It turns out that the anything-goes murderfestThe Purge: Election Year wasnot the grisliest bloodbath at the movies this past weekend. In accordance with the time-honored the bigger they are, the harder they fall principle, Steven SpielbergsThe BFG took a giant-sized dive at the box office over the holiday break. Despite working with a $140 million budget, the hopeful Disney blockbuster could only muster up a meager $22.2 million from domestic audiences, with an additional $3.9 million from overseas markets. For scale, consider that alarm klaxons started sounding when Alice Through the Looking Glassput up$33.5 million at the end of May.
Granted, thiscouldturn out to be a slow-burner type of hit that builds up healthier grosses as it slowly gains traction, but for now, this marks the biggest flop for the usually-dependable director since his ill-fated war comedy1941 way back in 1979. Disneymust have felt like it had a slam dunk on deck by giving Spielberg the green light to adapt the beloved kids-lit authors work; the filmmaker made a name for himself with fantastical tales glimpsed through the eyes of children. And hey, if they played their cards right, there might have even been a shower of Oscar gold in the films future. (It wasnt too long ago that Hugo,Martin Scorseses foray into kids entertainment, earned 11 Academy Award nominations and clinched five.)
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So what happened?
Emotion can be a tough sell
The main virtue of TheBFG is its big friendlyheart, apparent in the tender relationship between the Mark Rylance-voiced titan and the precocious-tot protagonist Sophie (Ruby Barnhill). But compared to the visual dynamism of a chomping shark, a flying saucer or a shriveled-up alien, the bond between a girl and her giant is not an easy thing to sell in a trailer. While that sentimental streak is a key part of Spielbergs directorial style, its usually paired with something that can widen the eyes or drop the jaw on a first glance. There are awe-inspiring sequences in the film notably a sequence in which the main pair journey to a gorgeous dreamscape filled with surreal forestry and reflective pools.But the closest that the commercials have come to an indelible image would probably be the films mammoth best friend sprinting through the countryside with trees blowing in his wake, or slicing the oozing, gross-out fruit he subsists on. Impressive animation or not, that wasnt enough jaw-dropping wonder to sell the film to audiences, nor was it enough to communicate the emotional bond which was the films bread and butter.
The mixed reviews
Kids couldnt give a damn about notices one way or the other, but the parents who ultimately buy the tickets may have been turned off by the films lukewarm reception. Though it currently enjoys a 71-percent approval rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Rolling Stones own Peter Travers offered numerous caveats in his review, notably that things get a bit grumbly to borrow a BFG phrase when the worlds of Spielberg and Dahl collide. That comment reflected a solid faction of critics who felt that the fantasy couldnt conjure the same magic as the filmmakers past triumphs. In a marketplace where an oddly-titled adaptation of a Dahl novel not featuring gigantic peaches or chocolate factories has to compete with Pixars latest, such faint praise (or in several cases, outright flagellations) could not have helped things.
No stars, no spectacles
Bridge of Spies benefited from slapping Tom Hanks beautiful, marketable mug onto its posters. Lincolnhad the benefit of the worlds greatest living actor sinking his incisors into an already-iconic role. Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise the A-list of Spielbergs actors goes on. But not only does TheBFG lack any immediately recognizable faces, theres not even a flashy-looking monster to show off in the advertisements. All it had was an Oscar-winner better known for his stage work and a family of giants who are, when you get down to it, a bunchof slightly-weird-looking old guys. (Even the poster for his 2011 adaptation of The War Horse offered a beautiful thoroughbred as audiencebait.) This earthy, lower-key take on the summer blockbuster was short on recognizable faces and the brand-name bombast in vogue right now a lose-lose situation marketing-wise.
Holiday weekend hobbled box-office across the board
Its not as if The BFG was edged out by a gigantic new release racking up accordingly hugegrosses. This was a weak weekend for movies, period enough that Finding Dory (in its third week of release) took the top spot once again with a robust $50 million take, leavinga considerable berth from the three new studio releases.With audiences taking trips or [gulp] spending quality time with their families, that left The Purge: Election Yearwith a $34.7 million gross and the steamynew Alexander Skarsgard/Margot Robbie Tarzan with $45.5 million, neither of which are anything to crow about. In whats already been a dismal summer for nationwide cineplexes, the start of July was another little valley, and that certainly didnt help boost The BFGs chances for finding an audience.
Its a generational thing
Consider this: Roald Dahls book was published in 1982, meaning that many of the kids who grew up on it be slightly too young to have moviegoing-aged children of their own. Situated right where Gen X ends and the millennial territory begins, the novels core fanbase is currently in their mid-to-late-twenties and early thirties.If Disneywas gunning for the nostalgia dollar with this adaptation of a kiddie cult classic, holding off for another eight to 10 years couldhave made a world ofdifference. As it was, the film may have fallen into the middle of a generation gap. Theres something cosmicabout the way that this odd-bird film has met the same fate as its gawky, misfit hero unappreciated for its odd charms, save for a select few.
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