Opening Pooh On Same Night As Potter: Smart or Stupid?

[jt04]

It was a mistake of epic proportions to debut Pooh opposite Harry. This is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact. How hugely disappointing to finish with 8 million and in 6th place. Horrible.

Disney has made 3 big mistakes with animated features this year. The first, the Mars need Moms debacle. Which will go down as one of the top 3 biggest flops of all time. The second is the Cars2 money grab. Cars is going to finish its run as the lowest grossing Pixar movie ever, and the lowest in attendance figures by a mile. Now this Pooh mess.

By the way JT. I know you stand behind TWDC management at every turn, but in this case, probably best to just not say anything.

This is a modest 30 million dollar family film that was likely never anticipated to reach blockbuster status. Very much like PatF, which cost a comparitively astounding 100 million to produce, Pooh will do very well dollar for dollar in theatrical release and for years to come in other media forms. The reviews on the film are excellent and word of mouth will ensure its success. :wave:

 

[xdan0920]

This is a modest 30 million dollar family film that was likely never anticipated to reach blockbuster status. Very much like PatF, which cost a comparitively astounding 100 million to produce, Pooh will do very well dollar for dollar in theatrical release and for years to come in other media forms. The reviews on the film are excellent and word of mouth will ensure its success. :wave:

You are spinning.

Pooh was never meant to be a blockbuster, true enough. But it should not have bowed to a 6th place finish. Making only 8 million dollars in its opening weekend.

It should have opened on a different weekend. Plain and simple.

 

[njDizFan]

I honestly just think its a sign of our modern culture. I bet a large percentage of kids over the age of 6 would prefer to see the Potter film for the action, the visuals and the coolness factor. Chances are they will not understand half of what's going on (after all it is recommended for an audience over the age of 13). This isn't 20 years ago when the the Smurfs and Rainbow Bright were considered cool. The jaded pre-teen set now craves Transformers and Marvel, full of simulated violence and visual graphics.

Sadly a cute, sensative animated film may only have a market in the straight to DVD arena. I asked my 8 year old daughter if she wanted to go and she gave me such a grimace, like are you serious, that for babies. And thats coming from a parent who encourages reading and only occasionally and begrudgingly allows her to see a PG-13 film.

I bet if there were not so many parents and fanboys that grew up on the Muppets their next film would bomb also.

 

[Hakunamatata]

I honestly just think its a sign of our modern culture. I bet a large percentage of kids over the age of 6 would prefer to see the Potter film for the action, the visuals and the coolness factor. Chances are they will not understand half of what's going on (after all it is recommended for an audience over the age of 13). This isn't 20 years ago when the the Smurfs and Rainbow Bright were considered cool. The jaded pre-teen set now craves Transformers and Marvel, full of simulated violence and visual graphics.

Sadly a cute, sensative animated film may only have a market in the straight to DVD arena. I asked my 8 year old daughter if she wanted to go and she gave me such a grimace, like are you serious, that for babies. And thats coming from a parent who encourages reading and only occasionally and begrudgingly allows her to see a PG-13 film.

I bet if there were not so many parents and fanboys that grew up on the Muppets their next film would bomb also.

We got the same response from our kids before the movie. After we told them they were going to see it anyway because mom and dad wanted to see it, they loved it. Sometimes I think we as parents give too many options to kids. The world does not revolve around them and some parents need to quit acting like it does.

 

[David S.]

I LOVED Pooh!

What a charming, fun, funny, heartfelt film that flawlessly captures the tone, spirit, and charms of the 1977 original!

I was there at midnight Thur/Fri on opening night, and I was saddened that there were only 6 other people in the Pooh screening. Yet the theatre was PACKED with Potter people, which had sold out multiple screens in the same multiplex.

So based on my experience, and now the numbers, I'd say it was a HUGE mistake opening up my favorite movie of 2011 against Potter.

