Will Peter Pan sink the Firefly movie? by mojoeca

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Will Peter Pan sink the Firefly movie?

POSTED BY: MOJOECA
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 10:44
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VIEWED: 6484
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Friday, January 2, 2004 4:45 AM

Universal's latest, the $100 million+ Peter Pan has bombed in a major way, taking in just $20 million to date. Hate to ask it, but could this box office bomb make Universal a bit gun-shy about the decidedly riskier venture of a FIREFLY movie?

--- Joe

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Friday, January 2, 2004 4:49 AM

ARCBEATLE

.....
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?
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...noo...

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Friday, January 2, 2004 5:32 AM

ZACHSMIND

How is Firefly more risky than that terrible remake of Peter Pan they were trying to force down the public's throats?

1. Firefly's going to cost less to produce comparatively,
2. it'll be made in record time provided they get started on it in the first quarter of 2004,
3. and no one knows how it's going to end.

Whereas this latest variant on Peter Pan was a time consuming and cost-defective project that didn't need to get told because the story's already been told over and over, and better, and this variant wasn't promising much in the way of a new approach.

Joss Whedon's Firefly is an original tale, not something based on a rehashed children's story over a century old.

Furthermore, Peter Pan appeals to some children and parents, and is limited in demographics to a family oriented audience. Firefly targets middle class men and women from 18-45, and therefore the lion's share of a financially lucrative consumership. If they get a PG-13 or R rating, Mutant Enemy's gonna rake it in. Trust me. They. Can't. Lose.

Four of the best looking women in Hollywood. Five if they throw in Saffron. Men with guns. Space races and bar room brawls. Occasional uprisings and rebellions. A story about ordinary people in the extraordinary squeeze between a freedom stifling conservative government on the one side and completely insane marrauding psychopaths on the other. You got your intrigue, your romance, your multiple levels of humor from cerebral to dark to slapstick, fun special effects, great music, heart pounding cinematography and editing... Shall I go on?

If they film it, we will come.

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"Hang on, travelers..."

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Friday, January 2, 2004 6:15 AM

ZAMPANO

Plus, Universal is able to calculate the costs on this one. Since there exists a cast and crew that is used to work together fast, as making TV is very much faster than making a Movie (so I have heard),
It is not likely that they will fall behind schedule or over budget. So they will know how much money they will have to invest before the production starts, and they should know by now how many dedicated fans are out there, so they will know that they can't possibly lose money on this one.

Also, Universal needs to create "the next Star Trek" or they are financially doomed.

They will make it. Mark my words!

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Friday, January 2, 2004 6:18 AM

SUCCATASH

If Peter Pan affects Firefly in any way I will go to Neverland myself and kill the little green bugger.

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Friday, January 2, 2004 6:29 AM

ZACHSMIND

To further reinforce the fact that boobtoob to silverscreen films are more cost effective to produce, the budget for Star Trek Generations was only $35 million. It made almost that much in its first weekend, grossed $120 million worldwide in the box office and over $80 million in video rentals.

The X-Files movie back in 1998 cost $66 Million. It recouped half that in its first weekend and grossed over $83 million box office in less than five months. That doesn't count overseas profits or VHS/DVD rentals and sales. And my bet is that if you combined the salaries of Duchovny & Anderson for being the principals in X-Files Fight The Future, it'd come out to roughly half the combined salaries of the nine principals in Firefly. Not that they're not worth more. They are. But they didn't have as much a chance to build their fan base and most of the talents in Firefly don't have the pull like Duchovny did five years ago. Fillion, Torres and Glass might be able to ask for more, but the others will be bringing in salaries that while respectable will surely not break Universal's pocketbook.

Fight The Future was on location all over Canada and the U.S., whereas most of Firefly will be done either in front of the refurbished/recycled Serenity set, or in front of a greenscreen so the CGI boys can play. While CGI is expensive, overall the effects for Firefly will be conservative. We're not talking Return of the King here.

I'm thinking Firefly the Movie will fall somewhere between those two benchmarks. It'll cost roughly $45-50 million to produce, and will easily recoup that the first month of release. While it may not be a blockbuster that rakes in over a hundred mill its first weekend, Firefly will be a formidable contender for any summer or Christmas release.

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"Hang on, travelers..."

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Friday, January 2, 2004 2:38 PM

BOOMERGOODHEART

Wow.

I'm most impressed with your well thought out and articulate pro-argument for Firefly: The Movie, Zach.

*suspiciously* Are you a brainiac out in the World?

Let's not forget that a vast majority of people thought that a pirate movie would tank hard, too. And just look what PiratesOTC has done to date. I don't think anyone can ever really know for sure how a movie is going to do. Unfortunately, the viewing public is an extremely fickle creature. Of course, I'll make everyone I know go see Firefly, whether they want to or not!

