Box Office Thread: Winter is Coming...

[RRA]

It was considered a slight disappointment at the BO I think (personally I thought it was pretty great). But at least people saw it! Proposition barely grossed 5M worldwide.

You know looking up on wikipedia, I didn't realize OPEN RANGE was actually a modest hit. I guess because it was Costner, I just assumed it flopped since he was on a long losing streak at the time. I did remember thinking odd when he was on some talk show years later and Larry the Cable Guy (of all people) complemented him on OR and I thought, "well thanks for pimping a good movie that nobody else saw!"

[CMJ]

You know looking up on wikipedia, I didn't realize OPEN RANGE was actually a modest hit. I guess because it was Costner, I just assumed it flopped since he was on a long losing streak at the time. I did remember thinking odd when he was on some talk show years later and Larry the Cable Guy (of all people) complemented him on OR and I thought, "well thanks for pimping a good movie that nobody else saw!"

I remember it did pretty well but I thought that might be a but too far back to count. Wasn't that over ten years ago now?

[bryan1311]

I think Artimus was using The Proposition as an example of the improved quality of recent westerns, not as an example of them making more money...

[RRA]

I think Artimus was using The Proposition as an example of the improved quality of recent westerns, not as an example of them making more money...

As opposed to when exactly?

I mean the 1990s were lean on westerns in terms of the number of them actually produced but we still got UNFORGIVEN, pretty damn good that won the Oscar. (And a needed comeback for Clint at the time.) After that, the popcorn western TOMBSTONE. (In retrospect, Val Kilmer not getting a Supporting Actor nod for that still surprises me.) And I don't know what AD thought of DEAD MAN, but that came out that same decade.

Unfortunately the 90s we also got shitz like WILD WILD WEST and some comedies like Richard Donner's MAVERICK (which I don't remember much about it) and one if I remember right also from fucking Crocodile Dundee.

(EDIT - Hey BACK TO THE FUTURE PART 3 was 1990, that was decent.)

That's all the immediately comes to mind for me with the 1990s in that genre. I'm sure there were others. If we go back to the 80s, well then OK you have me there since I don't remember any westerns (technically) out that decade other than PALE RIDER and SILVERADO. Of course I would argue Walter Hill's EXTREME PREJUDICE was a western in every way, just told in the 1980s.

Anyway, PROPOSITION was 2005. Indeed CMJ, OPEN RANGE did come out in '02. Westerns just come out sporadically regardless if they're good or make money or not. Thus my original (cynical) hypothesis about how Hollywood will react to TRUE GRIT and DJANGO making money. Of course once upon a time, I never would've predicted the live action Hollywood musical would actually come back as a viable genre so you never know.

Off-topic, I want a DJANGO sequel. Badly. I like that proposal somebody in that thread had where Kerry Washington be strapped to the gill with guns and they both go shooting up bad white people. I would pay to watch that in a heartbeat. Set in the Civil War!

[Blasty]

I'm probably in the minority on this but I thought Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead was awesome. One of my favorite westerns ever. Both a throwback and homage to Sergio Leone's spaghetti western and of course revisionist with a modern approach with Sharon Stone!?!? as the lead. It's loony and delightful fun and those camera angles are to die for.

[nadine]

Skyfall has hit the all-time Top 10 grossing films in Australia. It'll probably top The Dark Knight by the end of the next week.

[Jonathan]

I think The Proposition has developed a strong following - how else would Hillcoat have gotten to make The Road (Which was suppose to be a major project), or gotten the financing for Lawless?

That said, I don't think we've really had a cause-and-effect revival of the Western genre yet. 3:10 to Yuma was definitely a gamble (And from Lionsgate, a non-Hollywood studio), but Crowe and Bale probably made it seem like less of a gamble, and it was a BIG hit on DVD, so they probably ultimately made a profit. True Grit and Django meanwhile were both passion projects from directors that have gained high amounts of creative leeway at this point to do whatever they want - and True Grit cost only $38 million, so it wasn't even a big gamble (Django's budget was $83 million, but the Weinsteins will do pretty much anything for Tarantino). But with the breakout success of both (Both commercially and critically), we might see major studios start to develop new Westerns themselves.

