comment #1

actionman says ...

They'd better hope for POLAR EXPRESS style legs with this one...

A'int gonna be another 300 at the box office apparently...

I'm looking forward to BEOWULF because I am a huge fan of Zemeckis but I really wish this was a live-action 3-D movie and not this motion capture stuff....it does look cool and all, but I want to see a real life, flesh-and-blood action film in 3-D.

Anyways, waiting till next weekend when my sister is in town to catch BEOWULF. It's shocking to me that the Arclight is NOT showing it in 3-D in the dome. The regular theaters are quite nice to no biggie, but to not have this movie in the dome in its 3-D form is inexcusable.

comment #2

BurmaShave says ...

I dare say this has demonstrably proven that BEOWULF is the movie experience of the year, nay this young century! Hang on, it's going to be a long dive to Oscar gold! If my daughter has anything to say about it, harumph!

comment #3

Ian Sinclair says ...

NY1 reporting that people leaving the early Manhattan 3D shows are immediately getting in line again, feverishly texting their friends. It can't be that huge a weekend number due to the limited number of 3D screens available, but I'll bet the 3D theater PSA is going to be huge.

comment #4

christian says ...

Nay, Ian. I heard people stumbled out of theaters in a state of bedeviled astonishment, clutching at their breasts in order to save oxygen. I also heard people were buying up tickets only to sell them off for thousands of dollars to shadowy fans hungrily waiting in the wings for their BEOWULF fix. I might be one of those people today.

comment #5

RoyBatty says ...

Metacritic.com has it at 60%, which is what I expected after reading Ken Turan's review in today's LA Times. For comparison, Metacritic has:

76 - 3:10 To Yuma
82 - Eastern Promises
76 - American Gangster
82 - Michael Clayton
91 - No Country For Old Men

comment #6

siowafc says ...

But wasn't I reading just a few weeks ago that this was tracking to be a $40-50 million, four-quadrant blockbuster? What happened along the way? To say that mid 20s is anything other than disappointing is an exaggeration.

comment #7

lesterg says ...

I've got to agree. Mid 20's is surely a disappointment at this stage, particularly with the level of competition around the corner.

comment #8

lesterg says ...

Just checked: it was tracking at 34% definite interest a few weeks ago. Analysts felt that meant a 50+ million opening.

comment #9

Rob says ...

For the love of God, it's Friday afternoon on the east coast. How reliable can this projection be?

comment #10

Terry McCarty says ...

Anyone ever see the live-action BEOWULF AND GRENDEL with Gerard Butler and Stellan Skarsgard?
Worth renting on DVD?

comment #11

Bocephus says ...

Actually, I have read that most viewers are dying in the theatres from sheer exhaustion cause by the unimaginable delights being projected onto the screens. This will hurt repeat viewings.

However, the survivors' daughters are so delighted by the pleasures of this film that they are selflessly transferring all the money in their college funds to Robert Zemeckis' bank account.

And I believe that Paul Thomas Anderson was deeply shocked and bemused by Beowulf's superiority to his own films. He will most likely be found in a Tijuana flophouse next week, hanging from a highly overrated noose.

And British children will be confused by the success of the movie, since they are not taught about Beowulf in English schools. You see, most British Schoolmarms are too busy teaching their students to unnecessarily put the letter U in words like "color" and "behavior" to spend any amount of time covering the sole surviving old English epic poem.

comment #12

JD says ...

I've heard that a few people on the east coast -- and I mean way east, like Baltimore -- have been so blown away by the 3D that they were blinded. And apparently, they all felt it was worth it... and have refused to give the 3D glasses back. If you value your eyesight, I suggest you stear clear of Beowulf 3D this weekend!

comment #13

thezipper says ...

Saw it last night on the IMAX at the Bridge. It was sold-out at $16.75 a ticket. I think it will do better than mid-twenties.

Speaking of the 3-D, the woman next to me actually raised her hands in defense when things started flying towards her. She also leaned towards me once trying to get a glimpse of Beowulf's naked goods.

comment #14

lesterg says ...

According to the local NBC affiliate here in NY: viewers are so profoundly changed by the experience that they are (en masse) "shitting gold and pissing pure Texas crude" upon re-entering the lobby.

comment #15

lazarus says ...

Jeez, Sinclair, how many blogs do you frequent where the regular cast of commenters think you're an absolute fool?

This is so fun to watch.

You still have one hope left, I guess. Golden Compass FTW?

comment #16

Ju-osh says ...

CNN is reporting that in the middle east, all fighting has stopped until everyone has a chance to see Beowulf. Twice.
(Fox News is burying the story...of course.)

comment #17

christian says ...

Bush is now talking to congress about a massive airlift of 3-D glasses to Iraq and Afghanistan.

comment #18

BurmaShave says ...

He has also invaded the lobby where they're pissing Texas crude.

comment #19

Mr. Soze says ...

I just read on Variety.com that James Cameron has halted filming on 'Avatar' because he plans to use his riches to raise the Titanic, restore it and then promptly sink it again in order to justifiably make a sequel to his 1997 blockbuster hit and thus reclaim the all-time box office records soon to be conquered by 'Beowulf'.

After 'Titanic 2: Steamship Boogaloo' has put Cameron back on top, he plans to make 17 more 3-D IMAX films about the ship and promptly finish shooting 'Avatar' in 2013.

comment #20

insidah says ...

