Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Release!!

[The Doctor and K9]

Not to mention how could The Doctor and K9's friend in PA have been wrong about DS still playing in her area? Odd...

My friend actually lives in NY, near the PA line. I know her well and she's  credible. Sometimes people will give all kinds of erroneous information.

There were similar situations in the 70s. I read that DS was taken out of syndication by World Vision in 1977. OK, so how come it was playing in New Hampshire in '78?  I later found out in TWODS that other places, not many to be sure, were also showing it in '79 and '80. Yet the Providence Journal (or the Boston Herald)  was told by World Vision that it was not available for syndication. I still have the clipping. FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE AS WELL AS MY OWN WHAT HAPPENED TO DARK SHADOWS?   Answer from the TV section-World Vision, the distributor for DS has taken the show off the market. Back to that coffin, Barnabas.

[madscntst]

I could be wrong, but I think it's possible for a film to be officially considered "closed" but for there still to be a few prints floating around playing in scattered theaters.  It's just that WB (or whoever) decides that it's done.  But maybe it's not forbidden for a few theaters that have the print to keep it for a bit.  Lots of theaters will have special showings of films but they're never considered a re-release or anything (unless they do it systematically like they did with Titanic recently) but they're just so minor that nobody bothers counting them officially anymore

I do guess this means that I won't find any more updates when I check at 3/3:30 p.m. anymore, though   To get my fix, I guess I'll have to wait to watch the weekly DVD sales/rentals for a little while come October.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

For what it's worth, I called the theater in Hooksett, NH and DS is indeed still playing there - and playing there 4 times a day. But what's a bit fascinating is that I checked the Internet for all the films currently playing there and Rock of Ages, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Chimpanzee, and The Cabin in the Woods are also playing there, though according to Box Office Mojo all of those films have closed, too. In fact, The Cabin in the Woods had supposedly closed back on July 12th - yet there it is still playing in at least 1 theater 2 times a day. So, it would certainly seem as if madscntst is on to something and a film's release in theaters can actually still continue even after a studio announces that that release has been officially "closed." Though what's interesting about that is that BOM lists many films that are still playing in as few as 1 theater.  But I suppose that's only when the studios behind them are still reporting their box office figures and haven't decided that they're officially "closed" even though they're actually still playing somewhere. And in the case of DS, apparently this week it's still playing in at least 4 somewheres that we know of.

101 days 9 hours 44 minutes 35 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[madscntst]

Strangely, box office mojo put the "showtimes" tab back in, on their DS page.  But "no theaters found in your area".  A few years ago, even when there were no theaters in my area, BOM would often list a few theaters at the bottom, even if they were 1,000 miles away, like in the midwest or something, as the closest theaters to me.  They don't do that anymore, and there is no way I know of either there or on Fandango just to show the darn list of *all* the theaters.

[jimbo]

The Wrap has DS in its out of the money category and reflects it topped out at $80 domestically. Being naive in this industry isn't the bottom line what the final number is worldwide? Isn't money money no matter where its earned? Does WB somehow lose money in the US (maybe stocks, whatever) but makes a profit internationally? The movie should have placed in a more profitable category. imo http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/summer-box-office-despite-avengers-and-batman-2012-will-be-flat-52196?page=0,2

[Mysterious Benefactor]

DS certainly shouldn't be in that category. And when it comes to discussing domestic vs. foreign/worldwide numbers, some Web sites act as if the rest of the world doesn't exist when it suits their purposes, which it obviously does with that Web site with regard to DS or they wouldn't have been able to include DS where they did. But notice that they did include the foreign numbers for Battleship because even with them they could include that film in the category. It's totally spinning the numbers for the agenda you've already decided upon. If some numbers don't support your agenda, well, then you just ignore them.    Though one thing in that report is definitely true: when it first came out in the US, DS was indeed stymied by Marvel's The Avengers.

And speaking of foreign numbers, I'm really curious to see how DS made out over the weekend in Venezuela. Those numbers *may* become available this afternoon - but sometimes it takes a few days for them to come out, so we may have to wait longer.

