Hollywood to release 5 huge movies on same day (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

December 21

Who’s gonna blink first?

Aquaman
Bumblebee
Mary Poppins
Alita: Battle Angel
Welcome To Marwen

I say it’s Marwen..at least.

https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/13/dec-21-movies/

 

[Tino]

Sorry. Can a Mod move this to the movies section please.

 

[TravisR]

I say it’s Marwen..at least.

I don't even know what Welcome To Marwen is but I've seen multiple trailers for the others for months so it better be Marwen.


And honestly, the only one that I'm particularly interested is Alita simply because of the behind the scenes talent and not the trailers.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I thought Marwen is doing the limited pre-holiday opening and then expanding later, so if that’s the case, I don’t think it matters what it does.

Alita has already moved once; wouldn’t shock me if it moves again. It sounds like a movie that needs to be seen on premium 3D screens so it would be to their advantage to move to a time when those are available. I think Disney and Warner will have those locker up and that Cameron will balk at having his latest 3D project not able to play in most 3D locations.

Warner probably just wants to get Aquaman done with so they can take their write off. That probably stays.

Paramount is barely promoting Bumblebee at this point, which may make it easier to move.

I think Mary Poppins stays where it is. The only reason Solo couldn’t be moved to December was because Disney already had taken that slot for Poppins. Can’t see them moving it now if they hadn’t moved it to make room for Solo.

 

[TravisR]

I think Mary Poppins stays where it is. The only reason Solo couldn’t be moved to December was because Disney already had taken that slot for Poppins. Can’t see them moving it now if they hadn’t moved it to make room for Solo.

Yeah, Mary Poppins is the holiday family/kids' movie so they'd be crazy to move because they have that market to themselves.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This is what happens when Star Wars takes December off. Everybody wants to be the big title to replace it, and we end up getting clogged with new releases that won't do it.

Mary Poppins has already moved...a little.

It is opening on Wednesday, December 19 to get a jump on these other films...but I suspect it will still easily dominate through the weekend, especially with families who won't come out midweek due to schools. You just can't beat Disney right now.

Also, Box Office Mojo currently lists Holmes & Watson, with Will Farrell and John C. Riley, on December 21 too.

There's also Into the Spider-Verse and Mortal Engines which are opening the week before on the 14th which will still be competing for attention at this time.

I thought Marwen is doing the limited pre-holiday opening and then expanding later, so if that’s the case, I don’t think it matters what it does.

Box Office Mojo says Welcome to Marwen is currently opening wide. If Universal has awards hopes for it (which is very possible with Robert Zemeckis directing it), they can't really move it very far since they need to get it out before the end of the year, but I think going limited in December and expanding it in January would be a smarter move for it.

Personally, December is very light for me right now since Mary Poppins is the only one I'm really excited about. I'll probably do Marwen because it's Robert Zemeckis, but the trailer doesn't thrill me.

The others don't interest me at all.

But I recognize I'm probably in the minority on this.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think the Mary Poppins sequel is the only sure fire hit, showcasing again the strength of Disney's IP.

Aquaman I think is destined to bomb. He's not a top-tier character, Justice League wasn't a good launching pad, and the DC cinematic universe hasn't engendered the same trust with moviegoers that the MCU has.

I'm skeptical about Bumblebee, too. On one hand, I think the more intimate scope and character-driven story are probably the foundation for a better movie. On the other hand, people come to these movies for the spectacle, and this will have less of that. And the Transformers franchise was already feeling a bit long in the tooth going into this one.

No idea what Marwen is.

 

[Tino]

Welcome To Marwen looks very unique. Check out the trailer.

 

[Malcolm R]

I haven't even heard of two of those (Marwen, Alita). Mary Poppins is fine. Only Aquaman and Bumblebee might be competing for the same audience. I don't expect Warner to move Aquaman.

