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| Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 11:17 pm EDT 10/02/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:10 pm EDT 10/02/21 | |
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| Forbes.com reports on the film's second weekend at the box office: ''Alas, 'Dear Evan Hansen' is acting like the opposite of 'The Greatest Showman.' The critically savaged musical earned $730,000 (-78%) on Friday for a $2.4 million (-68%) weekend and miserable $11.75 million 10-day cume. This one won’t get anywhere near its $26 million budget, with a likely domestic finish below $17 million. Here’s hoping it finds some salvation as a PVOD [Premium Video on Demand] title in a couple of weeks.'' |
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| Differences between the stage and screen versions of Dear Evan Hansen | |
| Last Edit: TheOtherOne 08:28 am EDT 10/04/21 | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 08:27 am EDT 10/04/21 | |
| In reply to: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% - WaymanWong 11:10 pm EDT 10/02/21 | |
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| I have no idea why teen audiences are staying away from the film, but this article touches on some of the reasons it isn’t working for many adults who liked it on stage. Not beginning the film with an emphasis on the parents’ struggle puts Evan squarely in the driver’s seat and makes him seem far more manipulative and less sympathetic. | |
| Link | Differences between the stage and screen versions of Dear Evan Hansen. |
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| 88% on Rotten Tomatoes | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 09:56 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% - WaymanWong 11:10 pm EDT 10/02/21 | |
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| The 88% is the audience rating. Critics rating is at 31%. Quite a discrepancy. As a comparison the new VENOM sequel is only at 86% and THE ADAMS FAMILY 2 is at 73% (both audience scores). I wager both of those movies will do better than DEH this weekend. But the bottom line is, despite the critics, audiences who see DEH tend to like it. As I recall, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN took months before it found its second life. I don't think that will happen with DEH, but hopefully it will do well on streaming. I thought it was an excellent adaptation of the stage musical. | |
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| But I think the audience attending is skewed | |
| Posted by: dramedy 03:01 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: 88% on Rotten Tomatoes - Teacher64 09:56 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| To more theater lovers. The audience seeing venom is not going to be the same as DEH (although I did see both)— clearly shown by ticket sales. Critics have to see it all so I can see that being more of a mainstream rating. | |
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| re: comparison with Greatest Showman | |
| Last Edit: jo 10:37 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| Posted by: jo 10:24 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: 88% on Rotten Tomatoes - Teacher64 09:56 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| By the second weekend, The Greatest Showman started flexing its muscles...and continued for months. Its domestic take ( $ 174 M) was actually below its overseas results ($ 261 M). So the appeal was across borders, across ages and gender. Many publications took note of its phenomenal success not just at the box office but also at the charts ( it was 2018 worldwide best-selling album, overtaking even the pop music albums). I remember that New York Times, wanting to look further at the phenomenon , asked its readers to share the movie's appeal. They were immediately flooded with replies ( something like 1250). Forbes.com which initially did not think much of how the movie will appeal to audiences had to take back its initial judgment and wrote about it on its weekly trend at the box office. Another measure of its success was its home video performance in the USA, practically overtaking Star Wars at the very top for that year's sales. One major difference about the 2 movies is that The Greatest Showman was developed from the start as a movie musical while Dear Evan Hansen is a film adaptation of the stage musical ( not always a successful route). 2009 Oscars producers Lawrence Mark and Bill Condon had seen Hugh Jackman rehearsing for the Oscars hosting and suggested to him a Barnum film musical. HJ announced the project in 2009 and it took almost 8 years for it become a movie, a FOX studio project. Instrumental to its success was director Michael Gracey who worked hard with Pasek & Paul to develop the musical score, providing them with the themes he wanted to be translated musically-speaking ( you can see this on the Blu-Ray feature) and it took many workshops (actually involving Hugh and Broadway stars like Aaron Tveit & Sutton Foster at the start, Keala, etc ( you can see them in that clip of From Now On relased before the movie opened to general audiences). |
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| Link | https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1700234753/weekend/?ref_=bo_tt_gr#table |
