Speed Racer Lapped
Sun., May. 11, 2008 11:29 AM PDT
Warner Brothers
The summer box office season has seen its first crash.
The $100 million-ish Speed Racer opened this weekend with an estimated $20.2 million, and, according to one box office expert, will struggle to get to $50 million domestically by the time its run is done.
"In terms of Warner Bros., this is a yellow flag of caution," Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations Co. said today.
Elsewhere, Iron Man continued to show he was still the man (first place, $50.5 million), and Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz's What Happens in Vegas hit on a nice little number (third place, $20 million).
For the weekend, Speed Racer, directed by The Matrix's Wachowski brothers and starring Emile Hirsch as the 1960s cartoon driver come to life, finished second, behind Iron Man and ahead of What Happens in Vegas. But Bock said the rankings could change once today's studio estimates turn into Monday's final numbers.
"Don't be surprised if Speed Racer comes in third, when all is said and done," Bock said.
Speed Racer's slow start was not a surprise. The trailers didn't click. The reviews weren't good (although, per Rotten Tomatoes, the reviews for What Happens in Vegas were even worse).
According to Bock, the movie had a third strike against it: It is a family-friendly film.
"In today's market, when you have a PG film, it's really hard to market that to families," Bock said. "And when this one came out PG, it obviously was for kids only, and that means a lot of families don't go."
PG-13 is the marketing sweet spot—eight of the year's top 10 films sport that rating, with The Spiderwick Chronicles the lone PG film in that mix.
Guess Pops Racer shouldn't hold back the next time he's cursing out Speed for grinding the gears on the Mach 5. Or 6.
Elsewhere:
- Iron Man is showing pretty good legs for a movie, circa 2008, with business down 51 percent. Last year, Spider-Man 3 dropped more than 60 percent in its second weekend.
- Overall, Iron Man's stateside take stands at $177.1 million. After two weekends, it has bypassed Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! as the year's No. 1 movie. What Happens in Vegas outgrossed Speed Racer, screen for screen, and debuted in the neighborhood of 27 Dresses and Fool's Gold, the year's two biggest romantic comedies.
- Owing to the Shrek and Charlie's Angels franchises, Diaz has enjoyed far bigger openings than What Happens in Vegas' $20 million. Owing to My Boss's Daughter, et al, Kutcher has only topped $20 million one other time (2005's Guess Who).
- If you think being a PG film is tough, try being an R. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (sixth place, $3.8 million; $50.7 million overall) and the forgotten Rambo ($42.8 million overall) are the only two of their kind in the year's top 20, per the stats at Box Office Mojo.
- David Mamet's Redbelt (10th place, $1.1 million; $1.2 million overall) broke wide, and broke into the top 10, which all sounds pretty good until you notice it "grossed," on average, $827 at each of its 1,300-plus theaters.
- Prom Night ($1.1 million; $42.8 million overall) and 88 Minutes ($485,000; $16.4 million overall, per Box Office Mojo) both ended their top 10 runs. 21 ($835,000) did, too, but it also crossed $80 million mark overall.
- It was another largely underwhelming weekend on the art-house circuit. Not one little movie grossed as much per screen as gigantic Iron Man, which averaged a weekend-best $12,284 at each of its 4,000-plus theaters.
- The Fall, a fantasy-drama starring Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace, distinguished itself with a strong $80,200 at nine theaters, per Box Office Mojo.
Here's a recap of the top-grossing weekend films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
- Iron Man, $50.5 million
- Speed Racer, $20.2 million
- What Happens in Vegas, $20 million
- Made of Honor, $7.6 million
- Baby Mama, $5.8 million
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $3.8 million
- Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, $3.2 million
- The Forbidden Kingdom, $1.9 million
- Nim's Island, $1.3 million
- Redbelt, $1.1 million
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23 Comments
Mike G Sun, May 11, 2008 12:28 PM
Speed Racer lapped lol. Guess the Iron Man wins the gold in all events.
Reportansy Sun, May 11, 2008 1:23 PM
first, competitor ironman is very good. 2nd, they remake the speed racer and make it into something totally unlike the classic most people like. The neon lights are too much for 2 1/2 hour of it and I specially hate they change the classic theme song to add rap music to it. And the main character, should be a japanese boy... and the new actor's look is unlikable. all and all, it's a weak movie. deserve to tank.
ReportLeland Sun, May 11, 2008 1:49 PM
I don't know who Jeff Bock is, but I can't take him seriously. Family-Friendly PG keeps families from going to "Speed Racer"? Ok, "Iron Man" is PG-13, but it just beat out the previous top grossing movie of the year, the G rated "Dr. Suess Horton Hears a Who?" If you think PG is the ill of "Speed Racer", then you must be paying attention to something other than the money and ticket sells.
