Ghostbusters (2016) (1 Viewer)

[The Obsolete Man]

The only honest word on this thing is going to be the box office numbers next Sunday.

 

[WillG]

The New York Times review is very positive. I was already planning on seeing it next weekend; now I'll make sure I do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/movies/ghostbusters-review-melissa-mccarthy-kristen-wiig.html

NY Times review seems way too glowing (doesn't surprise me) but there's no way this movie is as flawless as they make out to be. Though, in fairness they do kind of admit that the all female casting is a gimmick.

 

[John Houston]

NY Times review seems way too glowing (doesn't surprise me) but there's no way this movie is as flawless as they make out to be. Though, in fairness they do kind of admit that the all female casting is a gimmick.

This snippet from a fawning "reviewer" on Rottentomatoes should scare-off anyone not of that ilk:

Ghostbusters is an end-to-end comedic pleasure. But there is more to the film’s many delights. Like the recent progressive comedy Neighbors 2, Ghostbusters is a breath of fresh air when it comes to gender equality on screen and liberal ideas on the page

 

[Malcolm R]

Preliminary tracking numbers from Hollywood Reporter predict an opening in the $40-million range. That would seem to be pretty good, as most of Melissa McCarthy's comedies seem to open in the 20's, though this film cost a lot more to make.

 

[WillG]

Preliminary tracking numbers from Hollywood Reporter predict an opening in the $40-million range. That would seem to be pretty good, as most of Melissa McCarthy's comedies seem to open in the 20's, though this film cost a lot more to make.

If it only did 40m that would be a huge letdown. This is a big budget summer tentpole of a highly established and lucrative brand, it's not "The Boss"

 

[WillG]

This snippet from a fawning "reviewer" on Rottentomatoes should scare-off anyone not of that ilk:

Ghostbusters is an end-to-end comedic pleasure. But there is more to the film’s many delights. Like the recent progressive comedy Neighbors 2, Ghostbusters is a breath of fresh air when it comes to gender equality on screen and liberal ideas on the page

Exactly, you're going to have to expect of lot of this. And for the record, I have clearly defended women leads in this thread, but this is going to be heavily judged among political lines. There's no way it can't be, this movie has become that much of a political hot potato that there's no way you're not going to get bias.

 

[Malcolm R]

If it only did 40m that would be a huge letdown. This is a big budget summer tentpole of a highly established and lucrative brand, it's not "The Boss"

I'm not sure it can expect much more. There are not many comedies that open above $40 million. Most of the successful ones have long legs, not large opening weekends.

 

[WillG]

I'm not sure it can expect much more. There are not many comedies that open above $40 million. Most of the successful ones have long legs, not large opening weekends.

Going to disagree, because again, this isn't just a comedy. This is a tentpole for Sony. The brand alone and the associated marketing suggests that they were banking on huge numbers for this. I'm not an expert on Hollywood math, but, what's the break even point for this (including marketing)?

 

[Wayne_j]

The advertising campaign for this movie was abysmal. People's uneasiness with this project to begin with was only fed by horrible trailers. With these early reviews I might actually go see it now.

 

[Bryan^H]

I know a lot of people that decidedly made up their minds months ago that they are going to skip this in theaters. Most common response is "Wait for it on Netflix" that I hear. I'm not an expert of box office numbers, but I get the feeling that attitude is quite common for Ghostbusters.
I like the cast and Paul Feig(Am I the only fan of 'Other Space'?) so I hope with the foreign market it at least makes a profit.

 

[Tony J Case]

It doesn't matter to me if every single person on the planet says that this is the not only best movie in the history of cinema, but the crowning apex of human achievement, that it is better than Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Roshomon, 2001, and The Godfather all rolled into one. I've seen enough and read enough to know that I would rather be set on fire than see it.

No thank you. I'll pass.

 

[Tino]

It doesn't matter to me if every single person on the planet says that this is the not only best movie in the history of cinema, but the crowning apex of human achievement, that it is better than Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Roshomon, 2001, and The Godfather all rolled into one. I've seen enough and read enough to know that I would rather be set on fire than see it.

