Box office update: 'Despicable Me 2' crushes 'Lone Ranger'

[Mad-Jasper]

And yet you reply with nothing but obnoxious. Wow.

LR was a gimme to Depp for signing long term for POC. That's it.

Actually, my post referenced Bruckheimer's desire for LR sequels AND called out the poster for having nothing substantial to add to the
discussion.

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/jerry-bruckheimer-wants-lone-ranger-sequel-1200494492/

 

[Mad-Jasper]

While Jerry Bruckheimer has made very few missteps, intentions are only that. Depp took far less for this movie than his others, so did Bruckheimer - 20% less than what they'd normally ask. Check out this HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/the-lone-ranger-rides-on-johnny-depp-pay-cut_n_1009407.html

In 2012, Disney said that it expected losses of $200 million on John Carter; at that time the film had made only $234 million worldwide, far short of the $250 million budget plus worldwide advertising. They aren't willing to go down that road again.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/the-rant-john-carters-massive-fallout-whos-to-blame-for-disneys-200-million-bomb/2012/03/19/gIQAOKf6VS_blog.html

So, it does happen. While Disney is still ouching from this loss, it is more relegated to reputation than dollars. I doubt Disney is hurting any and have fully recovered from and easily absorbed this loss. http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/rich-ross-and-%E2%80%98john-carter%E2%80%99-debacle-%E2%80%93-disney-takes-it-chi-36389 Disney doesn't want to be responsible for a big goose egg.

But after came the releases of Brave and the Avengers...need I say more? Disney is like a cat, it's going to land one way or another.

Box Office Mojo has the numbers for a few Disney's recent disappointments.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/showdowns/chart/?id=disneyfranchise.htm

Except that the foreign numbers may have put these movies in the black or at least close to it.

I don't expect the foreign numbers to save LR though.

 

[amwhitaker]

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Lone Ranger!!! I will be buying it when it comes out.

I have NEVER let critics sway me one way or the other, it doesn't make sense. Everyone has different tastes in life with everything. If I listened to the majority of people around me, I would never had gone to WDW!

 

[mm1971]

From what I've read and seen it was expected that the movie would not do well in the theaters. It's mostly due to it being a western movie. They don't do particularly well. Disney stock was unaffected and actually up yesterday so it shows that the poor movie receipts were expected. We have not seen it yet, but I do plan to get there this week.

I've seen mixed reviews. The lack of $$ is because the younger audiences that normally go to the movies really have no interest in the Genre. I saw a graphic and the majority of people were over 30 that saw the movie. I'm bringing my DS, but he has little interest in Westerns and will probably enjoy it less than I do.

 

[ValiantHeart]

The fact remains the Disney made a big mistake in some people's eyes by casting Johnny Depp as Tonto, rather than a Native American actor (While Johnny is 1/8th Cherokee, I know a lot of my Native American friends refused to see the movie because of what looked like a blatant attempt at whitewashing by Disney). Depp's costume was also horribly, horribly inaccurate (full-time war pain and a dead crow on his head? Come on, Disney. I know you can do better than that.)

I saw the movie. And I wanted to love it. I really did. But I had a really hard time seeing past the glaring number of racial stereotypes and (I didn't expect this to be an issue with a Disney movie to be honest?) the sheer amount of violence in it.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

The fact remains the Disney made a big mistake in some people's eyes by casting Johnny Depp as Tonto, rather than a Native American actor (While Johnny is 1/8th Cherokee, I know a lot of my Native American friends refused to see the movie because of what looked like a blatant attempt at whitewashing by Disney). Depp's costume was also horribly, horribly inaccurate (full-time war pain and a dead crow on his head? Come on, Disney. I know you can do better than that.)

I saw the movie. And I wanted to love it. I really did. But I had a really hard time seeing past the glaring number of racial stereotypes and (I didn't expect this to be an issue with a Disney movie to be honest?) the sheer amount of violence in it.

