Cinema Analysts Blame Halo 3 For Low Ticket Sales
10-17-07, 03:14 PM
#1
Guest
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Glendale, next to L.A.
Posts: 18,484
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Cinema Analysts Blame Halo 3 For Low Ticket Sales
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=15870
This is a very interesting topic and shows how powerful mega video games have become. Of course a Halo 3 only comes around every couple of years or so, but people believe they are getting a better value spending $60 for Halo 3 vs. $7 to $10 on a movie they may or may not like.
Chris
October 16, 2007
Cinema Analysts Blame Halo 3 For Low Ticket Sales
Movie industry analysts have blamed the poor performance of Ben Stiller romantic comedy The Heartbreak Kid on the disruptive influence of the Halo 3 launch. The $60 million movie was expected to enjoy a $20 to $25 million opening, but registered only $14 million in revenues in the U.S. and Canada.
By comparison, Halo 3 famously generated $170 million in revenues on its first day, increased to over $300 million in its first week. Compared to Halo 3’s near universal critical acclaim though The Heartbreak Kid in has received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic total of 46 out of 100.
Total cinema industry revenues for the October 5th weekend were just $80 million, 27 percent below that of the same weekend in 2006, according to data from research firm Media by Numbers. This has resulted in the worst October weekend since 1999, with autumn receipts overall down 6 percent on the previous year.
"The audience on this game is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you'd see in cinemas," quotes an Advertising Age article of Mike Hickey, an analyst at research firm Janco Partners. ”This could last for several weeks."
The Advertising Age article also suggests that Paramount, the studio behind The Heartbreak Kid, suspects that the movie’s failure was partially due to the release of Halo 3 and is “working to determine if there was a correlation”.
POSTED: 04.52AM PST, 10/16/07 - David Jenkins
Cinema Analysts Blame Halo 3 For Low Ticket Sales
Movie industry analysts have blamed the poor performance of Ben Stiller romantic comedy The Heartbreak Kid on the disruptive influence of the Halo 3 launch. The $60 million movie was expected to enjoy a $20 to $25 million opening, but registered only $14 million in revenues in the U.S. and Canada.
By comparison, Halo 3 famously generated $170 million in revenues on its first day, increased to over $300 million in its first week. Compared to Halo 3’s near universal critical acclaim though The Heartbreak Kid in has received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic total of 46 out of 100.
Total cinema industry revenues for the October 5th weekend were just $80 million, 27 percent below that of the same weekend in 2006, according to data from research firm Media by Numbers. This has resulted in the worst October weekend since 1999, with autumn receipts overall down 6 percent on the previous year.
"The audience on this game is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you'd see in cinemas," quotes an Advertising Age article of Mike Hickey, an analyst at research firm Janco Partners. ”This could last for several weeks."
The Advertising Age article also suggests that Paramount, the studio behind The Heartbreak Kid, suspects that the movie’s failure was partially due to the release of Halo 3 and is “working to determine if there was a correlation”.
POSTED: 04.52AM PST, 10/16/07 - David Jenkins
Chris
10-17-07, 03:20 PM
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
The film industry blames everything from piracy to video games, but never seems to notice that the reason that they might not be selling lots of movie tickets is that a lot of the movies they are making are crap and don't deserve to make hundreds of millions of dollars in box office.
10-17-07, 03:22 PM
#3
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 9,334
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This is a bunch of baloney. These analysts just take whatever current event is happening around a movie new release and use it to justify the poor numbers.
Furthermore, the second source for this correlation is Paramount itself, which is just looking for a reason to blame poor box office.
Furthermore, the second source for this correlation is Paramount itself, which is just looking for a reason to blame poor box office.
10-17-07, 03:32 PM
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Which video games came out when Fever Pitch, Osmosis Jones, and Stuck on You came out in theaters? What's their excuse?
