Weekend Boxoffice Chart - DOOM is #1!

[Evil Avatar]

The box office was "doomed" in more ways than one on Sunday, as the movie version of the popular video game Doom won the weekend contest, but overall sales tumbled despite a wide range of new releases.

Here is the Weekend Boxoffice Chart for the weekend of October 21st to October 23rd.

Doom $15.3/$15.3
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story $9.3/$9.3
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit $8.7/$44.0
The Fog $7.3/$21.5
North Country $6.4/$6.4
Elizabethtown $5.7/$18.9
Flightplan $4.7/$77.2
In Her Shoes $3.9/$26.1
A History of Violence $2.7/$26.3
Two for the Money $2.4/$20.6
Domino $2.3/$8.6
Good Night, And Good Luck. $2.3/$4.5

[Ernst_Jager]

Wow, movie sales are horrid.

[The Iron Weasel]

Yeah, they are really in a rut right now, not to mention that movies just suck these days.

[LilEvilFish]

They're definately no Die Hard.

But Howl's Moving Castle was great to see :)

[agentgray]

I'm taking my soon to be 3yr old to see Wallace and Gromit this afternoon. Any opinions? Will it freak my son out?

[Xerxes]

Well good movies like Serenity get over looked.

Don't know what to say about Doom.

[Citizen Philip]

SoooOOooo, Doom... any good?

[Paltry]

lets just talk about serenity instead... should i go see it in the theater or just download it... will i be missing anything if i do

[Xerxes]

I'd put Doom over anything Uwe Boll did and even better than Resident Evil.

Probably on par with AVP. Except AVP could have been kicked ass with army of those aliens vs that army of preds on Ice at the end. Doom would of need a lots more to drop my jaw.

And why the hell are elite fighting forces a bunch of ragtag dumbasses. If that's the fate of our future space marines, space will always be safe from humans.

[Atorak]

Anyone else REALLY happy that the boxoffice numbers are awful lately? Does this mean Hollywood will actually take the time to come out with movies WORTH seeing now? Does this mean they'll start updating theaters?

I hope the numbers keep falling. Going to a movie has gotten ridiculous the past few years. The video quality is crap, because only a few theaters have ponied up to upgrade to those digital projectors. The sound quality is normally poor, except for the few theaters that have the "THX" enabled sound. The seats are uncomfortable, being almost 6' 2", I can barely sit through an entire film. The previews are SO goddamn long now, that you might as well show up a half hour past the start time. People in theaters seem to be getting worse, I cannot even remember the last time I saw a movie with some sort of quiet atmosphere. And finally, the ticket prices are outrageous! I think we pay close to $10.00 for a single ticket, not to mention that a bag of popcorn and a crap soda are another $8.00 or so. $4.00 for a box of candy? $4.00 for a WATER?!

No thanks, folks. I can pick and choose what movies I want to see once they come to DVD. Oh, and I get the benefit of the following:

1. It's cheaper to buy a DVD then go to a movie, and I can watch it whenever I want (with no previews).
2. I can enjoy it comfortably on my couch.
3. It is as quiet as a I want it to be.
4. My HDTV + audio system is leagues ahead of what a movie can provide.
5. I don't have to pay an arm and a leg to "take a chance" on a movie that might or might not be good. I'll know if it's good before I click purchase on Amazon.


/end Atorak's Rant-of-the-Week

[Acidpoptart]

Probably on par with AVP. Except AVP could have been kicked ass with army of those aliens vs that army of preds on Ice at the end. Doom would of need a lots more to drop my jaw.

Am I the only one that thought AvP was one of the biggest dissapointments EVER? I was so angry after watching it, I demanded my money back.

People have been complaining about a slow summer for movies and what not, trying to find something to blame it on like piracy and everything else, but the simple thing is, not many interesting or good movies have been put out this summer. The only things I can think of are Wedding Crashers and Broken Flowers.

[Ernst_Jager]

Concessions cost so much because the theater itself makes almost nothing on ticket sales. I doubt they will stop turning out shitty movie after shitty movie. If anything they will start making more.

[Vandenh]

AVP sucked sadly....

I also expected a lot and got almost nothing. Silly uncoherent plot and not so impressive Predators. And NO blood!!!!????

