Paramount and MGM continue the summer of blockbuster flops - $100 million budget Ben-Hur crawls past $10 million on opening weekend

[DZ 305]

I mean, most summer movie seasons are pretty bad. It started out okay with Civil War in the beginning and The Jungle Book making huge leaps and bounds, but then it dropped off a cliff.

The problem is that aside from a few movies, most just flat out suck this year. Some are steaming piles of shit like Suicide Squad. Then some really good movies, like The Nice Guys, failing to make bank which is a shame.

Next year looks about the same too, starting out strong with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and then dropping off. At least a few movies look okay next year, key note is few because trailers are so misleading lately.

Don't forget about Rogue One to close out the year on a high note before the start of Fuck you its January!

 

[Ginger Piglet]

But it's only been a few years since the last remake of Ben Hur, and that was a crock of shite. The actor who played Judah Ben Hur in that one was a sulky Game of Thrones reject.

 

[DZ 305]

Who thought people wanted to: a) see a Ben Hur remake and b) see said remake in 3D?

 

[Shokew]

There will always be the classic - and we need to see a re-release of it in some form to make up for this mess...

 

[GabeRegan]

Shokew brings up a good point that several friends of mine have brought up many times bitching about remakes, why do studios not just release classic films on limited theatrical runs? I'm not talking about Fathom events either, I mean do a one month run of Gone with the Wind or the Wizard of Oz. I've talked to plenty of people who would gladly paid to see older films in theater again, but either didn't know about Fathom events or couldn't go due to shitty show times. It can't possibly cost that much to release an older film, at least compared to remaking a film no one wants to see.

 

[Karen Riley]

It's sad when the only film destined to make any money this summer is a Seth Rogan animated stoner comedy. And that's only due to its low budget.

Though considering how shit most of the films released this summer are (SS, Ghostbusters remake, this), I can't say I'm surprised.

Not to be a smart arse but there has been a few movies that should come forward and make enough to turn over a profit this Summer if they haven't already.

A lot of smaller budgeted horror movies like Don't Breathe, The Darkness and Lights Out have made enough to squeeze out sizeable enough profits over the Summer and Jason Bourne has done well for itself on the strength of the international market.

The problem with a lot of films like Tarzan, Star Trek and even Ben Hur was over budgeting. There's no reason why they should have spent as much on these films and that's why they're not going to end up turning over a profit. Even Ghostbusters could have made money if they hadn't overspent so badly. A film that looks so horrible should not have been so over expensive.

 

[BurningPewter]

I wanted to see Ben Hur on DVD at least. The original was one of my favourite films as a kid. I never sat through it, but whenever it was on TV I kept it on in the background and watched the chariot race and Jesus parts.

 

[Tragi-Chan]

Why the fuck would anyone even bother doing this again after the universally acclaimed one starring Charlton Heston?

Remakes are basically free publicity. Remake a classic film and you'll get people talking. Maybe they'll be saying, "Can you believe these philistines are remaking Ben-Hur?" but it's still word-of-mouth advertising.

It's a win/win kind of, if only China accepted raunchy R-rated comedies.

Hollywood doesn't need the Chinese market for raunchy R-rated comedies. The reason Hollywood loves those movies is because they're so cheap - no special effects, no big set-pieces, helm it with a couple of C-listers. That was why there was that big spat of [Genre] Movie films a few years ago, even though they were utter shit. They basically made a profit by looking "eh, okay I guess" to bored moviegoers.

 

[AnOminous]

Shokew brings up a good point that several friends of mine have brought up many times bitching about remakes, why do studios not just release classic films on limited theatrical runs? I'm not talking about Fathom events either, I mean do a one month run of Gone with the Wind or the Wizard of Oz. I've talked to plenty of people who would gladly paid to see older films in theater again, but either didn't know about Fathom events or couldn't go due to shitty show times. It can't possibly cost that much to release an older film, at least compared to remaking a film no one wants to see.

Because they're filthy, dirty scum with no imagination or talent, and they hate the entire world. There is nothing filthier or shittier or dumber than the movie industry.

Remakes are basically free publicity. Remake a classic film and you'll get people talking. Maybe they'll be saying, "Can you believe these philistines are remaking Ben-Hur?" but it's still word-of-mouth advertising.

It takes a very, very special kind of person to be okay with their main claim to fame being they did something that is the equivalent of crashing a funeral and taking a shit on the corpse.

 

[DZ 305]

Because they're filthy, dirty scum with no imagination or talent, and they hate the entire world. There is nothing filthier or shittier or dumber than the movie industry.



It takes a very, very special kind of person to be okay with their main claim to fame being they did something that is the equivalent of crashing a funeral and taking a shit on the corpse.

George Lucas did that with Red Tails and he seems to think studios didn't want it because they think were afraid whites wouldn't go see it because it was about the Tuskege Airmen, and not because it was a flaming pile of shit.

 

[AnOminous]

George Lucas did that with Red Tails and he seems to think studios didn't want it because they think were afraid whites wouldn't go see it because it was about the Tuskege Airmen, and not because it was a flaming pile of shit.

George Lucas is a very, very, very special kind of person.

 

[BurningPewter]

I thought Red Tails was ok.

 

[DZ 305]

I thought Red Tails was ok.

That makes two people then! You and George.

 

[Quijibo69]

Shokew brings up a good point that several friends of mine have brought up many times bitching about remakes, why do studios not just release classic films on limited theatrical runs?

They have new actors that need something to do and laziness is easy.

 

[Big_Boss]

Hollywood doesn't need the Chinese market for raunchy R-rated comedies. The reason Hollywood loves those movies is because they're so cheap - no special effects, no big set-pieces, helm it with a couple of C-listers. That was why there was that big spat of [Genre] Movie films a few years ago, even though they were utter shit. They basically made a profit by looking "eh, okay I guess" to bored moviegoers

I would normally agree with this but there have been a surge in more expensive r-rated films lately like Mad Max Fury Road, and Kingsman. Though I think those directors are like Tarantino and don't give a shit about profits.

Most of them are cheap yeah, the main actor in Deadpool says that he doesn't want a big budgeted Deadpool 2 movie after all.

 

[TowinKarz]

Maybe I'm just showing my old fogy sensibilities, but, with studios being risk-adverse to the point of only doing remakes, and doing a very (IMHO) lazy job of trying to compensate for subpar casting and scripts with CGI-fests..... well, I can get the same level of stimulation from a video game for a lot less money.....

 

[DZ 305]

Maybe I'm just showing my old fogy sensibilities, but, with studios being risk-adverse to the point of only doing remakes, and doing a very (IMHO) lazy job of trying to compensate for subpar casting and scripts with CGI-fests..... well, I can get the same level of stimulation from a video game for a lot less money.....

God of War is the best version of Clash of the Titans ever made

 

[Big_Boss]

Speaking of big budget disasters and 'What the fuck were they thinking?!' I was just, sadly, reminded of the Ghost in the Shell live action movie.

How much do you think it will bomb? It's pissing off both weebs and SJWs, which would be two of its main contributers in the west.

 

[GabeRegan]

The original Ghost in the Shell was an overrated clusterfuck of a movie; I imagine the live action one will be much of the same. The big question will be how much do they dumb down the film for general movie goers?

 

[Positron]

Speaking of big budget disasters and 'What the fuck were they thinking?!' I was just, sadly, reminded of the Ghost in the Shell live action movie.

How much do you think it will bomb? It's pissing off both weebs and SJWs, which would be two of its main contributers in the west.

If SJWs were contributors of anything, The Ghostbustesses would have made top bank.