This weekend at the box office...

[HB2K]

Cat in the Hat placed number one with $40.1 Million. (Click here for the link to CNN's write up on the weekend box office)

Now I've had many thoughts on this...

First off, why has Cat had so much success with HORRID reviews? This quote summed it up nicely:

It's not about entertaining parents or reviewers. It's about entertaining kids, and that's what happened," Rocco said. "It's whether or not your audience was satisfied, and every time I saw the movie with an audience of kids, they loved it.

This is the same thinking with some of Disney's latest releases (or at least the justification used for them).

So what makes Cat open so highly while Brother Bear, while successful, opened at a lower mark? Personally I'm betting Brother Bear to be a much better film than Cat, yet the box office comes out in droves to see Cat?

 

[KNWVIKING]

It seemed to me that CitH was marketed out the wazzu. Every time a commercial came on,there seemed to be some tie-in to it. That may account for the gonzo opening, but I'll be surprised if it holds up next weekend.

 

[JeffH]

Brother Bear was an original new unfamiliar concept.
Cat in the Hat is one of the oldest, most recognizable concept you can think of.
Seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[Peter Pirate]

'Cat In The Hat' at 40+M for the first weekend...We truly are near the endo f civilzation as we know it...

 

[Bob O]

Lets see how much staying power it has???
If word of mouth is true you may not have many repeat business.

 

[cindyfan]

So have you guys seen it? And what did you think?
I just think it looks too "weird".
The "Grinch" had so much appeal because it was a very heart-warming Christmas story!!
I am not even drawn to CiTH.
We are trying to decide which movie to see on Thanksgiving......either CiTH or Haunted Mansion.....
Right now we are all voting for HM.

ps...we saw "Elf".....really cute....enjoyed it. But doesn't hold a candle to Santa Claus or Santa Claus 2.

 

[HB2K]

JeffH-

It's interesting...many of the rotten reviews for Brother Bear were the reviewer's perception that BB was so similar to other Disney fare...

And you posted what I was thinking...

Cat succeeded because the Dr. Suess brand name is fresher and shiner?

I'll agree with that, but if Universal doesn't do a better job of making a story everyone can get into, they're going to lose a lot of this guaranteed appeal....

And Bob I agree the word of mouth is probably going to kill the CAT....

 

[DisneyKidds]

Cat succeeded because the Dr. Suess brand name is fresher and shiner?

Funny, that isn't how I read into what Jeff said, and isn't how I would necessarily explain it.

Is Dr. Suess fresher and shiner than Disney? Can't say for sure, but I doubt it.............highly. Is Cat in the Hat a book that just about every child has read while Brother Bear is not a story that kids are familiar with from childhood? Sure. I think that is what he meant.................or at least that is how I'd explain it. I think it has more to do with story recognition that brand recognition. However, I suppose the only way we could tell for sure was if there was a Suess movie based on a new story, one that kids weren't familiar with. Would such a film pull Cat-like numbers? Probably not.

 

[bretsyboo]

This seems pretty simple to me,

Dr. Suess is in every kids house everywhere, and the grinch and cat in the hat are his most famous. That's a huge appeal.

Then you have the marketing, these movies were everywhere and the previews show an elaborate set full of colors and wonder. (Those aren't even backgrounds you see...they built the whole town!) They are marketed as huge huge movies.

Then, and perhpas most important of all, they brought the star power.

The Grinch took Jim Carrey, and if you were going to have someone do a comedy movie full of physical gags and needed a star with lots of energy, who are you going to choose? Carrey was marketed big time.

Ice Age (which sucked) took Ray Romano, who was the biggest name on T.V. at the time, and turned him into a wise cracking sarcastic mamoth...not the biggest (except in literal size) stretch from what made him huge.

Shrek-which I am not in any way saying is bad-took the red hot comedy genius of myers and combined him with other hollywood stars...

Toy Story took Tom Hanks, the biggest name in Hollywood, and Tim Allen at that time one of the biggest names on TV, you can't tell me that didn't help promote their brand new film.

and now Cat in the Hat takes the still red hot Myers and combines him with Dr. Suess.

These movie makers are making hi budget movies and putting THE BIGGEST STARS in them to bring in an audience that wouldn't have normally just gone to this movie. It's a brilliant plan that probably works a lot better than the mass of fans Brother Bear must have brought in to hear Phil Collins latest songs.

I have to support Disney's not automatic look for the biggest star stance here--while I'm guessing they do it to not pay the extra money--they are looking for the voice that best fits the character rather than a huge actor they are making into the character to promote the film. It also helps the characters stand on their own. Keni is Keni, Koda is Koda, Joe Shmo hasn't the slightest guess of who does their voices, people think of them as seperate individuals. Instead of people thinking "That's the grinch" they think "That's Jim Carrey as the Grinch"

Remember Ice Age's trailors? The ones that would show Romano in the voice booth? Disneys lack of promotion of the voices probably helps make their movies more real to the audience.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree that promotion is a lot of it. The Looney Tunes movie is excellent and has good reviews but no one is seeing it. This movie was poorly promoted IMO and no one is interested. But every time you turn around you see the CITH so whether it's good or bad, it's fresh in people's minds.

Ice Age (which didn't suck ) was also pushed well as I recall.

 

[Evil Princess]

Honestly, I think I've seen about 3 commercials for Brother Bear on television. I didn't even know that it came out until I read these boards.

Cat in the Hat was promoted HEAVILY. Not only with promos on TV, but it was linked in commercials for everything from chips to Burger King.

Obviously more people are going to know about Cat and the Hat.

 

[raidermatt]

I don't think its all that big of a surprise that Cat opened well.

I think they've all been mentioned, in no particular order:

1- The only other opening was Gothika. Not a lot of crossover.

2- Built-in brand name, ala Hulk, Spider-Man, Harry Potter, etc.

3- Mike Myers... A pretty big drawing card, and unlike an animated film, he is actually on screen.

4- It does look "Grinch-like", which has to help.

5- Heavy marketing.

6- While not a holiday weekend, it is the start of a holiday week for a lot of folks who take the whole week off.

Really, its similar to what happens in the Summer. Films that are marketed well open big. Whether anyone actually likes the film doesn't come into play until the following weeks.

 

[Bob O]

Im not surprised it started out good, but wonder if the bad word of mouth will hurt it in the long run, which Grinch didnt have.
I also thought aIce Age was very well done and enjoyable to watch.