Wicked = very woke, is 3rd highest grossing film this year

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

7 minutes ago, The Phantom's Phantom said:

3rd highest gross of the year.  You think that's broke?

Again, do you know how money works?  Businesses work?

If I spend 500 million dollars on a movie but lose 250 million dollars on it then it does not matter if it's the "3rd highest grossing movie of the year" or whatever artificial title you want to put on it to push some kind of false narrative. 

Once again, you're a f'n retard. 

[The Phantom's Phantom 254]

5 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

Again, do you know how money works?  Businesses work?

If I spend 500 million dollars on a movie but lose 250 million dollars on it then it does not matter if it's the "3rd highest grossing movie of the year" or whatever artificial title you want to put on it to push some kind of false narrative. 

Once again, you're a f'n retard. 

People love woke movies.  Admit it.

[nobody 2,673]

11 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

“I hope it’s a bit of a love letter to everyone who feels different, who feels out of place, to all of the Black women who have walked into rooms and felt like they haven’t been welcomed,” Erivo told Variety. “To anyone who’s walked into a room and felt like they haven’t been welcomed. I am really glad to be the conduit through which this character has been brought to the world.”

https://variety.com/2024/film/features/wicked-cynthia-erivo-elphaba-black-queer-woman-1236218605/

Dang, it's like she's reaching out directly to seafoam who has never been welcome into any room he's ever entered.

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

7 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

I know im popping in for 2 posts but I cant believe you middle aged men are arguing this on a Saturday evening.  Lol.  I would hate to trade places.  

Meh.  Curb-stomping lefty's and their logic is always fun.

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

2 minutes ago, The Phantom's Phantom said:

People love woke movies.  Admit it.

Stay on point, retard.  No amount of smoke screens and moving goal posts is going to work here.  You got thoroughly destroyed on your pretzel logic.  Admit it.

[The Phantom's Phantom 254]

1 minute ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

Stay on point, retard.  No amount of smoke screens and moving goal posts is going to work here.  You got thoroughly destroyed on your pretzel logic.  Admit it.

That is the point.  Are people going to see this movie or are they rejecting it because it's woke?  They are going to see it.  The end.

[Tree of Knowledge 1,859]

Seems very ghay.  

[nobody 2,673]

Seems too woke for me.  Imma skip it.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,433]

Fockin 2 hrs and 40 minutes. 

[TimHauck 2,876]

47 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

Again, do you know how money works?  Businesses work?

If I spend 500 million dollars on a movie but lose 250 million dollars on it then it does not matter if it's the "3rd highest grossing movie of the year" or whatever artificial title you want to put on it to push some kind of false narrative. 

Once again, you're a f'n retard. 

Honest question, do international sales typically lag behind domestic?  For example I see that Wicked doesn’t even come out in Japan until March.

As a quick comparison I looked up the Barbie Movie, Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, which all did around 40% of their total sales in the US.  Wicked on the other hand has done almost 70% of its sales in the US.  To me that suggests it still has a lot more sales to come in internationally which would likely bring it over $1 billion globally.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3638199041/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1077904129/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2603516673/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1199474177/rankings/

[IGotWorms 4,058]

Who the fock cares?

[BunnysBastatrds 2,442]

1 hour ago, The Phantom's Phantom said:

People love woke movies.  Admit it.

 Awww. You go Precious.

[Bier Meister 1,710]

2 hours ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

Again, do you know how money works?  Businesses work?

If I spend 500 million dollars on a movie but lose 250 million dollars on it then it does not matter if it's the "3rd highest grossing movie of the year" or whatever artificial title you want to put on it to push some kind of false narrative. 

Once again, you're a f'n retard. 

If they are going broke, it is not from woke content.

 

it is not deterring a large amount of consumers.

[BunnysBastatrds 2,442]

 Woke???

 

 

 

[TimHauck 2,876]

12 hours ago, listen2me 23 said:

I know im popping in for 2 posts but I cant believe you middle aged men are arguing this on a Saturday evening.  Lol.  I would hate to trade places.  

