The secret to the success of The Secret Life of Pets.
While overall this summer’s box office seems pretty dismal, over the weekend we saw an historical achievement by one of the season’s unexpected blockbusters. The Secret Life of Pets became the first original movie ever to gross more than $100m in its opening weekend. How on earth did it do so well? How did it debut bigger than previous original movie record holders Inside Out and Avatar, each of which at least had a built-in audience for their brand-name studio or filmmaker? Let’s explore.
Moviegoers Want Originality
At a time when sequels are mostly doing poorly, audiences further made their case to Hollywood that they want something new, something they’ve never seen before. The Secret Life of Pets isn’t a sequel, a prequel, a spinoff, or a reboot. It’s not even based on a book or comic or TV series...
While overall this summer’s box office seems pretty dismal, over the weekend we saw an historical achievement by one of the season’s unexpected blockbusters. The Secret Life of Pets became the first original movie ever to gross more than $100m in its opening weekend. How on earth did it do so well? How did it debut bigger than previous original movie record holders Inside Out and Avatar, each of which at least had a built-in audience for their brand-name studio or filmmaker? Let’s explore.
Moviegoers Want Originality
At a time when sequels are mostly doing poorly, audiences further made their case to Hollywood that they want something new, something they’ve never seen before. The Secret Life of Pets isn’t a sequel, a prequel, a spinoff, or a reboot. It’s not even based on a book or comic or TV series...
- 7/11/2016
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Love and Peace
Directed by Sion Sono
Written by Sion Sono
2015, Japan
Sion Sono has had a rather interesting career. The former member of a religious cult turned leader of the performance art collective Tokyo Gagaga, and later director of gay pornographic films as well as “pink films,” reached a wide international audience and established himself as a cult director in 2001 with Suicide Club. Ever since, the avant-garde poet has been on a role, releasing hit after hit including cult favorites Hair Extensions, Love Exposure, Cold Fish, Why Don’t You Play In Hell and Strange Circus (to name just a few). He’s a director usually linked to extreme-cinema with some citing him as a replacement for Takashi Miike who now sits comfortably in the mainstream. And like Miike, Sion Sono is one of the busiest filmmakers in the world, averaging about two movies a year. We’re only...
Directed by Sion Sono
Written by Sion Sono
2015, Japan
Sion Sono has had a rather interesting career. The former member of a religious cult turned leader of the performance art collective Tokyo Gagaga, and later director of gay pornographic films as well as “pink films,” reached a wide international audience and established himself as a cult director in 2001 with Suicide Club. Ever since, the avant-garde poet has been on a role, releasing hit after hit including cult favorites Hair Extensions, Love Exposure, Cold Fish, Why Don’t You Play In Hell and Strange Circus (to name just a few). He’s a director usually linked to extreme-cinema with some citing him as a replacement for Takashi Miike who now sits comfortably in the mainstream. And like Miike, Sion Sono is one of the busiest filmmakers in the world, averaging about two movies a year. We’re only...
- 7/30/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Yes, The Muppet Christmas Carol is wonderful, but children of the 80s might remember another classic Muppet special...
The Muppet Christmas Carol is wonderful. It’s perfectly pitched, sharp and witty, yet also genuinely moving. It’s genius lies in how seriously it takes the material. It lets the full horror and pathos of Dickens’ original tale fill the screen, letting the Muppets manoeuvre around it, instead of dominating, so it’s just as riveting as it is hilarious. But without wanting to get heretical here, it might not actually be the best holiday themed Muppet special. I’d argue that title actually falls to a criminally under-seen 1987 ABC television special, called A Muppet Family Christmas.
Adored by those who’ve seen it, it’s been mostly keep out of circulation due to a copyright mess. A mess that results mostly from it’s greatest selling point - that is the one big,...
The Muppet Christmas Carol is wonderful. It’s perfectly pitched, sharp and witty, yet also genuinely moving. It’s genius lies in how seriously it takes the material. It lets the full horror and pathos of Dickens’ original tale fill the screen, letting the Muppets manoeuvre around it, instead of dominating, so it’s just as riveting as it is hilarious. But without wanting to get heretical here, it might not actually be the best holiday themed Muppet special. I’d argue that title actually falls to a criminally under-seen 1987 ABC television special, called A Muppet Family Christmas.