Reportfreakengine Sun, May 11, 2008 2:35 PM
Box office grosses are pretty much meaningless unless you're talking blockbusters. Speed should do awesome numbers internationally and the DVD revenues will be phenomenal regardless of how badly it tanks at the box office. It's too bad since it's a total piece of s**t. That's why people didn't go. Since when did families avoid Pixar flicks due to the ratings? Hmmm?
Reportdisposable income Sun, May 11, 2008 2:41 PM
How any studio could greenlight 100 mil on this moronic cartoon boggles the mind. Who is is charge of the studio????? I'm in the wrong business.
ReportStrong Rope Sun, May 11, 2008 2:57 PM
4chan sucks Goat Penis
ReportNubbit Sun, May 11, 2008 3:05 PM
Saw Iron Man last night. Very enjoyable movie! Won't waste my time with Speed Racer. Happy Mothers Day!
ReportBKSpank Sun, May 11, 2008 3:20 PM
Who didn't see this coming? Come on now? This movie is nothing like the stories in the cartoon. The cartoon ruled because of the races and background stories. They didn't take us to exotic places or anything like that. They invented a whole new world that wasn't anything like the original. And they changed the car. HOW DARE YOU CHANGE THE CAR. They blew the movie in the trailers with the Mach 6. WTF was that all about? I don't care how much fun the critics had at the movie, its not what I wanted to see.
ReportGearhead Sun, May 11, 2008 3:46 PM
I don't know. I liked Speed Racer the movie. I thought Chim Chim the monkey stole the show although Spridle flipping off the head bad guy was pricesless. Both my boys, Age 8 & 10 loved it and I thought it was a decent tribute to the 1960s classic. Sure it had flaws but all movies do.
ReportRobert M. Sun, May 11, 2008 4:46 PM
Just the promotional video for the Speed Racer movie gave me a migraine. I'd probably gouge out my eyes before I was half way through the entire thing.
ReportWhocares Sun, May 11, 2008 4:50 PM
Speed Racer movie was doomed. They changed too much, the original rocked for a reason and these idiots failed to see that. But Then... Who Cares?
Reportrplon Sun, May 11, 2008 5:27 PM
I'm not interested in seeeing this movie and it's a dud internationally as well according to Variety. It looks awful.
ReportBob Dykstra Sun, May 11, 2008 5:30 PM
I think the problem is that Speed Racer (Jeff Bock is it?)...does NOT have an upper lip.
ReportNick Sun, May 11, 2008 5:44 PM
I saw the movie this weekend and thought it was a fun movie. I don't have any baggage from the comic or other history with the story so I could just enjoy this on its own. I hadn't planned on seeing it because I thought the graphics might just be too much and it had gotten so many negative comments, but I was glad I did. And, at 41, I can say this is definitely a family film, good for kids and adults alike.
ReportMike Sun, May 11, 2008 5:55 PM
Why the hate for Speed Racer? I saw it with the whole family, and we all thought it was great fun. The visuals are outstanding, and will influence cinema for years (and remind me of delicious, shiny, tasty, and oh-so-colorful Skittles in a blender).
ReportAlyx Sun, May 11, 2008 6:36 PM
The Fall outperformed Speed Racer per screen. Suck on that Wachoski Bros! You've had it coming since Matrix 2!
ReportCathrun Sun, May 11, 2008 6:52 PM
Emile Hirsch plays Speed Racer...am I the only one who thinks this guy looks like a skinny Jack Black? Anyway, families won't see PG movies because they are very often lame, with very poor plots or dialogue. They insult your intelligence if you're a kid or an adult. So people see PG13 movies even though they are inappropriate because they are entertaining. What the morons in Hollywood just can't figure out is more families would go see PG movies if they just made more good ones! Are there really no decent writers or directors around that are clever enough to make a family movie that is fun, funny and that you can take a kid to? Hairspray, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Shrek...movies that can hold your attention, are fun for kids and that aren't offensive. Can't they get that? And didn't those movies make big bucks?
Reportgroovygirl Mon, May 12, 2008 3:17 AM
LOVED Speed Racer! Don't listen to all those bad press. GO WATCH IT NOW.
ReportAmanda Mon, May 12, 2008 5:55 AM
I LOVED Speed Racer too!!! ** It was a really great family film and we all enjoyed it. ** The actors did a great job, espically Emile, Matthew, Christina, Scott, John, and Susan!!! Plus, it introduces Rain to the American audience. It's just wasn't a good week to open it. However, I think it's going to do a lot better next weekend, overall, and overseas. I'm a elementry teacher, and my students weren't able to go last week because of Mother's Day, but almost ALL of them are going this coming weekend to see SR!!! ** Plus, the DVD sales will be enormous. So don't count it out yet. **
ReportAmanda Mon, May 12, 2008 6:19 AM
My family saw it this weekend at a drive-in and my daughter and I tfell asleep (although my 6 year old liked it).I didn't like it but my 18 year old son saw it at an IMAX theater and said that it made all the difference. It felt like you were in the movie. I guess...
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