Indiewire Browse the indiewire network

The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Actors

Directors

Archives

The Playlist

2012 The Year In Box Office: Hits, Flops And Secret Successes

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • December 27, 2012 2:15 PM
  • |
  • 4 Comments
Box Office
So we’re completing a year of record domestic box office returns, but it’s impossible to ignore that the international market is a hefty player, taking a bigger overall chunk of the pie. It’s not good enough for a picture to perform in America – if it doesn’t grab more than half its share from international crowds, it’s not a complete success. The proliferation of franchises and 3D have turned most American films into our most in-demand export, and it’s changed the box office landscape immensely.
Read More »
More: Box Office, 2012: The Year In Review, John Carter Of Mars, Intouchables, Battleship, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, Magic Mike, American Reunion, Pitch Perfect, Best Of 2012

Time Magazine Names 'Cloud Atlas' The Worst Movie Of 2012; 'John Carter' Comes In Second Place

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • December 4, 2012 5:28 PM
  • |
  • 105 Comments
News
Well, you can't have the best of the year without the worst, and while Cahiers Du Cinema got the ball rolling on the top films of the year, Time Magazine has dropped their rundown of the worst. And topping it all? The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's "Cloud Atlas."
Read More »
More: Cloud Atlas, Best Of 2012, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green, What To Expect When You're Expecting, Alex Cross, The Lorax, This Means War, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Hyde Park On Hudson, John Carter Of Mars

Andrew Stanton Reflects On Box Office Failure Of 'John Carter,' Discusses 'Finding Nemo 2'

  • By Drew Taylor
  • |
  • September 10, 2012 1:25 PM
  • |
  • 4 Comments
News
We're now six months out from "John Carter," Disney's hugely expensive flop based on the beloved novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs about a Civil War vet magically transported to Mars, a land of warring tribes, princesses, and adorable, multi-legged dog thingees (we love you Woola!) Since then, Disney has admitted to losing $200 million on the movie and two of its top executives –Walt Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross and marketing chief MT Carney – were fired in its wake. But director Andrew Stanton, who had made the hugely profitable "WALL-E" and "Finding Nemo" for Pixar and who before the release had maintained an air of bulletproof unflappability, has kept mum. Until now. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the director opens up about the making and marketing of the movie and what's up next.
Read More »
More: John Carter Of Mars, Andrew Stanton, Pixar, Finding Dory

Sad Trombone: 'John Carter' Fans Use Booth At Comic-Con To Collect Signatures For A Sequel

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • July 13, 2012 3:58 PM
  • |
  • 85 Comments
News
Well, you gotta admire their spirit. Conveniently ignoring that Disney themselves have written off Andrew Stanton's "John Carter" as a $200 million mistake, fans on various corners of the internet continue to stump for a sequel to the movie. And this campaign is getting organized. There's an official Back To Barsoom website, an online petition aimed at crossing the desk of Disney honcho Alan Horn, and believe it or not, these folks have shelled out some cash to back up their word, with a presence at Comic-Con to keep collecting names from folks who want to see the formerly developing "John Carter: The God Of Mars."
Read More »
More: John Carter Of Mars, John Carter: The Gods Of Mars

Discuss: Can Taylor Kitsch's 2012 Be Saved By 'Savages?'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • July 3, 2012 10:03 AM
  • |
  • 22 Comments
Features
From a brand perspective, actor Taylor Kitsch has had an unfortunate 2012. With the movie industry dealing with a rocky past few years, Hollywood has had to adjust its strategy, moving to a familiar, but relatively new spending plan. With A-list stars demanding huge salaries or major backend deals with little assurance that their popularity will translate into box-office gold, Tinseltown has looked inward, almost akin to the old studio system, in an attempt to cultivate its own new (less-expensive) would-be stars.
Read More »
More: Features, Battleship, John Carter Of Mars, Savages, Taylor Kitsch

Director Mark Andrews Talks Replacing Brenda Chapman On 'Brave,' The Future Of 'John Carter' & More

