Will Dead Man's Chest be box office Kryptonite for Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, or will the Man of Steel rise above to become the summer's biggest blockbuster?
I almost never venture into the world of box office predictions, as I am usually either completely biased or just making an uneducated guess. Either way I usually end up being wrong. But early today I was reading Chris Beaumont’s box office prediction and I decided that I would add some commentary, mostly due to an experience that I had when I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
One of the general reasons that it is hard for me to judge how successful a film will be is because I rarely go see a film on opening night. As a critic I often get to see a screening prior to the release, and if not I usually wait until the middle of the week. Basically I am agoraphobic and I can’t handle the crowds (that’s not true, but I do prefer a quieter movie experience). But there are some releases that will draw me out of the house on a Friday night to brave the crowds of diehard fans in order to see a midnight showing. The two most recent films that forced me into a midnight rendezvous with my local theater—Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. I wasn’t able to secure screenings, so I was forced to go with the crowds, and in those crowds I found two completely different stories.
I went to see both films at my favorite theater in Columbus, The Arena Grand, which is my favorite solely due to the fact that the seats are comfortable, all of the theaters are THX Certified, and they serve alcohol at the concession stand. Jealous? I know. So last week I made my way to see Superman Returns and was greeted by a relatively small crowd, especially considering that they had three separate midnight viewings. The theater was about 80% full, which is by no means packed, and it was mostly comprised of diehard fan-boy types who dressed up like the Man of Steel to go see the film. I was surprised at the lukewarm turnout, but what do you expect in the small film market of Columbus on a Wednesday night, right?
But then last evening I attended one of two midnight viewings for Dead Man’s Chest at the same theater. We arrived around the same time as last week and we were greeted instantly by a huge line that stretched out the door. And if you have ever been to this particular theater you would know that such a fact would signify a lot of people. There were a lot of families and even more hapless fan-boys dressed up like pirates, which should have been surprising, but for some reason it wasn’t. It was at that moment that I began to realize the true span of such a film.
Article comments
1 - Shamirico
If memory serves, A Scanner Darkly is getting small play this weekend. I doubt it has enough screens this weekend to even crack the Top 10.
2 - Neil Miller
Alright, you got me...
This is why I don't make predictions.
3 - T.
I think you are way off about SUperman underperforming due to appealing to a specific audience. Spider-Man appeals to that very same action comic audience and kicked butt. The problem is not that Superman appeals to the action comic fans, it's that it DISAPPOINTS action fans in general. They market it as a chick flick and I hear Superman never throws a single punch in a 2 and 1/2 hour movie!! That's insane, an action movie without action? All he does is catch a plane and lift an island?