Huh. Didn’t see this coming: Marvel’s movie summer has already started in Australia, with Thor opening Thursday… and coming in second behind the fifth movie in the Fast and Furious franchise. Odder still when you consider that Thor has the advantage of higher ticket prices – it’s in 3D, as opposed to Fast Five‘s 2D-only status – and a hometown hero, with lead Chris Helmsworth being Australian. And yet, on its first day of release, Thor made $1.5 million US against Fast Five‘s $2.02 million US (Fast Five wasn’t even in its own first day, having debuted the day before, when it made $2.4 million US.
Am I the only one surprised by this? Is Australia that different a market that Thor gets outdone by the fifth installment of The Fast and The Furious, and it’s not a big deal? At least in the US, the two are opening a week apart (Thor is two weeks away, Fast Five opens a week tomorrow) to avoid the chance of a similar showdown, but… Wasn’t Thor supposed to be one of the big summer movies this year? This must be making some people at Disney and Marvel a little bit nervous right now.
April 21st, 2011 at 1:42 pm
This has been very iffy to me. A lead most people don’t know, combined with not fantastic marketing, and a character that doesn’t have a huge fan base as it is doesn’t necessarily add up to blockbuster. It has potential to be Iron Man or Scott Pilgrim. I feel the same way about Green Lantern, but at least that has Ryan Reynolds going for it.
Even the comic book circle I hang out in sees it as a possible skip. Their consensus is it will be an average origin story that’s all setup for Avengers, so they will skip the appetizer and wait for the main course next summer. I can see their point.
April 21st, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Kenneth Branagh’s commercial track record as a director doesn’t scream guaranteed hit either. He hasn’t directed a movie that grossed $5 million or more since Frankenstein in 1994.
April 21st, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Some would say Green Lantern has Ryan Reynolds going AGAINST it, but… YMMV.
Thor’s getting really good reviews so far (92% at Rotten Tomatoes), but I suppose that a character who’s not exactly a household name going up against a property that has a fan base and knows exactly what its getting, makes it a tough fight. Heaven knows *I* have no interest in ever seeing a Fast & Furious movie, but apparently other people do if they’re up to their fifth installment.
The marketing for Thor has just sucked, and I can see that turning people off. Iron Man 2 was a disappointment to many, so I can understand the uncertainty towards Thor. I’m not a huge fan of the character, but the solid reviews (so far) have convinced me to check it out. We’ll see.
As for Branagh as a director, it should be pointed out that between Frankenstien and Thor he’s only directed three other films. Stuff like As You Like It and A Midwinter’s Tale is not exactly highly accessible, blockbuster fare.
I trust him to do a good job with Thor, but it’s hard to tell given the crappy trailers that have been released to this point. The goofiness of the trailers are, apparently, out of context and pretty much the only goofiness in the movie, but the trailers make it seem like that’s all the movie is.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Kenneth Branagh has directed fourteen films. None of them have been blockbusters. He doesn’t have any experience with large Hollywood fare but he did direct perhaps the greatest film adaptation of Hamlet, so, you know, that’s something. (The only real competition is the Olivier version from 1948, which is problematic for a couple different reasons.)
That doesn’t mean he will be able to sell a major budget fantasy action film. But it does mean he is a filmmaker of some renown who deserves the benefit of our doubt.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:37 pm
How much name recognition do you really think Thor has in Australia? I mean he’s slightly obscure in the U.S. and the marketing has been terrible in comparison with the reviews…
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:38 am
Maybe the land of Mad Max just likes car movies.
Or maybe we’re starting to see a backlash against 3-D. I know I want to see this movie, but if its a pain to see it in 2-D I won’t see it.
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:59 am
The fact that Thor was originally set to open next, but opened a week earlier caused it to open completely unnoticed.
April 22nd, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Yeah… No blockbusters for Branagh so far, but Dead Again (a movie I happen to love) did reasonably well. I may not have worded it well up above, but I meant to say that SINCE Frankenstein (and before Thor), he’s only directed three other films.
Most of his stuff has been art house fare, Shakespeare, etc., and not stuff that’s going to bring hundreds of millions of dollars. Nearly all of his movies have only played in a handful of theatres. According to Box Office Mojo, Hamlet only played in 93 theatres in the U.S., and 2007′s Sleuth only played in 35! The only ones that have really played in wide release are Frankenstein and Dead Again. Thor’s going to be an interesting test for him.
Anyhow, I liked parts of his Hamlet… But other parts just seemed drawn out and self-indulgent. Personally, I could’ve done without the Fortenbras stuff. I hate to give Mel Gibson credit for anything, but I liked his Hamlet better than Branagh’s.
I really liked Branagh’s Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing though. Two excellent, acclaimed adaptations.
April 24th, 2011 at 1:04 am
Between the potential goofiness of Thor’s fantasy elements and the potential tedium of its fish-out-of-water humor, it doesn’t seem all that surprising that audiences (Australian or not) would opt for the more predictable pleasure of watching a couple of big lugs drive fast cars, especially when one of them has the effortless goofball charm of the Rock. The Fast and Furious films aren’t much for novelty (even the first seemed like Point Break on land), but they do what they set out to do and they aren’t guilty of trying too hard.
April 24th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
I went and saw it on opening day. This film is going to pick up momentum as the word gets out about how good it is. Im planning on going and seeing it twice. Thor is accessible and is a highly enjoyable movie. 4/5
April 24th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Here is Australia nobody under the age of 25 would even know who Thor is so it’s not that suprising that Fast and Furious beat it out, the comic scene here is pretty much restricted to obscure comic shops located down dark alleyways so anything that hasn’t been featured in a film / tv / cartoon is unheard of. I really wish they still sold comics in newsagents at affordable prices.
April 25th, 2011 at 7:36 am
The author of this post should really remember to blog when Green Lantern gets a bad ranking in some random country on its first week.