  • By Drew Taylor
  • |
  • June 21, 2012 11:06 AM
  • |
  • 45 Comments
News
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – Mark Andrews, who makes his feature directorial debut this weekend on Pixar's heavily hyped, medieval girl-power romp "Brave" (taking duties over for Brenda Chapman, who parted ways with the film – more on that in a minute) was also an assistant director and co-writer on "John Carter," Disney's massively budgeted sci-fi spectacle that crashed and burned like an out-of-control Martian spaceship. Few filmmakers have been in the unenviable position of being involved in huge (and occasionally troubled) productions this close together.
Read More »
More: Pixar, Brave, John Carter Of Mars, Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, Michael Chabon

Willem Dafoe Still Baffled By Failure Of 'John Carter'; New Pixar Stamps Introduced

  • By Drew Taylor
  • |
  • June 5, 2012 10:43 AM
  • |
  • 16 Comments
News
Today "John Carter" will be released on DVD and Blu-ray and, presumably, will be seen by a much larger audience than what turned up it when it was released theatrically this past spring. (The Blu-ray is a handsome, features-packed affair well worth picking up if you feel any love for the movie.) The film, which Disney recently admitted would cost the studio $200 million in lost profit, quickly became a cautionary fable about what happens when you try to launch a franchise based on a century-old property that no one much remembers anymore. One of the film's stars, Willem Dafoe, who played a Martian warrior named Tars Tarkas, is still baffled by the critical and commercial indifference the film received.
Read More »
More: Pixar, Willem Dafoe, John Carter Of Mars

Disney Chairman Rich Ross Resigns, Is 'John Carter' To Blame?

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • April 20, 2012 1:19 PM
  • |
  • 3 Comments
News
Well, with Disney formally revealing that they were taking a $200 million bath on "John Carter," it was not a question of "if" but "when" someone in the corporate food chain was going to take a hit. An executive shakeup was widely expected to happen later this year, though nobody really saw this one coming.
Read More »
More: Walt Disney Pictures, Rich Ross, John Carter Of Mars

Weekend Box Office: 'Hunger Games' Takes Another Bite Of The Marketplace, 'Wrath Of The Titans' Underwhelms

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • April 1, 2012 12:54 PM
  • |
  • 3 Comments
Box Office
It was intriguing to see “The Hunger Games” register an opening weekend just below “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and “The Dark Knight.” Would it mimic 'Potter,' which scored the biggest domestic opening of all time but plummeted by 72% the following weekend? Or would it perform like the Caped Crusader, losing a little more than half its audience? Split the difference – even though “The Hunger Games” dropped 61% from its opening weeked, the sci-fi drama continued to bust blocks, becoming the fifth-quickest release to pass the $200 million domestic mark, besting two somewhat high-profile new releases. The film also broke the Jim Cameron's "Avatar" record for fastest non-sequel to hit $250 million globally.
Read More »
More: Hunger Games, Lionsgate, Wrath Of The Titans, Mirror Mirror, John Carter Of Mars

Weekend Box Office: 'Hunger Games' Scores Third Highest Opening In Box Office History With Massive $155 Million Haul

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • March 25, 2012 12:30 PM
  • |
  • 9 Comments
Box Office
Who’s hungry? “The Hunger Games” proceeded to predictably beat the stuffing out of the box office, scoring $155 million, the third-highest opening weekend in history, and highest for a non-sequel. The fan base came out in full force, no doubt, but so did the normals, as the books don’t (yet) have nearly the support of “Harry Potter” or “Twilight.” But make no mistake, this property had a similar groundswell of opinion, including an ad blitz and news and web coverage suggesting this was the “good” version of those pre-existing properties. Within three days, Lionsgate has their highest grossing domestic release of all time, and Hollywood’s strongest new franchise. Because everyone secretly loves child murder.
Read More »
More: Hunger Games, Weekend Box-Office, Lionsgate, The Lorax, John Carter Of Mars, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 21 Jump Street

Follow Us

Email Updates

What's Poppin'

Recent Comments

Blog Roll

Around The Network

the network

indiewire

categories