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'Speed Racer' Just Fine With Second Place, Thank You Very Much
Posted by Defamer Hollywood at 5:40 AM on May 7, 2008
With the buzz of The Dark Knight clearly audible a month-and-a-half behind it, this week's Speed Racer isn't a make-or-break summer tentpole for the gang at Warner Bros. That said, it's not really in the market for embarrassment, either, and the long-circulating word-on-the-street got a bit of trade-paper legitimization today in The Hollywood Reporter. To wit: The Wachowski Brothers' first non-Matrix film in 12 years is currently tracking in second place for the weekend behind defending box-office champ Iron Man:
At present, Speed Racer appears on track to gross $25 million-$35 million during the coming frame, though a late-breaking surge in must-see sentiment could produce a bigger bow. The film targets family moviegoers, a group notoriously tough to track before openings.
Boxoffice derbies aside, Warners execs suggest there's no need for Speed Racer to open huge.Most of its splashy effects were done with relatively affordable green-screen technology. So the $100 million production will pencil into profitability roughly when its domestic gross hits a similar nine-digit sum, and even a $25 million bow could put it on track to deliver that.
When even the studio hedges, it know what it has — a hyperactive, overlong, purely confectionery treat that disorients as much as it disarms and won't pull near the word-of-mouth that the incumbent possesses. And we even kinda liked it. Warners faces a troubling marketing paradox as well: The viral approach that has so successfully (if slovenly) embedded The Dark Knight among multiplexers is powerless in the service of the kid-friendlier Speed Racer, which relies on conventional methods to boost awareness among youngsters and the parents who'll haul them to the theatre. Do most of these kids even know what Speed Racer is? And are the folks ready for the acid trip live-action version of the cartoon they may have seen once? Or do they already have tickets for another viewing of Iron Man?
Tags: engine problems | speed racer | wachowski brothers | warner bros
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
coolhandjennie
Posted 6:32 AM 7/5/08
I thought they were officially billed as "The Wachowski Siblings" now?
coolhandjennie
Juancho
Posted 6:29 AM 7/5/08
@Citizen Kang: I've been wondering if they still have that rider in their contracts that says they don't have to do press for their films.
Juancho
CourageousCoward
Posted 6:18 AM 7/5/08
Tronime
CourageousCoward
JudgeFudge
Posted 6:16 AM 7/5/08
I've got to say, I don't know if it looks great, but I think they have a hit on their hands. I grew up watching SR on MTV and then on Cartoon netwrork, and my immediate reaction when I saw the trailer was that I had to see it. I think the boomers, and whatever you call the generation after that will find a nostalgia for it, and take their kids. As for kids today, I have no idea if they know Speed Racer, but I think kids are always pretty easy sells when a decent movie is marketed towards them.
JudgeFudge
RocketRockit
Posted 6:15 AM 7/5/08
My best friend went to the premiere and while she (unexpectedly) enjoyed the spectacle of the film, she said it really seemed like it was better suited for kids. Does this make any sense? Not if you look at the marketing for it so far, which doesn't really seem to aim for ANY specific target audience. I don't think Emile Hirsch is a box office draw. I don't think Christina Ricci is a box office draw. And I think the Wachowskis have seen their time.
BOMB.
RocketRockit
Citizen Kang
Posted 6:03 AM 7/5/08
I don't think they prefer to be called the Wachowski "Brothers" any longer considering one of them has decided he wants to be a she. That aside, I can see some major suckage from this thing. Some things are meant to be left in your childhood...
Citizen Kang
bittergreen
Posted 5:56 AM 7/5/08
What I think when I see Speed Racer Trailers:
"Hey that would be a pretty cool video game in the hands of the studio that did Wipeout".
bittergreen
NoGrumpys
Posted 6:46 AM 7/5/08
don't discount the Chim Chim factor
monkeys are cool!!
NoGrumpys
Benovite
Posted 7:17 AM 7/5/08
@NoGrumpys: Indeed! I'll go with a $42 mil opening.
Benovite
Jaguares
Posted 7:12 AM 7/5/08
This movie looks perfect to watch under the influence a lovely joint.
Jaguares
Al_Pastor
Posted 7:42 AM 7/5/08
@Citizen Kang:
wasn't that rumor dispelled?
Al_Pastor
John5th
Posted 7:40 AM 7/5/08
blogs.chron.com/jeromesolomon/2007/04/florida...
Bu-u-t-t-t Spe-eeee-eeee-dddd!!!
John5th
STV
Posted 7:58 AM 7/5/08
@Juancho: This is true. The Wachowskis do not do press; they aren't even quoted in the press notes, just praised to the heavens by everyone speaking for them.
STV
Citizen Kang
Posted 8:57 AM 7/5/08
@Al_Pastor:
I'm pretty sure it's not a rumor. I've seen photos of the Wachoskis at public events and on movie sets and one of them looks like s/he's trying real hard to be a woman. S/he's not doing a great job, but s/he's doing better than I thought s/he would.
Citizen Kang
TheyCallMeLibrarianHot
Posted 9:36 AM 7/5/08
I gotta say, I loved this movie. I thought it was really fun, and made excellent use of people in lab-coats riding Segways. They kept it campy and cartoony and perfectly stylized for a live-action anime. Though I may have been too distracted by Matthew Fox pretty much whenever he was on screen to be picky...
I'm sad no one expects anything from this one. Hopefully it'll surprise us opening weekend.
TheyCallMeLibrarianHot
Al_Pastor
Posted 4:19 PM 7/5/08
@Citizen Kang:
how come everyone who claims to have seen photos of him dressed in drag can never produce said photos?
Al_Pastor
Benovite
Posted 1:41 AM 8/5/08
@TheyCallMeLibrarianHot: Scratch that. $56 mill opening weekend.
Benovite
Citizen Kang
Posted 4:12 AM 8/5/08
@Al_Pastor:
Probably because they're not trying very hard:
[defamer.com]
Citizen Kang
Al_Pastor
Posted 5:41 AM 8/5/08
@Citizen Kang:
or... because there are no photos because it's a false rumor?
Al_Pastor
Citizen Kang
Posted 6:36 AM 8/5/08
@Al_Pastor:
You didn't click the link, did you? It was included for a reason and it, for a while, was the story at the top of the defamer site, which you're on, for a while.
Citizen Kang