if only they had taken the first few comics of Superman Rebooted edition, this wud have been the Most successful movie of the Entire Superman Franchise! they Messed it up…they shud start all over again….God save Superman’s future!

As for Superman’s foreign box office, I wouldn’t be too optimistic there. Much more than Batman and Spider-Man, Supes is a blatant American icon (even without “and the American Way”) and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it pull in considerably less than Batman Begins’ $166m. Not having a simultaneous worldwide release (Europe and Latin America were delayed because of the World Cup) will hurt it, too. It’ll do fine on DVD, but its chances for a sequel aren’t looking too hot right about now.

Being a sequel to a very popular film, Pirates had a very simple message it had to get out “More of the same thing you loved.” It’s a message I’ve seen get screwed up before (usualy on sequels to blockbusters where the parties involved feel insecure about having succeeded on a minless blockbuster or movies where a cast member is much more fameous when the sequel comes out than in the original).

Meanwhile, the marketing for Superman talked either about things people didn’t associate with Superman (the returning ex-boyfriend stuff), chatter about what the movie wasn’t (whether that be the much-publicized debate over the size of Routh’s bulge, or the gay debate that started with the gossip that Singer wanted to cast a closeted actor who’d come out during the film’s promotion) and respect for a decades-old film (as opposed to the way Smallville and Lois & Clark promised an exciting and new interpretation of the familiar concept… which the original Pirates did, too, I realize).

To some degree, it might be a question of how you define marketing. If a movie’s audience is partly generated from people loving the previous installment, I think the marketers still have to get the right message out and have plenty of opportunities to drop the ball.

Similarly, Guy, I guess judging the drop-off depends on how you define a bomb. I believe I’ve seen films that have had about at 59%ish drop-off that went on to be considered a non-bomb (because of their frontloaded genre) but sometimes it all comes down to how the media decides to cover it. (Like how Charlie’s Angels 2 and Terminator 3 performed similarly over the same summer, but Angels was declared a bomb as T3 got a pass.) I think Warner will make back their money in foreign and anciliary markets, but it won’t be very profitable.

Lyle: A 50-52% drop is typical for the average blockbuster movie — and sub-50% is the sign of a suprise hit — but the high 50s is a warning sign that WOM isn’t very good, and over 60% is simply a bomb that was marketed well.

IMO, marketing is a huge factor, partly because it takes incredilby positive WOM to turn around the negative first impressions from a so-so marketing campaign but also because it’s the main chance to get a “Why you should see this” message out… and I do think Warner failed to make a good point on why this film was better than watching whatever Superman DVDs you have at home.

A 59% second weekend drop isn’t very surprising, actually. From what I recall that seems about right for a blockbuster or horror film (both genres tend to be frontloaded because their audiences are “see it ASAP” types). The movies that don’t get that kind of drop-off are the real surprises (and the real hits) and they’re incredibly rare.

Word-of-mouth seems to be king these days, doesn’t it?

It’s a shame that this might be considered a failure, at least financially. It’s one of the best superhero movies ever made.

As for hitting the $200m mark, if its not at least at $175m after next weekend — $31m over the next six days after a disappointing Monday — its dead in the water because the following weekend its going to get pushed out of at least half the theaters it opened in and then disappear completely by the middle of August. Warner Bros. is going to have to invest heavily in a big promotional push this week to have any chance of saving face.

I saw a new [to me] trailer tonight that focused on Superman doing super things with a tagline of “Imagine…flying higher…going faster…being stronger…than you ever believed.” If they’d led with that one and based an entire campaign around that tagline, they’d have had a much better opening weekend and now be worrying about hitting $250m instead of $200m.

PS: Thanks for the link. You always generate great traffic, but this one was far and away the most ever. One of these days I’ll figure out how to earn my way onto your permanent links. :-)

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?060703fr_archive02

Entertaining reading.

Editing and pacing were the things most lacking in the film. There were times I was waiting for it to get past some sequences. While other scenes a bit more time could have been spent on to really get the most from.

I don’t think “chick flick” really hurt it, as much as it isn’t your typical action flick. I think Singer probably, and the first ads didn’t help much, gave it very high intellectual look. “Superman is back to show you the way.” isn’t a typical action move plot.

Adam: The primary reason I’m not planning to see the film is that, based on all the pros and cons I’ve read, the movie doesn’t sound like it would entertain me (emphasis on me there). I’m with you on the criteria — I just don’t agree with you that this film fills it.

Rob: I fear I would feel the same way. It just sounds too long and with too much of what I don’t want to see in a Superman film. (Exhibit A: someone I can’t believe as Lois Lane, followed by someone I don’t believe as Superman.)

I found the plot to be quite imaginative. Superman’s victory was not cut and dry, as he had to give up the tokens of his heritage in order to save his adopted planet. Luthor didn’t get to keep the “fire” he wanted, but neither did Superman. This movie WAS an epic to me, and I’ll be first on the block to get the DVD.

I would like to know what Lois remembers from Superman II, however.

I read the article you linked to, but I guess I don’t watch enough TV or read enough entertainment magazines to have even heard most of the stuff they’re saying about the actors or the “chick flick” comment. Heck, I didn’t even know Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey were supposedly gay until a week after I’d seen the movie…so it’s pretty obvious that none of X-Men 1-3′s gay undertones ever registered with me either.

See…I just view movies for what they are…entertainment. And as pure entertainment…Superman Returns rocks.