Hildalgo does 19.6

[BRERALEX]

It came in third to Passion and S&H.

At 19.6 this weekend...........this movie might not reach 100m domestically.

boxofficemojo says it took 100mil to make and 25mil to market.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I think Hildalgo's numbers are more reflective of the power of The Passion more then anything else.

 

[BRERALEX]

Of course but this day and age if the movie doesnt come out of the gate a winner, its chances are less to be a success. I was surprised Passion beat S&H which was being promoted on mtv and vh1 all weekend.

 

[Peter Pirate]

We saw 'Hidalgo' this weekend not expecting too much (all the hype over delays, etc.) and I need to say that this is a GREAT movie!

Much was made of the undercurrents and underlying themes of 'LOTR,' which for my money pales in comparison with this movie about inner struggle and common man's ability to deal with adversity while doing the right thing.

I'm still not looking forward to 'Alamo' (to seperate me from a total 'homer) and I certainly don't think 'Home On The Range' will be pushing Nemo (or Lilo and Stitch, for that matter) but 'Hidalgo' is special. Its on 'the edge of your seat' exciting, the inner struggles are intense, thought provoking and highly emotional, the special effects are good and it is just a downright great movie.

I hope it hits 100M as it deserves it and I hope the Academy remembers films released in March come nomination day.

Note: I read that it cost 78M to make...Marketing costs unavailable.

 

[BRERALEX]

where'd you find 78mil? i can't find any costs other then boxofficemojo

ok i found 90 mil on yahoo movies

 

[Peter Pirate]

I had a bad weekend and I can't recall the article (low on my totem poll, I guess), but the estimate was in an article, not at a movie website...

 

[BRERALEX]

are you trying to sya its more credible cause it was an article not a movie website

 

[Peter Pirate]

No, not at all...In fact it may have been a newspaper website and by no means is it more credible. I generally accept Boxofficemojo, but that wasn't the estimate I happened to see first this time. Perhaps in my attempt to sleep tonight the location will pop into my head...Lots of meaningless **** happens when you should be sleeping...

 

[KNWVIKING]

If you read back some of the threads here that came after the Philly meeting, they stated Hidalgo cost 76 or 78 mil.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Thanks Vike, perhaps that was it...

 

[KNWVIKING]

DEALING FOR DISNEY
Film Unit Caught in Crossfire
With support for Eisner eroding, 'The Alamo' and other big-budget bets face close scrutiny.
By Claudia Eller
Times Staff Writer

March 2, 2004

Disney hasn't forgotten "The Alamo" — and neither has Wall Street.

While corporate directors and Chairman Michael Eisner deal with a building shareholder siege, Walt Disney Co.'s film unit — a prime contributor to earnings lately — is bracing for an uncertain spring because of some high-risk bets, including the once-delayed Texas epic.

In coming weeks, the Burbank company is set to release not only its $100-million production of "The Alamo" but also next Friday's $78-million adventure film, "Hidalgo." Both pictures were bumped out of last year's lineup because they weren't ready for audiences.

 

[BRERALEX]

Thanx KNWVIKING

and boxofficemojo has alamo at 90 no est. on marketing costs

 

[Peter Pirate]

Irregardless of cost, this is a great movie that I fear will get lost in a hype heavy world and once you see this movie (and you should) you'll understand why it'd be so hard to advertise it properly without just ruining it.

 

[BRERALEX]

If sopranos wasnt on tonight and i didnt have to work till 6pm with no to time to go to the movies inbetween id be on here telling you how i think of it. I've been waiting to see it. I like what the trailers show and how they presented it as a large epic film. Plus it has C. Thomas Howell thats a nobrainer ima go watch it

 

[Another Voice]

How do you have a 3,000 mile race across the Arabian Peninsula?

Wouldn't that put the finish line somewhere in Bulgaria?

 

[Bob O]

I also saw the movie and found it very enjoyable and well worth seeing. But by no means great and not any oscar type material IMHO.
My movie was pretty filled up, but with only 19 mil. its first weekend which will be its highj point, i dont see this movie making 100 million.
With Viggo being in it yhou would have thought it would get higher attention just based on his LOTR fame, but alas it didnt seem to help.
And Peter, this movie was fictional the main actor didnt actually win this race so the struggle/adversity is no different than what could be found in lotr or any other movie that uses a man rising above the odds type of theme.
DIsney had to change their pr campaign that is is based on a true story!!!
www.HorseTravelBooks.com
A division of The Long Riders' Guild

It started as a search for heroes.

It became a hunt for the most elusive equestrian charlatan of all time.