No thank you. I'll pass.

Gee, that's a surprise. [emoji12]

 

[TravisR]

The advertising campaign for this movie was abysmal. People's uneasiness with this project to begin with was only fed by horrible trailers. With these early reviews I might actually go see it now.

Yeah, I don't think the trailers were anywhere near as bad as the harsher critics felt but they still did absolutely nothing to get my interest either. I see most movies that play near me so I was always going to see this but the reviews make me a little more hopeful than I was. At a minimum, I think there will be a few decent laughs so it probably won't be any worse than the not-terrible-but-nothing-special stuff I've seen this summer (Tarzan or Independence Day) or the bad movies (The Purge or the pretentious & awful Swiss Army Man).

 

[GarryS]

I'm not an expert on Hollywood math, but, what's the break even point for this (including marketing)?

The general rule of thumb is a movie has to make twice its production budget globally.

 

[Bob_S.]

Even though I'm a pretty conservative guy I have absolutely no problem with females playing leads. In fact I think the women in this have pretty good chemistry. If Ghostbusters 1 and 2 had never been made I'd actually be looking forward to this. I'd think, boy what a cool idea!

But there is my problem with this, no originality once again on Hollywood's part. Let's basically take a popular movie from the '80s, steal all the best elements of it, reverse all the roles and update the old boring special effects with dazzling cgi. Oh, and update the popular '80s song because we can't come up with anything new. My son asked me if I was going to see it in the theater and I said nah, I'll just watch the originals. And sorry, that female slimer is STUPID.

 

[Tino]

The general rule of thumb is a movie has to make twice its production budget globally.

Actually it's closer to three times now.

 

[GarryS]

Actually it's closer to three times now.

I knew I was being conservative. [emoji4]
I hope everyone also knows that if it does make 40 million, that doesn't mean Columbia gets all 40 million.

 

[John Houston]

I knew I was being conservative. [emoji4]
I hope everyone also knows that if it does make 40 million, that doesn't mean Columbia gets all 40 million.

True. With marketing budgets running $80-$100M today, that means that the average $100M movie costs $200M.

 

[Tony J Case]

Actually it's closer to three times now.

Its been three times for a while now. Back in film school around '95 or so, my teacher cited the three times rule when estimating a budget. So it's been a couple of years now.

Gee, that's a surprise

The depressing thing? That the summer season has been a real dud. The last summer movie I had any hint of desire to see was ID4 - and boy, talk about ending the season with a thud. Beyond that - Star Trek? No. Borne? No. Suicide Squad? Sorry DC Murderverse - fool me once, etc, etc. So yeah, I might - might - catch Sausage Party at the second run dollar house. But otherwise, my summer movie viewing is over.

And that makes me sad.

(EDIT - I guess I still could go see Finding Dory. Nemo wasn't really high on my "Hey that was awesome" list. Oh sure, it was good and I enjoyed myself and all, but not really my cup of tea - but I guess it's better than ending the season on ID4.)

 

[Sam Favate]

The depressing thing? That the summer season has been a real dud. The last summer movie I had any hint of desire to see was ID4 - and boy, talk about ending the season with a thud. Beyond that - Star Trek? No. Borne? No. Suicide Squad? Sorry DC Murderverse - fool me once, etc, etc. So yeah, I might - might - catch Sausage Party at the second run dollar house. But otherwise, my summer movie viewing is over.

And that makes me sad.

I don't think this summer has been great, but it's hasn't been all that bad. I thought Civil War was terrific fun, one of the best Marvel movies, which is saying a lot. I also enjoyed X-Men Apocalypse and really feel the critics were too harsh on it. I thought Finding Dory was great, and well worth seeing in the theater. I am still hopeful for Ghostbusters, Star Trek and Suicide Squad. I didn't really want to see ID4, as I'm pretty sickened by destruction porn, but I was surprised at how disliked the movie has been.