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| I seriously hope..... | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 12:23 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: comparison with Greatest Showman - jo 10:24 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| ...that when DEH is released on home video blu-ray that it has as many wonderful features as THE GREATEST SHOWMAN's release had. That is the one thing that keeps me buying physical discs, they tend to have features and commentaries that you don't get from streaming videos. I'd love to see lots of "making of" features, maybe even a feature looking at the success of the stage show, with commentaries from the director, Platt (though that may be a hard sell for him), and especially Pasek and Paul. They need to treat the video release of the film as the success that the audience scores on RT suggest it is, despite its box office. | |
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| re: I seriously hope..... | |
| Posted by: skier74 01:09 am EDT 10/06/21 | |
| In reply to: I seriously hope..... - Teacher64 12:23 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Oh please, there's nothing inherent about a physical disk that makes it more likely to have extras. You certainly get that on streaming series, Handmaid's Tale on Hulu comes to mind with a 3 minute "inside the episode" for every episode and more recently an even more in-depth discussion with various cast members. | |
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| Unlikely… | |
| Posted by: ShowGoer 06:26 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: I seriously hope..... - Teacher64 12:23 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Sources suggest that it seems as though the 4K home release has been canceled, leaving the film to only get a standard Blu-ray. 4K is still a more specialized but rapidly growing market, and nearly every major new movie is released on that format now… the one exception I can think of, where a 4K was initially announced and then quietly pulled? Cats. I doubt it will only get a bare-bones physical release, with no special features at all- but it will hardly receive the lavish Greatest Showman treatment. |
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| re: I seriously hope..... | |
| Posted by: jo 06:09 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: I seriously hope..... - Teacher64 12:23 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| That's true - some special features add to a fuller appreciation of the creative effort. Unfortunately, studios are not keen to add special features (other than perhaps already part of the filming effort before) when a movie falters significantly vs expectations. Best case was when Darren Aronofsky uploaded his own Director's Commentary for The Fountain when WarnerBros refused the offer because the movie faltered at the box office. Interestingly the movie became a cult favorite and was re-released on its 10th year anniversary. |
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| re: comparison with Greatest Showman | |
| Posted by: jo 10:33 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: comparison with Greatest Showman - jo 10:24 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| There was an interesting discussion on Twitter on why Dear Evan Hansen seemed to have failed at the box office vs The Greatest Showman as their musical scores were both composed by Peter&Paul. One reply came from a former Fox employee "ash @Quiet__Earp I worked for Fox at the time and, honestly, it outstripped all expectations of success like you wouldn't believe. I'm talking 5x above forecast in the box office and then 2/3x in home ent. Was insane how popular it was. Was genuinely expected to do next to nothing." |
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| re: comparison with Greatest Showman | |
| Posted by: jo 06:12 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: comparison with Greatest Showman - jo 10:33 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Sorry, I meant Pasek & Paul. | |
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| Sometimes you feel like a nut .. | |
| Posted by: Ann 07:05 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: comparison with Greatest Showman - jo 06:12 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Sorry, you probably have to be old and/or chocolate obsessed to get that. I am both. | |
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| re: Sometimes you feel like a nut .. | |
| Posted by: jo 07:34 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: Sometimes you feel like a nut .. - Ann 07:05 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Lol! Not exactly... More like raised in the Roman Cathoic faith. |
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| 'She's a nut, she's a nut, she's a real religious nut ...' | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 08:48 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 08:40 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Sometimes you feel like a nut .. - jo 07:34 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Oops! I was reminded of Imogene Coca's kooky character in ''On the 20th Century.'' ;) | |
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| re: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 08:52 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:51 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% - WaymanWong 11:10 pm EDT 10/02/21 | |