I agree with the casting being problematic, but Disney has a lot of those issues even before this movie. Do you enjoy the princess movies? Those are very problematic, a lot of the movies that Disney has created can have some undertones that people overlook.

---

I have not seen The Lone Ranger, I don't really have an interest in it as I am not a huge western movie fan and it just doesn't look that great. Despicable Me 2 was quite awesome, the first one was better, but I enjoyed the second one and intend on buying it on Blu-Ray when it comes out. (Along with Monster's University!)

Both MU and DM2 are very good movies, the difference is I think if the minions were completely taken out of DM2 the movie would have flopped because they made the movie imo. We could remove all the characters practically in MU and just have Sully and Mike and it would have been okay...

 

[TJSkinner]

And yet as has been previously stated, every time they played the theme music, or William Tell Overture, I sat up in my seat and for those few moments everything was right. Okay a horse that climbs trees, buildings, trains, etc. may have been a stretch but with this beautiful music ringing in my ears I was a kid again, and isn't that what this kind of movie is for? The good guy wore white, he rescues the fair maiden, and justice is served. Pure Escapism. Why Tonto wore war paint all the time, because he was battling inner demons, and the crow was his witness.

 

[swebb0310]

Both MU and DM2 are very good movies, the difference is I think if the minions were completely taken out of DM2 the movie would have flopped because they made the movie imo. We could remove all the characters practically in MU and just have Sully and Mike and it would have been okay...

I have to say that while I do enjoy the minions, my favorite character is Agnes by far.

 

[Bree89]

Im not sure if I will see the Lone Ranger anytime soon (maybe when it gets to the dollar theatre), but it doesnt seem like a bad movie. As for DM2, I was really excited to see it as was my boyfriend. We really enjoyed the first one, but were let down a lot by this one. While it had it's funny moments, I felt that the story was rushed and they relied too much on the minions to carry the movie. We really enjoyed MU however! The difference between MU & DM2 imo was that MU had a storyline and a wide variety of characters which made the movie lots of fun to watch. It even had a few surprises! Was it the better than MI? No. But I would definitely watch it again and again. Not something I could say about DM2 unfortunately

 

[Brer Chump]

For those keeping score, as of July 22:

MU gross- $248,998,000

DM2 gross- $276,159,000

MU has been in the theaters 2 weeks longer than DM2.

 

[crazy4wdw]

For those keeping score, as of July 22:

MU gross- $248,998,000

DM2 gross- $276,159,000

MU has been in the theaters 2 weeks longer than DM2.

.....and The Lone Ranger has grossed $81 million domestic, $147 million worldwide.

production cost estimated to be around $225 million.

 

[TheOptiMystic]

I was really afraid of this happening, but had hope that with Johnny Depp aboard, it was going to be a success. This is not what the studio needed after the huge financial bath they took with "John Carter".

That being said, there are a lot of tentpole movies that completely tanked this summer. "After Earth", "Pacific Rim" and this weekend, "R.I.P.D." Animation seems to be ruling this summer, which is not a bad thing, but it is surprising to have this many big budget pictures failing at the box office.

 

[jamarmiller]

very sad to see how poor lone ranger did,

Really had hoped for a new franchise on the scale of the POTC movies

sucks

 

[DCTooTall]

I was really afraid of this happening, but had hope that with Johnny Depp aboard, it was going to be a success. This is not what the studio needed after the huge financial bath they took with "John Carter".

That being said, there are a lot of tentpole movies that completely tanked this summer. "After Earth", "Pacific Rim" and this weekend, "R.I.P.D." Animation seems to be ruling this summer, which is not a bad thing, but it is surprising to have this many big budget pictures failing at the box office.

I can't say it's too surprising. It's getting more and more expensive for people to go out and see a movie in the theaters... At the same time the movies themselves are starting to get swallowed by the effects, explosions, and aren't sticking around the theaters very long.