Hollywood deserves to go down in flames ;)

I just buy must of my pop-corn flicks on DVD now and only go to the movies for arty stuff (Broken Flowers ;) and Peter Jackson ;)

[hideouslywrinkled]

lets just talk about serenity instead... should i go see it in the theater or just download it... will i be missing anything if i do

You should go see it in theatres. It has some big screen worthy moments and you'll also be donating to the cause. (The Serenity's Box Office sucked and now it needs all the revenue you can give it if we ever hope to see a sequel cause.)

[mpsmith]

Doom sucked. Luckily my friend had an allergic reaction to something so we left for the ER about 2/3 through.

[Steve_Erhardt]

Anyone else REALLY happy that the boxoffice numbers are awful lately? Does this mean Hollywood will actually take the time to come out with movies WORTH seeing now? Does this mean they'll start updating theaters?

I hope the numbers keep falling. Going to a movie has gotten ridiculous the past few years. The video quality is crap, because only a few theaters have ponied up to upgrade to those digital projectors. The sound quality is normally poor, except for the few theaters that have the "THX" enabled sound. The seats are uncomfortable, being almost 6' 2", I can barely sit through an entire film. The previews are SO goddamn long now, that you might as well show up a half hour past the start time. People in theaters seem to be getting worse, I cannot even remember the last time I saw a movie with some sort of quiet atmosphere. And finally, the ticket prices are outrageous! I think we pay close to $10.00 for a single ticket, not to mention that a bag of popcorn and a crap soda are another $8.00 or so. $4.00 for a box of candy? $4.00 for a WATER?!

No thanks, folks. I can pick and choose what movies I want to see once they come to DVD. Oh, and I get the benefit of the following:

1. It's cheaper to buy a DVD then go to a movie, and I can watch it whenever I want (with no previews).
2. I can enjoy it comfortably on my couch.
3. It is as quiet as a I want it to be.
4. My HDTV + audio system is leagues ahead of what a movie can provide.
5. I don't have to pay an arm and a leg to "take a chance" on a movie that might or might not be good. I'll know if it's good before I click purchase on Amazon.


/end Atorak's Rant-of-the-Week


I can certainly agree with all of this, and as time goes on I'm certainly waiting for more movies to come out on DVD, but I think there will always be exceptions strong enough to pull me to the theater from time to time (Serenity being the most recent...)

[Dracula-X]

Am I the only one that thought AvP was one of the biggest dissapointments EVER? I was so angry after watching it, I demanded my money back.
I'm with you on that, I thought AvP was an abomination of the respective series. Paul W.S Anderson should really be stopped from making movies altogether. And throw in a good beating for fucking up AvP too as I think it's warranted.

Getting back on topic, looking forward to Serenity :)

[goc_sin]

I saw doom over the weekend, and thought it was ...eh. It was ok for a videogame movie, but I think it would have been much better if it stayed true to the Doom 3 story, instead of some 24 gene story crap.


Oh yeah the 1st person segment felt like a carnival fun house ride.. I wasn't too impressed with it.

[SpectralWolf]

SPOILER ALERT!

Doom sucked! It was awful. First of all, it didn't stay true to the game....which is okay since nobody would buy the hell angle but a guy in a wheelchair turning into a pinky demon......come on! Bad movie. Pacing was off, acting was bad, writing was terrible and the 2 leads were disappointing. The FPS sequences were bad and looked goofy in context.

[Roc Ingersol]

DOOM is a decent enough popcorn shooter. Go in without any expectations -- a bit of a buzz helps -- and it's enjoyable.

The box office slump is over-exaggerated. They're not going to change the way they do anything. They just didn't have a LotR or Passion of the Christ inflating the take.

We've got FLIGHTPLAN edging toward $80m and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE wallowing under $30m. When you see that, any hope of this season inspiring quality films should rightfully evaporate.

[danhoo]

Continuing the slight thread de-rail: AvP was awful. I'm embarrassed I actually paid to see it.

[Cubfan]

Coincidentally, I saw AvP for the first time last night on HBO. It was too dark (the lighting not the tone), the story line was convoluted, and some of the action was decent, not nearly as good as it could have been. The movie couldn't keep my attention, and I ended up watching most of the World Series game instead.

