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posted by Fnord666 on Monday July 24 2017, @04:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the ouch dept.

BOOM! That's the sound of Luc Besson's "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets." US Weekend total is $17 million, not even a multiple of Friday's $6 million. Costing at least $225 million, "Valerian" is a domestic dud.

The only hope for STX Films on the most expensive indie film ever made is people in non English speaking countries not caring about the story or dialogue. This often the case, and dud films– see "The Mummy" — can find audiences who just want the visual flash.

"Valerian" will have to count on China, Russia, South Korea, and other out of the way locales to bail them out.

The previews looked visually amazing. Was the movie really that bad?


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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday July 24 2017, @05:08PM (3 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Monday July 24 2017, @05:08PM (#543771)

    The 5th element had a pretty impressive cast. This one doesn't quite match.
    In the US market, the lack of big names does matter.
    I expect they'll make a decent but not fantastic profit on the international markets.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Monday July 24 2017, @06:13PM (2 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Monday July 24 2017, @06:13PM (#543802) Journal

    n the US market, the lack of big names does matter.

    Yup! Witness the utter failure of Star Wars with one big name, and a bunch of nobodies.
    Jurassic Park, made more careers than it relied on.
    Harry Potter, even reading the credits today brings out a chorus of owls. (Who?).
    There were a couple of popular stars in LOTR, but not really that many.
    Even Sigourney Weaver was unsung and lost in Avatar.

    I actually thing the most successful movie franchises are the ones without a boat load of big name stars with baggage.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday July 24 2017, @06:28PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Monday July 24 2017, @06:28PM (#543811)

      All of those (except the first SW, 40 years ago) had giant marketing appeal and established names.
      Very few people in the US have ever heard of Valerian, and it releases in the middle of summer, when even Americans seem to be taking vacations. It looks like a generic blockbuster without anything I can tell, besides visuals, to make you think "I think I want to see it".
      I will see it eventually. I can see why it's the wrong time given the onslaught of "must see" (may need extra quotes) sequels.

    • (Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday July 26 2017, @02:48AM

      by driverless (4770) on Wednesday July 26 2017, @02:48AM (#544433)

      Harry Potter, even reading the credits today brings out a chorus of owls. (Who?).

      Yeah, Hedwig, Errol, Hermes, Pigwidgeon, ...