[coolinout1]

Ugh, I guess I'll have to wait 2 1/2 months now. The wide release for On the Road has been pushed back to March 2013 per it's FB page.

[Bean]

I think The Proposition has developed a strong following - how else would Hillcoat have gotten to make The Road (Which was suppose to be a major project), or gotten the financing for Lawless?

That said, I don't think we've really had a cause-and-effect revival of the Western genre yet. 3:10 to Yuma was definitely a gamble (And from Lionsgate, a non-Hollywood studio), but Crowe and Bale probably made it seem like less of a gamble, and it was a BIG hit on DVD, so they probably ultimately made a profit. True Grit and Django meanwhile were both passion projects from directors that have gained high amounts of creative leeway at this point to do whatever they want - and True Grit cost only $38 million, so it wasn't even a big gamble (Django's budget was $83 million, but the Weinsteins will do pretty much anything for Tarantino). But with the breakout success of both, we just

Just what?!?!?!?!

[Jonathan]

Just what?!?!?!?!

Whoops. Edited.

[Tracy]

Ugh, I guess I'll have to wait 2 1/2 months now. The wide release for On the Road has been pushed back to March 2013 per it's FB page.

Well, it's been online for months. Not that anyone here would know about that stuff, of course.

[RRA]

I'm probably in the minority on this but I thought Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead was awesome. One of my favorite westerns ever. Both a throwback and homage to Sergio Leone's spaghetti western and of course revisionist with a modern approach with Sharon Stone!?!? as the lead. It's loony and delightful fun and those camera angles are to die for.

I forgot about that movie. Good call Blasty.

Give Stone credit, she apparently pulled her starpower around to get Crowe when he was a nobody that nobody else would've waited for.

[Dr_Dmitri-Yuriev]

Weekend Estimates

Great holds for most everything, actually, but especially Django. If it's a big winner nomination morning it'll probably have another winning hold next weekend. If that happens it should be on track to pass True Grit ($171.2 million), and maybe even challenge Dances with Wolves ($184.2 million) as the biggest western of all time (Unadjusted, of course).

Silver Linings Playbook has also been performing like a champ, despite the Weinsteins holding it back so much. I'm curious to see how it performs after it goes into wide-wide release (Which will hopefully happen Friday).

Horribly mediocre for Promised Land, if not surprising. The Impossible did decent in its expansion, and depending on its Oscar performance will finish somewhere around $10-20 million.

Zero Dark Thirty is a damned beast. That's even better than what Brokeback Mountain did in a similar expansion ($2.5 million from 69 theaters w/$36,354 PTA). I won't say $100 million is certain (Successful limited runs don't always translate to hit expansions), but I think $80+ million looks solid, especially expanding the day after the nominations are announced.

Decent? It made 2.7 million on 500+ screens

This is what Box Office mOJO had to say:

Expanding to 572 theaters (just shy of a nationwide berth), The Impossible earned $2.76 million. That's not good at all, but the big picture doesn't look so bad on this movie: it's already grossed $67.6 million overseas, and a likely Oscar nomination for Naomi Watts could help attract more attention at the domestic box office.

[Jonathan]

There's a lot of competition for adult audiences right now, and it's a lot better than similar recent expansions for The Sessions and Hitchcock despite performing similarly in limited release. It's not going to be a hit here, but it'll be one Of the bigger Actress nominees (but still waaaay behind whatever ZDT an SLP finish with).

[fallglimmer32]

Posted on the best picture thread, but Silver Linings is expanding to 2,500-3,000 on the 18th just in time for SNL.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/silv...tion-corridor/

[AliasDarren]

Jessica Chastain might have back to back #1 movies depending on how Mama performs. We should call the next thread All Aboard The Chastain Train.

[RRA]

Jessica Chastain might have back to back #1 movies depending on how Mama performs. We should call the next thread All Aboard The Chastain Train.

All Aboard The Realness Train.