[Deadend]

Get ready for the movie industry to blame pirates again... as admiting that at $30ish for a movie date is just too fucking expensive to see a movie once a week, espically when the movie you are going to see has a good chance of sucking.

They need to drop the fucking prices, it will make more money in the longrun in the theatre.

I also think movies should be the price of 2 tickets, popcorn and pop.

[Kelegacy]

Anyone else REALLY happy that the boxoffice numbers are awful lately? Does this mean Hollywood will actually take the time to come out with movies WORTH seeing now? Does this mean they'll start updating theaters?

I hope the numbers keep falling. Going to a movie has gotten ridiculous the past few years. The video quality is crap, because only a few theaters have ponied up to upgrade to those digital projectors. The sound quality is normally poor, except for the few theaters that have the "THX" enabled sound. The seats are uncomfortable, being almost 6' 2", I can barely sit through an entire film. The previews are SO goddamn long now, that you might as well show up a half hour past the start time. People in theaters seem to be getting worse, I cannot even remember the last time I saw a movie with some sort of quiet atmosphere. And finally, the ticket prices are outrageous! I think we pay close to $10.00 for a single ticket, not to mention that a bag of popcorn and a crap soda are another $8.00 or so. $4.00 for a box of candy? $4.00 for a WATER?!

No thanks, folks. I can pick and choose what movies I want to see once they come to DVD. Oh, and I get the benefit of the following:

1. It's cheaper to buy a DVD then go to a movie, and I can watch it whenever I want (with no previews).
2. I can enjoy it comfortably on my couch.
3. It is as quiet as a I want it to be.
4. My HDTV + audio system is leagues ahead of what a movie can provide.
5. I don't have to pay an arm and a leg to "take a chance" on a movie that might or might not be good. I'll know if it's good before I click purchase on Amazon.


/end Atorak's Rant-of-the-Week

I also enjoy seeing the downfall of American cinema. Teach those fucking studios a lesson, don't see shit.

Oh, and to the large mass of you that did see this mucky turd, wasting money on it, knowing full well it would suck:

"FUCKING RETARDS!!"

[Xerxes]

/hides in shame for somewhat liking AVP...

About the no blood thing, Pred and Alien bled... It's just not red go figure. And yeah it did suck for the most part, hence the a big ass fight at the end to make me forget the other shit would of kinda made up for it. Kind like Pred just butchering the aliens that was down that ice hole.

Only two ways to go with it would of been too kill all them humans, or add in a group of ragtag space marines. I hated ole girl running around helping the aliens. When I'm hunting prey I like my humans dead.

[Atorak]

To clarify a point:

I am not bashing ALL films that hit the theaters this past year. I've watched movies I've had a lot of interest in. Honestly, the money thing doesn't really keep me away from the theaters either. We all have our vices, and I spend a shitload on mine.

But, it is really disheartening as a fan of cinema to see a rehashing of the same few ideas over and over and over and over and over again. Along those same lines, Hollywood keeps making these movies, and people keep seeing them! I will NEVER understand that. Then again, TV is just as bad, if not worse. Heh, but i'll save that rant for another day.

I'm just pleased that the movie industry is tanking, because maybe it will warrant some type of change. Give us more indie films. Give us original ideas. Take a chance on something for once, stop going with the 'tried and true' formulas time and time again.

Why wasn't a movie like The Aristocrats a widespread release? A completely original (yet comically unoriginal) idea for a film. Unfortunately, I couldn't even see it because it wasn't playing in any theaters close to me. And why was that exactly? Oh wait, I remember, because an executive at AMC didn't think it was appropriate, and he banned the film in his theaters.

Fuck YOU. The vocal minority can suck my ass.

[copasetic]

Atorak:
The Aristocrats is definitely not a movie fit for wide release. The same joke over and over again with more than its fair share of vulgar doesnt really go over well. Just try and look at it through the eyes of an exec.
I'm also in disgust with the movies as of late. Remakes and sequels. blah. I did enjoy Broken Flowers, Wedding Crashers, and 40 Year Old Virgin. History of Violence was a good download.

[KarmaGhost]

I saw A History of Violence this weekend and I'm not quite sure what all the fuss was about.

[darkwarrior]

The movie industry and the cinema industry are seperate.

