Spielberg's BFG Flops at Box Office
- Thread starter Steven Bogos
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Reminds me of when I showed my friend what a BAR was, ever since then it's been known between us as the Big Ass Rifle.Zontar said:
They look kind of generic. The Cosgrove designs were awsome; way more grusome - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ey1PYsLGzE&t=17m55sJeyl said:
"Doom" aside, if you see an acronym with "F" in the middle, is "Friendly" the first thing that comes to mind? Even if you don't know the "B" is for "big"?
(And before anyone gets all "it's a children's movie, you cad" on my case- I doubt Dahl was unaware of the connections adults would make when he wrote it. He hid similar things in other works, and some of his non-kidlit works are positively risque.)
(And before anyone gets all "it's a children's movie, you cad" on my case- I doubt Dahl was unaware of the connections adults would make when he wrote it. He hid similar things in other works, and some of his non-kidlit works are positively risque.)
Yeah as far as I'm concerned, most non-gamer usage of "BFG" is from military personnel or vets. At least that's how I've heard it here in Texas.Zontar said:
To me, Spielberg does not seem like the kind of director to adapt a children's book to begin with. If it isn't a more artistic historical film or a action/thriller blockbuster (which he hasn't done much of this century), it doesn't say "directed by Steven Spielberg" to me. The recent Tintin movie does play against that, sort of.
Also, obligatory DooM reference: So since this flopped, are they going to do a gritty reboot. BFG, now armed with the other BFG, must take on the giant demon hordes to rescue the girl. (Hey, today's Hollywood writers couldn't come up with a better plot.)
Maybe Dahl's books, with exception to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just aren't well known to today's youth in the US. I never new there was a book titled "BFG" until I came across it on TV Tropes (the Doom page, probably). People aren't kidding when they say the US school system is failing.
Also, obligatory DooM reference: So since this flopped, are they going to do a gritty reboot. BFG, now armed with the other BFG, must take on the giant demon hordes to rescue the girl. (Hey, today's Hollywood writers couldn't come up with a better plot.)
Yes. This was either a scheduling oversight or the marketing department (poorly) thought Speilberg's and the original work's names could draw in adults who either would see for themselves or bring their kids.Buizel91 said:
An interesting thing I noticed about The Fantastic Mr. Fox while working at my local theater was the average age of audience members was well above 50 years old, even during early morning and afternoon. Extremely Rarely did I see children watching it. (Of course from my first hand observations, nearly every movie with George Clooney made in the past 15 years has drawn in noticeably older crowds, at least in my area.)Daymo said:
Maybe Dahl's books, with exception to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just aren't well known to today's youth in the US. I never new there was a book titled "BFG" until I came across it on TV Tropes (the Doom page, probably). People aren't kidding when they say the US school system is failing.
Yes, because people not knowing the title of one of Dahl's lesser books means the US school system is failing. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo. Actually, if American children don't know the name of every book by an accomplished author, regardless of the books quality, we can't say those children are educated at all!Hairless Mammoth said:
I'd have thought that would be right up his alley. This is the man who wrote/directed E.T., Goonies, Hook, War Horse, and Tintin after all. The last three on that list at least take inspiration from works that skew towards children, and from what I understand, E.T. and Goonies skew towards the young 'uns as well.Hairless Mammoth said:
Thanks for reminding me, been playing Battlefleet Gothic: Armada which is a great game (the eldar are hopeless though) and that I think should be the second meaning for BFG.Thaluikhain said:
1. Big Fucking Gun 9000
2. Battlefleet Gothic
3. Big Friendly Giant
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/7.940054.23709176>I did, albeit subtly, before you... Then again, Wes Anderson and crew did take a "few" liberties with the source material to the point that I remember when it was never marketed on kid-related channels before (or after) it hit US theaters..Daymo said:
And on my end, that does not surprise me... Not one commercial for that movie was on a channel that targeted children, for example...Hairless Mammoth said:
Same here. In fact, the resemblance to that other movie (Jack the Giant Killer) may have something to do with why this will be a flop.Jeyl said:
First of all, the title (BFG) might not mean much to people unfamiliar with the book. They likely kept the title as an acronym because the word "Giant" might make folks think of Jack the Giant Killer. Hollywood's done this before: Mars Needs Moms was a fucking disaster, so much so that they changed the movie title of John Carter to omit any mention of Mars.
Also: giant, somewhat realistic, ugly men are not endearing or cute or marketable. If they had gone with a Pixar/Dreamworks type of character design, it would have been better, in my opinion. Frankly, I don't want to watch a movie about a giant, dirty old Uncanny Valley man hanging out with a little girl.
I used to work in the kids' department of a bookstore and that's what I always thought it was too, even after I knew better.Zydrate said:
Mind you, that was only three years after the first Doom game, and I hadn't played it yet so I had no mental association with the gun. It was simply a Roald Dahl book about a (B)ig (F)ucking (G)iant.
Perhaps going up against Finding Dory was a mistake, as well as their lacklustre marketing campaign. I can only speak to my own experience, but the first time I was made aware of this film's existence was a single trailer, that ran for 15 seconds and was aired the day before the film was released.