 

[Vic Pardo]

Even though I'm an anime fan, I am NOT looking forward to ALITA. From the trailers, the character looks so damned weird, I can't imagine sitting down for two-and-a-half-hours and having to look at that.

As a giant robot fan, I AM looking forward to BUMBLEBEE--precisely because of its smaller scale.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Aquaman I think is destined to bomb. He's not a top-tier character, Justice League wasn't a good launching pad, and the DC cinematic universe hasn't engendered the same trust with moviegoers that the MCU has.

If they make a great movie, it will do great. Wonder Woman is the perfect example of it.

The comic book community is pretty excited for this one, whereas they were skeptical of Justice League before it opened.

 

[dpippel]

I dunno about Aquaman. This is not an apples to apples comparison IMO. Wonder Woman had a good chunk of screen time in Batman vs. Superman, Gal Gadot really pulled off the character, and many people felt that she was the best part of that film by FAR. Aquaman had a similar presence in Justice League but he pretty much acted like a sullen frat boy, spouting stupid one-liners throughout the movie. If James Wan embraces that characterization then I think the movie is sunk.

 

[Tino]

I thought Aquaman was the second worst character in Justice League after Cyborg.

That being said I think the trailer makes it look promising.

Poor DC. Constantly chasing Marvel.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Even if it is good, Aquaman is facing much more competition than Wonder Woman did when it exploded onto the scene. Its closest direct competition was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which was about a month old when Wonder Woman arrived. Spider-Verse, Mortal Engines, Aquaman and Bumblebee are all going for similar audiences and opening within a week of each other. I don't think all of them can survive. We'll see.

 

[Interdimensional]

It's a bit like they think the only time people actually go to the cinema is summer and Christmas. To move a major film to another release date is seen as signaling a lack of faith in the product. What a mess. How did it end up like this?

 

[Jeff Adkins]

It's a bit like they think the only time people actually go to the cinema is summer and Christmas. To move a major film to another release date is seen as signaling a lack of faith in the product. What a mess. How did it end up like this?

Cinemas are packed the last two weeks of the year. Even on a Wednesday night, a 9:30 showing which would normally have 8-10 people will suddenly have 80. There's plenty of business to go around.

 

[Interdimensional]

Well, I've been there, but in my case it was only ever because there was a specific movie I wanted to see, and that's when they chose to release it. It's often quite an inconvenient time for me, what with life and all. What's going on with other people that draws them to the cinemas at that time of year?

 

[Malcolm R]

I have complete confidence in James Wan to deliver with Aquaman. I don't think you can pre-judge this film based on what was done with the character in JL. This is the only DC film I've looked forward to since Nolan's Dark Knight films, and may be the first one I see in theaters since Man of Steel.

Plus, as Jeff said, this is a time of year when many are on vacation and looking for things to do, especially if you live in the northern states where it's actually winter. I don't think any of them need to move. If they're worth seeing, people will seek them out.

 

[Tino]

I have complete confidence in James Wan to deliver with Aquaman. I don't think you can pre-judge this film based on what was done with the character in JL. This is the only DC film I've looked forward to since Nolan's Dark Knight films, and may be the first one I see in theaters since Man of Steel.

Plus, as Jeff said, this is a time of year when many are on vacation and looking for things to do, especially if you live in the northern states where it's actually winter. I don't think any of them need to move. If they're worth seeing, people will seek them out.

No matter when they are released. The studios seem to be learning this very slowly.

 

[dpippel]

Plus, as Jeff said, this is a time of year when many are on vacation and looking for things to do, especially if you live in the northern states where it's actually winter. I don't think any of them need to move. If they're worth seeing, people will seek them out.

Lots of families only have X number of dollars in their monthly budgets to spend on things like going to the movies, and for a family of four or more just going to ONE film is a very expensive proposition. You put too many of these big tentpole productions in the same release month and many folks will have to pick and choose what they go to see. They certainly won't be hitting all of them, and that's going to hurt something.