The Walking Dead (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

The story of Rick Grimes continues, only in theaters. Universal Pictures distributing.

 

[Tommy R]

Had no idea these Rick Grimes movies were actually going to be theatrical. I just assumed they were going to be TV movies. This make me happy!

 

[TravisR]

Had no idea these Rick Grimes movies were actually going to be theatrical. I just assumed they were going to be TV movies. This make me happy!

They said that they were going to be TV movies. I guess something changed or, more likely, they lied for a few months so they could surprise people at Comic Con.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Interesting, but it gives me some concern.

Are the 2nd and 3rd movies guaranteed to be done, or does it depend on the box office performance of the first?

It’s hard to bring in a general audience when moving a TV show to theaters because many people who don’t watch the show feel like it’s a “private party”, if you know what I mean. Plus viewership in general has declined.

If they are doing this I hope they have plans to complete whatever story they want to tell.

 

[Tino]

Ugh. I used to think TWD was a great TV show, and it was for a brief while, but it went into the toilet completely when Negan showed up.

It jumped a whale shark at that point after jumping smaller sharks all along the way.

Pass

 

[Bryan^H]

The time to make a Walking Dead movie would have been at the height of the tv series popularity. Unless the budget for this is $10 mil, it will be a failure.

Way too late. I think even for most fans like me that just gave up, and care nothing for the series anymore.

 

[dpippel]

I lost interest in the show after Season 4. It became same old, same old for me. NO interest in a film at ALL. IMO The Walking Dead outlived its relevance a few years ago, and just needs to finally die.

 

[MarkMel]

It can't die, it's undead.

 

[TJPC]

I also almost stopped as well when Negan was a big character. As a completist I kept going and buying the Blu rays. The show improved greatly with him gone, and actually, although I’d still cheerfully watch him die, the shows with him on second viewing have become passable, perhaps because you know his fate.

 

[dpippel]

It can't die, it's undead.

Well, if you take out the head...

 

[Jake Lipson]

Are the 2nd and 3rd movies guaranteed to be done, or does it depend on the box office performance of the first?

Disclaimer: I'm not a Walking Dead fan but just clicked in to see what the discussion was about; for a second I wondered if it was out of place in the movies forum, or if somehow I had wandered into the TV forum without knowing it. It's surprising that they would do a theatrical release at this juncture. I do read TV press a lot and, though I don't specifically seek out coverage for Walking Dead, I know enough to know that the ratings are not what they used to be for it, and now you're asking people to pay for something that they're used to getting in their homes for "free" (as long as you pay your cable bill, of course.)

You're right on the money about it being a private party. I personally would not go see a theatrical movie spinoff based on a current TV show I haven't seen. (Yes, I've seen the Mission: Impossible movies and the Abrams Star Trek movies, but they have their own continuity and aren't tied to the storyline of a current show in the way that this will be.)

That being said, I would assume that if the first film were to underperform, AMC could just put any potential followups as TV movies, since even if the film did bomb, the TV franchise will continue. The other question is what the budget will be. Is it being budgeted as a normal theatrical feature, or is it being budgeted cheaply, more as though it was a "large" TV episode that happens to be getting a theatrical release? If the latter, it might not need to make that much money theatrically in order to turn a profit.

 

[TravisR]

I do read TV press a lot and, though I don't specifically seek out coverage for Walking Dead, I know enough to know that the ratings are not what they used to be for it...

No doubt the show's best ratings days are behind it but it still gets 5 million viewers. Other than the now finished Game Of Thrones, probably every other show on cable (and most network series) would kill to have that many viewers today. If you look at the press about the show's ratings, you'd think it was a week away from cancellation but that isn't the case.


On a slightly different topic, The Walking Dead comic book came to a surprise conclusion a few weeks ago.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It'll be interesting to see how they shoot this. "The Walking Dead" is one of the only shows still shot on 16mm. "Fear the Walking Dead" is shot digitally.

 

[Sean Bryan]

This will now be a six episode limited series, which I think is much more appropriate than a theatrical film.

Perhaps this thread should be moved to the TV forum?