The cinemas get screwed as much as we do, they make next to nothing on ticket sales for the first few weeks to months depending on the film and when they can finally take a decent percentage of profits, its after so long a time that they're just not making anything. So then they put up food prices to compensate. Thats Hollywoods fault.

People talking in the cinema is societies fault, people need to start standing up more and putting these people in their place. I watched LOTR2 with some friends and behind me, two parents were ignoring their kids constantly making noise. I wsa too young to have the courage to stand up to them but they're just assholes.

Alien Vs Predator just shows what happens when you try to take two good to progressively decent franchises and market them at teeny boppers. I can't remember what rating Freddy Vs Jason was, but those franchises ranged from horror to campy and were ideal for people to come watch their icons. Aliens and Predators are faceless unless you give them an identity, they're just horrific killing machines, it was a bad marketing decision. Bad director/writer decision to.

[BloodPack]

The only good part of Doom was at the beginning of the movie where the Rock says "Rapid Reconnasince Task Force lets move out!" then they all moan and bitch and kinda waddle to get there equipment.

Unfortunately from then on the movie was boring, and the fight scenes were stupid boring and short.

I give the movie a 4/10, and thats a lot coming from a Dwayne Johnson fan.

[Citizen Philip]

To clarify a point:

I am not bashing ALL films that hit the theaters this past year. I've watched movies I've had a lot of interest in. Honestly, the money thing doesn't really keep me away from the theaters either. We all have our vices, and I spend a shitload on mine.

But, it is really disheartening as a fan of cinema to see a rehashing of the same few ideas over and over and over and over and over again. Along those same lines, Hollywood keeps making these movies, and people keep seeing them! I will NEVER understand that. Then again, TV is just as bad, if not worse. Heh, but i'll save that rant for another day.

I'm just pleased that the movie industry is tanking, because maybe it will warrant some type of change. Give us more indie films. Give us original ideas. Take a chance on something for once, stop going with the 'tried and true' formulas time and time again.

Why wasn't a movie like The Aristocrats a widespread release? A completely original (yet comically unoriginal) idea for a film. Unfortunately, I couldn't even see it because it wasn't playing in any theaters close to me. And why was that exactly? Oh wait, I remember, because an executive at AMC didn't think it was appropriate, and he banned the film in his theaters.

Fuck YOU. The vocal minority can suck my ass.

I believe the last original thought occured, April 290 BC.

[jwbxx]

I believe the last original thought occured, April 290 BC.Wrong, in the 90's when al gore created the internet. That was the last orginal thought.

[shpanky]

likely they'll blame it on that "piracy" the internets are so famous for, rather than the crap quality of their movies these days.

You'd have thought since the first Matrix, movie producers would wake up and realize what people really want to see in an action flick. DOOM...was awful.

[Xerxes]

I wish I could teach a class and I don't even know shit. But first thing to all directors, NO ZOOM IN FLASH FIGHTING... THAT SHIT IS RETARDED. I mean is it so hard to teach the damn actors what to do or get some stunt doubles. Serenity had a stuntman for that black guy who did the action. You could tell by the horrible wig, but boy did he provide some decent ass action scenes.

[Atorak]

The movie industry and the cinema industry are seperate.

Sorry dark, I was using both terms interchangeably, and incorrectly.


"We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn. Burn motherfucker, burn." - Bloodhound Gang

[ArkMan]

I wish I could teach a class and I don't even know shit. But first thing to all directors, NO ZOOM IN FLASH FIGHTING... THAT SHIT IS RETARDED. I mean is it so hard to teach the damn actors what to do or get some stunt doubles. Serenity had a stuntman for that black guy who did the action. You could tell by the horrible wig, but boy did he provide some decent ass action scenes.

Agreed completely. I wish it was mandatory for every action director to watch Unleashed before filming their fight scenes, so that maybe they could understand that it can still be cool and stylish for us to actually SEE WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!

[DoubleUranium]

I saw A History of Violence this weekend and I'm not quite sure what all the fuss was about.

Agreed. What a stupid ending too.

[Kalash]

Doom sucked. Luckily my friend had an allergic reaction to something so we left for the ER about 2/3 through.


Best review EVAR

[The Iron Weasel]

Do you ever see a really, really bad movie then look at the total that it took in and think "Ugh....my $8.50 is there....."

[Voodoo]

Semper Fi Motherfuckers!

