LMAO :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

that was one of the best laughs I have had in a while, you do a perfect BKB :wink:

Seriously, who does this movie appeal to?

Looks a bit too weird for the kids and a bit too childish to the adults.

Depp is not big anough of a draw to generate a $50+ million opening weekend on his own.


The opening will probably be around $35-40 million. I have hard time seeing anything above that.

I think this film is a total burton flick. so even if it opens under 40m I still expect it to find a way over 150m.

Possibly. If the WoM is good...Besides that, it'll have two weekends befotre Sky High is out (which I believe will score pretty well with the families)

hm, Sky High I dont expect an opening over 30m so it definately will not affect CCF much.

hn Im thinking 62m right now way obove my origonal 46m I expect 54m from the general mogie going audience and 8m from the Burton fanatics.

BJs new Prediction:

54m / 206m

I don't know what the huge predictions are based on. No matter how well-reviewed it might be, or how much promotion it gets, in the end it's a Burton/Depp collaboration, and look at that track record. I'm a huge fan of both, but when they get together, they don't make blockbusters. It's more like 2 kids trying to out-do each other in weirdness. The movies are usually too strange for wide appeal and under-appreciated when they're released. Ed Wood is a classic example of this. Where were all the people who now rave about this movie 10 years ago? Even Sleepy Hollow, their biggest hit so far, barely made back its production budget domestically. And I think it did as well as it did largely because of its genre. I want to see this movie succeed, but I would be truly shocked if it turns out to be a huge hit.

Ebert and Roeper gave it thumbs up but they said negative things about Depp's performance.

I agree with Ebert and Roeper's review for the most part. And like other critics have noted, it's a very unsettling film and not kid friendly at all.

They were too young to watch it.

There are *so* many more Burton and Depp fans now than there were 10 years ago. Most of them have become fans within the past few years, ever since Depp made it bigtime with "Pirates of the Caribbean". That movie was what finally got people to sit up and notice Depp's great acting. Since then, new fans of Depp have been eagerly watching his previous films, and thereby have discovered Tim Burton and become fans of him as well.

I should know; I'm one of those people. I avoided Depp like the plague 'til I saw Pirates. I thought he was so brilliant in it (and this is before I started to acknowledge his looks... that developed over quite a bit of time) that I decided to watch "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", just to test his range. I loved how the two characters (Jack and Sands) were so different from each other, so I started catching up on seeing all of his other movies... And once I saw Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish, I became a Burton fan.

So, there is a *much* larger audience out there for Burton/Depp movies now than there were for even Sleepy Hollow (their last collaboration).

Joy

Well I was referring to the critics, especially the ones who talk about Johnny's "art-house" years (i.e., poor box office). I don't remember too many raves about him at the time. The only time you even heard about Depp back then was in reference to a) Winona/Kate Moss and b) hotel-trashing.

Loyal, Ebert & Roeper loved the movie overall, and they loved the Oompa Loompas and the music too. So besides not liking Depp's performance, what did you agree on with them?

Neither said they loved the film. [-X

Nevertheless, they gave it thumbs up. While Ebert liked the Oompa Loompas, Roeper made no reference to them. I agree with them on the production design, Charlie's family, and the kids (all things I've talked about in the past). I also agree with their comments on the 1971 film and Depp's performance. So yeah, outside of Ebert's Loompa love, I would tend to agree with them. My thumb however would be lovingly pointed south.

loyal, you are being too logical about this movie's prospects. The trailers make most people barf. But on the plus side The Michael Jackson Fanatics will completly support this movie and make it a blockbuster. :wink:

It's hard to present my case when I'm the only one at KJ to have seen the film. I feel slighty better that even Ebert saw MJ in Wonka. People here act as if I went into the screening listening to Thriller. :razz:

I agree.

This movie has some appeal to kids, since my daughter knows about the movie and thinks it is funny. But again some of the adults might step in and say that it is too weird for their kids. This movie is hard to gauge wrt its BO potential though.

It appeals to the same people who like boring movies like Batman Begins, thats why Begins will be sinking as fast as a rock when this movie comes out, no 200m for BB batty babies :laugh:

Loyal, I watched the review on TV this morning. Ebert said something specifically at the end of his review that I can't remember word for word, but it was saying in effect that he strongly recommended it. If that's not movie love, then it's serious like. Roeper said he agreed with Ebert's review, so I interpret that as agreeing with the positive as well as the negative, hence, he did like the music and the Oompa Loompas. And since they gave it thumbs up and you give it a thumbs down, I don't think it's very accurate for you to say your review is in line with theirs. The positive reviews from them, Empire, Hollywood Reporter, and Roger Friedman seem to indicate--and even you will have to admit it--that some people are actually going to enjoy this movie.

Well the Oompa Loompas can keep the adults entertained can it? Please tell me they can.. Or bratty little kids being processed into the huge tub of chocalate.. tell me they didnt take those scenes out.

Even I have to admit it? That sounds as if I'm denial. Truth is, you presented the idea that Ebert and Roeper were heaping high praise onto the film, when in fact, if you compare those thumbs up to other high praise thumbs up (say the recent Batman Begins), the difference is very clear. They spent more time trading negative barbs about Depp's performance then anything else.

You can't just toss around words like "this critic loved it" if it's not true and there's no proof of it. [-X

I didn't say they heaped praise on the movie, I said they gave it two thumbs up, and strongly recommended seeing it, so I hardly think it was unreasonable for me to say they "loved" it. Well since the reviews aren't going to be posted till the day of, I can't prove what they said. But I can quote the Hollywood Reporter, Friedman, or the Empire Review. I don't think you really need or want me to do that, do you? Your opinion could end up being the majority opinion, once all the reviews are in. But at this point, it could go either way. I think you're just trying to poison the well by questioning everything I'm saying.

Post Variety while you're at it.

It's called opinion.

Right, and all I'm saying is that some people have a different opinion than yours. I'm not saying you're wrong for holding your opinion. And I can even grant you that your opinion might end up being the majority opinion of the critics or audiences. But it's too early to say that. And you do sound like you're in denial that anyone could possibly like it.

I have to say though, that it's refreshing to have a "heated disagreement" with someone and not once hear the words "idiot", "moron" or various and sundry 4 letter words. After some of the movie message boards I've seen, I think that's pretty rare!

I reserve the use of foul language for later in the year. I'll fight for my fall and winter releases to the death. :wink:

Actually, KJ is pretty good in terms of intelligent debates. There are roughly 5 or 6 guys here who you definitely don't want to have a "heated disagreement" with. It ends up being pointless and harmful for the forum.

BTW, how did you come across KJ in the first place?

Remember the Tim Burton directed Planet of the Apes? I know that was a summer tent pole film and hyped to the end but isn't Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm sure at least 50% of adults have either seen or know of the original Willy Wonka film which in some circles is considered a "classic" film. I feel this film will have a very big opening but after the FF4 opening I'll have to settle for a 50+ opening because adults are definitely going to check this out with their kids for at least ONE weekend.