JoeChar4321
07-06-2005, 11:29 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=680&e=3&u=/usatoday/20050706/en_usatoday/fantasticfouronrescuemission
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY Wed Jul 6, 7:24 AM ET
In the eyes of movie executives, it's clobberin' time for the attendance slide that has been throttling Hollywood for nearly five months.
And only a few films are left to lead the charge.
Fantastic Four hits screens Friday, and a lot is riding on the shoulders of the quartet who gain superpowers after a radiation accident. For 19 weeks, movie ticket sales have lagged relative to comparable weekends in 2004, a record. Even Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg couldn't end the moviegoing slump.
That leaves the fate of Hollywood's box-office world in the hands of Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards and his band of mutated astronauts: The Thing ("It's clobberin' time")/Ben Grimm, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm and Human Torch/Johnny Storm. (Related story: Despite expectations, this Fantastic cast remains cool)
Few films this year have come freighted with more expectations. Fans have been waiting decades for a Fantastic Four movie. A campy 1994 Roger Corman movie was made so Constantin Films could keep the film rights, but the movie was never released. Directors and writers have been dropped from the project over creative differences.
Already, distributor 20th Century Fox has committed to two FantasticFour sequels. At least 60 companies have merchandising tie-ins with the film. And Hollywood is hoping it can finally get a new comic franchise off the ground.
Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad says the wait will be worth it.
"This isn't like the other (comic-book) movies," he says. "It's not so dark. It's funny. It will be the feel-good movie of the summer."
And Hollywood hasn't had much to feel good about this season; ticket sales are off 12% compared with last summer.
Even if the slump does end, says Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo, "it's too late (to catch up with last year's box office) this year. But whether it's Fantastic Four or someone else, it will be a chance to shake the stigma the studios are just turning out turkeys."
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY Wed Jul 6, 7:24 AM ET
In the eyes of movie executives, it's clobberin' time for the attendance slide that has been throttling Hollywood for nearly five months.
And only a few films are left to lead the charge.
Fantastic Four hits screens Friday, and a lot is riding on the shoulders of the quartet who gain superpowers after a radiation accident. For 19 weeks, movie ticket sales have lagged relative to comparable weekends in 2004, a record. Even Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg couldn't end the moviegoing slump.
That leaves the fate of Hollywood's box-office world in the hands of Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards and his band of mutated astronauts: The Thing ("It's clobberin' time")/Ben Grimm, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm and Human Torch/Johnny Storm. (Related story: Despite expectations, this Fantastic cast remains cool)
Few films this year have come freighted with more expectations. Fans have been waiting decades for a Fantastic Four movie. A campy 1994 Roger Corman movie was made so Constantin Films could keep the film rights, but the movie was never released. Directors and writers have been dropped from the project over creative differences.
Already, distributor 20th Century Fox has committed to two FantasticFour sequels. At least 60 companies have merchandising tie-ins with the film. And Hollywood is hoping it can finally get a new comic franchise off the ground.
Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad says the wait will be worth it.
"This isn't like the other (comic-book) movies," he says. "It's not so dark. It's funny. It will be the feel-good movie of the summer."
And Hollywood hasn't had much to feel good about this season; ticket sales are off 12% compared with last summer.
Even if the slump does end, says Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo, "it's too late (to catch up with last year's box office) this year. But whether it's Fantastic Four or someone else, it will be a chance to shake the stigma the studios are just turning out turkeys."