You realize there’s a thread on here with over 4,000 posts mostly from righties complaining about Disney right?

[seafoam1 3,025]

16 hours ago, TimHauck said:

Proof that Disney movies like Lightyear bombed because they weren’t good movies, not because of woke.

List of wokeness in wicked, in no particular order:

One of Glinda’s best friends is a flamboyantly gay dude

Diverse cast including blacks, fatties, little people (but not in Munchkinland), and at least one tranny

The girl that’s a different color (played by a bisexual black actress) is an outcast and made the scapegoat, and animals discriminated against as well

Dumb blonde has “pretty privilege”

You are one of Glinda's best friends? 

Now I'm glad I never saw this. 

[seafoam1 3,025]

6 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

You realize there’s a thread on here with over 4,000 posts mostly from righties complaining about Disney right?

No one is denying there are not a lot of woke dopes in this country bootlicking the liberal democrat agendas. 

Woke movies simply suck.

And so do some other high grossing movies. Throw Wicked onto this list. 

Some movies that grossed a lot of money but were considered to be bad include:

• John Carter

  This movie was a major box office bomb, grossing only $284 million worldwide despite its high production costs. 

   
• The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

  Critics agreed that the film's weak script made it a "lifeless" and "irrelevant" slog. 

   
• Jurassic World Dominion

  Some consider this to be one of the worst movies to gross a billion dollars. 

   

Other movies that were box office bombs include: 47 Ronin (2013), The 355 (2022), and The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002). 

 

 

Some Disney animated movies that were box office flops include: Meet the Robinsons, A Christmas Carol, Mars Needs Moms, and Onward.

[jerryskids 6,799]

17 hours ago, Death said:

MAGAturds slap the "woke" label on anything that opposes racism, homophobia and pedophilia.

If opposing pedophilia makes me a MAGAturd, sign me up!   

14 hours ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Fockin 2 hrs and 40 minutes. 

IKR?!  I wouldn't mind seeing it; in fact I'm seeing the musical this coming spring.  But a movie this long?  Oppenheimer was OK being long because it was a great movie.  This, I dunno...  at least it is showing at our "dinner and a movie" place which serves alcohol so...   

[Death 302]

1 hour ago, jerryskids said:

If opposing pedophilia makes me a MAGAturd, sign me up!   

IKR?!  I wouldn't mind seeing it; in fact I'm seeing the musical this coming spring.  But a movie this long?  Oppenheimer was OK being long because it was a great movie.  This, I dunno...  at least it is showing at our "dinner and a movie" place which serves alcohol so...   

It's a cool movie. I loved the musical. 

My wife didn't care for the musical but loved the movie and has seen it three times.

[jerryskids 6,799]

35 minutes ago, Death said:

It's a cool movie. I loved the musical. 

My wife didn't care for the musical but loved the movie and has seen it three times.

I've never seen either; this spring will be the first time.  The musical was the first I ever heard of Idina Menzel; I heard Defying Gravity and was like, WTF, that's not a human voice!  She is the GOAT of female Broadway singers IMO.  

[Death 302]

23 minutes ago, jerryskids said:

I've never seen either; this spring will be the first time.  The musical was the first I ever heard of Idina Menzel; I heard Defying Gravity and was like, WTF, that's not a human voice!  She is the GOAT of female Broadway singers IMO.  

We love going to Broadway stuff. We saw "Hades Town" in New York City with the original cast and plan to see the touring version this year in Dallas.

My wife got me into theater a few years ago. She was a theater major, taught theater and has been in a bunch of stuff. 

I've been in four plays since then, including a leading part.

 

[Mike Honcho 5,281]

20 hours ago, edjr said:

According to reports, the marketing campaign for "Wicked" is estimated to have cost around $350 million by Universal Pictures, considered one of the largest marketing budgets ever for a Hollywood film release; this figure is separate from the movie's production budget of $150 million.

