As more armed gangs are attacked and killed in similarly unexplained ways the police realise that a new element is attempting to muscle in on the existing gangs. Before they can act the 6 are violently killed and stung up by an unseen attacker. During one shoot out the police led by Mike Harrington (Glover) trap 6 men in a building. Gang warfare rages between rival drug gangs with the police caught in the middle. It gets to be Supergirl on Hulu.Los Angles 1997. Prey would have been Kara Danvers in theaters. And if this weekend’s social chatter translates to actual viewership, all the better. A company that prioritizes streaming sent Prey to their must-succeed streaming platforms. On Hulu, Prey needs only reviews and buzz to determine its commercial narrative.Ĭonsidering Disney still seems to be prioritizing streaming revenue or theatrical grosses, I’d argue that Prey going straight to streaming was, in Disney’s eyes, not a sign of disrespect but, akin to the Pixar flicks that skipped theaters for Disney+, a badge of honor. Even if we argue Dark Fate was better than Genesys and Salvation, those two did real damage to the halfway decent (if ridiculously overbudgeted) Terminator reboot-quel. ![]() Blame the lack of an ensemble cast, the lack of star power and the mixed reception to the last two Predator movies. I don’t think Prey was a slam dunk to open on par with the last two Predator films ($24 million, respectively). Sans theaters, Prey gets to be a big fish, easily the biggest of this summer’s slew of Hulu originals, in a smaller pond. So, with no stars and little in the way of added value, Prey would have been entirely sold on its existence in the Predator universe, a brand that is damaged goods and was never that big of a theatrical player. Like Terminator: Dark Fate and The Suicide Squad, Prey likely would have paid for the sins of its predecessor despite being a better film. Prey gets to be a big fish in an important pond. It earned lousy reviews and $51 million domestic/$160 million worldwide, a record global haul for a Predator movie but nowhere near enough on an $88 million budget. The Predator was centered not on Olivia Munn or Sterling K. It also missed part of Predators’ appeal, namely in giving us unconventional action heroes in Adrian Brody and Alice Braga. The Predator saw Fox trying to turn the IP into an MCU-ish fantasy series. Predator 2 earned $55 million worldwide in 1990 on a $35 million budget, while Predators earned $52 million domestic but $127 million worldwide on a $40 million budget in 2010. Unfortunately, like Terminator, Total Recall and Conan the Barbarian, Hollywood mistook audiences showing up to an Arnold Schwarzenegger action vehicle for inherent interest in a monetizable IP. Its $59 million domestic gross remains tops for any solo Predator movie. Predator earned $98 million worldwide in 1987 on a $15 million budget. The previous films were, at best, modest hits in times far more forgiving to the theatrical ecosystem. Nonetheless, the opening weekend would have been rooted in ‘Do you want to see another Predator movie?’ sans additional elements or marquee characters. Young Naru is a dynamic action figure arguably on par with the title monster in terms of onscreen entertainment value. Whatever milestones Prey represents, its commercial value was entirely in terms of audiences wanting to see a relatively unknown actress fight a Predator in 1719 America. Predator has never been a blockbuster franchise. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) Corbis via Getty Images Speaking of which.Ĭarl Weathers and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of "Predator". ![]() Representational improvements aside, nobody wanted to see another Terminator movie. That is why going the Force Awakens route (young, diverse newbies alongside franchise vets as elder mentors) didn’t work for Terminator: Dark Fate. ![]() If the Internet represented the real world, Birds of Prey would have cleared $1 billion instead of Joker. And Predator isn’t that kind of franchise.Īs a longtime box office pundit, I’ve been banging my head on the desk about this since nobody showed up to Drew Barrymore’s terrific Whip It in the fall of 2009. We tend only to show up when representational milestones occur in franchise films (Marvel movies, Star Wars sequels, Fast and Furious films, etc.) we already wanted to see. Diversity is a ‘yes, and’ variable, but (like solid box office in China) it can’t turn a flop into a hit. ![]() The representative milestones were an added value element for an already appealing old-school, big-budget Hollywood romantic comedy package. That’s not to say that, for example, Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians succeeded *despite* diversity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |