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 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I hope everyone is preparing their bomb or flop puns for The Smashing Machine and the Rock, because you’re going to need them.

No, all I need to do concerning content I'm not interested in is ignore it.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I hope everyone is preparing their bomb or flop puns for The Smashing Machine and the Rock, because you’re going to need them.

Most of the media headlines that I saw are remarkably tame, given that so many puns are there for the taking.

Shame about the movie, as the documentary that its based on is pretty dope if you are a fan of the early days of UFC/Pride. But that's a very very niche audience who probably already watched the doc.

With that said, the disclosed $50 million budget for this movie is insane.

But the real question is.... will it be better than Tron: Ares?

Which, much like the last Tron, should have a kick ass soundtrack.

 nels1031 wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I hope everyone is preparing their bomb or flop puns for The Smashing Machine and the Rock, because you’re going to need them.

Most of the media headlines that I saw are remarkably tame, given that so many puns are there for the taking.

Shame about the movie, as the documentary that its based on is pretty dope if you are a fan of the early days of UFC/Pride. But that's a very very niche audience who probably already watched the doc.

With that said, the disclosed $50 million budget for this movie is insane.

Dunno. $50m is pretty modest for a big star movie.

Seems it’s getting reasonable reviews, too. Mayhaps a movie that will find its audience on streaming?

It is just not the type of "spectacle" movie people go to the cineplex to see.

These types of movies can be absorbed just as well at home. Too bad really.

 nels1031 wrote:
Shame about the movie, as the documentary that its based on is pretty dope if you are a fan of the early days of UFC/Pride

Unfortunately it is difficult to find with the best option being to sail the high seas. For those who don't know it was an HBO documentary from 2002, or about ten years ago, and the title is The Smashing Machine: The Life And Times Of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. There are scenes in the film lifted directly from the documentary.

 Ahtman wrote:

 nels1031 wrote:
Shame about the movie, as the documentary that its based on is pretty dope if you are a fan of the early days of UFC/Pride

Unfortunately it is difficult to find with the best option being to sail the high seas. For those who don't know it was an HBO documentary from 2002, or about ten years ago, and the title is The Smashing Machine: The Life And Times Of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. There are scenes in the film lifted directly from the documentary.

I had watched it probably 10 years ago when I was knee deep in my MMA/UFC fandom phase. I had heard that it was getting gobbled up in the digital space after the movie was nearing its release. Shame! (edit: it could also not be a nefarious reason, like a licensing expiration or deal didn't get renewed for distribution)

Seeing reports that this Halloween weekend box office was the worst in around 30 years.

Per Forbes:

revenues between Friday and Sunday amounted to just $49 million, marking the worst weekend of the entire year, according to Comscore

This closes out the lowest-grossing October in 27 years with domestic earnings stalling at an abysmal $425 million, the poorest haul since October 1997 with $385 million, not adjusted for inflation. This ignominious record doesn’t include 2020, when theaters hadn’t rebounded from the pandemic.

Honestly talk to anyone in any industry and its tough times right now. Even those that are having expansion/growth are seeing no where near normal levels and are often doing more to achieve that than in the past.

Cost of Living has the issue that even though its a disaster, people simply are running out of cash. You can't jack the prices up on every single thing in life and expect people to consume at the rates they were before. Esp when jobs are reducing and wages stagnant/reducing.

Were there any suitably halloweeny movies this season that were expected to perform well?

 Geifer wrote:
Were there any suitably halloweeny movies this season that were expected to perform well?

I think Predator: Badlands was it.

All the horror movies came out during the summer. Except Shelby Oaks. Poor, dumb Shelby Oaks.

I can’t say it’s a bad strategy since so many of them made a ton of money, but it saddens me to have a horror-free Halloween weekend.

I do wonder if Cinemas might make more Halloween money screening the classics, than new ones.

I mean, spooky/horror is a wide genre. The existence of Goosebumps up to Deeply Unpleasant And Zero Artistic Merit Only There To Shock drivel like Human Centipede 2* are both Horror, but at wildly different ends of the genre.

And to be honest, some of the best regarded horror movies and franchises took some time to get their legs under them.

So new films are always an uncertain quality. They can be incredibly innovative works of art (The Thing), and not initially find their audience.

