Godzilla Box Office Updates

@Something Real & @The Weaver -

As you know, I've earlier lavished praise on the design of Godzilla and his roar and the MUTOs. But sometimes, just being pleased with one aspect really isn't enough for a movie that aims for huge box-office numbers, all the more so when it carries with it the title of King of Monsters. And this, coming from a Godzilla fan who has been disappointed with 1998's giant Iguana. As it turns out, Godzilla 2014 is indeed more awe-inspiring and bigger in many ways than Godzilla 1998, but make no mistake. - What is considered epic 16 years ago, may no longer be considered awesome in today's generation, when after all the movie industry has evolved into such titanic proportions isn't it?

Audiences over the years, have seen more than they have compared to before. Imaginations have been stretched, the skies have no limit. The mistake here is when a new director tries to build Godzilla 2014 into something far better than Godzilla 1998, but forgets the landscape today is a vastly different one today. 

Gareth Edwards' style of direction appears to emulate the familar lines seen in other epic directors' footsteps, (I see influences from Jurassic Park, Jaws, Super 8, World of the Wars, etc.) but yet he lacks the courage or conviction to bring these scenes one step further on his own, and that's where he falls short. And people can see that. The result is a Godzilla that falls short of the awesomeness that people have come to expect. And it is all the more glaring when you consider that Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim was born out of Legendary Pictures too, and the fact that Godzilla appears less awesome than the Kaijus in an earlier movie like Pacific Rim than it would have otherwise suggested, is somewhat surprising and unacceptable to audiences.

With Guillermo Del Toro putting so much ferocity into his monsters and battle scenes with no title to call on his creations, what exactly is there to limit the potential of a monster like Godzilla that comes with the title of 'King of Monsters'? You simply don't limit awesomeness. ;)

DESTROYAH-X

What Godzilla 2014 lacked is its characterization, that is the only reason why the movie failed to live up to Spielberg's quality, and I have always admitted it as its greatest flaw, but I disagree vehemently that everything else is also poorly executed.

There is far more on awesomeness in Gareth's Godzilla than however you've come to view him, and I don't think you really see how much exactly. You've seen Godzilla being beaten and punched by creatures who don't look intimidating so you believe Godzilla has gotten weaker. People came to think that Godzilla should have been more evil or darker and destructive to mankind, when in truth after you actually get to think long and hard, that attitude makes Godzilla look a big angry kid that got hurt by ants. Gareth's Godzilla is the most awesome monster ever made, and yes, I will go that far to say that. Even the MUTOs themselves are ten times more interesting than Del Toro's kaiju's because they're not some evil ferocious demons that are hellbent to destroy humankind. It is what nature is capable of that terrifies us, the simple idea that nature itself can catastrophically ravage the world with just a couple of big dinosaurs. While Del Toro's kaiju's are simply a bunch of clones by aliens who want to conquer the Earth.

Terror comes from the unknown, we do not know how the MUTOs could have possibly existed, we do not know how Godzilla could have survived for so long (Radiation can only explain so much) and worse yet we have not the slightest clue what darker forces lurk within those waters or underground, but we are assured that Godzilla has made the Pacific its kingdom, he is its lord and anyone who challenges him will pay dearly. Humans are like termites that have spread all over the place, and the fact that he doesn't even consider us makes us look incredibly beneath him. We're not even a threat to a creature who has lived for millions of years and has fought things we've never believed are real or imagined.

There is more to awesomeness than ferocity, competence or brute force. There is depth to consider, how much a monster makes you think around its habitat and its entire lifespan, its emotions, its goals, its objectives.

Let me put it this way, Godzilla is like an immortal cowboy that has lived for thousands of years, he arrives in a town and kills a few goons that he was hunting, all without saying a word and explaining why, and the town's people cheer for him as a hero while he rides away uncaringly on his horse to the sunset.

Del Toro's kaiju's are goons that attacked a town because they want to take it for a mafia boss who likes its resources.

There's immense depth and mysteries to wonder at in that immortal cowboy than the big burly goons following orders of some aliens. You think awesomeness is limited but on contraire, it is greater than anything before. This is why I said that the movie is sadly not for everyone, it's for people who can appreciate wondering about things that aren't spoon-fed on the screen. By simply introducing a monster with depth that doesn't need to be portrayed by how mean he fights or looks, is all you need.

Less is more in this case. In certain cases the same can be said the other way around, but I don't see how non stop action which has been done to death in hollywood is more appealing than buildup which is a proven successful formula and is consistent with epics. If this wasn't Godzilla, or a already sacred franchise I would wholeheartedly agree. Shoot em up with less shooting would have been pathetic. Transformers with less action after the first installment would have been boring, but shoot em up had nothign to follow, and transformers loosly followed a cartoon which also had comparable amounts of action, it's not the same thing at all when you give a protagonist the same screen time more or less as in previous movies and give him a serious undertone, it worked brilliantly, I don't think the movie was splendid, it's the people who are approaching the movie the wrong way or who simply are incapable of understanding cinematography and the artistic mature of film making, the fact that the movie is a work of art is undisputable, the acting can be challenged and so can (according to some of you anyway) Godzilla screen time, but again, dwarfed by all the overwhelming positives.