[Vjornaxx]

Doom was an entertaining movie and in the end, that's what counts. I'm not exactly sure what some of you were expecting. If you go in the theater expecting a fine piece of cinema, you're going to be disapointed. If you go in there ready for action and a few laughs, you'll probably come away from the experience in a more positive light.

[Roc Ingersol]

I saw A History of Violence this weekend and I'm not quite sure what all the fuss was about.
It ain't great, but it's a damn sight better than FLIGHTPLAN.
It damn sure isn't almost 3 times worse.

[didragondi]

Absolutely everyone with any interest in science fiction movies should see Serenity. I looked at the box office top draws for this year and it is just a shame that when Serenity is as well done as it is, that it is not doing better. THe story is top-notch and much better than anything else out there right now.

[didragondi]

Everyone should especially go see it before saying that there are no good movies; its not true, and man when they make one this good and it fails, what does that tell hollywood?

[Worldcrafter]

I wish I could teach a class and I don't even know shit. But first thing to all directors, NO ZOOM IN FLASH FIGHTING... THAT SHIT IS RETARDED. I mean is it so hard to teach the damn actors what to do or get some stunt doubles. Serenity had a stuntman for that black guy who did the action. You could tell by the horrible wig, but boy did he provide some decent ass action scenes.

I actually have to agree with you. I walked away from Serenity saying, 'Those were some amazing fight scenes because the camera was pulled far enough away that you could actually tell what was going on.' Joss made Serenity's fights pretty intense, and when a character got hit, you really felt it.

It seems more and more of a trend for directors to just zoom way in on a fight, and change the camera every couple seconds. The effect they get is: you can tell people are fighting, and you're pretty sure someone is winning, but who is still a mystery. Pretty boring stuff.

As a side note, I think it would be really cool to see an action movie where there were no camera changes, and it's all one really long scene. So if a character jumps out of a window, the camera follows. Surely they could manage to do that with some cleverly done CGI. There is a scene in War of the Worlds that uses this technique. The part where Cruise and his kids are in the van on the interstate, the camera circles the van, then enters the van, then circles it, then enters it. The whole time the camera doesn't cut away, and you can recognize the actors.

[XxSATANxX]

Wow I'm bummed DOOM sucked so bad. Guess I'll wait for it to show up in another venue.

I would love to see serenity but alas the asshats have taken it off the screens. Guess I'll have to wait for it to show up in another venue.

Yea theaters suck!

[KarmaGhost]

It ain't great, but it's a damn sight better than FLIGHTPLAN.
It damn sure isn't almost 3 times worse.Ya know, it's funny you said that because we went to see Violence because we missed the showing of Wallace and Grommit. The other option we were considering was Flightplan, but we missed that showing, too.

[Roc Ingersol]

Well it's got nothing on WALLCE and GROMIT. CURSE of the WERERABBIT kicks ass.

FLIGHTPLAN is just... insulting.

[crazyfrazee]

You know what makes me happy? To see that Kids in America is nowhere on that list. I went to that movie at a friend's recommendation... good God, what a piece of shiiiit. Just horrendous. Terrible writing - all of the characters are cliches to an extreme, and the antagonists are villianous to the extreme of moustache-twirling, I swear.

About halfway through I got my cellphone out and used it as a light so I could do homework.

[DeadPixel]

I saw DOOM this weekend and I just had to laugh at the idiocy. Even the 10 minute FPS sequence feelt better when I watched someone play DOOM 2 on my computer 10 years ago.

This movie looks like a late night USA Network Special, the only things missing are phone sex and five finger flexigrip cooking glove commercials. Best contender for Mystery Science 3000.

[jacktion]

#1 to poop on!

[Xerxes]

WOW... Mystery Science would make this movie great. War of the World, and basically every movie there is. O_O

[Xerxes]

Side note... The zooming in was not that horrible in Advent Children although still pointless.

And Doom, the fps sequence actually seemed like it could of been decent, if in the hands of someone that's not a numbskull. Seemed like the turn speed was too high for 1.

[Goronmon]

IMO, it's not that movies are getting worse, it's that people's expectations of movies increases at a faster rate than the quality of the movies being produced.

Its like gaming, there seem to be a lot more movies being produced than there used to be and with that you get more of the good along with more of bad. Plus, after movies like LotR are released, people starting expecting the same, if not better, quality in the movies that have come out since then.

