Friday Box-Office: The Rock Gets Beat Up By a Girl

[MovieBob]

Friday Box-Office: The Rock Gets Beat Up By a Girl

Lucy projected to bludgeon Hercules over weekend

The ongoing late-2013/2014 Hollywood story of big box-office takes for female-led blockbusters has another badass babe icon to stand up with Elsa and Maleficent: Lucy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/9583-Lucy-Its-Almost-a-Black-Widow-Movie] Luc Besson's Scarlett Johansson star-vehicle had a big $15-16 million Friday, well ahead of the $11 million second-place finisher Hercules despite heavy year-long promotion and the presence of a proven action star in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

The high-concept actioner, in which Johansson plays a young woman who attains godlike powers after being implanted with experimental drugs by gangsters, is now looking at projections of a potential $44 million weekend. Impressive numbers for a late-Summer entry featuring an R-rating and not based on any existing material or franchise, already leading some analysts to renew the question of whether Johansson's "Black Widow" character should receive her own movie ahead of Marvel Studios' Saturday SDCC panel.

Speaking of Marvel, the studio is expected to be next week's big winner with Guardians of The Galaxy opening essentially unopposed (the real test may be how it performs against the better-known Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the following week.) Analysts are still considering it the biggest "risk" for the hitmaking studio since the original Iron Man, citing the mostly-unknown set of characters, unusual setting and spotty track-record of "space opera" films outside of the Star Wars franchise.


Source: Deadline [http://www.deadline.com/2014/07/box-office-preview-lucy-to-outpower-hercules-and-apes/]

Permalink

 

[Candidus]

I expect TNMT to flop. Of all the big franchises from its time that have been mined lately, TMNT is the one I feel is most expendable, forgettable and unimportant to the people who grew up with it. Me included.

By comparison, Guardians might be a new property, with new characters in the less-than-sturdy space opera genre, but everybody knows and everybody cares what Marvel is doing these days. Guardians isn't the only thing selling Guardians; the entire Avengers franchise and the goodwill bank it has generated is also selling Guardians.

I don't get how any analyst who understands the scene from a ground-level consumer's perspective could say "this is risky" with a straight face.

Spoiler

In before someone objects to your "beat up by a girl" header on the grounds that it implies losing to a girl is somehow more humiliating than losing to a boy, citing that making said implication is oppressive retrograde patriarchal badness. How very dare you, I take everything I read so seriously because I love being mad, etc etc.

 

[kurupt87]

How is The Rock a proven action star? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that he's the second highest earner in Hollywood. The man's a joke. I think he's probably a nice guy and I like him but he's an awful, awful actor. Perhaps that's a bit harsh but he can't do serious to save his life; he always looks like he's about to crack a joke, laugh and raise his damn eyebrow.

 

[RA92]

I don't understand this. The Rock throws a horse in Hercules. How's this not the greatest thing ever?

Also:

The Rock Gets Beat Up By a Girl

Are you insinuating the defeat is humiliating because of the opponent's gender? I smell sexism!

^ That was tongue-in-cheek. Sorta.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

I think theres also the fact that maybe people just arent that interested in Hercules, like personally Im probably going to go see it, but everyone already knows the story of Hercules, his 12 trials etc, there have been multiple films in the same "Greek Epic vein" over the last few years, Clash and Wrath of the Titans, 300 Rise of an Empire, and The Legend of Hercules which came out earlier this year and was apparently quite shitty.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Not that Hercules is exactly high art, but Lucy looked like absolute garbage.

Original story or not, the very fact that the entire movie is based on that moronic "Humans don't use hardly any of their brain UNTIL NOW. DUN DUN DUN" thing means it doesn't deserve to make that much money.

EDIT: Actually I take this whining all back. I now realize the real reason I don't like the look of Lucy is that I really dislike Scarlett Johansson as an actress.

It's kinda too bad about Hercules too, since the trailers don't do it justice at all. In fact the trailers seem like a deliberate trick to make people think the movie is something that it isn't.

Sorta

The Rock is one of the biggest body builders in cinema. Female humans, on average, have less muscle mass than than males anyway. It's reasonable to consider it humiliating when a physically stronger combatant is defeated by a physically weaker combatant. Just saying.

 

[tdylan]

"the very fact that the entire movie is based on that moronic "Humans don't use hardly any of their brain UNTIL NOW. DUN DUN DUN" thing means it doesn't deserve to make that much money.

I don't think they went at it in quite the literal "we only use 10% of our brain" kind of way. I haven't seen the movie yet, but from what I'm hearing it's more of a "we don't use our brain efficiently."

EDIT:

In a "2 people walk into the same room, but one is able to remember details about it that the other one never even noticed."