Any realism doesn't have to be the polar extreme of scientifically factual, there is this genre called sci-fi, and it deals with fictious situations that don't stray far from a not so distant possible reality. When I say "realism" I don't mean explaining how his bone structure or heart can support his body, when I praise the realism I am praising small nuances like expressions, body reactions, combat, human perspective, etc. That's the realism I am referring to. You took it to the extreme of "oh, well if we are goign to be realistic, none of this can happen anyway". That's extremely immature to say, and illogical to think that that's what I meant in the first place.

It's like some people on here would rather se the movie fall on is face but be loved but the 1% of the worlds population that are hardcore G fans, than be a blockbuster success at the expense of a few hardcore fans with largely unrealistic expectations for a movie looking for sucess in said genre, in said day and age. That thought process is both selfish, and childish in my opinion.

Today Godzilla has dropped a further 64.1% at the domestic Box office, taking $2.68 million for Tuesday 27/5, which brings the current total to $158.4 million unadjusted.  

The true litmus test of whether Godzilla has been branded "Not-recommended"  by the first wave of audiences will have to depend on this coming weekend's sales. If Godzilla takes less than $4.5 million at the Box office, it means people have been told to stay away from the movie.  

DESTROYAH-X - That's extremely interesting information you've brought to our attention. Where did you come by the $4.5 million marker? Is that a common notch in the movie industry with regards to sales and determining the success of film after it's been out for a little time? :)

@Something Real: 

When I said $4.5 million, it refers to what Godzilla should be raking in for each of this coming Saturday and Sunday. - At least $4.5 million for each day.   

I came up with this figure because typically for Blockbuster movies like: The Lego Movie, Captain America, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 etc, each of these films raked in at between the figure of $4.5 - $11 million on average daily from the 3rd weekend onwards. Do note that from the 4th weekend on, these movies are still making beyond $5 million for each Saturday/Sunday. Even the movie Neighbours took in $4.2 million and $5.1 million respectively for the 3rd weekend.

Therefore, if Godzilla is already making lesser than $4.5 million per day this 3rd weekend, its not good news. 

In the end, the public's (our) reviews of the moive do not matter in the long run.  The media outlets that reviewed the moive before the offical release are the reviews that count.  Will Gareth/ Legendary look at some big name public reviewers?  Of course, but media outlets are what count in the long run.  This is something Rob bought up in one of his video over at E.T.N.  Now some of you might not like E.T.N. or Rob, but I think he brings up a vaild argument on this.  I'm just happy we have new Godzilla moive.

*Warning, contains language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_a07RW4DMY

@Sapphireoverlord -

When you say only the reviews provided by the media outlets count as the ones that matter, that's as good as being in a state of denial. It's like listening to the radio reporting only the good news but you choose to ignore the bad. 

Don't forget that its the mass public who's ultimately paying the dollars to watch Godzilla, and without their support, Godzilla is as good as nothing. And many people out there dun give a hoot about what this Rob guy thinks. He probably catches the attention of a group of fans and that's about it. It's not like Rob paid a few million dollars to watch Godzilla that his opinion or reviews matter more than any other person out there. We all pay the same money, heck, maybe he even got a free complimentary ticket. People have their own opinions. If its they think its bad, then its bad. If its good, then its good. 

In the end, its how much money you make at the end of Godzilla's release that matters to Legendary Pictures. - The public's verdict. Media outlets that lavish praise on Godzilla are not gonna foot the box-office bill for the public isn't it? It would be a shame if eventually Godzilla 2014 opened with so much promise only to end up losing to Godzilla 98 in the domestic box-office because audiences felt cheated by Legendary's marketing.

Which is why I am looking at Godzilla's coming 3rd weekend sales as an indication if bad reviews from the public are indeed pulling it down. As a benchmark, movies like Lego the Movie, Captain America, Spider-Man 2 and Neighbours are already pulling in figures between $4.5 - $12 million per day even in the 3rd weekend. Godzilla should not be performing worse than that. 

@THE WEAVER:

DESTROYAH-X - Thank you ever so much for the reply and the information you provided! What you stated does, indeed, make sense. The LEGO Movie was fantastic! I'll definately keep in mind what you've stated. Thank you again for providing good facts! :)

@THE WEAVER

You state that Godzilla 2014 isn't for everyone, but for people "who can appreciate wondering about things that aren't "spoon-fed on the screen."

What does that mean?

