Idiots!

Good to see Get Smart get a prime Summer release date. Interesting slot for Where The Wild Things Are. Looks like they will capitilise on the Halloween weekend aswell as a generally empty kids market at that time.

I really hope the Get Smart movie will be good.

Indiana Jones 4 - May 22, 2008

Not really considering that the 23rd also had Pride, Reign Over Me, TMNT, and The Last Mimzy opening. There was also The Lookout but that's been moved to March 30th.

Ah ok then its better than the 23rd. All I can say is March is ridiculously overcrowded. The last weekend in March also has five films - Blades, Robertsons, Rescue Dawn, Reaping and Lookout.

Yeah im surprised about the Thursday opening too - but really it can go either way. It just makes comparisons less clear. So what will we compare it to - Matrix Reloaded and Attack of the Clones?? I think they are the only two that opened on a Thursday.

what up with lucasfilm n thursday release???

There is also Revenge of the Sith that opened on a Thursday.

Yes you are correct. I thought they had returned to a Friday opening for Sith.

So the targets are:

$158.4m 4 Day weekend - Revenge of the Sith
$134.3m 4 Day weekend - Matrix Reloaded
$110.2m 4 Day weekend - Attack of the Clones

Only difference is this will open over the Memorial Day weekend so will essentially be a 5 day weekend.

its not risky. this is speilberg directing a koepp script about an aging hero played by harrison ford. add in recognizability of indiana jones, and LUCAS FILM MARKETING hype will explode and movie will own!

this is the prequels with lucas director! spielbergs no hack!


Benchmark will be 150 million 5 day, i think.Indiana JOnes was never as big as star wars, but theyll defiently expect north of 300 million.

If you could bet on a director making an action adventure attain some good WOM, I think Spielberg is a pretty safe bet.

Temple of Doom and last Crusade both had the Opening Weekend Records when they were released. Out of the 21 recorded times the opening weekend Record was broken by a Speilberg or Lucas film 7 of the times. They do know how to release films and thats good enough for me.

New question, will Speed Racer switch its release date, is that even coming out anymore?

A.I. was never meant to be a blockbuster, gimme a break. You have a bit more merit with WotW, but I wouldn't even use the argument that he didn't have much time to make it as much as I'd say that the deus ex machina ending was never going to appeal to some audiences. That was a thriller, not a more fun action-adventure (thus my phrasing). But wow, I can't believe I'm arguing about whether or not Spielberg's Indiana Jones movie could get good WOM. C'mon now, that's just ridiculous. Have any other Thursday openers been hurt by bad WOM? This isn't like a regular five day in that people will be going to it on Monday no matter what.

As for Speed Racer, is 2008 already that crowded that a tentpole film can't have a single weekend it can be on? It's not like studios mind opening them back to back.

A.I. actually was hyped to be a blockbuster. I remember before that summer it was considered one of the biggest potential films. BOG predicted a 50m opening right before the weekend. In the summer preview he said:





http://www.boxofficeguru.com/070201.htm
http://www.boxofficeguru.com/summer2001preview.htm

Yeah....

Yeah I think Premiere has AI pegged at $200m+ in its summer preview. Pearl Harbour was a sure bet too. Instead Shrek, Mummy Returns and Rush Hour 2 were the real break outs.

Regardless - I would be surprised if Indy didnt have good legs!!

I'm not saying that it wasn't hyped and marketed to be some huge blockbuster, but Spielberg did not make that film as a crowd pleaser the way Indiana Jones 4 should be. That was a thoughtful meditation on life and love, this is going to be a big tub of popcorn adventure.

Either way, even if this does somehow get poor WOM, the four day opening strikes me as a great idea.

AI was hyped because it had a great cast, and was a Stanley Kubrick film from beyond the grave with Speilberg finishing it for him. And WOTW may have been disappointing to most of the audience, but come on, it made 550+ WW and a killing on rentals. Thats hardly not a blockbuster.

Balls of Fury - 9/14/07 (from 4/27/07)
The Kingdom - 9/28/07 (from 4/20/07)

Hmmm...definitely means at the very least that MR BEAN'S HOLIDAY is getting moved from 9/28.

The April Exodus begins!!

Its needed though. March/April are too congested. Though The Kingdom looked like one of the better films of April.

They moved The Kingdom!!! No!!!

I can't say I'm surprised by The Kingdom's move. They moved it away from one slot where adult thrillers (Changing Lanes, The Interpreter) have done well in the past to one where they've also done well in the past (Flightplan, The Forgotten). It may have gotten lost in the shuffle in the April chaos.

Hopefully a few more films will move out of March and April.

September thrillers are generally more horror-ish. I think it should have stuck with April. But who knows, I guess it could still pull a solid opening since it's closer to the end of the month, which is usually okay, although it's currently scheduled against the Jodie Foster/Terrence Howard thriller, The Brave One.