thismeinteil
MemberMothra LarvaeMay-26-2014 5:51 PMLike the title says, my prediction that I made in my review of Godzilla came to pass. Godzilla had a great start, but has shown that it is very front-loaded. Godzilla started out with an incredible $93.2M, so the interest was obviously there. It also grossed $103M in foriegn markets. However, in its second weekend it fell 67%, to just $31.1M domestically and $34.5M overseas. Box Office Mojo estimates that it is on track to finish at ~$205M-$225M both domestically and overseas (minus Japan and China.) Personally, I think it will finish nearer to the lower end of those scales. That may seem decent, BUT there is something that makes this look pretty bad...
Godzilla '14 will not pass, or even match, Godzilla '98, domestically and (most likely) in foriegn markets. Godzilla '98 grossed $136,314,294. Given the average ticket price at the time, $4.69, we can do a little math and see that '98 got 29,064,882 admissions. Multiply that by the average ticket price of today, $7.96, and '98 would have made ~$231M. If we do this same method with '98's overseas gross, $242,700,000, '98 had 51,748,401 admissions. That would be ~$412M, which would bring '98's grand total to $643M, adjusted to 2014 ticket prices. Godzilla '14, even after you add in Japan/China (and if there are no more extreme drops), will most likely reach ~$500M-$525M, or over $100M short of '98.
This both sickens and angers me. Like I said above, it's obvious the interest was there. But, I completely understand what happened. People who were fans of Godzilla, whether casual or core fans, know what older Godzilla films are like. And for those who weren't fans, the trailers promised something that the movie just did not deliver on. Instead, they got tease after tease after tease, followed by about 5-10 mins of Godzilla/monster action that was continually interupted by the movie focusing on the humans.
Did some love the movie? Sure. This board is evidence of that. However, I think more people fell into the meh or good, but disappointing categories. I know 3 or 4 people in my personal life who didn't go because of my thoughts on the film. There are probably hundreds/thousands more who didn't because of Angry Joe's, Nostalgia Critic's and other internet personalities' reviews. I also know that I would have gone twice, maybe even 3 times, if the movie chose to not act like Godzilla was only a background character. What ticks me off the most is how easy it would have been to make the movie better (i.e. don't jerk your audience around when they paid to see Godzilla treated like a main character when he shows up and don't show the setups to epic fights, just cut away to something not as interesting), yet they chose not to.
Now, having said all that, I am glad the movie did well enough for Legendary to start making a sequel. But, I am also glad it fell off so dramatically, so they know they didn't get something quite right. I also don't mind Garreth directing the sequels, as I enjoyed quite a few of the decisions he made, especially not going nuts with the camera angles/movements when there was action. He also seems to have a good eye for CG, knowing how to make it realistic looking. I just hope that the teases are not supposed to be some kind of calling card for all his movies, otherwise get someone else who passionate about Godzilla. And that Godzilla will be his main focus, so we can get another one by 2016, 2017 at the latest. If we're not getting another Godzilla til 2018 or 2019, cause Gareth is working on the Star Wars spin-off, then again, get someone else who is passionate about Godzilla.
@Thismeinteil , @Talisman , @RatedRex , @Duratok, @ThePike -
I agree with the points you have raised on your dislikes for Godzilla 2014. For me, I love the new appearance of Godzilla and design of the MUTOs, but the major problem I see with this movie (When I say major, it is really a MAJOR problem here) is that it just falls short of anything, or should I say everything at every turn. There is quality outside, but sorely lacking in substance inside, which makes this movie feel hollow. And many audiences left the theatre with mixed feelings after watching Godzilla 2014. They do not know whether to praise or to hate this movie. These are the same issues that confound me too despite being a Godzilla fan. And as much as I want to say I love Godzilla 2014, I cannot bring myself to give Gareth Edwards credit for his direction of this movie.
So what exactly are those issues?
1. Human cast - They've lined up quite a number of impressive actors/actresses, but the characters they portray are so hastily introduced to us, audiences hardly have time to endear themselves to them, let alone feel for them. It doesn't help when their dialogues are kept short and almost inaudible, and they are reduced to mumbling lines not worthy of remembrance. Is it any surprise the only line we ever remember in Godzilla 2014 is: " Let them Fight" ? In the end, the characters are as good as cameos. - Very quality people, but so much under-utilized.