Are you saying that the movie is only for people who allow their imagination to run wild.  I totally disagree!  The movie should stand on its own.  I shouldn't have to create a story in my mind.  I shouldn't have to pretend.  I shouldn't have to lose myself within my own imagination.  I should be able to watch the movie, and have all of my questions answered, without having to create my own past, present, and future.

It appears as though you are helping the movie instead of reviewing it on its own merits.

@DestoryahX

Yes its true that the moive veiwers are the ones that generate the income, but how do you get people to generate that income for the moive?  Answer, the media outlets.  Remeber back before the moive came out, and we saw the commercials that said the moive was "Terrific," and everything else?  That's the media outlets trying to get people hyped about the moive so that the income can come pouring in.  Yes, there where some that didn't like the moive, but overall the media outlets gave the moive a positive review.

So to revise what I said before, when a moive is about to be publicly released, the studios only care about the reviews that will help promote future income by the public.  The media outlets are the ones that get the attention of the fans by giving positive or negative reviews.  So in the end, our reviews don't matter before a moive is publically released. Afterwords, our reviews do matter.

Not gonna lie, but sometimes I don't always get across what I'm trying to say the first time around.

@Something Real: My pleasure. I'm not sure though if you would agree it would be considered a reasonable benchmark? :)

@SapphireOverlord: No worries, I see where you're coming from. I think Godzilla 2014 is an acceptably good movie, but just not as good as what many people were hoping for. And you know, for a movie that's aiming to reboot a franchise, they should put in their best. Something tells me Gareth Edwards is being overly cautious in this movie, and he needs to go beyond just emulating scenes brought out by other epic directors.

@Ratedrex: I think you need to forgive The Weaver for what he says, because I dun see a point debating further with him about the movie. Simply because he has immersed himself completely into the world of Gareth Edwards and his vision of the movie is already clouded by Gareth E's perspective to make any sense of what other people are telling him. He is in love.   

@DESTROYAH-X

LMAO:

So that's why I can't get through to him.  That's ok.  I'm still in love with Stan Lee.  To each his own.

can i just say that the new godzilla film was better than most of the heisei, showa, and few of the millenium? I mean it certainly doesn't beat alot of films but this was a good film i mean it has been 10 years since the last godzilla film.  I think that it was certainly in the top 10 for me, classics like the original gojira film, destroy all monsters, mothra vs godzilla 1964, the return of godzilla/85, vs biollante, vs destroyah, vs mechagodzilla 2, terror of mechagodzilla 1975, GMK, and 2000 are better than the new film at least as far as i care. :)

Update: 

Latest Box Office results for 28/5 Wednesday - Godzilla has dived a further 21.6% from Tuesday's earnings, and earn $2.1 million dollars at the US Box-Office. This brings the new current domestic total to $160.5 million. Latest foreign figures are still not in. (last update as at 25/5 was $166.6 million)

The earnings of $2.1 million in Godzilla's 13th day debut is slightly better than Spider-man 2, which took in $2 million on the 13th day. If Godzilla is able to maintain its momentum for the next two weeks, it looks set to outpace Spider-Man 2 in the US box-office, whose current total stands at $188.2 million on its 27th day debut.

Meanwhile for X-Men Days of Future Past, it is performing surprisingly well despite it being a weekday, raking in $5.8 million on its 6th day debut. This brings its US box office total to $124.5 million, which is over $12 million more than what Godzilla took for its 6th day totals.   

good, it is getting closer and closer to getting what it needs to bring in. :)

Could this film make $500, 000, 000? I sure hope so! Half a billion dollars would be a huge achievement. And it hasn't even been released in every country yet. Japan and Asia still haven't gotten it yet. Wow imagine how well it's gonna do in Japan!!! Go GODZILLA!!

Hmm. :) This film is beginning to behave much like its namesake - steadily wading through any and all opposition as makes its way unflinchinlgy toward its ultimate goal. ;)

@Deadite Kaiju - Godzilla has already been released in every country in the continent of Asia except for China, and then there's Japan. Godzilla will need to perform Exceptionally well in China if it is to make above $500 million and forget about Japan's market. Do note that X-Man DOFP has already breached the $500 million mark in just 10 days. 

Right now I'm estimating China's total contribution alone for Godzilla 2014 to hit between $120 - $140 million. Comparatively, Pacific Rim made $110 million in the Chinese market alone so this estimate is realistic, while Japan only accounts for $14 million.   

Domestically, Godzilla appears to be struggling, because its latest weekend sales is poorer compared to what other movies are making on the 16th & 17th day debut. On a positive note though, Godzilla is going to perform better than Spider-Man 2, but will still fall short of the $250M mark, and will probably close at $212 - $220 million. Combine this with a foreign box-office estimate of about $330-360 million. This is in line with my initial estimate that Godzilla is expected to earn between a modest total of $530 - $560 million.