I understand doing Parental Guidance Christmas Day--Cheaper By The Dozen and its sequel both did good business off the "safe for all ages comedy" angle a few years back, and the other Christmas Day releases have kid safety issues of some degree.
Guilt Trip, on the other hand, I don't understand the strategy at all--there hasn't been an adult-skewing comedy in the marketplace (other than Playing For Keeps, which was marketed as a romantic drama, and Silver Linings Playbook, which is playing as Oscar bait) in a good long while. Why not push it out on 12/7 or 12/14 and avoid the pileup. I suspect some counterprogramming to The Hobbit would have been welcome.
For my [Jewish] family, ever since I was a child December 25 is a day to see a movie and eat in Chinatown. For many years, Woody Allen released his films on Christmas to take advantage of the Jewish audience.
Seconded. The trailer seems to feature every cliche I thought was long dead - including Crystal getting hit in the groin.
While watching the trailer, I noticed how much Crystal and Midler resemble each other, and then in my head the movie morphed into a version of "Persona"... which I think is a movie I'd actually really like to see.
The Jewish members of our family will be sneaking out of the Christmas festivities to go see Les Miserables on Christmas night. I cannot imagine who the audience is for either of these two movies.
Counterprogramming movies isn't really a thing: http://www.studiobriefing.net/2012/05/counterprogramming-box-office-it-hardly-ever-works/. For counterprogramming to work, you have to assume that (1) there is a substantial audience for a substantial time at the beginning of a movie's run that will commit to going out to see a movie without regard to what is showing (otherwise the coincident release of the blockbuster would have no positive effect on the moviegoer's choice whether to see the other movie); (2) that that person either is going to see the movie alone or is going to see the movie only with companions with similar tastes (otherwise the companion is as likely to drag the person to the blockbuster as the person is likely to drag the companion to the counterprogrammed movie, netting out the effects); and (3) the person (or group of like-minded moviegoers) lacks interest in whatever blockbuster is then playing (a condition that intuitively seems at odds with the notion in (1) that the person is going to see a movie no matter what). It seems to me that the best you could hope for as a non-blockbuster-type movie is to schedule your release at a time when the greatest possible number of people who want to see it could see it. If the intersection of the three criteria above represents a relatively small group of the potential audience for your non-blockbuster movie, then "counterprogramming" could hurt its take, for any number of reasons, including: limited number of available screens; deterrent effect of multiplexes already packed with blockbuster-goers; and loss, to the blockbuster, of the potential audience that doesn't fall into al three categories described above.
Box office winner claims prize of naches and a Zabar's gift basket?
ReplyDeleteI understand doing Parental Guidance Christmas Day--Cheaper By The Dozen and its sequel both did good business off the "safe for all ages comedy" angle a few years back, and the other Christmas Day releases have kid safety issues of some degree.
ReplyDeleteGuilt Trip, on the other hand, I don't understand the strategy at all--there hasn't been an adult-skewing comedy in the marketplace (other than Playing For Keeps, which was marketed as a romantic drama, and Silver Linings Playbook, which is playing as Oscar bait) in a good long while. Why not push it out on 12/7 or 12/14 and avoid the pileup. I suspect some counterprogramming to The Hobbit would have been welcome.
Until this moment I wasn't 100% sure I wasn't seeing different ads for the same movie.
ReplyDeleteFor my [Jewish] family, ever since I was a child December 25 is a day to see a movie and eat in Chinatown. For many years, Woody Allen released his films on Christmas to take advantage of the Jewish audience.
ReplyDeleteYou know, sometimes non-Jewish families who just don't want to talk to each other any more go to movies on Christmas Day too.
ReplyDeleteLook, I just can't believe they couldn't find anyone else to play Seth Rogen's mother.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they're releasing Midler/Crystal full stop.
ReplyDeleteSeconded. The trailer seems to feature every cliche I thought was long dead - including Crystal getting hit in the groin.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the trailer, I noticed how much Crystal and Midler resemble each other, and then in my head the movie morphed into a version of "Persona"... which I think is a movie I'd actually really like to see.
The Jewish members of our family will be sneaking out of the Christmas festivities to go see Les Miserables on Christmas night. I cannot imagine who the audience is for either of these two movies.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is I've received two screening offers from the site I'm signed up on for such things, which has never happened before.
ReplyDeleteNon-Jewish and am totally seeing Les Mis on Christmas night.
ReplyDeleteCounterprogramming movies isn't really a thing: http://www.studiobriefing.net/2012/05/counterprogramming-box-office-it-hardly-ever-works/. For counterprogramming to work, you have to assume that (1) there is a substantial audience for a substantial time at the beginning of a movie's run that will commit to going out to see a movie without regard to what is showing (otherwise the coincident release of the blockbuster would have no positive effect on the moviegoer's choice whether to see the other movie); (2) that that person either is going to see the movie alone or is going to see the movie only with companions with similar tastes (otherwise the companion is as likely to drag the person to the blockbuster as the person is likely to drag the companion to the counterprogrammed movie, netting out the effects); and (3) the person (or group of like-minded moviegoers) lacks interest in whatever blockbuster is then playing (a condition that intuitively seems at odds with the notion in (1) that the person is going to see a movie no matter what). It seems to me that the best you could hope for as a non-blockbuster-type movie is to schedule your release at a time when the greatest possible number of people who want to see it could see it. If the intersection of the three criteria above represents a relatively small group of the potential audience for your non-blockbuster movie, then "counterprogramming" could hurt its take, for any number of reasons, including: limited number of available screens; deterrent effect of multiplexes already packed with blockbuster-goers; and loss, to the blockbuster, of the potential audience that doesn't fall into al three categories described above.
ReplyDelete