I honestly just think its a sign of our modern culture. I bet a large percentage of kids over the age of 6 would prefer to see the Potter film for the action, the visuals and the coolness factor. Chances are they will not understand half of what's going on (after all it is recommended for an audience over the age of 13). This isn't 20 years ago when the the Smurfs and Rainbow Bright were considered cool. The jaded pre-teen set now craves Transformers and Marvel, full of simulated violence and visual graphics.

Sadly a cute, sensative animated film may only have a market in the straight to DVD arena. I asked my 8 year old daughter if she wanted to go and she gave me such a grimace, like are you serious, that for babies. And thats coming from a parent who encourages reading and only occasionally and begrudgingly allows her to see a PG-13 film.

Nice post. Sadly, this seems to be very true. I know I'm in the minority, but I don't, and have never, cared about being cool, jaded, or watching violent movies. I want something cute, charming, and heartwarming, (like Pooh!) that speaks to my inner child! It's a shame that so many kids seem to be in such a hurry to "grow up" these days. I certainly never was!

Babies shouldn't even be in a movie theater. If you're old enough to be in a theater, you can enjoy the Potter films. Snow White has scary parts too.

No one innocent or good gets killed in Snow White.

Potter has gotten WAAAY too DARK for my taste and I am over 30! I would have considered the first 3 Potter films (which I LOVED) "family films", where we get to enjoy the sense of wonder and charm of Harry's introduction into the world of magic, and things are solved neatly and with no tragic deaths. (other than Harry's parents, but like fairy tales, these occur BEFORE the start of the story). And how awesome was that "time turner" ending in #3, where Buckbeak is saved and Sirius is set free! What a PERFECT, uplifting ending when Harry flies off on Buckbeak. That moment was the peak of my Potter interest. They seemed magical and safe, and I looked forward to the 4th with great anticipation (I've never read the books, so I didn't know what was coming).

But ever since that idiot Voldemort (I said his name!) appears in the 4th film, they have definitely not been what I would remotely consider "family films". Starting with the tragic death of Cedric which ENDS the fourth film and sends audiences out of theatres on a sad note. No uplifting Happy Ending in 4, 5, or 6, and Rowling seems intent on killing off as many beloved, innocent, good characters as possible. I read enough spoilers about 7-1 to know I would NOT have liked it, as even MORE beloved good characters die in the last book than in 4, 5, and 6 combined (where's the time turner now?)

So, as I slowly saw EVERYTHING I loved about the first 3 films disappear in the next 3, I've called it a day and prefer to remember Potter for the first three films, which, again, I LOVED. In hindsight, I should have stoped watching after my disappointment with the unhappy ending in 4, but I gave 5 and 6 a shot as well, with the same diminishing returns. The bottom line is, the series started with a charming and innocent sense of wonder at this magical world, sprinkled with fun little scenes of life at Hogwarts, and it turned into something MUCH MUCH darker and less "family-friendly", arguably significantly darker than the original Star Wars trilogy and even Lord of the Rings.

Others' mileage may very. I am not used to watching PG-13 movies (and definitely not Rs), so the level of violence, darkness, sadness, and tragedy in 4, 5, and 6 was quite shocking and unenjoyable for me!

 

[David S.]

accidental double post

 

[Captain Chaos]

It was a mistake of epic proportions to debut Pooh opposite Harry. This is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact. How hugely disappointing to finish with 8 million and in 6th place. Horrible.

Disney has made 3 big mistakes with animated features this year. The first, the Mars need Moms debacle. Which will go down as one of the top 3 biggest flops of all time. The second is the Cars2 money grab. Cars is going to finish its run as the lowest grossing Pixar movie ever, and the lowest in attendance figures by a mile. Now this Pooh mess.

By the way JT. I know you stand behind TWDC management at every turn, but in this case, probably best to just not say anything.

Exactly... A mistake of epic proportions... Who is the brainiac who sat in their office thinking, hmmm 99.9% of the movie going audience will go see Harry Potter so let's open Winnie the Pooh the same weekend... Problem is, not even that .1 percent wanted to see Pooh.. More people went to see Zookeeper.. ZOOKEEPER for crying out loud... Paul Blart Mall Cop only in a zoo.. This was a poor weekend to open this movie... And the person who made this decision should never be in a position to make decisions again...