 

I can't find any article with that quote,  Universal is not paying $350M to market the movie.  From Deadline article:

Quote

While it should be a marshmallow world in the winter, it’s a Wicked one, and we’re just living in it. For Universal Pictures and its lineup of 450 promotional partners, the studio has defied all gravity in racking up a media value for the Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo tentpole of $350 million — the most ever for a Hollywood theatrical release. That number beats the promo partner campaigns of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($220M), 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($200M) and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water ($170M).

There are 450 promotional partners(tie-ins) that are footing a major part of the marketing bill for Wicked.  Wherever you read that originally, completely misinterpreted where the marketing dollars came from. 

Also, there was no need for the studio to pay massive for marketing this movie, it was based a famous musical---it was pre-marketed. I'd guess just based on deals with partners this movie was nearly payed for before they sold a single ticket. 

[TimHauck 2,876]

12 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

I can't find any article with that quote,  Universal is not paying $350M to market the movie.  From Deadline article:

There are 450 promotional partners(tie-ins) that are footing a major part of the marketing bill for Wicked.  Wherever you read that originally, completely misinterpreted where the marketing dollars came from. 

Also, there was no need for the studio to pay massive for marketing this movie, it was based a famous musical---it was pre-marketed. I'd guess just based on deals with partners this movie was nearly payed for before they sold a single ticket. 

So @edjr was making up quotes?

[Mike Honcho 5,281]

1 minute ago, TimHauck said:

So @edjr was making up quotes?

There have been a ton of articles on the marketing of this movie, precisely because the partners have ponied up nearly $350M in advertising. So it's possible that I just didn't find the article, or the article was edited/updated to correct the mistake that they said Universal was footing that entire bill.

I'm not accusing him of lying if he was misinformed-just correcting what looks to be an incorrect post.  

[jerryskids 6,799]

4 hours ago, Death said:

We love going to Broadway stuff. We saw "Hades Town" in New York City with the original cast and plan to see the touring version this year in Dallas.

My wife got me into theater a few years ago. She was a theater major, taught theater and has been in a bunch of stuff. 

I've been in four plays since then, including a leading part.

 

My dad did musicals in the local theater.  The only one I remember was Fiddler on the Roof.

I don't recall another until I moved to Phoenix after college, and we saw Les Miz.  I had read the book, a classic, and thought meh, can't be too bad.  I was hooked, and it remains my favorite musical to this day.

We try to see a show on Broadway when we go back to visit our daughter in NY.  We also saw Hades Town (very good), and last trip we saw Tommy (great if you are a fan of The Who and the rock opera as I am; hard for me to evaluate otherwise).

Good for you doing the plays.   

[Maximum Overkill 1,989]

6 hours ago, Death said:

. I loved the musical. 

Know how I know you're ghey?  

 

 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

30 minutes ago, Maximum Overkill said:

Know how I know you're ghey?  

Your name is Phantom's Tantrum.

[Death 302]

44 minutes ago, jerryskids said:

My dad did musicals in the local theater.  The only one I remember was Fiddler on the Roof.

I don't recall another until I moved to Phoenix after college, and we saw Les Miz.  I had read the book, a classic, and thought meh, can't be too bad.  I was hooked, and it remains my favorite musical to this day.

We try to see a show on Broadway when we go back to visit our daughter in NY.  We also saw Hades Town (very good), and last trip we saw Tommy (great if you are a fan of The Who and the rock opera as I am; hard for me to evaluate otherwise).

Good for you doing the plays.   

I had no idea how much I'd enjoy doing theater. It's such a rush when things are going well and the audience is into it.

My wife and I were in Chicago for vacation in 2023 and were supposed to go to a White Sox game, which got rained out

In looking around for something else to do, I saw that "Tommy" was playing.

I looked at the theater website, Vivid Seats, Tickemaster, StubHub and every ticket-selling site I could find and couldn't find one focking ticket to that night's show. I'd never before seen that.

My wife called the theater and asked what the chances were of getting tickets if we just showed up, and she was told not a chance.

Then he said, "Hey, check out our website now. A couple of tickets just became available."

