Box Office BS: Spider-Man 2

Author: Britt Schramm June 29th, 2004

With my lucky streak intact at 0-4, I look upon this behemoth and realize that I’m Indiana Jones and Spidey is the Boulder. So, into the fire I go with my prediction for “Spider-Man 2″:

The Stars: While little Toby is good for Parker, I still wonder how the kid from “Donnie Darko” (Jake Gyllenhall for those, like me, that can’t spell his name) would do in this flick. Not that I would want a rotating lead character (ala the ‘89-96 Bat franchise) but still I wonder. I also like to see long-time character actors like Alfred Molina take on bigger-than-life characters. And from what Steve and everyone says, Molina doesn’t turn the role into a lamer version of the Nicholson’s Joker similar to the meltdown by Dafoe. Influence: Positive

The Director: Sam Raimi, a favorite director of mine, looks like he’s on top of his game with this geekfest. In the wrong hands, the Spider-Man movie franchise could’ve tanked royally. But, after the first one, it looks like he’s setting the bar even higher. Influence: Highly Positive

The Geek Factor: Hello, this is Spider-Man after all. If you can’t get geeked for this movie, you’ve got no pulse. Influence: Highly Positive

The Buzz: Similar to the ciccadas here in my neck of the woods, the buzz for this flick has been at a low hum ever since last year. Ya know, loud enough to make you notice it but not too loud to be annoying. Influence: Positive.

The Marketing: More of a spoon-fed approach than forcing it down your throat. Nice and subtle. Like good sipping Whiskey. Influence: Positive

The Quality: Hey, it’s two years after the first one so the SFX should be awesome. And if they look as good as Doc Ock’s arms in the trailers, holee sheet! Influence: Extremely Postive

The Competition: I’m sorry, is there any? Influence: Positively Killer

My Predikshun: I have no idea the amount, other than it’s gonna be huge. It’s somewhat like watching Barry Bonds; you know he’s going to hit one out, it’s all a matter of how long. Plus, having Wednesday to help build for the weekend total doesn’t hurt. MY guess - $145 million with total US grosses topping out at $475 million.

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One Response to “Box Office BS: Spider-Man 2”

  1. Anonymous Says:
    December 8th, 2006 at 4:35 am

    Go Spidey go. Kick venom’s a**

    http://www.spiderman3.c.om

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Box Office BS: SPIDER-MAN 2

Author: Rob Worley June 29th, 2004

OK, time to make some off-base and out-of-ass predictions about the box office. This week’s big comic-book gun… Do we really have to say it?

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, threw his suit in a garbage can.

Yep. Clearly the comic book movie event of the year: ‘Spider-Man 2′. Let’s look at the factors:

The Stars: Who cares? The studio cast Tobey Maguire, a relative no-show at the box office, because the real star of the movie is ‘Spider-Man’. The cast is excellent, the acting carries the movie, but that’s not what people are buying tickets for. Influence: Whatever.

The Director: I love Sam Raimi. Always have. Fans who loved the first ‘Spider-Man’ are happy to have him return. I know I am. Influence: Positive.

The Geek Factor: Spider-Man is one of the few franchises that can skate on geek factor if it wanted to. Even if it was the Wachowski’s doing a stinking crap-fest called ‘Spider-Man: Retired’ it’d do better than most. Influence: Major.

The Buzz: Could not be better. I have yet to read a review that refrains from saying, “better than the first.” And the first broke records. Influence: Positive.

The Marketing: The Sony team won awards for marketing the first one. This time they’re turning it up to 11. Influence: Strong.

The Quality: Outstanding. I’ve seen the movie. It rocks like Doc Ock in tube socks (ok?that doesn’t make sense. Don’t dis my rhyme). This movie excels over the first, which I loved. The good word of mouth moved the original past geek phenom and towards cultural event. Same here. Influence: Very Positive.

The Competition: Heh. Influence: Whatever.

My Predikshun: For now particular scientific reason, I’m saying Spidey opens to $125 million and cranks up to $450 million by the end of its run.

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Box Office BS: SPIDER-MAN 2

Author: Stephen Gerding June 29th, 2004

I admit, I’m coming at this one from the angle of having seen the flick already, but really, it’s not changed my expectations for it’s draw. Much.

The Stars: The original’s cast returns, and considering how popular the first installment was, this is A Good Thing. And while Alfred Molina may not be as big a name as, say, Jack Nicholson, it’s obvious just by the trailers and commercials that he’s made Doc Ock come to life. Influence: Mighty Powerful.

The Director: Sam. Raimi. His presence on the first gave fanboys hope, and it paid off. Expect more of the same this time around. Influence: Wicked Strong.

The Geek Factor: Oh, c’mon. Even if the first movie totally blew, Spidey geeks would line up around the block for this - just look at the new Star Wars flicks. Influence: Overwhelming.

The Buzz: Excellent. As I type this, Rotten Tomatoes is running at 100% Fresh. Seriously, I know there will be a few bad reviews eventually, but only from people with no souls. Influence: Pretty Damn Good.

The Marketing: Could it get much better? From trailers to TV to product endorsements, Spidey is everywhere, and yet, Sony’s managed to keep people from getting sick of the hype. If anything, the anticipation is continuing to build on a daily. Influence: Strong.

The Quality: It’s been obvious from the first trailer that at the very least, the SFX were as good as or better than the first, and as fine as the acting is in SM2, does it really matter if the fight scenes kick ass? Influence: Pretty Good.

The Competition: What competition? No other studio had the sack to release a big budget competetitor last weekend, much less the same weekend as SM2. Influence: As Good As It Gets.

My Predikshun: This is the tough part. Looking at the openings for Shrek 2 and Harry Potter, not to mention SM1, I’m gonna have to guess….160-165 million dollars over the 5 day opener. Long term, I’m gonna say SM2 manages to hit 425-430 million domestically by the end of it’s run. And we’ll tack on another 350 million international total, just for fun.

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