As far as the lack of original ideas...well, I mean, there are only a finite number of good ideas that transale well into video/audio media that aren't similar to something that has been produced before.

[dr_wily]

zorro and potter should spiff things up a bit. there hasnt been very many name drops or big sequels in awhile.

[Xerxes]

Zorro?!? I should rip your heart out where you stand...

[Kelegacy]

IMO, it's not that movies are getting worse, it's that people's expectations of movies increases at a faster rate than the quality of the movies being produced.

Its like gaming, there seem to be a lot more movies being produced than there used to be and with that you get more of the good along with more of bad. Plus, after movies like LotR are released, people starting expecting the same, if not better, quality in the movies that have come out since then.

As far as the lack of original ideas...well, I mean, there are only a finite number of good ideas that transale well into video/audio media that aren't similar to something that has been produced before.

I don't think our expectations are too high. All we want is a well-told story, not some sweeping epic of love, loss, and betrayal. We dont need huge blockbusters; a well-told story that uses emotions AND action to play with viewers is the best kind of movie. 100 million dollar budgets do not make a good movie...films that invoke the human condition--like Crash--are.

Anyone see the last season of Project Greenlight? Dimension actually manipulated which script was selected and Affleck, Damon, and nearly everyone else involved were openly pissed, but their hands were tied--Dimension was publishing the movie so they got to fuck it up. Even Wes Craven said the script was not worthy...but the execs at Dimension overruled him. An incredulous Matt Damon pointed out that a master of cinema horror was being second-guessed by Dimension, but they didn't care. They wanted to make money as easy as possible...and that usually means selected the worst script available. Studios are to blame for bad films in many cases.

[Liquidize105]

I think people are just sick of the same old crap.

It's not an escape anymore.

[PixelSamurai]

I saw Doom at a midnight showing and I shit you not this couple comes in with a baby, stroller and all. Throughout the flick the baby would jabber something in gibberish, and since the movie was so dull most of the time this surprisingly didn't detract from the experience, it actually kept me awake.

[KJAX]

Doom...not a terrible movie but a solid average flick with some redeeming value. It's about on par with the Resident Evil sequel with Resident Evil actually being slightly better, in my humble opinion.

[Laughing_Penguin]

Everyone should especially go see it before saying that there are no good movies; its not true, and man when they make one this good and it fails, what does that tell hollywood?

Well, it seems to tell Hollywood this:

If your source material is a failed television series that was cancelled because very few people were watching it, the result will be a film that makes a depressingly small amount of money because only that same group of very few people will go to see it.

Note: This is not any kind of comment on the content or quality of the film, just an observation regarding the small (but undoubtedly loyal) fanbase just not being enough to support it, much like the TV show.

[Eric_T_Cheng]

As a side note, I think it would be really cool to see an action movie where there were no camera changes, and it's all one really long scene. So if a character jumps out of a window, the camera follows. Surely they could manage to do that with some cleverly done CGI. There is a scene in War of the Worlds that uses this technique.

Blade II did this when Blade follows a vampire, jumping out of a window, lands and fires his gun...the camera follows the bullet until it hits the vampire.

[Eric_T_Cheng]

Well, it seems to tell Hollywood this:

If your source material is a failed television series that was cancelled because very few people were watching it, the result will be a film that makes a depressingly small amount of money because only that same group of very few people will go to see it.

Like the original Star Trek series? :P

Again, Firefly was moved around the timetable by Fox, often reschedule because of football. Friday nights didn't help either.

However, people became fans after the show was cancelled after the DVDs came out. I was hestitant to watch the series at first because I didn't care for Buffy or Angel and the whole cowboys in space was iffy. But once I watched it I was converted and I converted friends and coworkers, who in turn converted their friends.

Remember, the X-Files wasn't a big hit the first few seasons. It was a cult hit. Imagine if Fox had cancelled that show after the first season. And Fox cancelled The Family Guy but only resurrected the show after the huge DVD sales proved there was a big following.

[Xerxes]

Blade II did this when Blade follows a vampire, jumping out of a window, lands and fires his gun...the camera follows the bullet until it hits the vampire.

