WSJ: "Mars Needs Moms" a MASSIVE dud

[mcd2745]

It might be a decent movie, but the title is just so bad...

All the reviews I saw were very positive. But like you said, the title is absolutely awful and the marketing wasn't any better.

 

[Golf4food]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mars_needs_moms/

Currently a 55% liked rating from viewers with an average score of 3.2 out of 5.

Average at best, but the marketing has been terrible. I agree the title of the movie is horrendous. If they changed the title of Tangled midway why not this one? Surely almost anything would have been better than Mars Needs Moms...

 

[geogat]

The quality of this movie has little to do with the failure of this movie. Marketing research, and later just marketing alone failed this movie. It is up to market research to gather information to give to the executives on what the consumer's appetite is. Later, it is up to the marketing team to drive the consumer to the product. The marketing team seems to have swung and missed this time around driving the consumer to the product. From it's name, to it's trailers.

I saw the movie. It was a good movie. It had a good message, it was cute at times, and my 6 year old daughter even got a bit emotional. It is to bad that a quality movie can be such a let down.

Just goes to show.. have a good marketing team!

 

[doconeill]

Apparently the failure of Mars has led Disney to completely cut loose Robert Zemeckis, who had also done A Christmas Carol (which Disney was also disappointed with, but we liked). He had everything ready to do his motion-capture remake of Yellow Submarine (not sure how I felt about that) with cast and crew hired.

Disney had already shuttered his ImageMovers studio shingle last year.

Mars Needs Moms torpedoes Yellow Submarine

 

[Micca]

I'm a 56 year old guy with no small children or grandchildren, so I'm not in Disney's target audience. However, I'm a huge Disney fan and own nearly every Disney film up to Princess and the Frog and I watch them regularly.
I didn't even know about this picture until yesterday. Never even heard of it Maybe they can press the DVD and push them through McDonald's Happy Meals. "Would you like to add the DVD of Mars Needs Moms for just a dollar more?"

 

[LoriABil]

My son was asked to answer a survey after getting to watch the trailer (like a focus group). He really did not like it (the trailer), and said he didn't understand what the movie was about by watching the trailer. He is 7, so I don't know if he's a little young for the target demographic? Anyway, the trailer out is the same one he panned. It sounds like it might be more of a marketing error as opposed to a dud movie.

 

[doconeill]

I'm a 56 year old guy with no small children or grandchildren, so I'm not in Disney's target audience. However, I'm a huge Disney fan and own nearly every Disney film up to Princess and the Frog and I watch them regularly.
I didn't even know about this picture until yesterday. Never even heard of it Maybe they can press the DVD and push them through McDonald's Happy Meals. "Would you like to add the DVD of Mars Needs Moms for just a dollar more?"

Some have said that Disney didn't throw a lot of marketing behind the movie, possibly partially to blame for the failure. But if you are predicting failure, you don't generally throw more money at it...

 

[NannyRose]

We ( my niece and her two girls, ages 9 and 11) saw this movie. We all liked it . The girls decided they want to get in on DVD. I wasn't looking forward to it as I thought it would be lame, but it was really good with a good message. I think people should be willing to give it a try.

 

[tjkraz]

The quality of this movie has little to do with the failure of this movie. Marketing research, and later just marketing alone failed this movie. It is up to market research to gather information to give to the executives on what the consumer's appetite is.

And that (bold) is where they failed. Only Polar Express was a modest success at the box office. Other attempts at this mo cap technology were failures and I've yet to see anything which suggests that the public is clamoring for more of this style film.

When you compare the sheer volume of marketing to other recent films like Tangled and Toy Story 3, it's obvious that Disney didn't spend as much money on "Mars." To me, that suggests they knew they had a dud on their hands and simply were not willing to throw good money after bad. They made some modest effort to get word out but the marketing budget was certainly nowhere near other recent Disney releases.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Lots of trashing of this movie here but has anyone trashing it actually seen it?

Does that really matter? A flop is decided within days of its release...and this one is right on the bullseye


But to be fair...it won't dent Disney too much...as they are gonna rake this summer with 3 big ticket movies...whether they're any good or not

 

[MJMcBride]

As I said in an earlier post, our family went Friday to see the movie and really liked it.

sounds like u might have been the only one there

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Does that really matter? A flop is decided within days of its release...and this one is right on the bullseye


But to be fair...it won't dent Disney too much...as they are gonna rake this summer with 3 big ticket movies...whether they're any good or not

Well, yes it matters, IMO. I personally don't care if the movie is a "flop," the real significance is if it's a good / decent flick or a really poor one. I mean Disney making oodles of money really doesn't matter to me but my spending money to watch a movie is important to me.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

sounds like u might have been the only one there

From the posts in this thread it sounds like they are the only one who have seen it. They give it a ,making it a pretty good movie based on reviews here on the DIS. (good=1;bad=0). rottontomatoes at 55% isn't horrible either.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Well, yes it matters, IMO. I personally don't care if the movie is a "flop," the real significance is if it's a good / decent flick or a really poor one. I mean Disney making oodles of money really doesn't matter to me but my spending money to watch a movie is important to me.

I hear what you're saying Pete...and in a vacuum i agree with you.

but lets face it...money is the only things that matters to the Empire and therefore it is the only thing that practically matters to us.

I make no bones about where my interests lie - i want TWDC to expand its themepark offerings and re-invest billions of dollars in that segment because it is the best for me and my family.
the only way that is possible is if they hit homers with their tv, movie, and internet offerings and feel that the market is strong for secondary (cough MERCHANDISING cough) revenue and that the brand offerings are pulling people to the themeparks...

so every failure could affect what i get outta Disney. So from the macro level down to the micro level - money does matter to us too.

but as i said...this is a bump in the road (though...combined with the near destruction of their most dedicated fanbase - the japanese - its a pretty crappy week for Disney)
...and we'll all be up to our eyeballs in pirate crap in about 6 weeks

 

[doconeill]

As an interesting aside (and with this circling around to the situation in Japan), I read an analysts report yesterday (unfortunately I can't find the link now), that the situation in Japan will likely hurt the company a LOT more than <i>Moms</i> did...even though WDC only gets a licensing fee for the Tokyo parks. The analyst said that that fee amounts to 18% of the total operating income of DisneyParks.

Almost 1/5th of their operating income comes from 1/5th of their currently operating parks - except they don't even own the parks.

 

[Kazooie01]

sounds like u might have been the only one there

Not counting family, there was seven other people in the 200+ seat Regal 3-D movie theater. This makes for a grand total of twelve (at a 7:40pm showing on a Friday night).

 

[lugnut33]

That is sad because it's based on a story by Berkeley Breathed who pens the funny comic strip Bloom County. I hear the book is fanstastic.

 

[Golf4food]

We can't stand the motion capture look. It's creepy. Either go live action or animate but don't try to blend the two in a way that looks worse than either of the other options and adds a big creepiness factor as well.

 

[ChrisFL]

We can't stand the motion capture look. It's creepy. Either go live action or animate but don't try to blend the two in a way that looks worse than either of the other options and adds a big creepiness factor as well.

Back to the uncanny valley.

 

[livvylivvie]

I think that the movie looks interesting. I might rent it, when there is nothing else... lol
BUT I would NEVER let my kids watch it! Well maybe in a few years.... But I have heard of kids having nightmares! Scared that thier moms were going to be kidnapped and thier brains sucked out!!!! THIS IS AWFUL!!!
What age is their target demographic?? This can't be for kids Under 10!!!

Some one please fill me in, What age group is this appropriate for?