It's not like this is the first time the Farrelly's have had a bomb. This movie looks like shit. I think anyone with half a brain can tell you why it didn't perform as well as expected.
It's not like this is the first time the Farrelly's have had a bomb. This movie looks like shit. I think anyone with half a brain can tell you why it didn't perform as well as expected.
10-17-07, 03:49 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Hail to the Redskins!
Posts: 25,295
Likes: 0
Received 49 Likes
on
38 Posts
Originally Posted by FinkPish
The film industry blames everything from piracy to video games, but never seems to notice that the reason that they might not be selling lots of movie tickets is that a lot of the movies they are making are crap and don't deserve to make hundreds of millions of dollars in box office.
Not to mention that going to a nighttime show for two people with a drink and popcorn is $30. I'd rather buy the DVD, thank you very much.
10-17-07, 05:09 PM
#7
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
I could see a big video game premiere having an affect on weekend BO if a movie was opening that targeted the same age group, but the low returns for "Heartbreak Kid" had more to do with it being shitty.
10-17-07, 05:39 PM
#9
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by BJacks
I could see a big video game premiere having an affect on weekend BO if a movie was opening that targeted the same age group, but the low returns for "Heartbreak Kid" had more to do with it being shitty.
I think people are being naive if they think another big event such as a video game won't affect other forms of entertainment like movies. Considering there's word that Halo 3 sold 3 million copies in it's first week, I don't think its a stretch to believe that a million of those sales were people that decided to stay in and play the game rather then catch a movie.
10-17-07, 08:37 PM
#10
DVD Talk Godfather
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,299
Received 1,816 Likes
on
1,131 Posts
Point taken Fu, but still....
This is like when Stone blamed Bush and the American conservative climate for the the failure of "Alexander" due to fear of Homosexual themes.
Gotta love the blame game in Hollywood.
This is like when Stone blamed Bush and the American conservative climate for the the failure of "Alexander" due to fear of Homosexual themes.
Gotta love the blame game in Hollywood.
10-17-07, 09:12 PM
#11
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I don't doubt that other forms of entertainment sometimes encroach on what used to be the only big form of entertainment around, but like Giantrobo mentioned, Hollywood loves to shift blame everywhere but where it usually belongs, with the studios themselves; when you make shitty movies and word spreads faster than ever nowadays, you need to look at the way you do business and maybe change the decisions you make.
10-17-07, 10:14 PM
#12
DVD Talk Godfather
Oh of course; i thought it was obvious that The Heartbreak Kid wasn't going to be a big success just based on the trailers, and some movies would be a success regardless of what other entertainment might be out at the time.
Still, the Halo 3 argument was mentioned by analysts, not just the studio. And it wasn't like a 20 million dollar opening expectation would be a bad one for this sort of movie.
Still, the Halo 3 argument was mentioned by analysts, not just the studio. And it wasn't like a 20 million dollar opening expectation would be a bad one for this sort of movie.
10-18-07, 05:12 AM
#13
DVD Talk Godfather
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,299
Received 1,816 Likes
on
1,131 Posts
Originally Posted by fumanstan
Oh of course; i thought it was obvious that The Heartbreak Kid wasn't going to be a big success just based on the trailers, and some movies would be a success regardless of what other entertainment might be out at the time.
Still, the Halo 3 argument was mentioned by analysts, not just the studio. And it wasn't like a 20 million dollar opening expectation would be a bad one for this sort of movie.
Still, the Halo 3 argument was mentioned by analysts, not just the studio. And it wasn't like a 20 million dollar opening expectation would be a bad one for this sort of movie.
...who work for the industry or at the very least spin things in their favor.
10-18-07, 07:01 AM
#14
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by FinkPish
The film industry blames everything from piracy to video games, but never seems to notice that the reason that they might not be selling lots of movie tickets is that a lot of the movies they are making are crap and don't deserve to make hundreds of millions of dollars in box office.