- What color was the couch? How many cushions? Which was was it facing?
- Subject A: Blue. 4. East
- Subject B: I didn't even notice there was a couch. LOL

 

[Zhukov]

How is The Rock a proven action star? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that he's the second highest earner in Hollywood.

Yeah, that surprised me too.

I mean, nothing against the guy, or even against his movies (dopey schlock has its place) but I had no idea he was that popular.

 

[Elfgore]

Not that Hercules is exactly high art, but Lucy looked like absolute garbage.

Original story or not, the very fact that the entire movie is based on that moronic "Humans don't use hardly any of their brain UNTIL NOW. DUN DUN DUN" thing means it doesn't deserve to make that much money.

I guess people forgot about Limitless, because the plots seem pretty much the same. I haven't even heard of Lucy before I saw this.

Not saying Hercules looks any better. The trailer plays every five minutes at my work. All I ever hear is "Who are you? "I am Hercules!" Being shouted from our TVs. Then see Hercules beating the shit out of various animals.

 

[Saetha]

How is Guardians of the Galaxt riskier than a movie about, as near as I can tell, a bunch of green duck-faced blobs wearing turtle shells? Seriously, there's not way I'm seeing the new TMNT. The turtles themselves would send me running from the theater trying not to vomit. They're one of those things that don't translate well to photorealism.

Guardians of the Galaxy, in comparison, has been gotten insane amounts of advertising, quite a lot of interest, and most importantly, it's got the Marvel logo slapped across the poster. I'm not sure how anyone could look at it all and think it's risky. Out of the norm, yeah, but with Marvel's reputation, nothing they put out is risky.

 

[xaszatm]

I expect TNMT to flop. Of all the big franchises from its time that have been mined lately, TMNT is the one I feel is most expendable, forgettable and unimportant to the people who grew up with it. Me included.

By comparison, Guardians might be a new property, with new characters in the less-than-sturdy space opera genre, but everybody knows and everybody cares what Marvel is doing these days. Guardians isn't the only thing selling Guardians; the entire Avengers franchise and the goodwill bank it has generated is also selling Guardians.

I don't get how any analyst who understands the scene from a ground-level consumer's perspective could say "this is risky" with a straight face.

Spoiler

In before someone objects to your "beat up by a girl" header on the grounds that it implies losing to a girl is somehow more humiliating than losing to a boy, citing that making said implication is oppressive retrograde patriarchal badness. How very dare you, I take everything I read so seriously because I love being mad, etc etc.

I disagree. TMNT has been giving a rise in popularity thanks to the Nick cartoon. I almost confident that families with little children will cause TMNT to blow the competition out of the water, regardless of quality.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Not that Hercules is exactly high art, but Lucy looked like absolute garbage.

Original story or not, the very fact that the entire movie is based on that moronic "Humans don't use hardly any of their brain UNTIL NOW. DUN DUN DUN" thing means it doesn't deserve to make that much money.

I guess people forgot about Limitless, because the plots seem pretty much the same. I haven't even heard of Lucy before I saw this.

Not saying Hercules looks any better. The trailer plays every five minutes at my work. All I ever hear is "Who are you? "I am Hercules!" Being shouted from our TVs. Then see Hercules beating the shit out of various animals.

I thought Limitless was mildly enjoyable just because it skipped past all science stuff and explored the concept. But yeah, same dumb premise. Also the setup of the Nick Cage Sorcerers Apprentice if I remember correctly.

"the very fact that the entire movie is based on that moronic "Humans don't use hardly any of their brain UNTIL NOW. DUN DUN DUN" thing means it doesn't deserve to make that much money.

I don't think they went at it in quite the literal "we only use 10% of our brain" kind of way. I haven't seen the movie yet, but from what I'm hearing it's more of a "we don't use our brain efficiently."

EDIT:

In a "2 people walk into the same room, but one is able to remember details about it that the other one never even noticed."

- What color was the couch? How many cushions? Which was was it facing?
- Subject A: Blue. 4. East
- Subject B: I didn't even notice there was a couch. LOL

Well, I guess that's my mistake for going off just the trailer then. The lines in the trailer are all about being able to access a portion of her brain.
While your explanation is decent, it doesn't solve the fact that she can somehow transmit with just a human brain. Super intelligence, sure, but unless I'm completely talking out of my ass, which is possible, the human brain is incapable of directly transmitting anything.
And yet somehow she has telekinesis and mind control.

 

[Darks63]

How is The Rock a proven action star? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that he's the second highest earner in Hollywood. The man's a joke. I think he's probably a nice guy and I like him but he's an awful, awful actor. Perhaps that's a bit harsh but he can't do serious to save his life; he always looks like he's about to crack a joke, laugh and raise his damn eyebrow.