An epic tale...Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins in the cast...a hunky male lead...gay subtext...Thanksgiving

Have I already seen this movie already? Was it called Alexander?

comment #21

Ju-osh says ...

This just in:
Theologists name Beowulf the first 4-D film, claim it "reaches right out and touches your soul."

comment #22

Devin Faraci says ...

Bravo, kids.

comment #23

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Just came out of The Darjeeling Ltd (finally--hey, I live in a backwater) and watched about five minutes of Beowulf. Looked like that troll fight in the first LOTR, guys in chainmail screaming and this big thing stomping around. Pass.

And Darjeeling, while it has its pleasures, is the least of the Anderson efforts so far.

comment #24

Rothchild says ...

I thought this movie was awful and I saw it in 3D.

comment #25

bmcintire says ...

The trailer for THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL is up. Eric Bana, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman: A Jeffrey Wells trifecta. He hates it already!

http://movies.aol.com/movie/the-other-boleyn-girl/26713/main

I think it looks interesting, but oh well.

comment #26

Craig Kennedy says ...

You people are fucking funny. I don't know which one to pick for laugh of the week so I'm going with Bocephus: "hanging from a highly overrated noose"

Good times.

comment #27

jeffmcm says ...

Best thread ever.

Actionman, I suspect that the Dome can't show movies in 3-D because of curvature issues.

comment #28

bmcintire says ...

Yeah, the sightlines on the sides of the dome are TERRIBLE. I can only imagine how headache-inuding 3-D would be added to that.

comment #29

Rothchild says ...

I thought I picked good seats for the dome when I saw M:I-3 but the angle was terrible. It ruined that film more than the structure did.

comment #30

D.Z. says ...

actionman: "It's shocking to me that the Arclight is NOT showing it in 3-D in the dome."

That's because they think it's better for you to pay more for an average projection. But hey, there's always Citywalk...

siowafc: "But wasn't I reading just a few weeks ago that this was tracking to be a $40-50 million, four-quadrant blockbuster? What happened along the way?"

Jolie's not a star, Beowulf doesn't offer anything new to the fantasy genre, and Zemeckis hasn't done anything significant since Forrest Gump. Do the math.

"To say that mid 20s is anything other than disappointing is an exaggeration."

It'll still make more than "The Spirits Within". So I guess that will add more fuel to the fire created by circle-jerking studio execs who think that jacking up ticket prices, so that I am forced to watch a crappy film in 3-d, will be more successful than jacking up ticket prices, so that I'm forced to watch a crappy film in DV.

Mr Soze: There already is a sequel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD4OnHCRd_4

comment #31

jeffmcm says ...

What? There was much more personal bitterness in that comment than is usual for you, DZ. Finally, your robotic exterior has cracked: On top of Tarantino, Jolie, The Blair Witch Project, and Shakespeare, you also hate high ticket prices.

comment #32

D.Z. says ...

jeff: What? You mean you like theater chains to rape you up the ass? Well, whatever floats your boat...

comment #33

jeffmcm says ...

Yes, DZ. By your rigorous and time-tested standard of logic, that's exactly what I meant.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, I find it intriguing to get a glimpse into your actual personal life. Just like Jeff Wells gave us a glimpse of himself curled into a ball, rocking and sucking his thumb while watching bad movies, so we see that high ticket prices at the Arclight are something that you find INFURIATING, which is very different from your typically dispassionate, barely engaged level of conversation.

comment #34

jeffmcm says ...

PS: There's this color called 'gray' that exists in-between the binary opposites of black and white. Some people spell it 'grey', if you find that confusing.

comment #35

scooterzz says ...

if dz is likening rising cinema prices to being 'raped up the ass', i can't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable he must be at a gas station......

comment #36

D.Z. says ...

scooterzzz: I don't drive a gas-guzzling SUV, so I wouldn't know. But at least the oil companies have an excuse, based on the lack of a steady supply from the illegal war they started. I'm not sure why I should be paying higher prices for tv ads and seats I can't even choose.

comment #37

BurmaShave says ...

Punk rock tried to kill the metal! Take your bitchfight elsewhere, don't you know this is a snark fest?

comment #38

Terry McCarty says ...

York "Budd" Durden wrote:
And Darjeeling, while it has its pleasures, is the least of the Anderson efforts so far.

My opinion's the opposite: I thought LIFE AQUATIC was the least of the Wes I've seen (waiting for the Criterion DVD of BOTTLE ROCKET)due to his interest in creating a neato physical environment at the expense of characterization. DARJEELING, while still suffering the film-as-origami-structure difficulties, does return somewhat to human interaction.

As for HOTEL CHEVALIER, it was fifteen minutes of cinematic masturbation. And I'm still assuming Natalie Portman's unseen breasts are amazing, since once again we get the shot of an actor (Jason Schwartzman instead of Clive Owen) looking at them as if he were watching the footage edited out of Welles' THE MAGNIFICENT ANDERSONS.

And Wes' American Express ad is hands-down better than any of the three films discussed above.

comment #39

D.Z. says ...

Wow, it didn't even make $10 million on Friday. Other than Gans, Roger must have a knack for meeting washed-up losers who like to fuck up his scripts.

comment #40

frankbooth says ...

Damn, I'm late. How did I miss this one?

I won't bother to piss on Ian's cremains. That would be kicking a man when he's down. And also disemboweled, dismembered, decapitated, flayed and incinerated.

"Magnificent Andersons?"