Monthly Archives: June 2012

Barry Sonnenfeld’s Next Movie?

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According to Vulture.com:

our spies tell us that Sonnenfeld has actually attached himself to DC Comics’ The Metal Men series.

 

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

For those unfamiliar (and let’s be honest, that’s probably most people), The Metal Men centers on an artificial-intelligence expert named William Magnus who creates six cyborgs, each made from a distinct chemical element with talents reflecting their places in the periodic table: Gold, their leader, was almost infinitely stretchable; Iron, the strongman; Lead, the simpleton protector; Mercury, the capricious risk-taker who could melt into the tiniest crevices; Platinum, a female cyborg who could flatten herself but who couldn’t believe she wasn’t a real woman.

Sounds like a pretty amazing script would be required first, and it would have to be pretty funny.

Cinema Blend comments:

The source material sounds unendingly goofy, but don’t count out Sonnenfeld, who didn’t just make magic with the original Men in Black, but also managed to adapt The Addams Family into a really rewarding movie in the early 90s

Father Figures in Threepeat Blockbuster Movies

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This is pretty cool. A number of second sequels of U.S. blockbuster movies have been all about father/son relationships – including MIB3:

From the early 1980s, Hollywood produced a number of ‘third-part’ films that all shared a particular preoccupation with father–son relations. Among them, Return of the Jedi, Rambo III, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Back to the Future Part III all involved the rescue or redemption of a paternal figure by way of an heroic (biological or symbolic) son.

Wow! This is a genuine thing.

Inverting the black father–white son dynamic that characterised the Lethal Weapon series, MIB3 constructs an image of heroic black masculinity that is contained in and through its relationship to white paternal authority.

Lots to think about!

Full story at Kill Your Darlings.

Swatch Watch Mayhem

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Swatch (owners of the Hamilton watch line) were very happy with their product placement in Men in Black 3. But they are not happy about another company selling a copy of the watch, and claiming it appeared in the film.

The allegations of trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising were lodged against Stuhrling Original LLC in New York federal court last week.
[Source: Hollywood Reporter]

The original watch is a Hamilton Ventura, which Elvis wore in the movie Blue Hawaii. It has also appeared in Mad Men. Read more about the Hamilton Watch Company.

Compare:

MIB3 Hanging On – Week 3

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On its third week of release Men In Black 3 is still a reasonably popular movie. The decay in sales is in line with an average movie. The US Box Office for this weekend just been is:

  1. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted $60,316,738
  2. Prometheus $51,050,101
  3. Snow White and the Huntsman $23,058,790
  4. MIB 3 $13,895,720

Obviously MIB3 is just another summer blockbuster, and certainly not the hit of the year. Here are some comparative declines between 1st and 2nd weeks for blockbuster movies:

  • Avatar 2%
  • Shrek 2 33%
  • Spider-Man 38%
  • Alice In Wonderland 46%
  • Toy Story 3 46%
  • The Dark Knight 53%
  • Pirates of the Caribbean 2 54%
  • The Hunger Games62%
  • Spider-Man 3 62%

50% is about normal. Less can be expected if the opening weekend was a holiday (MIB3 opened on Memorial Day weekend). MIB3 dropped by 49% on its second weekend.

MIB3 Reigns Supreme in Japan

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Is it because the movie makes a little fun of the Chinese?

Is it the snappy suits?

Do the stars, Smith and Jones, look a little Japanese/

I have no idea, but unlike the rest of the world, MIB3 is #1 for a second week in Japan – taking $19 million on the 2nd week which isn’t too far short of the USA figures.

MIB3 Surpasses $400 Million Worldwide

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On Tuesday Sony Pictures announced that after reaching $398.8 million the previous night, MIB 3 was poised to move beyond $400 million in worldwide revenue Wednesday.

NIB2 had a total gross of $441 million, and the original Men in Black grossed $589 million – but both of those films had substantially lower budgets.

While $400 million is a huge amount of money, it still might indicate that the movie will be unprofitable overall. Some commentators have suggested that a $600 million gross worldwide would be needed for it to break even.

Men In Black 3 Heavily Censored in China

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MIB3 was the #1 movie last weekend in China, but they saw a different version than the rest of the world – in fact it was a full 13 minutes short. God knows how that affected plot comprehension!

The reason: baddies in Chinatown wasn’t OK by the Chinese government. The scene that appeared in trailers, where Will Smith wipes the memory of Chinese tourists – gone!

Supposedly you need to show positive aspects of Chinese folk alongside anything that is not totally positive, to avoid the wrath of the censors.

You never know, the producers might be pleased that they can fit more sessions into each day…

Will MIB3 Hold On To #1?

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Men In Black 3 was virtually guaranteed to be #1 last week, it was the only new blockbuster and The Avengers had been out for a while.

And the following weekend it can’t possibly compete with Madagascar 3 and Prometheus.

But this coming weekend there is a non-blockbuster movie that will compete for box office honors: Snow White and the Huntsman. Despite mixed reviews, it will most likely cause MIB3 to fall to #2 in the rankings.

Screen Crave makes this prediction:

  1. Snow White and the Huntsman – $35 Million
  2. MIB3 - $23.9 Million
  3. The Avengers - $23 Million
  4. Battleship – $5.5 Million
  5. The Dictator – $4.7 Million

Personally, I think Snow White will do much, much better – $45-$50 million, with MIB3 dropping to $19 million, possibly less than The Avengers.

UPDATE: Snow White took $56 million, and MIB3 took $29 million, demonstrating that it does have some staying power after all.