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Topic: Oscar expands Best Picture noms to 10

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 06-26-2009 03:39 PM

IMHO, a Hollywood movie isn't a real "block buster" unless it has sold at least 25 million tickets in the United States during its original theatrical release. And I think I'm being generous with that because 25 million tickets might get a movie across the $200 million barrier or even close to $250 million. I don't start getting the slightest bit impressed with a movie's domestic box office gross until it has gone well past $300 million.

I think a movie can be called a commercial hit if it has sold 10 million tickets, such would be impressive it the movie was an independent release in a limited number of theaters. If the movie can climb up to levels of 50 million or more tickets sold then it can be crowned a major box office champ.

In one respect it's currently impossible for any movie to be a "block buster" since any hugely hyped release will be booked on several thousand theater screens. Customers are moved in and out of a given megaplex too fast to provide any chance of lines wrapping around a block.

The last time I had to wait in a pretty long line for a couple of hours to see a big event movie: 1989. And that was to see a 70mm Dolby SR screening of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the Loews Astor Plaza theater in Times Square.

I do agree that it is unfair at least to a certain extent to compare the unbeatable ticket sales levels of Gone With the Wind to movies released today. We do have many more outlets of entertainment now than what was available 70 years ago.

However, event movies that are truly great will draw huge crowds regardless of other entertainment alternatives. Titanic was a modern era block buster, one of those rare movies that sold out shows for many weeks on end. If Star Wars had been released today and received with the same level of public frenzy it had in 1977 that movie would cross the $1 billion mark in US box office grosses alone.

The biggest problem with too many recent movies is they're too damned derivative. The marketing people have to bust their butts (and charge huge sums of money for the effort) to spin that turd into sounding like it might be a good movie to see. Trumpeting opening weekend gross figures is one of those tools, "everybody get on the bandwagon to go see the new Transformers movie! I made a ton of money Wednesday and Thursday night!"

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Jeremy Jorgenson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1002
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 06-28-2009 09:17 PM

quote: Greg Anderson
I think it's time to admit that grossing $100 million these days isn't much of an achievement.

Oh, come on. My bringing up $100m was simply in response to your statement about nobody watching - whether one thinks $100m is an "achievement" or not, it's certainly a far cry from being an

quote: Greg Anderson
art films that nobody watches

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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-29-2009 12:13 AM

There are lots of ways to look at it. Beyond the Best Picture nominees, the acting categories are full of little-seen "art films" like The Reader, The Visitor, Rachel Getting Married and even Frost/Nixon grossed less than $20 million! The time before, you had stuff like Away From Her, The Savages and In the Valley of Elah. And the viewers just go "Huh?"

So what I perceive is a message to the average viewer of the Oscar telecast which says, "You weren't sophisticated enough to have seen the really good stuff this year." When I was a kid and Johnny Carson was the host, the message seemed to say, "Hey, we're having a great party. Won't you come and join the fun?" Now it seems like just a bunch of elites in their opulent clothing, walking the red carpet and telling us "average WalMart shoppers" that we're causing global warming or homelessness or wars or whatever else is bothering the elites.

The bottom line isn't so much about whether the winning movies were hits. The bottom line is that watching the Oscars just isn't fun anymore!

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