Yeah Blade 1 and 2 were good... Damned Ryan Renolds and Jessica Biels

[JRR006]

I can certainly agree with all of this, and as time goes on I'm certainly waiting for more movies to come out on DVD, but I think there will always be exceptions strong enough to pull me to the theater from time to time (Serenity being the most recent...)

Agreed. I can count the number of movies I've seen in theaters this past year on one hand. Serenity, Corpse Bride, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Sin City. And they were all worth it, to my mind. The next movie I'm planning on braving a theater to see is The Goblet of Fire. Not having a nice home theater system hurts so badly sometimes - but I've got a strategy that suits me fine. I go when I'm pretty sure it'll be almost, if not completely, empty - Thursday afternoons/evenings, and I don't usually buy snacks. It's not the complete movie-going package, in the traditional sense, but how much artificial butter flavor do I really need? I'm basically just there for the big screen and the surround sound. In the corner of Wisconsin I inhabit, matinee showings are five-fifty, so it's eleven dollars for a friend and myself, fifteen if we want to go after five.

I've driven by the theater on Friday night, and there's lines out the door and packs of screaming youths, everything you all have been saying about the caliber of the average theater-goer - no thanks. Pick the proper day, though, and I have the place almost to myself, which I'm sure is a common scheme. Now, if there were just more movies worth seeing. *makes plans to see Serenity at least once more*

[ubartehbarbarian]

I can't understand anyone giving Doom a positive review. If you think it's o.k. to go in with no expectations and pay 10 bucks for this garbage you need to get your head examined. I expect a decent story, good cinemetography, and decent actors from a 60 million dollar Rock film. This movie sucked balls on all levels. O.K. the first half wasn't all that bad but at the 2/3 mark I was very tempted to leave it got so retarded.

[Laughing_Penguin]

Again, Firefly was moved around the timetable by Fox, often reschedule because of football. Friday nights didn't help either.

[snip]

Remember, the X-Files wasn't a big hit the first few seasons. It was a cult hit. Imagine if Fox had cancelled that show after the first season. And Fox cancelled The Family Guy but only resurrected the show after the huge DVD sales proved there was a big following.

Two points to consider here:

1) Shows are generally moved around on a schedule because of bad ratings, in hopes of finding more viewers at a new time slot. If the show does poorly on a Tuesday night, they shove it over to Thursday following another popular show to try and get those viewers to stay tuned. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, sometimes the show is never really given a chance. If you're old enough, you may remember Quantum Leap had similar problems, having been moved to pretty much every day of the week over it's run, and even cancelled. The fan response was strong enough, however, to bring it back for the fourth season, even without having the Internet to inflate the fan presence.

The point? Moving the show isn't exactly what killed it (though admittedly, it certainly didn't help at all). If it had a strong showing in it's initial spot it likely would have stayed put, and other shows would have moved behind it to help *their* ratings. Why do you think Fox seems to launch so many of their new comedies "Right after a new episode of The Simpsons!!!"

2) X-Files didn't have amazing ratings in it's early days, but it did have decent ratings, especially at a time when Fox had very little on it's schedule worth mentioning. Fox didn't even broadcast 5 days a week back then. Even semi-weak ratings were likely the best that Fox had to work with at the time. But, unlike Firefly/Serenity, X-Files didn't get a film until well AFTER it was a massive success and cultural phenomenon. A better comparison would be screaming about the injustice that the "Freakylinks" film was never produced. It held about the same level of success.

Family Guy came back from the dead thanks to heavy rotation on Cartoon Network. As a specialty network, they tapped into their target demographic, which spurred the DVD sales. Only AFTER all that did Fox start thinking about a new season. They took a show that had been resurrected as a hit in reruns and made new content. It wasn't a theoretical fan response, but an established money maker for them. If Firefly's DVD sales were as good as Family Guy's (note: it wasn't, Family Guy was the best-selling TV Show DVD to date), that may have been different...

[Roc Ingersol]

I don't think our expectations are too high. All we want is a well-told story, not some sweeping epic of love, loss, and betrayal. We dont need huge blockbusters; a well-told story that uses emotions AND action to play with viewers is the best kind of movie.
You should get yourself out to see KISS KISS BANG BANG.

[The Iron Weasel]

Speaking of being moved around alot. Futurama....best....cartoon....EVER....(IMHO)