So for Spooky Season? Get the reels in for the classics. They’re cheaper to rent, and reliably get bums on seats.

*The entire series is vile drivel, but that one really tried hard at it.

Our local, family-owned theatre read the tea leaves and just closed down for October and November instead of bothering to screen anything at all.

My favorite theater sadly closed down though it seems to be more of a corporate thing so it may reopen under new management eventually. It definitely makes it harder to get to the movies though at a time in which its already hard to convince people to.

Cost and convenience are the real enemies here and I'm not really sure how to solve either. People are generally just enamored with a steady drip of content rather than needing big spikes quality. It's something I'd like to be better about myself. I just feel better when I get caught up and really focus on something rather than wasting time on drivel that piles up in the background.

Man, movies must be dire right now.

I have a local 5 screen theatre, which is only playing 3 movies and a two-screen theatre which is playing a movie from October!

They’re dire for anything that isn’t a mega-event film, like Wicked 2, Zootopia 2, and presumably Avatar 3.

Every medium or low budget movie that isn’t horror has underperformed, even for their humble expectations.


Movies used to be an escape from one’s woes. In this economy, movies are less an escape than a harsh reminder, especially when cheaper entertainment has never been easier to find or more addictive.

It's not just that there are cheaper options its that so much in life has jumped up so much in cost so sharply.

Even something super cheap like a cup of tea and a slice of cake is now pretty serious cash. I'm genuinely surprised that we aren't seeing a massive revival of thermos flasks and picnics being a thing.

I mean, insulated Stanley coffee cups have become a fashion statement, and probably a meme…

For picnics you need public spaces that don't cost money. That is in surprisingly short supply as well.

The public space can still cost money - they just have to let you take your own food (or not be able to stop you taking your own).

At that point there are loads of places you can go too with a picnic

Looks like the ladies came out in force for The Housemaid, and maybe dragged along their husband, who probably don't mind looking at Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried.

The Housemaid, according to my woman friend, is based on a very popular thriller novel.

Its on track to surpass well over $200 million Box Office, on a budget of $35 million. It ends Sydney Sweeney's 2025 box office skid, as well as Amanda Seyfried's, who is a great actress, but isn't that much of a box office draw to my knowledge.

From what my friend said, this is the first of a series of books that involves at least 1 or more characters from this movie, so this might be paying Sydney or Amanda's bills for a few years to come if it maintains the momentum in any further adaptations.

Looks like it'd be Sweeney's character who is most likely to return if they adapt the sequel, at the least.

per ScreenRant:

Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday are two of the most anticipated films of 2026, but they're being released on the same day, which is an unusual move because both films cater to similar audiences, unlike the Barbie and Oppenheimer matchup from 2023.

Neither Warner Bros. nor Disney has announced plans to change release dates, but so far, Dune: Part Three has secured major advantages over its competition, especially after booking up IMAX screens for its first three weeks in theaters, which means Doomsday will not have any IMAX showings during those crucial opening weeks, at least in the United States.

I'm always fascinated with industry gamesmanship like this. And going head to head like this is fun and probably good for the overall quality of each product. Both have to bring their A game.

It's a stress test to see if generic sci-fi or Marvel super heroes is stronger.

Which I predict is a stress test between general film audiences (Dune) and superhero fans. Cause I get the feeling that the superhero films have kind of burned out a lot of casual fans to reboots/retellings/actor changes and mashups to the point where one might presume that casual fans will flock more toward Dune,

I

Gonna see both. Dunno in which order.

Probably Doomsday first I reckon. May even try to see both in 4DX. Being nearly thrown out your chair during a film is surprisingly good fun.

I'm going to ignore both and go watch the best movie released this December: Jumanji 3!... or is it 4?

Dune 2 didn't leave me really needing a sequel so I'm more interested in Avengers but will probably see both eventually.

I'm pretty hyped for Dune 3 and will probably see that in the theater. The trailer had some awesome imagery.

I can't get hyped with superheroes anymore, really. Unless its The Batman 2, which I'm not sure is even a thing anymore in James Gunn's DC. I'll catch Doomsday on streaming, and/or watch some of my favorite youtubers break it down for me.

Both, back-to-back.......

with the themed popcorn bucket.....

while dressed in film appropriate costume......

What?