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| Last weekend, a handful of industry watchers did seem to think the Showman model will still apply, using the exit interview-esque scores from happy attendees. But the small number of devotees didn't translate into a rebuttal to the critics. And I'm guessing that word of mouth isn't a factor here. The film seems branded as a loser, admittedly one forecast by some after the trailer (unfair at that stage, in my opinion; it made me want to see it). I went last Saturday, a gorgeous day in the NE, and sat in a big cinema among a crowd of eleven. It was parents and older teens. I still hold that the film's marketing seemed to be unsure of it target audience: Evan's generation? Ben's? Or adults? It doesn't interest most 16-30 year olds, to push the actor-character demos together, though the fan base for B'way is often that group. I also believe a backlash will give the film a cult-like status, once everyone can watch it at home via streaming. A failed B'way musical translation begs for cult status, and this one seems earmarked. I can say, a week later, I'm still shocked by the film's failure. I believed it was critics-proof (a naive take, admittedly), that a thirst for a hit B'way score played in a movie theater would send pandemic-weary folks out in droves, if not at smash b.o. levels. This movie is a strange miscalculation, on several levels: creative, timing, marketing. No easy answers. | |
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| re: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% | |
| Posted by: mikem 12:39 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% - Delvino 08:51 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| I agree that one of the fundamental problems that this film had is: who is its target audience? When a film version of DEH was announced, I immediately assumed it was an arthouse film, and the casting of Amy Adams and Julianne Moore, two extremely talented women who have no real box office pull among the general public, and in particular among teenagers, reinforced that. So I was surprised that the film went into wide release, and the film itself is apparently focused more on the teenagers. For the adult audience attracted to this kind of film, bad reviews will kill the box office as happened here. That older adult audience is still reluctant to go to the theater during the pandemic. Films targeted to them continue to do poorly -- the Sopranos prequel completely flopped this weekend. And for whatever reason, not enough teens were interested; maybe they were all going to see Venom, which had the biggest pandemic opening yet this weekend. The second weekend overall drop for DEH of 68% is higher than they would have wanted, but in line with other films (In the Heights dropped 63%). The good word-of-mouth means it will do okay on home viewings, although still a money-loser. |
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| re: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 03:22 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:06 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% - mikem 12:39 pm EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Even if Amy Adams and Julianne Moore aren't the biggest box-office draws, they bring prestige to ''Dear Evan Hansen.'' Adams is a multi-Oscar nominee and Moore is an Oscar winner, so I'd bet the movie was counting on them to attract Oscar voters (and boost Ben Platt's shot at his EGOT). Interestingly, on its opening weekend, Deadline.com reported: ''The few who bought tickets for 'Dear Evan Hansen' were 62% females, 52% over 25, with 54% falling between 18-34, which is what Universal was expecting.'' I imagine Adams and Moore might've been responsible for some of that. It is, however, surprising that ''Dear Evan Hansen'' hasn't done much better with younger audiences. They tend not to care about critics, let alone their 31% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. In these COVID times, they've also been more resilient, than older audiences, about returning to the movie theaters. And you'd think younger viewers might more easily relate to Evan Hansen, a teen dealing with social anxiety and social media. After all, it's a Tony-winning musical with an especially fervent young following. Its official movie trailer has registered over 21 million views. Yet somehow, that hasn't translated to the film. So far, its box office hasn't been so big. And its online reception hasn't been so great. Buzzfeed: ''People Are Tweeting Their Reactions to the 'Dear Evan Hansen' Movie, and Yikes.'' The Cut.com: ''Wow, TikTok Really Hated 'Dear Evan Hansen.' '' Deadline.com asked if it should've gone straight to streaming. Maybe that's where its core audience will be found. |
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| Link | Deadline.com: 'Dear Evan Hansen' - Should the Movie Have Gone to Streaming? |
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| re: potential audience | |
| Posted by: kidmanboy 08:41 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: Forbes.com on Friday Box Office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' Plunges 78% - WaymanWong 11:10 pm EDT 10/02/21 | |
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| I also wonder if it would have a bit more appeal along the liberal coasts, where people are likely more hesitant to return to movie theaters. I would have seen it opening weekend but will be waiting until I'm able to watch it from my living room. | |
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| re: potential audience | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 12:09 am EDT 10/04/21 | |
| In reply to: re: potential audience - kidmanboy 08:41 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| Movie theaters in New York are fairly packed, at least when there’s a movie people want to see. I’ve tended to go on weeknights, and even then, for example, Shang-Chi was quite well attended. | |
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| re: potential audience | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 08:43 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: potential audience - kidmanboy 08:41 am EDT 10/03/21 | |
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| We would have watched it streaming as well. | |
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