Fafhrd on 13/10/2005 at 01:38
Quote Posted by pakmannen
Who the hell thought that there would EVER be a Firefly movie? Really? That was far more impossible than having a sequel is.
Considering that the theatrical movie was made on the basis that
1. everybody who bought the TV series on DVD would see it in the theatre and bring three friends,
2. word of mouth would spread it even farther after that
3. ???
4. PROFIT
and that it's not actually performing to those expectations, a theatrical sequel is highly unlikely. 47% second weekend drop is bad, especially since it only brought in 10 million on opening weekend.
Master Villain on 13/10/2005 at 03:10
Quote Posted by Malygris
And another point of interest, true story albeit anecdotal: I stopped in at the CD/DVD store in my little town mall today, looking for the Firefly series DVD. The manager just about laughed at me. Turns out they've been sold out since just after the movie opened, and he figures about three weeks to get a copy for me. I'm on the list, apparently. I'm not sure how it impacts the people behind the movie, but there definitely seems to be a surge in interest in the series itself.
I'm eagerly awaiting the news that it's fanatical Firefly fans buying up the DVDs in vast quantities ala Battlefield Earth.
pakmannen on 13/10/2005 at 08:48
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
Considering that the theatrical movie was made on the basis that
1. everybody who bought the TV series on DVD would see it in the theatre and bring three friends,
2. word of mouth would spread it even farther after that
3. ???
4. PROFIT
and that it's not actually performing to those expectations, a theatrical sequel is highly unlikely. 47% second weekend drop is bad, especially since it only brought in 10 million on opening weekend.
Point is, if they're stupid enough to make a movie based on DVD-sales they might be stupid enough to do it again. :cheeky: Seriously, you never know with these guys. I agree that it's looking bad, but I wouldn't rule it out just yet.
scumble on 13/10/2005 at 10:51
I watched Firefly last week and thoroughly enjoyed it, felt rather irritated at where it had to leave off, and then resigned myself to the fact that it's probably not likely to come back, even though a film has been made. To me it just seems typical of the way television has been going, or that it is unlikely to provide much of interest for me anymore - the only work I've seen for years that drew me in was cancelled before it really got going.
Still, I suppose it means I'll watch less than I would have, and I can do something more useful...
mol on 13/10/2005 at 11:18
Quote Posted by pakmannen
Point is, if they're stupid enough to make a movie based on DVD-sales they might be stupid enough to do it again. :cheeky:
The DVD sales are an increasingly important source of revenue for the studios. Already movies make most of their money from the DVD sales. Many films that don't do so well in theaters find an audience in DVD sales, and make them very profitable. Movies are in theaters only for a relatively short time, no matter how successful they are. DVDs have a significantly higher life span in terms of market viability, and can continue to bring in revenue for the studios for several years after the movie was released. Even blockbuster films like the Lord of the Rings have made more money from the DVD sales than in the Box Office.
Good home theaters are becoming more affordable, with big screens, projectors, multi-channel audio etc. Movie theaters are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the convenience of home theaters, which is showing already, as demonstrated by the Hollywood movie slump of recent months.
So it's not stupidity. It's just business sense. Ultimately the studios don't care where they get their money. In the short term, the transformation will of course have an impact on the established business model and revenue/profit sharing. Some parties, like the movie theaters, will suffer, while others experience growth.
Agent Monkeysee on 13/10/2005 at 16:14
Okay nerds. I'm pretty certain there's not going to be any sequels.
Pyrian on 13/10/2005 at 18:08
Quote Posted by Agent Monkeysee
Okay nerds. I'm pretty certain there's not going to be any sequels.
Given that proceeds have exceeded expectations and there were already plans in the works for sequels
based on those predictions, I'm going to have to guess that there will be.
Stitch on 13/10/2005 at 18:19
I'm sorry, I still think you're all grasping at straws. I don't care what feel good talk you've heard, if a movie doesn't make money at the box office nobody is going to fund a box office sequel. Contrary to popular belief in this thread, I don't think DVD sales are as of yet the magic heal-all answer.
Also: oudeis, the budget for Serenity is $39 million, so as of yet they've barely recouped half.
pakmannen on 13/10/2005 at 18:38
Quote Posted by Stitch
Also: oudeis, the budget for Serenity is $39 million, so as of yet they've barely recouped half.
The theaters takes a lot of the box office money, so they will have to make about $80 million to cover the production costs.
oudeis on 13/10/2005 at 18:48
hmmm. 30 million was the figure l read long ago, the review in the ny times mentioned 50, you are saying 39... *shrug* don't rightly know, as the cap'n might say, but the gtd figures l've seen are only for the us. while l would very much like to see more serenity- sans whedon's somewhat-disturbing-at-this-point fixation on uberwaifs- l'm not going to say it's doing great and everything is looking rosy for a sequel. in a few days we'll have the figures for this weekend, which l think will be the key indicator of the movie's future. if it experiences another sharp drop it won't be in us theatres for very much longer and likely will not get another outing. l don't know how it is doing in europe/uk/etc yet, or if it is even out yet. it may not have long to live in any case, though- 'doom' is coming out next week, and will likely displace serenity from the 'genre geek' slot in theatres.