The kicker is that they are blaming Halo for racking in HUGE numbers and detracting from their revenue, but canceled the movie adaptation. :
: I'm sure there are some studio heads rushing around behind the scenes to get it back on track now.
10-18-07, 10:30 AM
#15
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
I didn’t think people that liked Halo, liked Ben Stiller movies in the first place.
I don’t like Ben Stiller movies but that’s just because I actually have some taste in films & I think he tries a little too hard to be funny. I think his father, Jerry Stiller is much more of a comedic talent & it’s too bad he doesn’t get his own movie “vehicle”.
I don’t like Ben Stiller movies but that’s just because I actually have some taste in films & I think he tries a little too hard to be funny. I think his father, Jerry Stiller is much more of a comedic talent & it’s too bad he doesn’t get his own movie “vehicle”.
10-18-07, 10:41 AM
#17
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by nateman241
I didn’t think people that liked Halo, liked Ben Stiller movies in the first place.
10-18-07, 12:34 PM
#19
DVD Talk Limited Edition
My other problem with these constant complaints from studios (either through analysts or by themselves), is that every year a movie comes out that breaks box office records, either on its opening weekend or with how quickly it reaches 100 or 200 million dollars, etc. And every summer is a "record summer" with at least 5 or 6 movies making 300 million or more. They are raking in more and more money faster and faster each year, yet we still get these whiny complaints when every single movie doesn't do as well as they wish.
10-18-07, 01:07 PM
#21
Let's see terrible movie vs. one of the most critically praised games released for 360. Hmm..the entertainment industry is facing a losing battle if they keep releasing crap against good games.
Here are my priorities, when deciding what to do at night.
1. Movie on DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray
2. Videogame for 360/PS3
3. Internetting
4. Sleep/Eat
5. Go to the theatre.
Here are my priorities, when deciding what to do at night.
1. Movie on DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray
2. Videogame for 360/PS3
3. Internetting
4. Sleep/Eat
5. Go to the theatre.
Last edited by PopcornTreeCt; 10-18-07 at 01:09 PM.
10-18-07, 04:27 PM
#22
Guest
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Glendale, next to L.A.
Posts: 18,484
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt
Let's see terrible movie vs. one of the most critically praised games released for 360. Hmm..the entertainment industry is facing a losing battle if they keep releasing crap against good games.
Here are my priorities, when deciding what to do at night.
1. Movie on DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray
2. Videogame for 360/PS3
3. Internetting
4. Sleep/Eat
5. Go to the theatre.
Here are my priorities, when deciding what to do at night.
1. Movie on DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray
2. Videogame for 360/PS3
3. Internetting
4. Sleep/Eat
5. Go to the theatre.
I don't see any time alotted for television viewing.
For me it's the exact opposite, I have more than 20 hours of primetime television scheduled every week!
Chris
10-18-07, 04:53 PM
#23
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by fumanstan
Nice article. I think blaming a video game for others failures is childish and stupid. "Halo 3" isn't responsible for bad box office or poor TV watching. For those people who did buy the game and own a 360, there are millions who do not.
I liked that they brought up "Reaper" doing bad due to sales. I watched the first episode. I hated it, it was awful. Most of the new shows are. I can't blame the bad shows and movies on "Halo 3." I blame the idiots who greenlit them and unleashed them upon us.
10-18-07, 06:04 PM
#24
Originally Posted by mrpayroll
What, what?
I don't see any time alotted for television viewing.
For me it's the exact opposite, I have more than 20 hours of primetime television scheduled every week!
Chris
I don't see any time alotted for television viewing.
For me it's the exact opposite, I have more than 20 hours of primetime television scheduled every week!
Chris
actually that's my night AFTER 10 pm when all the good shows are over.
10-19-07, 10:24 AM
#25
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by fumanstan
You don't think people that play Halo, which I assume would be an 18-34 demographic, didn't watch and enjoy movies like Dodgeball or There's Something About Mary?