TH: DOS Box Office Watch

[Passdagas the Brown]

Still a pretty impressive number.

I actually want this to make as much money as possible. IMO, the more financially successful it is, the less pressure the WB people will put on PJ to include elements of standard blockbusterism. That theory sits on a shaky empirical foundation, but it feels right to me!

Surely the reverse is more likely? Could one not look at these figures and say that DoS has made less money the further away it got from Tolkien and the closer PJ tried to squeeze it into the "Blockbuster" mould? If DoS had been the most successful, WB would have felt the changes more vindicated...

As V-man says, I think DoS suffered primarily from AUJ's poor critical reception (and possibly, from the beginnings of Middle Earth fatigue...).

Plus, I don't think DoS fits the "Blockbuster" mould very well. It's a very strange film (IMO, it has a fever dream quality), and I've never seen another blockbuster like it.

[Smaug's voice]

Not really, since DoS making less money has more to do with AUJ and it's less than stellar reception among critics and the general public than it does with DoS. And that had more to do with the part of AUJ that stayed closest to Tolkien, the first hour, than the parts that deviated from Tolkien.

As PtB said, the critics saw the film as a whole. While I agree on the tonal inconsistency (I myself was quite fine with it!) it has more to do with their expectations. Betting, most of the critics (especially those who haven't read the book) were expecting something very LotR and they were disappointed by the comicness of it. Added to that, was the jarring CGI on the orcs(I know alright, you two would disagree) and the weak "Out of the frying pan" climax, and silly physics defying action pieces. I would wonder, the critics knew more or less what to expect with DOS and so the barrel ride was welcomed by everyone. DOS got better reviews because:

- it's a better film
- Critics knew what to expect.

Plus, I don't think DoS fits the "Blockbuster" mould very well.

And yet I think DOS is the most clear-cut blockbuster among ME films. (with RotK coming a close second)