If Frank Hopkins is to be believed, he led one of the most exciting, challenging and colorful (albeit unrecorded) lives in the late nineteenth century. No one rode more miles, eluded more danger, or befriended more famous people than he did.

During the 1930s and 40s the self-proclaimed legend told a naïve American public that he had won nearly five hundred endurance races, including an imaginary race across Arabia on a mythical mustang named “Hidalgo.”

Hopkins’ remarkable career supposedly began when he became a dispatch rider for the US government on his twelfth birthday in 1877. According to his mythology, this Renaissance Man of the Old West went on to work as a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, African explorer, endurance racer, trick rider, bounty hunter, Rough Rider, big game guide, secret agent, Pinkerton detective and star of the Wild West show.

Experts beg to differ.

This book contains an unprecedented study, undertaken by more than seventy experts in five countries, ranging from the Curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum to the former Sultan of Yemen. These academics investigated the historical improbability of Hopkins’ claims and weighed him on his merit, not his myth.

The resulting exhaustive study revealed that Hopkins had maintained a spirited disregard for the truth, plagiarized material from famous authors, slandered genuine American heroes and perpetrated a massive fraud for nearly one hundred years.

Far from being the star of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show for 32 years, for example, the counterfeit cowboy was discovered working as a subway tunnel digger in Philadelphia and a horse-handler for Ringling Brothers Circus.

It is his endurance racing pretensions, however, that have brought Hopkins his greatest notoriety and made him the hero of a Hollywood movie. Yet there is not even a documented photograph of Frank Hopkins in the saddle!

What the Experts say about Frank Hopkins

“Hopkins should have been awarded the World's Greatest Liar award.” Dr. Vine Deloria, Jr., leading Native American scholar, retired professor emeritus of history at the University of Colorado and author of many acclaimed books.



"The only endurance Hopkins ever did was with his pencil." James Davidson, Vermont Historical Society



“I would judge the evidence as overwhelming that Frank T. Hopkins was a fraud." Professor David Dary, emeritus professor and former head of the Gaylord College of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma.



“Did this man Hopkins say anything true?” Dr. John Gable, Executive Director, Theodore Roosevelt Association.



"What Hopkins claims to have done on horseback is all very interesting, but where is the evidence?" Jeremy James, Expert on equestrian travel, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Long Rider and author of “Saddletramp.”



“Hopkins is a phony! He was obviously just repeating stories he had read. We don’t know of any contemporary sources that even mention him.” Leo Remiger, expert on the history of 19th century buffalo hunting and co-author of the "Encyclopedia of Buffalo Hunters & Skinners.”



“It is so obvious that Hopkins is a fraud – I cannot see how he could have fooled people for so many years.” Gregory Michno, author of “Lakota Noon” and “The Encyclopedia of Indian Wars”



"I find Frank Hopkins suspiciously absent from any authentic historical events." Dr. Juti Winchester, Curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum.



"I have determined Hopkins to be a narcissist with sociopathic tendencies.... Hopkins seems to have an underlying anger about his life and this would also be a contributing factor in his lies." Dale Yeager, criminal psychologist and President of Seraph Security.



“Our heroes need to be real!” Susan Gibson, publisher of Trail Blazer magazine.


Among numerous stories showing how disney fraudently claimed this was based on some type of true story.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Point Mr. Voice?

Bob, it matters none to me if the story was true, based on true or total fiction. The internal struggles of the main character are things all of us can learn from, filled with hard choices etched in reality, unlike LOTR. I sincerely doubt that any of us will be faced with the challenge of Frodo (unless broken down to the common denominator) while the challenges facing those of Frank Hopkins are truly those common man can grasp, share dispair and hope to come to grips with.

It is apparant that my taste in movies is far removed from the norm on this board but it isn't due to inferior or uneducated taste but rather personal structure, so don't disparage Mr. Voice, it just isn't nice.

Mr. Voice, if you've seen Hidalgo and were not touched but rather concerned with geography, I fear we will never share like moments in movie going.

 

[vernon]

I don't doubt that it's a decent movie to watch, or that it will eventually cover it's costs and make a decent profit.

I do think it's sales have been damaged by the arguments over it's historical accuracy (since when did that bother people?) and maybe Disney would have been better served by not putting too much into the "it's based on a true story" aspect of it.

 

[Bstanley]

How do you have a 3,000 mile race across the Arabian Peninsula?

Well you know AV, it took Moses 40 years to get across Sinai. Perhaps there is a Micro Black Hole in the area causing significant Spatial Distortions?

 

[drdelsol]

Did they say the race was straight across? There could have been alot of turns.