Adored by those who’ve seen it, it’s been mostly keep out of circulation due to a copyright mess. A mess that results mostly from it’s greatest selling point - that is the one big,...
- 12/16/2014
- by sarahd
- Den of Geek
Welcome to Holiday Favorites, a series in which Slackerwood contributors and our friends talk about the movies we watch during the holiday season, holiday-related or otherwise.
Today's pick is from Claudette Godfrey, Short Film Programmer and Operations Manager for SXSW:
My job requires that I watch movies every day for 6+ months of the year, but I can honestly say my favorite time to watch movies is around the holidays. So, while there are so many movies from my childhood I love to re-watch each year. Like Home Alone! Scrooged!! The Santa Clause!! And of course Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, which is the creepiest and best Nutcracker ever because of Maurice Sendak's amazing brain.
But, the one that truly speaks to 6-year-old Claudette the most is The Christmas Toy. Made in 1986, a few years before Jim Henson passed, it first appeared on TV just before my first birthday. Thankfully, my...
Today's pick is from Claudette Godfrey, Short Film Programmer and Operations Manager for SXSW:
My job requires that I watch movies every day for 6+ months of the year, but I can honestly say my favorite time to watch movies is around the holidays. So, while there are so many movies from my childhood I love to re-watch each year. Like Home Alone! Scrooged!! The Santa Clause!! And of course Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, which is the creepiest and best Nutcracker ever because of Maurice Sendak's amazing brain.
But, the one that truly speaks to 6-year-old Claudette the most is The Christmas Toy. Made in 1986, a few years before Jim Henson passed, it first appeared on TV just before my first birthday. Thankfully, my...
- 12/3/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
This past week, Lady Gaga hosted a fun, somewhat psychedelic hour of television on ABC: Lady Gaga and The Muppets’ Holiday Special. In many ways, the special transported me back to the mid-80s, when a post-Muppet Show troupe of puppets were still dominating all facets of media at the time. Now that the Muppets are successfully making a comeback, this led me to reminisce about the numerous Muppet holiday films over the years and question which one is my favorite.
Growing up as a kid obsessed with any and everything related to Jim Henson, the magic of the Muppets always brightened my spirits with laughter, wonder and imagination. Christmastime was always a magical time of year, but in my home, Christmas was about more than stuffing stockings with candy. Christmas was about stories, and sharing the wonder and belief of the holidays with friends and family. Every year, like stockings filled by Santa,...
Growing up as a kid obsessed with any and everything related to Jim Henson, the magic of the Muppets always brightened my spirits with laughter, wonder and imagination. Christmastime was always a magical time of year, but in my home, Christmas was about more than stuffing stockings with candy. Christmas was about stories, and sharing the wonder and belief of the holidays with friends and family. Every year, like stockings filled by Santa,...
- 12/3/2013
- by Tony Nunes
- SoundOnSight
So many classic Christmas movies have toys that everyone wants. That toy might not even be real, but that didn't stop us from dreaming that somehow Santa would bring us the gift that didn't actually exist. So as we open our presents on this Christmas morning, we've made a list of some of our favorite Christmas movie toys.
Turbo Man
The toy every young boy wanted gave Arnold Schwarzenegger one of the worst last-minute holiday shopping experiences of all time in "Jingle All the Way," but it was totally worth it. Turbo Man has everything that a great action figure should have, but most importantly, he has a jet pack. Being the good dad Arnie was (in this movie, at least), Arnold faced off with Sinbad and pulled out all the stops in order to bring the awesome action figure home.
Talk Boy
Not only does this Christmas toy make...
Turbo Man
The toy every young boy wanted gave Arnold Schwarzenegger one of the worst last-minute holiday shopping experiences of all time in "Jingle All the Way," but it was totally worth it. Turbo Man has everything that a great action figure should have, but most importantly, he has a jet pack. Being the good dad Arnie was (in this movie, at least), Arnold faced off with Sinbad and pulled out all the stops in order to bring the awesome action figure home.
Talk Boy
Not only does this Christmas toy make...
- 12/25/2011
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
The holidays are nearly upon us, and while many of you out there will undoubtedly be spending your time roasting chestnuts on an open fire (or some other cheery activity) with your family, there's going to be down time. And what better way to spend that time than by watching some classic holiday movies?