You are spinning.

Pooh was never meant to be a blockbuster, true enough. But it should not have bowed to a 6th place finish. Making only 8 million dollars in its opening weekend.

It should have opened on a different weekend. Plain and simple.

Again, it finished behind Zookeeper and Horrible Bosses, which, by the way, word of mouth is HB is hilarious... So I guess Horrible Bosses will have success for years to come because of word of mouth...

Disney should have changed the opening date to the first weekend of August, maybe even the second... The Deathly Hallows craze would begin winding down... Captain America would have it's one strong week already... And by the first weekend of August, no one would care about Zookeeper...

 

[Malvito]

When my DW and I were waiting in the crowd for the theater to open for the morning showing of POTTER, we spoke to a gentleman who had already taken his youngster (don't recall whether it was daughter or granddaughter) to see POOH, and he pretty much raved about it. We have every intention of seeing it, when the time is available to us.

Referring to the movie as a flop just because it did not do top numbers on its first weekend is short-sighted. As has been pointed out, POOH is a modestly budgeted film, not created to compete with an Event such as Potter; such a movie pulls in its audience on a little by little basis, with most of its advertising gathered via word of mouth. Plenty of movies do very well in this manner; this worked very well for AMERICAN BEAUTY, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, anything in Woody Allen's oeuvre. Opening this past weekend not only assures a decent run-off audience but also gives the movie plenty of summer weekends to build its audience. It should be when the final figures are in, at the end of its theatrical run, that a judgement should be made as to whether the timing was or was not a mistake.

As for the vile practice of calling for someone to lose his/her job just because "I wouldn't have done it that way," prove that you could do better. And not just on paper/screen.

 

[njDizFan]

Exactly... A mistake of epic proportions... Who is the brainiac who sat in their office thinking, hmmm 99.9% of the movie going audience will go see Harry Potter so let's open Winnie the Pooh the same weekend... Problem is, not even that .1 percent wanted to see Pooh.. More people went to see Zookeeper.. ZOOKEEPER for crying out loud... Paul Blart Mall Cop only in a zoo.. This was a poor weekend to open this movie... And the person who made this decision should never be in a position to make decisions again...



Again, it finished behind Zookeeper and Horrible Bosses, which, by the way, word of mouth is HB is hilarious... So I guess Horrible Bosses will have success for years to come because of word of mouth...

Disney should have changed the opening date to the first weekend of August, maybe even the second... The Deathly Hallows craze would begin winding down... Captain America would have it's one strong week already... And by the first weekend of August, no one would care about Zookeeper...

I'm not convinced this is because of bad timing with the release of the film. Like you said even Zookeeper beat Pooh. Kids just don't want to see it.

Look at PatF, even though Avatar was released the same week, The Chipmunk Sqweequel did great numbers opposite that giant. Maybe it's 2D animation or maybe how it was marketed.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I'm not convinced this is because of bad timing with the release of the film. Like you said even Zookeeper beat Pooh. Kids just don't want to see it.

Look at PatF, even though Avatar was released the same week, The Chipmunk Sqweequel did great numbers opposite that giant. Maybe it's 2D animation or maybe how it was marketed.

Pooh was marketed very well... They had some creative trailers and ads... See the one that uses the Harry Potter font??? Very interesting beginning to a Winnie the Pooh trailer in my opinion...

I really think this suffered because of the weekend it opened... Hopefully the movie has a better second week and longevity in the theaters, and I'm proven wrong... I just don't see it... Isn't it possible Winnie the Pooh may no longer have that mass appeal it did a few years ago???

With Captain America and Friends With Benefits opening this weekend, the Deathly Hallows craze still going strong, Transformers still performing decently, Horrible Bosses getting high recommendations, and families going to see Zookeeper (why I don't know), I just don't see Pooh having the legs to keep a decent theatrical run... Again, I hope I am wrong...