She goes back to the site to find two front-row and center seats for $130 apiece. We snapped up them fockers.

My wife knew nothing about the album, the movie or the play. She'd never even heard "Pinball Wizard," which is next to impossible to avoid in life.

The musical absolutely blew us away, and she had tears in her eyes at the end.

What we didn't know was that it was a reboot that debuted in Chicago and was soon headed to New York City, where it didn't last long for some reason.

As for theater the past couple of years, I've done "To Kill a Mockingbird," "12 Angry Men," "Misery" and "Tuna Christmas," that last one being challenging as fock. After "Tuna Christmas" - 97-page script and two actors each covering 10 characters - I can take on just about anything.

[Maximum Overkill 1,989]

30 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

Your name is Phantom's Tantrum.

Fact  

[TimHauck 2,876]

On 12/28/2024 at 9:04 PM, TimHauck said:

Honest question, do international sales typically lag behind domestic?  For example I see that Wicked doesn’t even come out in Japan until March.

As a quick comparison I looked up the Barbie Movie, Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, which all did around 40% of their total sales in the US.  Wicked on the other hand has done almost 70% of its sales in the US.  To me that suggests it still has a lot more sales to come in internationally which would likely bring it over $1 billion globally.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3638199041/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1077904129/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2603516673/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1199474177/rankings/

Curious of your thoughts on this @EternalShinyAndChrome

[Hardcore troubadour 15,433]

22 hours ago, Death said:

It's a cool movie. I loved the musical. 

My wife didn't care for the musical but loved the movie and has seen it three times.

Does she have green hair now? 

[Mike Honcho 5,281]

On 12/28/2024 at 9:04 PM, TimHauck said:

Honest question, do international sales typically lag behind domestic?  For example I see that Wicked doesn’t even come out in Japan until March.

As a quick comparison I looked up the Barbie Movie, Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, which all did around 40% of their total sales in the US.  Wicked on the other hand has done almost 70% of its sales in the US.  To me that suggests it still has a lot more sales to come in internationally which would likely bring it over $1 billion globally.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3638199041/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1077904129/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2603516673/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1199474177/rankings/

Yes, but it depends on the studio and the strategy.  

 

Quote

 

Movie release dates can vary between the U.S. and other English-speaking countries, such as the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. While some major films, especially blockbusters, are released simultaneously across multiple countries to maximize box office revenue and prevent piracy, this is not always the case.

Factors influencing release dates include:

1. Market Strategy: Studios may choose to release a film earlier in certain markets where they expect a stronger audience turnout or where competition from other films is lighter.
2. Regional Preferences: Different countries may have distinct preferences for film genres or styles, leading studios to tailor their release strategies accordingly.
3. Censorship and Ratings: Some films may require additional time to pass through regional censorship boards or ratings systems, delaying their release in certain countries.
4. Film Festivals: Some films may premiere at international film festivals before a wider release, affecting the timing in various regions.

In summary, while simultaneous releases are common for major films, many movies still have staggered release dates based on various strategic considerations.

 

From what I've seen and read the Far East markets often get the movies last.  That is because of a combination of tougher censorship, changing CGI/animation, graphics and language considerations. But it's not a hard and fast rule.

[Death 302]

49 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Does she have green hair now? 

You should stop creeping about such things.

[edjr 6,592]

2 hours ago, Death said:

You should stop creeping about such things.

He's asking about the hair on her head

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

7 hours ago, TimHauck said:

Curious of your thoughts on this @EternalShinyAndChrome

You have to remember that for international sales the movie studios only claim like 20-40% of the box office.  So if it makes 100 billion overseas the movie studio is only getting 200-400 million of that.  Like, in China, the Communist Government takes about 80 cents for every dollar.  In the US they claim almost 90-95% of the box office.  This is why the rule of thumb that movies must make about 2-2.5x their PRODUCTION budget (i.e. not including marketing budget) to break even is usually used.  That 2-2.5x rule covers the cost of the marketing budget and overseas limited revenue.