I agree I rate him as a pretty poor action star myself. He tries really hard to be a Arnold type of action star but I just don't find him believable enough. I wonder if in few years he won't be starring in the asylum action films.

 

[FPLOON]

Huh... According to that picture, I should be hating Lucy and feeling sorry for Hercules...

I feel conflicted right now... I need my Guardians fix next week, anyway...

 

[RA92]

Sorta

The Rock is one of the biggest body builders in cinema. Female humans, on average, have less muscle mass than than males anyway. It's reasonable to consider it humiliating when a physically stronger combatant is defeated by a physically weaker combatant. Just saying.

But we aren't talking about a fisticuff here, are we? We are talking about box office presence.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Sorta

The Rock is one of the biggest body builders in cinema. Female humans, on average, have less muscle mass than than males anyway. It's reasonable to consider it humiliating when a physically stronger combatant is defeated by a physically weaker combatant. Just saying.

But we aren't talking about a fisticuff here, are we? We are talking about box office presence.

I spose.

Maybe it's just me, but whenever I see "beaten by a girl" in any context, I think of it as a humorous quip about physicality.

 

[Risingblade]

How is Guardians of the Galaxt riskier than a movie about, as near as I can tell, a bunch of green duck-faced blobs wearing turtle shells? Seriously, there's not way I'm seeing the new TMNT. The turtles themselves would send me running from the theater trying not to vomit. They're one of those things that don't translate well to photorealism.

Guardians of the Galaxy, in comparison, has been gotten insane amounts of advertising, quite a lot of interest, and most importantly, it's got the Marvel logo slapped across the poster. I'm not sure how anyone could look at it all and think it's risky. Out of the norm, yeah, but with Marvel's reputation, nothing they put out is risky.

How are the Turtles risky? They've had 4 movies and at least 3 tv series.

 

[Saetha]

How is Guardians of the Galaxt riskier than a movie about, as near as I can tell, a bunch of green duck-faced blobs wearing turtle shells? Seriously, there's not way I'm seeing the new TMNT. The turtles themselves would send me running from the theater trying not to vomit. They're one of those things that don't translate well to photorealism.

Guardians of the Galaxy, in comparison, has been gotten insane amounts of advertising, quite a lot of interest, and most importantly, it's got the Marvel logo slapped across the poster. I'm not sure how anyone could look at it all and think it's risky. Out of the norm, yeah, but with Marvel's reputation, nothing they put out is risky.

How are the Turtles risky? They've had 4 movies and at least 3 tv series.

Because it looks like it's going to be awful, and as I recall, the last movie didn't do so well.

But mostly "it looks awful" thing. Honestly, those character designs...

 

[LobsterFeng]

I'm actually kind of disappointed Hercules lost. I haven't seen either movie but at least Hercules looked a lot more earnest in what it was trying to be. Lucy looks like a movie acting a lot smarter than it actually is and that bothers me.

Also everyone I know is super excited for Guardians but I have yet to see someone say they're excited for the shrek turtles.

I expect TNMT to flop. Of all the big franchises from its time that have been mined lately, TMNT is the one I feel is most expendable, forgettable and unimportant to the people who grew up with it. Me included.

By comparison, Guardians might be a new property, with new characters in the less-than-sturdy space opera genre, but everybody knows and everybody cares what Marvel is doing these days. Guardians isn't the only thing selling Guardians; the entire Avengers franchise and the goodwill bank it has generated is also selling Guardians.

I don't get how any analyst who understands the scene from a ground-level consumer's perspective could say "this is risky" with a straight face.

Spoiler

In before someone objects to your "beat up by a girl" header on the grounds that it implies losing to a girl is somehow more humiliating than losing to a boy, citing that making said implication is oppressive retrograde patriarchal badness. How very dare you, I take everything I read so seriously because I love being mad, etc etc.

I disagree. TMNT has been giving a rise in popularity thanks to the Nick cartoon. I almost confident that families with little children will cause TMNT to blow the competition out of the water, regardless of quality.

From what I've seen fans of the nick cartoon aren't excited by the movie either because of how horrifying they made the turtles look and the fact that April O Neil is being played by Megan Fox instead of a younger looking natural red head or someone much better than Megan Fox.

 

[Shodanbot]

John: "Darling, while we wait for bigger and brighter pictures on the horizon, anything interesting on this Friday night?"

Jane: "Well, sweetheart, it's between a crap film with The Rock in a story we've seen a thousand times already (and they still can't get his name right), or it's a crap film with with that girl you fancy from Avengers."

John: "Oh I like her."

Jane: "Really?! And I thought the damn catsuit you got me was something smart-casual for the evenings..."


There you go Bob, I made it simple for you.