 

[gamblepsu]

This is a modest 30 million dollar family film that was likely never anticipated to reach blockbuster status. Very much like PatF, which cost a comparitively astounding 100 million to produce, Pooh will do very well dollar for dollar in theatrical release and for years to come in other media forms. The reviews on the film are excellent and word of mouth will ensure its success. :wave:

I'm agreeing w/jt here!:lookaroun

Now don't get me wrong... I'm sure they hoped to make more in the 1st weekend, BUT this film was originally meant to be Straight to DVD... I believe anything they make in theater $$$ above their marketing budget to be a huge bonus for them. The DVD sales I figure will be pretty substantial.

 

[Lucky]

WtP has been out for 3 days.

Maybe we should wait a while longer before pronouncing it a flop.

 

[dxwwf3]

WtP has been out for 3 days.

Maybe we should wait a while longer before pronouncing it a flop.

It's hard for summer movies to have big legs. You usually have your opening weekend and then it's on to the next big thing. If it does better in the 2nd weekend (which almost never happens), then we can reevaluate. But it appears to be in bad shape.

 

[Captain Chaos]

WtP has been out for 3 days.

Maybe we should wait a while longer before pronouncing it a flop.

I haven't seen one person here nor have I read one article calling Pooh a flop... We are debating if this was a smart idea opening this movie the same weekend as Harry Potter, which, I say, it wasn't... No one called this a flop by any means... I feel, and it appears others do as well, this movie would have done better if Disney thought for a second and opened this movie after Potter, not the same weekend...

I'm interested to see how Smurfs open up on July 29, two weeks after Potter and a week after Captain America...

 

[Malvito]

It's hard for summer movies to have big legs. You usually have your opening weekend and then it's on to the next big thing. If it does better in the 2nd weekend (which almost never happens), then we can reevaluate. But it appears to be in bad shape.

Hard, but not impossible. It happens all the time (I quote examples in my last reply). I agree with Lucky; let us give POOH a chance before just automatically consign it to flop status. It was clearly not created to be a BLOCKBUSTER in the sense of something like a Harry Potter or the latest group of superheroes.

Would you consider Fantasia a flop? It didn't make money until the 60's, when it was groovy.

 

[Lucky]

I haven't seen one person here nor have I read one article calling Pooh a flop...

pooh finishes 9th or 10th next week, then out of top 10 the week after.. and out of theaters the week after that... not even doing 20-25 million in business...

there is no long haul for this movie...

my mistake then

:hammer:

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Would you consider Fantasia a flop? It didn't make money until the 60's, when it was groovy.

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I would and so did everyone for decades for the very reason you posted. The argument of making money over time is never gauranteed and doesn't change what originally happened.

The weekend actual for Pooh was $7,857,076, even with the argument of "it's not meant to be a blockbuster", less than $8 million for a new Disney animated feature on opening day weekend is poor any way you cut it.

 

[Captain Chaos]

my mistake then

:hammer:

Did I call that a flop? No.... There is a difference between being a flop and not having legs... My feeling is, this movie doesn't have legs... By no means did I say it is a flop... The movie did 8 million opening weekend, Unless the movie does another 8 million, the movie will drop from 6th on down... Then further the week after, which would be out of the top 10... Business should have been better, and in my opinion, would have if they waited 2 extra weeks...

 

[mimitchi33]

I went to see Pooh on opening day, and it wasn't that crowded as my mom thought it would be. Everybody was seeing Harry Potter and Zookeeper instead of Pooh.
Animated movie debuts are usually flops, such as Ponyo, but look how Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie did at the box office on it's first week! It managed to pull off nearly the same gross as Pooh did, and it was also #6 at the box office! And look how Pokemon's 1st movie did at the box office! The craze pulled it all the way to #1! So Harry Potter is much like the latter movie mentioned. Harry Potter books are a craze to children young and old, plus it was the final chapter. The #1 movie of 2010, Toy Story 3, seemed to many like the final chapter of the Toy Story series, though it still managed to gross more money than Twilight did. Maybe The Muppets will save Disney from Winnie The Pooh's box office failure.