BoomerGoodheart

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Friday, January 2, 2004 2:56 PM

SUCCATASH

Quote:
Originally posted by mojoeca:
Peter Pan has bombed in a major way...

Hmm, I wonder why Peter Pan isn't so popular these days. A boy in green tights who sleeps at Neverland....

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Friday, January 2, 2004 4:06 PM

JAYBIENWEB

He's got a point, there.

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Friday, January 2, 2004 5:02 PM

ARCBEATLE

actually, cheaper than that! 45-50 million would mean a very very effects coated movie.

But look at the movie D&D, they had to hire out hte hwoel city of Prague, make costumes, expensive sets, and awesome CGI dragons. Plus pay for Jeremy Irons. Total cost? 35 Million. It didnt do well in theateres, but I love that Gorram Movie!

People only beleive somehting if it's in a movie

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Friday, January 2, 2004 6:41 PM

HUMBLE

i liked peter pan best when it was a Disney cartoon. the concept has been beaten to death already! no, i don't think THIS peter pan's flop will negatively impact firefly movie any more than sunspots will! (but i have been wrong before)

Let's Do Some CRIME!

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Friday, January 2, 2004 6:42 PM

SLEESTACK

Sick puppy, Succa. :lol:

The new Peter Pan is a strange twist from what I've read. It doesn't seem suitable for small kids and bigger ones probably have no interest. Adults also would likely care less as there's plenty of other fare to watch (Samurai, LotR, etc). So who the heck is it aimed at?

Hopefully no one will confuse Tinkerbell with Serenity!

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Friday, January 2, 2004 8:51 PM

CALHOUN

Maybe Peter Pan could be an extra in the Firefly movie.

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Friday, January 2, 2004 8:55 PM

CALHOUN

Seriously though, how could one possibly compare a Peter Pan movie to Firefly?

I and no one I know would be the slightest bit interested in seeing Peter Pan but EVERYONE I know will be seeing the Firefly movie. Hell, i'll be seeing it multiple times cause its ya'know the big screen'n all and its FIREFLY!

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Saturday, January 3, 2004 12:54 AM

GAIJIN

The only Peter Pan story that made sense as a live action motion picture was Hook.

Firefly will do just fine....better than fine in fact.

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Saturday, January 3, 2004 7:51 AM

FAHQ

Quote:
Originally posted by Calhoun:
Maybe Peter Pan could be an extra in the Firefly movie.

Maybe as a splat on the windshield of Serenity's cockpit as it lands........

"My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

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Sunday, January 4, 2004 5:46 AM

CAPTAINMAL

One quibble,

don't underestimate the "family friendly" factor. As a rule, family movies are far more profitable than R rated films, despite the fact that Hollywood insists on contenually pouring money into big budget "adult" films.

PP failed in SPITE of being family oreinted, not because of it.

That said, it's the cost that matters. Joss could make a Firefly film for 1/3 what PP cost and that makes all the difference.

"Why we still discussin' this?"

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Monday, January 5, 2004 5:59 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

I honestly doubt the Peter Pan flopping at the box office would effect Firefly in any way.

I still don't understand why they thought a movie like Peter Pan would work, even coming out during the holidays. The tale has been redone to death, and should have stopped w/ Robin William's horrible version of the story. $100 million dollars to produce seems awful steep, even for a movie with as much CGI and special effects as the trailer for Peter Pan implies.

I would say that the $45 million estimate to produce Firefly is a safe estimate, and should see that much in box office sales in the first month. Include a rental and DVD sales and they should double their money without a problem.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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Thursday, January 8, 2004 10:59 AM

LTNOWIS

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:

I would say that the $45 million estimate to produce Firefly is a safe estimate, and should see that much in box office sales in the first month. Include a rental and DVD sales and they should double their money without a problem.

I heard somewhere that Joss was gonna spend 100+ million dollars on the movie. Of course, I can't find the website, so maybe I'm just insane. But yeah, your math is quite plausible, considering that in 2002 something like 23 movies earned more than $100 million.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2004 9:44 AM

DAVEB

To be honest my Firefly film will not cost much. The cast and crew have expressed their love for the show so many times, how much fun they had had and how egger they are to work on it again so I doubt they will ask for a lot of money. Also Firefly doesn't contain many special effects (for a series it did but not for a major Blockbuster). And if the sets are still intact they won't have to fork out for that. The total cost should be between $30-$60 million.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2004 10:44 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Quote:
Originally posted by DaveB:
To be honest my Firefly film will not cost much. The cast and crew have expressed their love for the show so many times, how much fun they had had and how egger they are to work on it again so I doubt they will ask for a lot of money. Also Firefly doesn't contain many special effects (for a series it did but not for a major Blockbuster). And if the sets are still intact they won't have to fork out for that. The total cost should be between $30-$60 million.

Problem is the sets were tore down. I believe that Nathan said they were trashed. I don't believe they saved anything.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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