So, for example, if a movie production costs 200 million to make, it must make 400-500 million WORLDWIDE just to break even.  Anything after that is profit.  Of course, they do get tax subsidies and other marketing subsidies (i.e. toys, merchandising, etc..) to reduce that, but typically that is not communicated to the public as it's all internal.  For us regular Joe's fighting each other on the board, it's 2-2.5x the production budget.  Of course, the smaller the budget, the easier it is to make a profit which is why the monstrous budgets for these AAA movies need to make a sh#tload of money just to break even.

Also, yes, international sales to typically lag behind American grosses, but as @Mike Honcho pointed out above, it all depends upon the marketing strategy.  Sometimes they release movies internationally FIRST before they do release them in America.  But again, they don't even get HALF of the box office of those grosses so while it will add to the total, they have to gross a LOT more just to hit that break even point.

[TimHauck 2,876]

29 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

You have to remember that for international sales the movie studios only claim like 20-40% of the box office.  So if it makes 100 billion overseas the movie studio is only getting 200-400 million of that.  Like, in China, the Communist Government takes about 80 cents for every dollar.  In the US they claim almost 90-95% of the box office.  This is why the rule of thumb that movies must make about 2-2.5x their PRODUCTION budget (i.e. not including marketing budget) to break even is usually used.  That 2-2.5x rule covers the cost of the marketing budget and overseas limited revenue.

So, for example, if a movie production costs 200 million to make, it must make 400-500 million WORLDWIDE just to break even.  Anything after that is profit.  Of course, they do get tax subsidies and other marketing subsidies (i.e. toys, merchandising, etc..) to reduce that, but typically that is not communicated to the public as it's all internal.  For us regular Joe's fighting each other on the board, it's 2-2.5x the production budget.  Of course, the smaller the budget, the easier it is to make a profit which is why the monstrous budgets for these AAA movies need to make a sh#tload of money just to break even.

Also, yes, international sales to typically lag behind American grosses, but as @Mike Honcho pointed out above, it all depends upon the marketing strategy.  Sometimes they release movies internationally FIRST before they do release them in America.  But again, they don't even get HALF of the box office of those grosses so while it will add to the total, they have to gross a LOT more just to hit that break even point.

So Wicked has already made a profit then correct?   Looks like its production budget was about $150 million 

[seafoam1 3,025]

1 minute ago, TimHauck said:

So Wicked has already made a profit then correct?   Looks like its production budget was about $150 million 

Trump made profits. So that makes him note worthy and doing a great job. 

Thanks for confirming. Trump 2024!!  

[Mike Honcho 5,281]

34 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

You have to remember that for international sales the movie studios only claim like 20-40% of the box office.  So if it makes 100 billion overseas the movie studio is only getting 200-400 million of that.  Like, in China, the Communist Government takes about 80 cents for every dollar.  In the US they claim almost 90-95% of the box office.  This is why the rule of thumb that movies must make about 2-2.5x their PRODUCTION budget (i.e. not including marketing budget) to break even is usually used.  That 2-2.5x rule covers the cost of the marketing budget and overseas limited revenue.

So, for example, if a movie production costs 200 million to make, it must make 400-500 million WORLDWIDE just to break even.  Anything after that is profit.  Of course, they do get tax subsidies and other marketing subsidies (i.e. toys, merchandising, etc..) to reduce that, but typically that is not communicated to the public as it's all internal.  For us regular Joe's fighting each other on the board, it's 2-2.5x the production budget.  Of course, the smaller the budget, the easier it is to make a profit which is why the monstrous budgets for these AAA movies need to make a sh#tload of money just to break even.

Also, yes, international sales to typically lag behind American grosses, but as @Mike Honcho pointed out above, it all depends upon the marketing strategy.  Sometimes they release movies internationally FIRST before they do release them in America.  But again, they don't even get HALF of the box office of those grosses so while it will add to the total, they have to gross a LOT more just to hit that break even point.

@TimHauckI have no clue what argument is about, but just wanted to chime in that ESAC is pretty much on point about breaking down the box office numbers and profits. 