101 days 11 hours 16 minutes 25 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[jimbo]

Thanks MB. The media hasn't been fair in reporting the movie's total success. I don't think there is a basis for the argument that the studio lost money in the U.S. WB is a domestic and international corporation unless it has to report its earnings separately. In any event the Blu-ray/DVD sales should reach $100 million dollars worldwide I am guessing bringing the total earnings to around $350 million which really isn't too bad for a poorly marketed film imo

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I was just reading the Production Notes from the film (which I'd completely forgotten about even downloading and only happened to come across today while searching my computer for something else entirely). If anyone hasn't read read them, I highly recommend that you do because they're quite interesting and even give a few slight hints to what might be missing from the film. But one thing I found interesting, mostly because I have no recollection of even noticing it, is that one of the film titles displayed on the theater marquee in Collinsport at some point was supposedly A Clockwork Orange. When did that happen? Or did it even happen as the final edit stands? If it did, as I said, it went right by me without even being noticed. Makes me wonder what other things I might notice for the first time once I watch the film again after it comes out on Blu-ray?

101 days 14 hours 40 minutes 40 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[madscntst]

I'm pretty sure I saw that (unless it was a production still).  There are a few times when we see cars go through Collinsport, including the movie theater with the marquis- the VW microbus, Angie's convertible, and maybe others.  I think the marquis says A Clockwork Orange one time and Deliverance another time.  As you say, MB, it'll be fun to be able to freeze-frame the DVD and see these details!

[David]

 

I see that Expendables 2 grossed $1 million LESS than DS for it's opening weekend, yet it's being touted as a smash hit. There's a definite anti-DS bias in the entertainment media that dates back to the 1960s.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And another batch of captures/set ups have been posted on the film's "Complete This Phrase / Fill In The Blank(s)" board.

101 days 17 hours 23 minutes 50 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[michaelhacketttodd]

There is no question that there exists an Anti Dark Shadows Bias in the Media.  And yes, it has been in existence since the 1960's.  But, there has also been a Powerful, Devoted and Loyal Fan Following.  And this Fan Base is the reason why we have the New Movie, the 1991 Revival Series, Decades of Fesivals, and Countless Publications.  Also, we can purchase and watch all 1225 Episodes, both Original Movies and Countless Specialty Videos.  The list is Endless.  Jonathan pointed out in an interview that it's about the Fans more than anything else.  He was right.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I could be wrong, but when it comes to the DS film I believe much of the negative attitude is more of a backlash against Burton (and to a lesser extent Depp and Depp paired with Burton) than it is anything having to do with DS. One extremely sad but true fact is that on some Web sites the animosity against Burton is so intense as to be completely irrational.   

102 days 12 hours 22 minutes 15 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

There are a few times when we see cars go through Collinsport, including the movie theater with the marquis- the VW microbus, Angie's convertible, and maybe others.  I think the marquis says A Clockwork Orange one time and Deliverance another time.

I did notice that the marquee features Deliverance when Maggie/Vicki and hippies drive by in the VW microbus (though it would have been pretty hard to have missed that one because not only did we see it in the film but we saw it in the trailers and many of the TV spots over and over again ), and on the night that Barnabas is released I think the theater that we see is showing Superfly. But unless the entire sequence isn't featured in the featurette that includes Angelique's drive through town to the Angel Bay Cannery, we don't actually see a theater marquee in that instance.

it'll be fun to be able to freeze-frame the DVD and see these details!

Definitely.

One reason I suspect I may have missed A Clockwork Orange, if it still is in the film, is because when I first saw the film in IMAX the screen was so huge that it was next to impossible to take in everything. And even when I saw the film in a regular theater, another reason is that I was tending to pay more attention to the actors/characters and less to the backgrounds. Not to mention that a few times I made comments to a friend sitting next to me - and most often that would have been when there weren't any characters on screen - so if the marquee came up with A Clockwork Orange during any of those times, I could have easily missed it while I had my eyes off the screen. 

102 days 12 hours 46 minutes 53 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[Uncle Roger]

I could be wrong, but when it comes to the DS film I believe much of the negative attitude is more of a backlash against Burton (and to a lesser extent Depp and Depp paired with Burton) than it is anything having to do with DS. One extremely sad but true fact is that on some Web sites the animosity against Burton is so intense as to be completely irrational.   

I think you're right on the money there, MB. There were several people from work who were not huge DS fans but were interested in seeing a DS film. At least they were interested until they learned that Tim Burton was directing it.

When asked about it, they really could not explain why they were so against Burton but they did make it clear that they would not go to the movie because of him.