Why did the Fantastic Four new movie bomb,while new Star Wars movie was a hit?

[Bosco685]

Replace these guys with the FF and count the $$$$$

 

 

 

So frikkin' simple. Don't aim it at fanboy nerds and teens. Aim it at kids, and put some nostalgic easter eggs in that the fanboy nerds will appreciate.

 

The fact is, the FF don't lend themselves to a great live action model (for whatever reason that may be). The "great" SA stories were always a bit goofy and aimed strictly at kids (at the least the SA stuff was). That's not going to play to modern, older audiences. But it will to kids.

 

A Pixar movie on the Fantastic Four would be fantastic. I always had hopes for this, as early on when Disney purchased Marvel they had the two companies talking through potential projects (and why Big Hero 6 came about, but from Disney).

 

 

[Mr Sneeze]

Fan anticipation and need will always be far greater with the Star Wars franchise, and the studio knew it had to succeed, hence the colossal marketing budget and immersive ad campaigns.

 

With FF, fan interest was moderate to uninterested, the studio made the film to retain the rights, and there were also vested interests who wanted the property to tank. The FF is an anomaly - a title with dated characters much beloved by lifers and diehards that just can't translate into screen gold the way all the other Marvel properties have done.

[Prince Namor]

FF is nowhere near the "grey area". That $120M budget (like all the other budgets listed) does NOT include marketing or advertising budgets. Hollywood generally spends between 50% and 150% of the production budget on advertising & marketing. Hence the 3X rule that Hollywood generally has for where something is "definitely" getting a sequel. You get to 2X and you're in the "grey area". You're only at 1.3X (like FF was), and regardless of the advertising & marketing budget, you're not getting a sequel. And considering how much of a massive marketing & advertising blitz that Fox did for FF in the 1-2 months prior to it's release (and the subsequent axe that was taken to it during week 3 of release when it was obviously a flop), Fox was likely at the 100%+ of production budget for advertising.

 

So basically, it cost $120M to make. It cost another ~$120M to market & advertise. It made $168M. It ended with a net loss of ~72M.

 

No.

 

Box office gross is BOX OFFICE gross. That means the amount of money in ticket sales that the theaters sell at the box office.

 

Depending on how the studios negotiate with the theaters, it's roughly 50% of the box office that goes to the theaters. That means that FF didn't have a net loss of ~$72M. It had a net loss of at least $160M.

 

1) RMA's correct here.

 

2) Specifically, my numbers are old but I think the 50% ratio for a theater's take still holds (in general) but it might be on the high side.

 

As of 5 years ago, the average was the studio took about 70% of the first two weeks' sales, and then 30% of sales thereafter (and most theater bookings were about 6 weeks).

 

3) Where are y'all getting $120 million for marketing? The New York Times reported combined production ($122 million) and marketing/distribution costs totaled $200 million, not $240.

 

 

And they get even less of the foreign box office....

[valiantman]

Replace these guys with the FF and count the $$$$$

 

 

 

So frikkin' simple. Don't aim it at fanboy nerds and teens. Aim it at kids, and put some nostalgic easter eggs in that the fanboy nerds will appreciate.

 

The fact is, the FF don't lend themselves to a great live action model (for whatever reason that may be). The "great" SA stories were always a bit goofy and aimed strictly at kids (at the least the SA stuff was). That's not going to play to modern, older audiences. But it will to kids.

 

A Pixar movie on the Fantastic Four would be fantastic. I always had hopes for this, as early on when Disney purchased Marvel they had the two companies talking through potential projects (and why Big Hero 6 came about, but from Disney).

 

The Incredibles was a Pixar movie on the Fantastic Four.

[Bosco685]

The Incredibles was a Pixar movie on the Fantastic Four.

 

I am very clear what Brad Bird used as the motivation and design for The Incredibles. Thanks for that, though.

 

 

We are talking about an actual Fantastic Four Pixar movie. The actual comic book team.

[valiantman]

The Incredibles was a Pixar movie on the Fantastic Four.

 

I am very clear what Brad Bird used as the motivation and design for The Incredibles. Thanks for that, though.

 

 

We are talking about an actual Fantastic Four Pixar movie. The actual comic book team.

Right, but at this point... a stretchy guy, invisible girl, indestructible man, and super-fast boy from Pixar would be an Incredibles knock-off.

 

People don't compare print dates when they compare movies... they compare movie dates.

It's a "fun fact" that Incredibles was a Fantastic Four knock-off... but to the Pixar audience, it would be the other way around.

[JayT]

The FF comparison is a very common one, but Bird has stated he never really was a huge comic book reader and was not inspired by any particular comics. You can believe him or not, though I tend to.

 

 

[Buzzetta]

Star Wars is a much greater, relevant and more developed franchise across more media than the Fantastic Four.

 

 

By far.

 

Agreed. I've said it before on here, i'm not sure there is any franchise with that much power.

 

not remotely approaching SW but Transformers has averaged $950MM WW BO over 4 movies (and they were all critically reviled)

 

Horrible movies can still make bucket loads of money, that's for sure.

 

And when it comes to whether I will see a movie or not, I never let reviews make the decision for me.

 

 

I do not think that the average American realizes that those transformable robots are bigger outside the United States than within.

 

Yeah, it's one of those weird things that translates better to people that aren't in the US for some reason. I think Fast and Furious in some ways is the same.

 

 

I became a big fan of the Fast and the Furious series after Fast Five. I happened to catch it as a fluke and was mesmerized by the heist aspect of it. Then I went back and watched the first four and the sequels.

