FLICKA... don't have a clue what it's gonna do??

Our intention is to play FLICKA for two weeks, then bring in Santa Claus 3 for two weeks, and then play "Happy Feet" on one side and the new Bond on the other until Thanksgiving weekend.

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Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 10-21-2006 09:53 AM

Ok, I just watched the trailer for Casino Royale. What an ultraviolent piece of crap. Looks like the Transporter, and all those other useless action movies as of recent. Looks completely un-original and un-inspired.

Now, if Hugh Jackman was playing Bond, yeah, we'd have a hit on our hands. But otherwise, I'd definitely go with HAPPY FEET!

My .02 cents....

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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 11-20-2006 01:08 PM

quote:
The wild card in this situation is that it's Bond -- we've never done well with a Bond picture, so even though this one is getting the major hype, it might not connect with our audience. Based on that and the opinions here, I think we're going to go with Happy Feet (if we can, that is....we haven't been promised a print, yet!)

Now that the opening weekend has come and gone, what did you do, and how did it turn out for you? Are you happy with the results?

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-20-2006 03:12 PM

We went with Happy Feet, and it has done pretty well - not blockbuster business by any means but very good. I think this next weekend will be huge.

So far we haven't had one phone call or inquiry about 007, so I think we made the right choice. We'll play Casino Royale in a couple of weeks, and with the positive reviews and etc. we should be fine.

Thanks for all the opinions everyone...film-techers were right on, as always! [thumbsup]

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Bernard Tonks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 619
From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 11-20-2006 06:00 PM

Bond is beaton by a dancing penguin. [Razz]

Daily Mail report November 20th 2006. (no link available)

James Bond has been beaten at the U.S box office by a dancing penguin. Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig as the new 007, took £21.5million over the week-end, while the animated tale Happy Feet grossed £22.4million.

Critics had raved about Craig's performance but Mumblies, a penguin with two left feet when it comes to dancing, proved to be a bigger draw.

Happy Feet opens in the UK on 8th December 2006.

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Caleb Johnstone-Cowan
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 593
From: London, UK
Registered: Mar 2006

posted 11-20-2006 09:32 PM

Shocked that Bond didn't beat Happy Feet. In the UK it was mental doubt there was a spare seat anywhere in the evenings. Next weekend could be bigger if Bond stays strong, UK also has Jackass and Tenacious D opening and there is Dhoom 2 which is one of the bigger Indian films this year.

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Frank Dubrois
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 896
From: Cleveland, OH
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 11-20-2006 10:02 PM

Bond is huge..Happy Feet is just another non-Pixar CGI movie. I've stopped going to them..I think people are just getting saturated with em now. CGI no longer has the WOW factor it used to. Bond is always good. I saw a few minutes of the Dancing Penguins flick, weee, big deal. I saw a few minutes of Bond, and I wanted to sit down and watch more. I refuse to watch anymore CGI animated flicks until the next Shrek movie, then the next Pixar..thats all.

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Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 11-21-2006 10:53 AM

But did you buy popcorn and candy and drinks for all the kids? Oh, you maybe only bought a cup of coffee? I see. [Razz]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-21-2006 12:24 PM

Also kids pay lower ticket prices, so in terms of butts in the seats, Happy Feet REALLY beat Bond.

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