Why did The Last Samurai bomb?
 

Is it me or am I the only one wondering why The Last Samurai bombed at the box office? I mean, it hasn't BOMBED....but it definitely hasn't made anywhere near what they expected it to make. It's the first Tom Cruise movie not to break the $100mil mark. They are still advertising it on TV. The kind of TV advertisments I have seen recently suggests that they are kinda desperate to rake in more cash than it has so far. What do you think?

huh?

Isn't the Last Samurai "THE movie to beat in 2003"?

its already been beaten badly at the BO

Its got $85mil and is holding strong with all the competition...it made $2mil I believe Friday which would set it up for another $7mil weekend...which is what it made last weekend...which is good...it'll pass $100mil...

Take a look at its daily grosses...its barely dropped at all!

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/...astsamurai.htm

Snow storms blasting the east coast its first 2 weekends of release didnt help either.

I thought it was a damn fine film. But I don't believe it is bringing in a real young crowd. The subject matter is much more mature than Cruise's ususal fare. In fact, the showing I went to during the first Saturday of its opening, there was hardly anyone that looked under 35. I think as time goes by, "The Last Samurai" will be considered one of Cruise's two or three best films.

Re: Why did The Last Samurai bomb?
 

Eyes Wide Shut - $55 mil
Far and Away - $58 mil
Legend - $15 mil
Magnolia - $22 mil (to a lesser extent a "Tom Cruise Movie")

I stopped at 4. There are others. I think The Last Samurai is doing okay. As Tarnower mentioned, it's not the type of movie that will bring in the younger crowd. If RotK wasn't out at the same time, I bet the box office would be more favorable towards this movie.

I think the quote is meant to highlight his more recent mainstream fare. Magnolia and Eyes Wide Shut are more experimental films for him, and Magnolia is not wholly his film. Legend is way before he started being in blockbusters, only Far and Away among those would I consider his lesser box office hit.

Well the film certainly doesn't deserve to be successful...it stinks!

But it will make plenty of dough overseas. Tom Cruise is HUGE in Asia.

I loved it, but most people I talk to have no interest in see'ing this film...They all go, "Tom Cruise as a Samurai?? no way!", which is how the film is marketed.

Well, according to the box-office figures just released, it made another 7.5 million this weekend and is now at 90 million. So, to answer your question, no, this is not a bomb. For it will likely top off around 110-120 million at this rate. Especially with the Academy Award nominations coming out in a month. They'll bring the movie back (can't use the work re-release, because technically it'll still be in some theatres). If you had asked me the second weekend if I thought it was a bomb, I would have said it was an underachiever. But it definitely has legs. People seem to love this film. And word of mouth is helping. I would like to see the same thing happen to "Master and Commander". It's currently at 83 million. I doubt it'll reach 100 million at this point. And that's a shame. It should make twice that at the very least IMO. What great film!

It's not a bomb, but it definitely hasn't set the world on fire like the pre-release hype would have had you believe. It doesn't look likely to get more than a few Oscar nominations and making under $100 million in a month isn't what the studio was hoping for I guess. I haven't had a chance to see it yet so I can't tell you why all this is, but it does seem a shame that movies like this, "Cold Mountain" and "Master and Commander" aren't managing to break out of a smaller, older audience -- guess teens are too busy watching "Cheaper By The Dozen" or something...

The publicized budget is $120 million. After everything, I wouldn't say that this is a bomb, just a small dissapointment.

Include overseas, domestic, and eventual video+DVD grosses, and SAMURAI will make a nice profit for all involved. It is no bomb.

As for CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN that was brought up... There are not many family films in competition right now, unlike November, when there was a five film pileup. Once school goes back in session, watch CHEAPER's grosses fall dramatically.

Ding ding ding. For that reason, I have no interest. Cruise just doesn't do it for me in this role.

Also, with ROTK out, there is no reason to see this movie :D Still, it'll make back its budget and do very well overseas and on DVD. You people forget, a lot of movies these days don't bomb because of both overseas markets and the HUGE DVD market.

:lol:

Tell me about it. There's no question that it is 'bombing'- considering what it is: a flashy big budget Tom Cruise vehicle. I mean hell, you'd have to be an idiot to accuse something like Magnolia as being a 'bomb'- there's just no expectation for it to be a blockbuster. The same can't be said for the last samurai.

(as an aside, I think for something to be a bomb, it simply means it does not live up to the expectations- it can still make back its budget or be profitable and be a bomb: if ROTK only made a tiny profit over its budget in the entirety of its theatrical run what would you call it?)

Personally? I think The Last Samurai is bombing just because it isn't very good. (i.e. why I haven't, and won't be seeing it again)

The movie dropped a mere 10% at the box office this weekend...hows that a bomb...its gonna pass $100mil...probably end up with a good $110mil...and then the Worldwide grosses...DVD...awards...I think WB will be pretty happy...

It's at $90 million after Jan 2-4 weekend.
It makes solid money every weekend.

A lot of people really liked this film and people are still going to see it after good word of mouth.

It's not an easy sell. A lot of drama in Japan with mostly Japanese actors a few battle scenes thrown in.

Did it bomb? NO

Did it underperform? YES


what is to blame? several things...

1. A big snowstorm in the east.

2. A Hobbit named Frodo.

3. The publics general apathy with Tom Cruise of late. This is the only thing that (to me) could explain how Minority Report underperformed, I think it was his best movie ever.

Minority Report made like $140mil domestically...and I think about $300mil worldwide...hows that a disappointment...

Most had the film pegged for an easy $250 million as I remember. The one two punch of Tom Cruise and Steven Speilberg was supposed to put a lock on this movie and make it one of the top 3 grossers. Again, Bomb...NO Underperform...Yes.

I never thought of Last Samurai as a flashy Tom Cruise blockbuster type movie, so i dont think it bombed. I think it is underperforming as far as it's budget goes in the box office, but with all the award nominations, i dont think its a dissapointment at all.

I don't know how it could be any other wise. It is a Tom Cruise film, period. And it is being sold as such. 99% of the time it is marketed as an flashy, big budget action flick with the commercials being composed mostly of Tom riding in battle, swinging sword in battle, yelling in battle.

To me, there is little difference between the Last Samurai, and say, Mission: Impossible 2 besides the fact that samurai is arguably a slightly better film.