There are far too many feel-good Christmas movies (as well as some feel-bad holiday movies) out there to choose from, so if you find yourself stumped come December 25, never fear -- the MTV Movies team has compiled our all-time favorite holiday movie viewing experiences to make your season bright.
"Die Hard"
“Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho.” These words, written on a dead bad guy’s shirt by New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) and uttered by the Grinchiest of movie menaces Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), exemplify why Christmas at Nakatomi Plaza is so much fun.
There are far too many feel-good Christmas movies (as well as some feel-bad holiday movies) out there to choose from, so if you find yourself stumped come December 25, never fear -- the MTV Movies team has compiled our all-time favorite holiday movie viewing experiences to make your season bright.
"Die Hard"
“Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho.” These words, written on a dead bad guy’s shirt by New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) and uttered by the Grinchiest of movie menaces Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), exemplify why Christmas at Nakatomi Plaza is so much fun.
- 12/22/2011
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
Watertower Music has announced the details for the soundtrack album of the comedy A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. The album features songs from the movie performed by RZA & Da’vone Mc Donald, Bing Crosby, Augie Rios, Johnny Mathis, Cj Webbe and Neil Patrick Harris who also stars in the film . Also included on the release is one track by Paul Oakenfold and the film’s composer William Ross. The soundtrack will be released digitally on November 1, 2011 on Amazon and iTunes. Check out audio clips from all tracks on the album after the jump. A separate soundtrack featuring the score from the film by William Ross will be released on November 15, 2011 by Varese Sarabande and is available to pre-order here. Check back for the full album details to be published soon. A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas 3D is directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and stars Kal Penn, John Cho, Neil Patrick Harris,...
- 10/28/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
As Toy Story 3 arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, we look at other films in which toys walk and talk under their own power, and they've been doing it for quite a while too!
The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and it's hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies.
But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andy's room weren't the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners aren't around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips.
So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew,...
The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and it's hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies.
But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andy's room weren't the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners aren't around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips.
So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew,...
- 11/25/2010
- Den of Geek
As Toy Story 3 arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, we look at other films in which toys walk and talk under their own power, and they've been doing it for quite a while too!
The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and it's hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies.
But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andy's room weren't the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners aren't around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips.
So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew,...
The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and it's hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies.
But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andy's room weren't the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners aren't around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips.
So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew,...
- 11/25/2010
- Den of Geek
Call them "cult classics." "Guilty pleasures." "Comfort movies." We all have a mental rolodex of flicks that may not be terribly popular but, for one reason or another, they resonate in a very special way. Maybe you saw it at the right moment. Maybe you just see gold where everyone else sees feces. Whatever the case, these are the special favorites that you keep stashed away for sick days. Here are some of ours.
One of the great things about the holiday season is the plethora of fantastic holiday movies that come with it. Everybody has their favorites: some go for the classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story," while others are interested in twists on the genre such as in "Die Hard," and still others are more inclined for modern holiday fare like "Four Christmases" and "Elf."
But for me, it's always about Jim Henson's "The Christmas Toy.
One of the great things about the holiday season is the plethora of fantastic holiday movies that come with it. Everybody has their favorites: some go for the classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story," while others are interested in twists on the genre such as in "Die Hard," and still others are more inclined for modern holiday fare like "Four Christmases" and "Elf."
But for me, it's always about Jim Henson's "The Christmas Toy.
- 12/24/2009
- by Josh Wigler
- MTV Movies Blog
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
When I interviewed Berke Breathed a few years back, I asked him if there would finally by a comprehensive Bloom County collection like the recently available Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts volumes. Breathed was dismissive of the idea, claiming that no one wanted to read the strip, that it was no longer relevant, and it just wasn’t going to happen. Well, a few years have gone by,...
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
When I interviewed Berke Breathed a few years back, I asked him if there would finally by a comprehensive Bloom County collection like the recently available Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts volumes. Breathed was dismissive of the idea, claiming that no one wanted to read the strip, that it was no longer relevant, and it just wasn’t going to happen. Well, a few years have gone by,...
- 11/6/2009
- by UncaScroogeMcD
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