Monday Morning Quarterback Part I
By BOP Staff
August 27, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Premium Rush, the first decent biking movie since Breaking Away in 1979, opened to $6 million. Why do you think this film failed to strike a chord with mainstream consumers?
Bruce Hall: Probably because the trailer looked just as ridiculous as the one for Breaking Away. I kid you not, I've been laughing about the Bike Messenger Movie for almost three months now. Let me get this straight - a Manhattan bike courier gets caught up in a web of espionage, intrigue and bad dialogue? And lives for more than 20 minutes? I'm not saying the premise isn't worthwhile, just that as presented I thought it might be a new Broken Lizard comedy. It wasn't, but it sure performed like one.
Jason Barney: I don't think there was enough here to draw people in. I saw the trailer a couple of times, and the only thing that stuck in my mind was an image of Joseph Gordon-Levitt sitting on a bike with a bicycle helmet on. I think I go to the movies more than the average person, and nothing about that stuck with me. There was no buzz, no interest, nothing catchy. Audiences just chose to skip this one as a result.
Felix Quinonez: At the end of the day, I have to say it just didn't look very good. I'm not saying that's actually the case but the trailers didn't show the goods. As much I as like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I just don't think he's much of a draw. Maybe a bigger star could have turned this into a hit but not him.
Matthew Huntley: I agree with all the reasons suggested by the other BOP members on this thread, but I think the time of year also plays a role in Premium Rush's dismal opening. The end of August is notorious for Hollywood scraps and audiences have become privy to this notion, so I'm guessing many people avoided it simply out of caution. They were probably thinking, "If it's not good enough to get released during a more reputable and lucrative time of year, it must not be good enough at all." Plus, with the end of baseball season approaching and the start of football season (pre-season anyway), not to mention kids getting ready for school/families gearing up for the summer's last long weekend, moviegoers have other priorities on their mind than what seems like a B-level thriller. Actually, I saw the film, and it doesn't just seem like B-level thriller; it actually is one.
Shalimar Sahota: Obviously it's not going to be at the top of everyone's list, for I doubt many people were really saying, "God I'm definitely going to go check out that bike messenger movie!" Well, probably just me. However, with the addition of positive reviews I can see it being quite successful on DVD/Blu-ray. The action may be more low-key when compared to the likes of The Expendables 2 and The Bourne Legacy, but I'm quite taken by a supremely silly yet original film, and some of the stunts look very cool. It looks like 90 minutes of fun to me.
Edwin Davies: I'm going to echo the thoughts of everyone else by saying that the studio didn't sell it that well - shoddy trailer, relatively little marketing - though the fact that they released it in late August to begin with suggests that they didn't have that much confidence in it anyway. It's kind of a ridiculous premise, and whilst that doesn't necessarily mean that the film itself won't be good, the way in which it was presented made it look like it wasn't. By the time that the solid reviews came in, it was already too late, and people had decided that they weren't interested. Unless there is spectacular word-of-mouth on this, I think we're looking at a film that's dead in the water. A shame, really, because I think David Koepp's a pretty good director and I've liked every film of his that I've seen.
Max Braden: Wait, are you saying Quicksilver's Kevin Bacon can't ride a bicycle?
David Mumpower: At a minimum, couldn't this have been some sort of rocket bike? Or a motorcycle than can travel through time? What type of Hollywood pitch meeting includes the phrase "how about a movie about a bike messenger?" and somebody says "sounds great"? Studio offices are littered with phenomenal film concepts that never get made but somebody says "3rd Rock on a bike!" and that's a movie? If the film concept fails the laugh test, the film will also fail the box office test 95% of the time.
Generic Horror Movie Title #4
Kim Hollis: The Apparition opened to $2.8 million. Say something funny about The Apparition.
Bruce Hall: I don't know what you're talking about. Ashley Greene is the Kristen Stewart of bad low budget horror flicks.
Jason Barney: I might see it.
Matthew Huntley: Sorry, I can't top Jay's post. It's still making me laugh.
Felix Quinonez: I think its opening gross is funnier than anything I could come up with.
Max Braden: "Once you believe these numbers, you're gonna die."
Kim Hollis: The funniest thing I can say about it is that they *overestimated* it by $200,000 or so. Just wow.
David Mumpower: Haley Joel Osment walked into the theater and said, "I see no people."