[Bosco685]

Right, but at this point... a stretchy guy, invisible girl, indestructible man, and super-fast boy from Pixar would be an Incredibles knock-off.

 

People don't compare print dates when they compare movies... they compare movie dates.

It's a "fun fact" that Incredibles was a Fantastic Four knock-off... but to the Pixar audience, it would be the other way around.

 

I realize the design would be so close, some audiences would think they were too closely aligned.

 

 

Could go with a cartoony design to kid the comic market on the superhero genre, like a Fairly Odd Parents approach.

 

[JayT]

Star Wars is a much greater, relevant and more developed franchise across more media than the Fantastic Four.

 

 

By far.

 

Agreed. I've said it before on here, i'm not sure there is any franchise with that much power.

 

not remotely approaching SW but Transformers has averaged $950MM WW BO over 4 movies (and they were all critically reviled)

 

Horrible movies can still make bucket loads of money, that's for sure.

 

And when it comes to whether I will see a movie or not, I never let reviews make the decision for me.

 

 

I do not think that the average American realizes that those transformable robots are bigger outside the United States than within.

 

Yeah, it's one of those weird things that translates better to people that aren't in the US for some reason. I think Fast and Furious in some ways is the same.

 

 

I became a big fan of the Fast and the Furious series after Fast Five. I happened to catch it as a fluke and was mesmerized by the heist aspect of it. Then I went back and watched the first four and the sequels.

 

I liked the first one as kind of a this comes on cable a lot back in the day fashion, but yeah, Five set it on fire and it's one of the best action franchises out there IMHO. I really came to like Tokyo Drift too because Han was such a player in later (earlier) films.

[valiantman]

 

Could go with a cartoony design to kid the comic market on the superhero genre, like a Fairly Odd Parents approach.

I agree with this.

 

Disney / Marvel needs to capitalize on Fantastic Four. Another live action movie won't do it.

However, is it possible that Dr. Doom could be himself if he were to appear in a movie like the above?

 

[Ken Aldred]

The FF comparison is a very common one, but Bird has stated he never really was a huge comic book reader and was not inspired by any particular comics. You can believe him or not, though I tend to.

 

 

He's probably read more FF than he's admitting to, what with the Mole Man knock-off at the end of the film.

[valiantman]

The FF comparison is a very common one, but Bird has stated he never really was a huge comic book reader and was not inspired by any particular comics. You can believe him or not, though I tend to.

He's probably read more FF than he's admitting to, what with the Mole Man knock-off at the end of the film.

There's also no reason that a generic girl-who-can-be-invisible would ALSO be able to create force fields.

Those two things don't go together... except in Fantastic Four.

 

[JayT]

The FF comparison is a very common one, but Bird has stated he never really was a huge comic book reader and was not inspired by any particular comics. You can believe him or not, though I tend to.

 

 

He's probably read more FF than he's admitting to, what with the Mole Man knock-off at the end of the film.

 

Maybe, just not sure why'd he deny it. Not enough people care about Fantastic Four to make it a thing, and if he really did enjoy it enough that it inspired a classic Pixar movie (it's very well regarded) - and he was brought in to do a film, he's not an original Pixar guy - you'd think he'd pay homage because if Tomorrowland tells me anything, he's probably nostalgic and very pro-creator.

[Ken Aldred]

The FF comparison is a very common one, but Bird has stated he never really was a huge comic book reader and was not inspired by any particular comics. You can believe him or not, though I tend to.

 

 

He's probably read more FF than he's admitting to, what with the Mole Man knock-off at the end of the film.

 

Maybe, just not sure why'd he deny it. Not enough people care about Fantastic Four to make it a thing, and if he really did enjoy it enough that it inspired a classic Pixar movie (it's very well regarded) - and he was brought in to do a film, he's not an original Pixar guy - you'd think he'd pay homage because if Tomorrowland tells me anything, he's probably nostalgic and very pro-creator.

 

No doubt that he created an excellent film around a few comicbook references.

[Bosco685]

The FF comparison is a very common one, but Bird has stated he never really was a huge comic book reader and was not inspired by any particular comics. You can believe him or not, though I tend to.

 

 

He's probably read more FF than he's admitting to, what with the Mole Man knock-off at the end of the film.

 

Total coincidence.

 

 

[Bosco685]

The Incredibles' The Underminer

 

Trivia

Performer: John Ratzenberger.

 

Brad Bird had stated in the DVD commentary that John Ratzenberger having a part in every film was a Pixar tradition that he was originally not planning to use. However he did end up giving Ratzenberger a part, with the joke being that his voice is the very last thing you hear in the film.

 

He appears to have robotic prosthetic hands.

 

This is John Ratzenberger's first villainous role, with the second possibly being The Evil Dr. Porkchop (Hamm's alter-ego during playtime).

 

He appears to be a parody of Marvel Comics villain Mole Man.

[Jeffro.]

I think I'd enjoy more the avocados vs apples convo to be honest

 

 

Wait, avocados aren't apples? That's why my guacamole never tastes right...

 

[whitelanthawkeye]

I think I'd enjoy more the avocados vs apples convo to be honest

 

 

Wait, avocados aren't apples? That's why my guacamole never tastes right...

 

 

If i let him make the guacamole it would literally be a bomb. Just like Fantastic Four.

[NewEnglandGothic]

Fantastic Four is on sale at Target for $10 this week. I passed though and got Fear The Walking Dead Season One (which I might take back because a 'special edition' is coming March 22nd) and Honey West: The Complete Series. I'll probably pick it up for $5 to add to the collection... eventually.