The end result is that it's becoming much easier to miss your chance to see the movie in the theater if you aren't going every weekend, and the draw to actually go and see the movies in the theater are slimming slightly as more people are starting to tire of the general explosion/effects driven stories which tend to seem very similiar to past movies they've seen with little 'new' an exciting to draw them in.

It's really hard to justify spending the easy $50+ it could take for a couple to enjoy "a night at the movies" when you aren't sure if the movie is going ot offer more than a few set pieces, eye candy, and/or explosions.

You also will end up with more big financial flops when you have a couple movies that people are REALLY looking forward to later in the summer (like the Marvel Films.... or for some families... DM2 for the kids), so they hold off on seeing the ones that aren't as high on their must-see list in the theater because they are saving their "movie night" money for those other upcoming films.

 

[OklahomaTourist]

Think this all goes back to echo what Steven Spielberg was saying a few weeks ago at a movie panel about the pending "implosion" of the movie industry and the fact that the current business model for movies isn't sustainable. Studios that bet the farm on a huge summer tentpole, only to see it fail, can't afford to keep making those tentpoles. Disney's Lone Ranger is a classic example, fresh on the heels of John Carter and a few other notables. Disney's had a few real losers the last year or two, and I gotta tell ya that the previews for "Planes" don't exactly put me brimful with anticipation.

We're fortunate in my area to have a destination theater within a relatively short driving distance, so I'm more prone to make a trip to the movies than I would otherwise, but I would have to say I'm on board with a lot of what Spielberg was opining. My wife and I aren't in to the prototypical action flick, although I will admit I saw Star Trek. The other current big-budget movies, like Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, World War Z, etc, didn't interest me in the slightest.

My wife and I are willing to go to the movies, but it had better be *very* compelling before we carve out the bucks for it. Even moreso if we bring the kids along - we've seen Monsters U (meh, it was okay), and DM2 (really funny), but the larger portion of the rest of summer offerings are lost on us. They just don't make the kind of movies I'm interested in seeing. Granted, as a 48-year-old male I realize I'm not in their target demographic, but I figure my evening at the movies still results in a ticket sale on someone's register. If they'd only make something I could really get excited about seeing!!!

 

[Son of Gadsden]

My wife and I are willing to go to the movies, but it had better be *very* compelling before we carve out the bucks for it. Even moreso if we bring the kids along - we've seen Monsters U (meh, it was okay), and DM2 (really funny), but the larger portion of the rest of summer offerings are lost on us. They just don't make the kind of movies I'm interested in seeing. Granted, as a 48-year-old male I realize I'm not in their target demographic, but I figure my evening at the movies still results in a ticket sale on someone's register. If they'd only make something I could really get excited about seeing!!!

Shoot, I figured you've got to be in their target demographic. I KNOW they aren't expecting someone of my age (23) to be able to shell out $50 every time my wife and I go see a movie!!!

We're about the same as you. It takes a LOT to get us in the theater, and that has to be combined with a LOT of boredom on our part to pay it. And we've both goth GOOD JOBS and a low mortgage with relatively good financial stability for our age. I don't see how (with the way the economy is) ANYONE can afford to go. Heck, we can get a nice dinner and BUY a movie to take home for that.

Spielberg is right, that kind of budget can NOT be sustained. When the economy goes bad, the first thing cut off the list are things like going to see movies, especially when they are that overpriced.

 

[BenbowInn]

Yeah, ths is MU vs. DM2 - and MU is much better. I've seen em both. DM2 is just not funny. ...at all.

I agree and I am by no means just defending Disney as I love all animated movies and some of my favorites are non Disney ones actually. I loved monsters University and didn't care for either of the Despicable Me movies.

 

[BenbowInn]

For those keeping score, as of July 22:

MU gross- $248,998,000

DM2 gross- $276,159,000

MU has been in the theaters 2 weeks longer than DM2.

Sales of Monsters university toys probably trump that of DM2 toy sales though
I would think merchandise sales from Disney movies are much bigger money makers than even the actual movies themselves.