The Condemned: horrible box-office timing

[akkountent]

I recently saw an Internet ad for the new Spiderman 3 movie due out in theaters on May 4th and was curious as to the dates of other spring / summer blockbusters. Sure enough, Stone Cold's "The Condemned" comes out on April 27th, 1 week before Spiderman 3 and a huge month for theaters in general because Pirates of the Carribean 3 comes out in May along w/ Shrek 3. The Condemned doesn't stand a chance in May so it better earn all it can in the first week of its release because come May 4th weekend, it will probably sink to below "Marine" levels at the box office.

I'm quite surprised that McMahon and company didn't push for an earlier April release date, possibly the 10th or the 17th to give it ample time away from the big, box-office draws that come out in May. Or perhaps this is McMahon's ego getting in the way of the product; egotistically thinking that "The Condemned" will somehow hold its own against the long-awaited Spiderman 3 (w/ Venom), Pirates 3, and Shrek 3.

[willywonka666]

Vince jobs to the box office-Stone Cold needs to get back to tv asap so they can really push this

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

Wow this will be a GREAT movie summer, Condemned, Spidey, Shrek, Pirates, TMNT (I think)....I cant wait, personally.

[Doctor Tull-eus S. Venture]

It's still not too late to change the opening date.

And since the movie actually looks worthwhile, I think it'd be wise for them to do that, so that they can actually post a good box-office profit.

But like Godz said, this should be a great summer to spend at the movies.

[amsiraK]

Actually, I'd say this is an improvement. Didn't they release "The Marine" at a stupid and awkward time? Or was it "See No Evil"? I can't remember. One of them came out at a bad time (like September or something) when it should've been during the summer or Christmas. For some reason, I think it was SNE.

Summer is a GREAT time for an action flick. Never mind what else is coming out. Earlier in April will kill this movie, but the later date might give it some life this summer.

[nisi]

Actually the timing might be on purpose. Vince knows any WWE Film is likely to top out in the $20-30 million range--he's not really trying to compete with blockbusters. His best chance of getting people to see these movies are when there is a lot of foot traffic in the cineplex and the overall weekend box office is higher than usual. people who have already seens Spiderman might go see The Condemned, etc.

[akkountent]

The Marine was released very closely to Saw 3 this past October and it performed horribly as a result. I remember that there were also a couple other horror movies in theaters in October and The Marine just didn't get any momentum growing. Perhaps if they released it earlier in October, nobody would have gotten into the Halloween kick yet.

The release date of a film is very important to how much and how long it plays in the theaters. I disagree that April 27th is a good date because you can bet that Spiderman 3 will get 99% of the box office revenue from May 4th and beyond. Sure, summer is a time for blockbuster action movies, but April 27th isn't the summer yet; 16-22 yr old males are still in classes and when they get out of school, they have "better" movies which to spend their parents money on in Spiderman 3, Pirates 3 and Shrek 3.

Looking at the April movie releases, there is no other action movies worth noting coming out in April; it's all chick flicks. TMNT 4 comes out at the end of March, but that's tailored more towards kids having a PG rating and it being animated rather than a "real" film like the first 3. There is no action draw in April, and if released the Friday right after WM 23 on April 6th, I think it could make a bigger splash at the box office.

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

Yeah I too think this is great planning. Its not like people just see ONE movie all summer and call it quits (Well, I do a lot of the times, but thats cause I'm not interested in 90% of movies). Plus, if the movie fails at the box office, Vince can easily blame the competition.

[CrazySting]

Of course the condemed has horrible timing: it should have been released SIX years ago when Austin was still popular.

[Sawylent White]

godz said:

Wow this will be a GREAT movie summer, Condemned, Spidey, Shrek, Pirates, TMNT (I think)....I cant wait, personally.

I agree, but don't forget Transformers!

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

sawylent said:

godz said:

Wow this will be a GREAT movie summer, Condemned, Spidey, Shrek, Pirates, TMNT (I think)....I cant wait, personally.

I agree, but don't forget Transformers!

Oh, I didn't. ;D

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

There's only one solution:

"BAH GAWD KEENG, AUSTIN JUST STUNNED TOBEY MAGUIRE! STONE COLD STONE COLD STONE COLD...SKITTLES!"

[willywonka666]

Well since Wrestlemania is the biggest event of the year, Austin HAS to be involved so the movie will get some of the attention from the WM hype-so having a WWE movie come out around the same time as their biggest PPV of the year isn't too bad

[Legion]

godz said:

sawylent said:

I agree, but don't forget Transformers!

Oh, I didn't. ;D

And Fantastic Four 2 later in the summer, that's out this year

[Doomrider]

Yea Condemned will probably get buried. I'll probably check it out. I won't be touching Spiderman 3, but I will be seeing Pirates 3.

[akkountent]

legion said:

godz said:

Oh, I didn't. ;D

And Fantastic Four 2 later in the summer, that's out this year

Not to get off topic, but the first Fantastic Four just plain stunk and I wouldn't come close to paying $8-$9 to see the sequal. Jessica Alba is definately one of the hottest things out there right now, but barring a nude scene, I won't be making the trip to theaters or even Blockbuster to see it.

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

I actually enjoyed the first Fantastic Four. Of course I did see it for free, and I havent read many of their comics so I didnt notice any story inconsistancies.

2 doesn't have me excited, though, cause I could hardly care less about the Silver Surfer.

[Doomrider]

godz said:

I actually enjoyed the first Fantastic Four. Of course I did see it for free, and I havent read many of their comics so I didnt notice any story inconsistancies.

I kinda liked it too. I don't get why people hated it so much.

[crup]

We all know by now that See No Evil came out May 19th. I mean come on

[Hulk With A Mustache]

karisma888 said:

Actually, I'd say this is an improvement. Didn't they release "The Marine" at a stupid and awkward time? Or was it "See No Evil"? I can't remember. One of them came out at a bad time (like September or something) when it should've been during the summer or Christmas. For some reason, I think it was SNE.

Summer is a GREAT time for an action flick. Never mind what else is coming out. Earlier in April will kill this movie, but the later date might give it some life this summer.

Actually, both had horrible release dates. See No Evil came out on May 19th, the same release date as The Da Vinci Code. Now, you have a horror movie going up against a movie based on one of the best selling books of the decade; who do you think will win?

As for The Marine, it came out on October 13th, which would have been a much better release date for See No Evil since it is a horror movie. And, May is in the Summer Blockbuster season, a perfect time for action movies like The Marine. Plus, it came out the same day as SAW III, which had a built in audience because of the first two SAW movies. WWE Films picked horrible dates to release those movies.