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serenity / firefly.
Jarne:
Moiche, check the box office earnings. It's only made 17 million in two weeks. That doesn't look that good when it's production costs where 40 million.
I s'pose I'll just have to see it again.
Switchblade:
Same old story: great show + zero advertising = cancelled series for no good reason.
Great movie of great cancelled series + a similar level of advertising = financial results that the suits at universal would likely describe as "dissapointing".
It really is all about the advertising in that industry, and Firefly got completely fucked up the ass when it came to spreading the word.
TylerDurden:
--- Quote from: Moiche ---And like every other fan I'm hoping that there is going to be a sequel, if only so the men in blue and the Blue Sun can be properly explained. But with Joss' current commitments, even if a sequel gets greenlighted, it probably won't come out before first quarter 2008. And I want it now dammit!
--- End quote ---
All of that is explained in the 3 issue Serenity mini-series, written by Joss Whedon from Dark Horse comics. It also has a great scene with Agent Dobson.
Garcin:
Didn't know about that. Amazon is next stop. Thanks.
--- Quote from: Switchblad ---Same old story: great show + zero advertising = cancelled series for no good reason.
--- End quote ---
Switchblade, I'm just going to say the obvious before anyone else can, but it wasn't just a failure to advertise. It was a failure to advertise + juggling the time slots of the show + not playing the pilot -- which was integral to understanding the character motivations of a primarily character driven show.
Fox couldn't have fucked it better if they had hired a department of PHDs in Fuckology, and given them $5mm in grant money to develop the perfect plan to a fuck a show, then implemented it with operatives trained to fuck (shows). On the other hand, NBC had Suddenly Susan a few years ago sandwiched between Friends and some other megahit (I think it was Frasier), and managed to turn absolute shit into advertising gold.
Yes -- this is why I don't have basic cable. Television executives are a bunch of fucks, and HBO comes out with DVDs.
As for there being inadequate advertising for the movie -- well it's hard for me to judge without basic cable what they've been doing on TV, but the movie's been practically invisible in the print media, on the internet (wtf?), on buses, etc. You get the sense that Joss' "viral marketing" strategy with the advance screenings was too successful, and the studio figured it could get away with a half-assed job on the marketing campaign. Or else they're a bunch of idiots who are just counting on DVD sales.
--- Quote from: Jarne --- Moiche, check the box office earnings. It's only made 17 million in two weeks. That doesn't look that good when it's production costs where 40 million.
--- End quote ---
Thanks Jarne, but I sort of which you hadn't told me that and I was still living in my happy delusional place, where things I want to come true always do. Doing the math now, it's sort of depressing. Assuming that the box office take totals out around $34mm, 50% of which will go to the studio (I've read that the rest generally goes to the theater owner), that leaves a shortfall of $23mm in production costs. Assuming that the studio will make $10 in profit per unit DVD sold, that means that they would have to sell 2.3mm DVD units to break even -- which is obviously not going to happen.
Unless someone can correct my math and guesswork (and I'm hoping someone can!) it doesn't look like we're going to get a sequel. Fuck.
Jarne:
The fact that we got a movie from a failed TV series is lucky as it is.
I don't remember where I read this, but apparently some studieo exec or someone high up said that the opening weekend was as they expected. Hopefuly they expected this.
Just go see the damn movie again!
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