The one I worry for is Dune.
It was potentially a hard sell in the best of times as a high concept sci-fi epic, throw in a global pandemic (of which 4.29 million have died from, a “small” detail smug journalists and self-serving politicians brush over) and a simultaneous release on a streaming service that is only available in one country (HD pirating internationally on the films release day, YAY! 
) and we’re well on track to the film loosing money and Villeneuve being thrown under the bus.
Absolutely.
I really want to see DUNE since I love Villeneuve´s work so far, and I have a special, maybe mostly nostalgic place for the story in my heart. But I would be majorly surprised if this remake got any traction on the marketplace. Especially since it apparently ends in the middle of the first book.
Right now, though, it seems as if no movie apart from FF-clones can even do business which was considered mediocre in pre-pandemic times.
So, good luck to NTTD. Although I do suspect they will push it to 2022. First April, then October again. And then it will go to 2023. Call me paranoid or a pessimist - but EON/MGM will cling to the idea that at some point everything will be back to “normal” and then they can reach the billion dollar mark which already is getting to be more of a breakeven for this film than the profit zone.
It’s a shame that The Suicide Squad has arrived at the place it has, as it is a very good movie, much closer to a comedic Where Eagles Dare than a traditional super hero film with the full cast, even the big parts, giving their all to get you invested in what, on paper, is a bunch beyond redemption.
So we’re just over seven weeks out from the movie being released. What’s the latest they’ll pull the plug?
Just over six for the UK, so I imagine (hope) we’ll know either way by next week
Worth noting re: Dune, HBO Max is paying out the WB theatrical division a fee equal to the studio’s take of the US box office - so that’s helping soften the blow somewhat on these titles…also Dune is opening a whole month ahead of the HBO Max release in most international markets (only really the UK/AUS/NZ are aligned with the US and waiting for after NTTD)
That’s good to know.
If they did not have to fear the theatre chains they could just say: we will tell the rest of DUNE in a tv show.
there actually is a TV show spinoff that’s in development for HBO Max! The first episode of which Villeneuve is directing!
But yeah…like, the actual title card of the film (the first 10 mins screened at trailer fan/press events last month) literally says DUNE: PART ONE… They do want a second film.
The strategy reminds me of the idea Ron Howard had for THE DARK TOWER: a combination of movies and tv series telling side stories in between. A good idea but it did not come into fruition.
As for DUNE, I don´t know whether I want to see a spin-off on tv - I would rather have the whole story of the novel(s) told straightforwardly.
This whole “universe-building”-mania is just too much, an attempt at sucking in audiences to watch everything that is offered. Marvel really is enough (and already too much for my taste).
Marvel don’t really do as much of that as people (and other studios) think they do. They’re yet to do anymore than “this is a character in another film” - but you don’t need to have seen it at any point. the last 2 Avengers were the only films to require you to see the other.
I wonder how long the stand-alone mid-budget film will last? Matt Damon brought the subject up in a recent interview in The New York Times.
The serial is a much better form to stream on small screens: “talking heads” cinematography and mise en scene reduced to nothing. Not hard to produce, and prevents people from falling into a show hole (expression learned from my husband).
What I miss are films from directors like Mizoguchi Kenji who built worlds in their films. This weekend I watched four of his films, and the coherence, depth, and intricacy of his worldview was amazing. Not the MCU by a long shot, but rather epic and particular at the same time.
Granted, one can decide how much one watches. But Marvel does connect lots of dots in all their films, and only if one sees all one can appreciate or even follow what is going on.
I read some Marvel comics as a kid but not more - so I really have nothing else but the movies (and tv shows) in order to understand stuff. At first I was intrigued. Then I just wanted to get to the conclusion - and finally just to get it over with. Sure, some things were satisfying for me, emotionally. But - and this is just me - there were too many movies to get to a point (Thanos winning first, then losing) which could have been made earlier and with less narrative content.
Of course, I know, this is for another target group. And they often want every point and comma (or in this case every frame of the comics) translated faithfully to the big screen. “But for me” (George Hahn) it´s just too much of a commitment with too little impact.
And often, Marvel is better at set-up then at a conclusion. I loved the first episodes of LOKI… and then it lost itself in the typical expository dialogue and the obligatory punchy-punchy-fight-scenes. And a particularly boring last episode which no producer would have let me get away with (“they are just talking exposition for almost the whole show? C´mon, you know better!”
There. That is what I’ve been complaining about for months now. The success of a film in today’s environment should not be gauged by box-office alone. The fee the streamer pays to premiere the film should be added to that total as well. Only problem is, the studios won’t share that data I’m told.
Loki’s final episode was possibly the most guilty Marvel have ever been of just set up. Only Snyder’s take on DC was worse for spending most of the run time setting up something down to the road rather than telling an actual story.
Yeah they don’t release viewing data however that’s… actually exactly why the prices they pay to acquire a film and release it to primsrly their service instead of a traditional windowed release with theatrical, home ent, TV sales etc, are so big! That’s why $600m was mooted for NTTD, that’s why Knives Out 2 and 3 were almost half a billion for Netflix, they’re taking over the entire value chain (in most cases) globally.
The HBO Max case is slightly different as they have the film only for the first month, only in the US, and otherwise the traditional release structure is retained globally.
And this is just perfect for the studios. Until now, the main indicator for a movie’s success was BO (but not necessarily - not even remotely - if it’s actually a good movie). Unfortunately, BO also showed if a movie is unsuccessful. A movie that cost 300 Million but only makes 20 Million in cinemas on opening weekend? Used to be a disaster.
But now: “Oh, we only made 20 Million, but it looks as if many more people went to see it on Netflix.” - “How many?” - “We won’t tell, sorry, but Netflix paid 750 Million for the streaming rights. Success!”
Hooray!
We just had the (delayed) 2021 Jazz Fest cancelled for the second straight year here in New Orleans. I have very confidence that NTTD is going to be delayed again. With The Suicide Squad only taking in $26 million more because of the COVID surge than the steaming, EON and MGM are going to cling to the delusion that NTTD will still bring in pre-COVID numbers in 2024 when the film finally (if ever) releases.
MGM should seriously go back to whoever offered them that deal and see if it’s still on the table. Perhaps with some negotiating, or renegotiating, with Universal and the various other parties involved, including Amazon, maybe some kind of release structure could be put in place that allows this film to not fall completely on its face when it finally gets out there.
With the Delta wave now putting more and more of the globe at risk, and the likelihood that more dangerous variants are coming, there aren’t any clear skies on the horizon. This thing is continuing to get worse by the month, with the exception of that brief post-vaccine bliss we experienced during the spring. Maybe they’re going to hold onto this film until we’re all literally trapped in our homes because we can’t go anywhere due to the virus having mutated completely out of control, at which point they’ll give it a streaming release. Who knows.
Total speculation but I can genuinely see Amazon - after the MGM purchase was announced - going out of its way to strike some sort of deal (that means they don’t have to worry as much about it losing money) with MGM/EON re: NTTD, even though the purchase won’t have gone through regulatory approval yet.