2. Gareth Edwards' style of direction - Godzilla 2014 is more awe-inspiring and bigger in many ways than Godzilla 1998, but make no mistake. - What is considered epic 16 years ago, may no longer be considered awesome in today's generation. Audiences over the years, have seen more than they have compared to before. Imaginations have been stretched, and the cinematic landscape is a vastly different one today. The mistake here is when a new director attempts to build Godzilla 2014 by emulating what other epic directors did, thinking the same trick might work with audiences. I see influences from Jurassic Park, Jaws, Super 8, World of the Wars, etc. but yet Gareth Edwards lacks the courage or conviction to bring these emulations one step further with his own expansions, and that's where he falls short. And people can see that. The result is a Godzilla that falls short on substance that people have come to expect. Just when you thought that tension builds up, and the scene looks like its about to explode, Gareth Edwards cuts it off, and turns it down. Its okay if you do that once, but 3 to 4 times in the movie? Its a turn off. Again, there's potential for quality here but again it falls short in delivering.
3. Marketing of Godzilla - This is a major concern. As far as I remember, I haven't quite come across a movie that markets itself using trailers that portray the key character as such, but audiences end up with something else they didn't get to see. I don't favor the idea at all that Legendary/Warner Bros are using trailers that intentionally edit out a number of scenes to lead others into thinking in one direction only to show something else is there in the actual movie e.g. Godzilla is seen alone in trailer scenes, but in the actual movie he is actually fighting a MUTO. If you obscure the character from being viewed, that's one thing, but to erase a character completely from a trailer only to feature it into the actual movie? - Thats misrepresentation. I'm not surprised that audiences felt cheated or misled. Aren't trailers supposed to be actual representations of a movie to begin with? This form of marketing for Godzilla is not only bad, but it could actually be disastrous enough to keep people wary / off the sequel. Put this into another perspective - Imagine you watch a car advertisement: Gorgeous car design with all the nice curves and interior. You make your way down the showroom all excited about your potential purchase, and suddenly you see an ugly rear bumper on the car that wasn't even seen in the TV ad before. Feel cheated now?
4. Portrayal of Godzilla - The mistake with this movie according to most people I talked to was because Godzilla just wasn't as awesome as they envisioned of him to be. I had a hard time convincing my friends, who think this new Godzilla looks like a piece of cake when compared to the Kaijus in Pacific Rim. The Kaijus would probably give Godzilla a good beating. Although we can argue that Godzilla is superior to these Kaijus, visual representation is also very important in a movie. To them, the Kaijus in Pacific Rim are more agile and destructive. And it is all the more glaring when you consider that Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim was born out of Legendary Pictures too, and the fact that Godzilla appears less awesome than the Kaijus in an earlier movie like Pacific Rim than it would have otherwise suggested, is somewhat surprising and unacceptable to audiences.
With Guillermo Del Toro shamelessly putting so much ferocity into his monsters and battle scenes with no title to call on his creations, what exactly is there to limit the potential of a monster especially when it comes with the title of 'King of Monsters'? Why do we want to limit the abilities of Godzilla by pegging him to scientific realism? You simply don't limit awesomeness. Again, this new Godzilla has all the ingredients and qualities to become a an awesome character, but it just falls short of expanding on these qualities. So promising, yet it just missed the opportunities accorded to it. We end up short-changed.
Conclusion:
I recall many people had high expectations of Godzilla 2014 initially, and even foresaw a $700 - $900 million box-office sales for this movie. But one week after the movie is out, the first-wave of audiences have given their verdict. We end up with a dramatic fall in sales in the 2nd week. And this does not apply to the US box-office alone.
Even as I speak, latest update shows that Godzilla 2014 saw a massive 67 percent decline overseas from last weekend. Its biggest market was the U.K. with $4.3 million. So far, the movie has earned $166.6 million overseas, and will ultimately get past $200 million from its existing territories. It's going to need huge results though, from China and Japan to get anywhere close to $400 million for foreign sales.
The combined total of US and overseas sales for Godzilla's 11th day debut stands currently at $323.3 million. Comparatively, X-Men Days of Future Past has netted a combined total of over $300 million in just 4 days.
Perhaps we might need a change of director and style of marketing if Godzilla's sequel hopes to be a success. Otherwise audiences who are non-fans and have watched this movie may end up being the case of "Once Bitten Twice Shy."
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "
