Monday, May 12, 2008

First Dud from the '08 Summer Wave

Speeding to be the first dud of the 2008 summer blockbuster wave is the Wachowski Brothers' "Speed Racer" (WB/Village Roadshow). With a rumoured US$100 million budget, it only garnered US$20 million for the opening weekend, way below expectations. And costing perhaps a quarter of $100 mil to make is the Ashton 'Give Me Moore' Kutcher and Cameron Diaz rom-com "What Happens In Vegas", the Fox comedy which ironically grossed almost the same amount as Racer. Marvel's first self-financed "Iron Man" on the other hand is still going strong in the US and international markets with an accumulated sum of at least US$342 million. Based on initial box-office figures, we should be seeing more of Tony Stark but might take more than a miracle to see "Speed Racer 2". It's no longer Mach GoGoGo, it's Mach NoNoNo.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I expected Speed Racer to be a dud from the very beginning, but didn't expect Iron Man to be a massive hit. Contrasting fortunes for these two blockbuster films indeed.

The Wachowski Brothers have lost it yet again. They have redeemed themselves somewhat with V for Vendetta after the dismal Matrix sequels, but this Speed Racer is truly two further steps back again. I personally dislike the source material which was not a very great anime in the first place. Who would go and greenlight the project to turn it into a live action movie anyway?

Let's hope this can be a lesson for all current and aspiring filmmakers.

Anonymous said...

With results as poor as the US, "Speed Racer" in third place over the weekend in the local market losing to "What Happens In Vegas" and yes, "Iron Man".

Some idea just looks good on paper but doesn't on screen.

Anonymous said...

Shocker ! As much as I dislike Speed Racer and love Iron Man, I am quite stunned that the Wachowski Brothers' blockbuster would open with such poor collection.

Even the Las Vegas Movie which open with fewer cinema almost had the same collection as SR .... what a shocker

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