The only one I have read differently is In the US they claim almost 90-95% of the box office. It's really hard to know US numbers because the percentage that they get can depend on the movie and week of release. For instance, for the first two weeks of Avengers Endgame, the studio might get 90% of the receipts with the theater making their money on concessions.  After 2 weeks, the percent will often slide more to the theater. This is why for studios, that opening weekend and first 2 weeks are so important for the studios and why the will market their movies so much.  That's why figuring out what makes a movie profitable, the multiplier is such a large range 2-2.5x.  I'm assuming that ESAC probably just wasn't aware of the sliding percentage and only knew of the initial cuts studios can get on their big tent pole pictures. 

There is so much more though, especially when it comes to  studio accounting. Take this quote:

Quote

 

Ed Solomon, a screenwriter behind films like “Men in Black”, “Charlie’s Angels” and the “Bill & Ted” franchise, has been vocal online about Hollywood’s questionable accounting tactics and has said that his “Men in Black” profit statement is “the greatest work of science fiction I’ve ever been involved with.” Back in May, he tweeted: 

“In my case, films I wrote have generated over $2 billion. Studio accounting has us believe NOT ONE is in profit even though they’ve spawned multiple sequels. Thus I’ve gotten exactly $0 of my 5% of net points. The residuals I get are only cuz 50 yrs ago writers went on strike.” 

If you read the entire article, you will see that the studios have claimed to lost money on Harry Potter/Phoenix and Bohemian Rhapsody, both of which brought in over 900 million---the mob wishes it had studio accountants doing their books.  

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

13 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

So Wicked has already made a profit then correct?   Looks like its production budget was about $150 million 

That is correct.  It's currently at $635 million worldwide, so it needed to make $375 million using the 2.5x rule to break even so they've made about a $260 million profit so far, not including other merchandising opportunities they may have with other companies.

But, again, I want to point out that movie studios are notoriously shady in what they report as production budget.  Usually we don't find out until YEARS later of what it actually cost.  So that $150 million could really be $200 or $250 million 5 years from now when everyone starts talking.  But, for now, we can only go with what they report.

For the UK, though, they MUST report everything if they want to even get 1 GBP of tax breaks.  That's how we found out how much The Acolyte cost, otherwise they neve would have reported it as such if it was a US production.

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,106]

4 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

@TimHauckI have no clue what argument is about, but just wanted to chime in that ESAC is pretty much on point about breaking down the box office numbers and profits. 

The only one I have read differently is In the US they claim almost 90-95% of the box office. It's really hard to know US numbers because the percentage that they get can depend on the movie and week of release. For instance, for the first two weeks of Avengers Endgame, the studio might get 90% of the receipts with the theater making their money on concessions.  After 2 weeks, the percent will often slide more to the theater. This is why for studios, that opening weekend and first 2-4 weeks are so important for the studios and why the will market their movies so much.  That's why figuring out what makes a movie profitable, the multiplier is such a large range 2-2.5x.  I'm assuming that ESAC probably just wasn't aware of the sliding percentage and only knew of the initial cuts studios can get on their big tent pole pictures. 

There is so much more though, especially when it comes to  studio accounting. Take this quote:

If you read the entire article, you will see that the studios have claimed to lost money on Harry Potter/Phoenix and Bohemian Rhapsody, both of which brought in over 900 million---the mob wishes it had studio accountants doing their books.  

I knew about the sliding rule - the older a movie gets, the less profit the studios make and the more theatres make, but that 2.5 rule accounts for that, typically.  I could be wrong, but pretty sure I'm not.  But you're right that they want to make the most money within the first 4 weeks to keep that at 90-95%.

I also agree that in the US they don't have to tell us the nitty gritty details like they do in the UK.  Hollywood accounting practices are the absolute worst and I completely side with the actors, writers and directors that Hollywood needs to open up their books because I can almost guarantee the studios and producers are fleecing them.  I bet there is so much corruption it's not even funny.