Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Lotsa kiddie movies in winter/spring 2014

This is topic Lotsa kiddie movies in winter/spring 2014 in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-12-2014, 01:04 PM:

After a relatively barren holiday season for kids movies, there are a bunch of them coming out in the next few months. I don't remember a time when there were so many kids' movies coming out during this time of year.

We have:
The Nut Job (Jan. 17)
Lego (Feb. 7)
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (March 7)
Muppets Most Wanted (March 21)
Rio 2 (April 11)
How To Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13)

When I first heard about Lego I was surprised there hadn't been a Lego movie before since about every other toy has been movie-ized. I think Lego has the potential to be huge, providing it's good. The trailers look pretty good, although I'm not a huge fan of stop motion animation it makes sense for this movie. Looks like there will be good doses of adult-level humor in there so it'll be fun for all ages.

I'm also slightly excited about "Mr. Peabody and Sherman." I think this has the potential to be a good movie, but a marketing challenge -- how many of today's kids remember the original cartoons, which were just a side-line series in the "Bullwinkle" show? (And we all may remember how the Bullwinkle movie a few years ago did.) However, Fox is good at marketing movies during this time frame (Ice Age, the original Rio, etc.) so it could be a sleeper.

Disney, of course, will be firing on all marketing cylinders for the Muppets movie, and Fox will have a pre-sold commodity in "How to Train Your Dragon 2."

Out of all these titles, I think Rio 2 has the best grossing potential. Everybody liked the original and it will have the slight benefit of the Easter holiday.

The only one that's really questionable is "The Nut Job," but it could use the recent dearth of kiddie movies to cash in in January.

Too bad the studios don't apply this strategy to all movies and create a 12-month calendar of good quality films, as opposed to cramming all the good stuff around the holidays and summer.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 01-12-2014, 02:09 PM:

The trailer for The Nut Job is a hoot!

"What did you have for breakfast?!"

"I'm trained in mouth-to-mouth...." WHAM! "He's fine."

I'm really looking forward to that one, myself.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 01-12-2014, 02:27 PM:

I think they heard us after not having much for kids and families in the first quarter last year. It's good they are nicely spread apart as well.

I'm not sure about The Nut Job. In a lot of ways it looks like an Over The Hedge knockoff. But I do think Lego will be a mild hit.

Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 01-12-2014, 03:00 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
The Nut Job (Jan. 17)
Lego (Feb. 7)
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (March 7)
Muppets Most Wanted (March 21)
Rio 2 (April 11)

quote: Mike Blakesley
The only one that's really questionable is "The Nut Job," but it could use the recent dearth of kiddie movies to cash in in January.

It's tough to say if any of these would be a big hit, on paper I would say the Lego movie would do really well.

The Nut Job looks like it will be a big flop to me.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-12-2014, 05:13 PM:

The one I think will be a flop is the May animated release movie "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return."

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-12-2014, 11:03 PM:

Oh yeah, I agree on that. I forgot that one was animated. It has "Oogieloves" written all over it.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 01-13-2014, 08:34 AM:

quote: Chris Slycord
The one I think will be a flop is the May animated release movie "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return."

Should have been live action, and starring Miley Cyrus. Given that Judy Garland was allegedly high on an impressive range of illegal substances throughout the shooting of the original, it would help her reinvention along nicely!

A few years ago I sent an April fool email to a few friends and colleagues, consisting of a faked BBC News webpage reporting that a remake of Snow White was in the works, to be directed by Quentin Tarantino from a script by Bruce La Bruce. In the movie, Snow White was to be portrayed as a butch lesbian, the dwarfs were a drug gang from the hood, and the movie was to finish with a prolonged, graphic torture scene involving the wicked witch and a soldering iron. It got forwarded to various people, and had fooled dozens of victims by the time it was done. I believe that there was even a complaint letter to the Disney company...

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 01-13-2014, 11:48 AM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
When I first heard about Lego I was surprised there hadn't been a Lego movie before since about every other toy has been movie-ized. I think Lego has the potential to be huge, providing it's good. The trailers look pretty good, although I'm not a huge fan of stop motion animation it makes sense for this movie

When I first heard of this, I was convinced the result could only be lame, maybe just barely sufficient for direct-to-video. The trailer looks rather promising though.

I don't think it's actually a stop-motion animation movie, I suspect it's all CG, just using virtual LEGO bricks as GC building blocks.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-13-2014, 01:33 PM:

I'm sure you're right but it does have the "look and feel" of stop motion. People are sure excited about it though....I'm not sure which will be the bigger grosser, Lego or Rio 2. I think they will be the top two of this group though.

Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 02-08-2014, 10:30 PM:

Well, the Lego movie looks like a big hit.

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 02-09-2014, 02:50 AM:

Hell, I could tell you Lego is a big hit by the 100+ people that came to our theater to see it thinking we had it. Grumble grumble.

I am BEYOND excited for HTTYD 2. HTTYD is my favorite movie of all time.

Unrelated, I feel of those on the list, it will do the best. HTTYD had hella long legs for a 'original' movie

Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 02-09-2014, 10:43 AM:

Buck, nobody on here was that sure that the Lego Movie would do numbers like what is has done, you didn't even comment until now.

Lego movie is BIG hit for Warner. The location averages are going to be close to $18,000 per site (not screen) which is very, very good.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-09-2014, 12:06 PM:

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
nobody on here was that sure that the Lego Movie would do numbers like what is has done

The numbers are surprising for sure. I knew it was going to be big 3 months ago when the kids around here started jumping up and down when they saw the poster, but I didn't think it would be as big as it is.

I did say this however:

quote: Mike Blakesley
I think Lego has the potential to be huge, providing it's good.

...and according to the reviews, it's very good (99% on Rotten Tomatoes) so it's got everything going for it. The only way it WOULDN'T have been huge is if it had sucked, which obviously it doesn't.

I previously said I thought Rio had the better gross potential, but I think I'm going to have to eat my words on that one.

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 02-09-2014, 10:25 PM:

Terry, I certainly wasn't trying to hop on the prediction bandwagon, was merely a anecdote.