Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Release!!

[Uncle Roger]

Visit #5 today. $6.50 admission which was nice. Especially when I got a private screening. Yes, cousins, I was the only one in the theater, which was a unique experience.

Who do you think is the old friend who drew Maggie/Vicki to Collinwood? I think it has to be Josette. Has There been some magical interference with her job application? When she introduces herself as Victoria Winters, Willie says they have been expecting her. Not Maggie Evans.

There's a lot of discussion early on about how disturbed David is. However, aside from the early incident with the bedsheet, David seems like the most normal one in the family, next to Elizabeth.
Irony, I suppose.

Laura appears to be wearing contemporary clothing in the picture of her with Roger and David that appears on the piano. So why is she wearing a period outfit as a spectre? Standard supernatural outfit? Courtesy of Ohrbach's Under the Sea? Aquaman?

[David]

 

Remember my long ago thread about a possible DS porn spoof?
Deep Shadows!
With Ron Jeremy as Prof Stokes!

[KMR]

DS retained its 11th place - and it was also among the films with the smallest percentage drop from Sunday, regardless of the day in release:

Monday's Box Office

(And if you haven't checked out one of the lists already, refer to the explanation in reply #537 on page 36 of this topic because the premise is basically the same with the 32nd day's list attached here.)

Very interesting. In today's film exhibition economy, would DS be classified as a film that "has legs"? At any rate, since it hasn't yet been released in all markets, let alone home video, it's way too early to call it a "bomb" (let alone "outright bomb" as some moron has called it).

[Cousin_Barnabas]

In all honesty, I just want Night of Dark Shadows to be restored.  I think the film and its marketing did a disservice to everyone.  If we can't get a restored NoDS out of it, I will consider it a bomb no matter what. 

[Gothick]

Amen to that, Cousin Barnabas.  ALL of it.

G.

[jimbo]

WB seems to be doing its very best to ensure DS does not develop legs. I understand the studio has to give up some locations but I think its pretty ridiculous that the movie is only playing in something like 3 locations in New York. There is one theatre near me in NY and that only now has two showings a day. It is clear to me that WB just wants to cut its "losses" for lack of a better word, hope it does ok in Latin America and prepare it for a DVD release. This movie is not going to be able to develop any legs with the studio butchering it IMO

I totally agree with you CB.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Actually, Warner Brothers isn't treating DS any differently than any of their other films this year. The film is pretty following the same path theaters-wise as Wrath of the Titans and The Lucky One have before it. In fact, if one checks the charts on Box Office Mojo, one can see that it's pretty much following the same path as most similarly wide-released films have this year. Though one exception is that it has brought it more money than most any of them have - and that's proven by the fact that it's currently the 12th most successful film of the year so far. 

32 days 19 hours 41 minutes 20 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[jimbo]

DS is a totally different species than any other WB film and it should be treated as such and allowed to develop legs. I think the movie still has some potential to do well if permitted to remain around at a good number of locations. I believe WB should not use its typical formula of removing its movies from locations. It seems the studio is content with the movie grossing something like 78 million as opposed to it having the potential to do several millions more.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The studios don't remove films from theater locations (well, until they decide to completely take them out of circulation) - they want each and every one of their films to stay in each and every theater they're in for as long as possible. But a whole slew of factors affect how long any individual film may remain at any given theater - and the studios have little control over the vast majority of them. But chief among the factors is that theaters have already made commitments to show upcoming releases - and the theaters can't simply say to a studio, "We know we committed to showing your film, but surprise, we're not going to!" - well, not unless they want to be sued for breach of contract.    They can, however, hold onto a film for as long as possible if they feel they have room for it - and that's why many times two films will share screens and divide showings between them. And the fact that DS is in a position currently where it is sharing screens in many theaters is actually a good thing because in many cases the theaters could have just as easily dropped DS completely in favor of showing a newer film in its place.

32 days 20 hours 12 minutes 48 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[jimbo]

This whole movie industry can be confusing at times. It seems to me that there are those movies that get hot and linger around for many months. I am guessing that the theaters view DS as a movie with limited growth potential at this point. I think it's safe to argue that the DS movie doesn't have leg potential. In any event its domestic run is nearing the end.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Honestly, it will be very interesting to see how long DS remains in theaters. Warner Brother's Wrath of the Titans has been playing in between only 360 and 150 theaters for 5 weeks already and pulling in well under $50 thousand a day - even well under $20 thousand a day much of that time. And it's not impossible to imagine that Warner Brothers may allow DS to do the same if theaters are willing to keep showing it. And situations like that are what I meant when I said that quite often its in the long haul where films can continue to make money because even those smaller amounts of money add up over time. 

32 days 20 hours 56 minutes 25 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[B.Collins]

no video game? that sucks, cause i was dying to play as one of the characters. even if the game is cheesy it would still have been fun to play ya know? & really no porn spoof? they have one for pretty much everything else but no "DS" honestly that surprises me as well. you would think that with them putting out a "Beavis & Butthead" one or a "Mario Bros' one 2 of those actually

that "DS" wasn't one of them? it doesn't make me mad by any means just surprised by it that's all.
it'd prolly woudln't be 'Professor Stokes" but "Professor Stoker" or something close to that at least.

anyways, i do wonder if a sequel will come from this? i think i read that "Tim Burton" doesn't want to do it but i wonder if "Johnny Depp" or any of the other cast will if it''s someone else at the helm?

[KMR]

And situations like that are what I meant when I said that quite often its in the long haul where films can continue to make money because even those smaller amounts of money add up over time. 

And somewhat ironically, films can sometimes make more money for the exhibitor later in the run with a lower box office gross than they do at the beginning of the run with a higher gross. I really can't see WB pulling a movie out of a theater that's still selling tickets--unless they have a shortage of prints and there's another theater itching to show the print and there's a guarantee of more rental coming in at the new place.

Yes, DS was a bit of a disappointment boxoffice-wise. But that's because expectations were pretty high. Seen in perspective with other releases, it's doing reasonably well, and I have no doubt it will eventually end up being profitable for WB.

[michaelhacketttodd]

In my opinion, the new movie was as good as it could be.  One has to consider that it would be impossible to follow the original series too closely.  That would have made the movie less appealing to the modern audience.  Depp and Burton did a fine job recapturing the spirit of the series without allowing the movie to appear dated.  It makes me proud to be part of the original hardcore fan base and this film would never have happened without the strong interest we show.  We keep Dark Shadows alive for ourselves and future generations.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

I heartily disagree that it was "as good as it could be."  After really processing it and distancing myself from the whole ordeal, I find it to be rather lackluster for a modern work of cinema.  In fact, with the sheer amount of talent involved, it should have been a hundred times better.  All of the actors are immensely talented people, yet I can really only think of two stand-out performances in this whole film:  Michelle Pfeiffer and Gulliver McGrath.  Eva Green was genuinely good, though I disliked much of the characterization.  Bella Heathcote did well with what she had, but it wasn't enough.  In the end, I felt that both Depp and HBC could have done far better.  In comparing their takes to those of Frid, Hall, Cross, and Steele, I can safely say that I don't think anyone's favorite versions of Barnabas and Julia will be those portrayed in this film.  (These two actors may have many talents, but, after seeing the film, I don't think they were right for these roles.)  Jonny Lee Miller was severely shortchanged and should have been given a lot more screentime.  This could have and should have been an "epic supernatural love story," not a mixed bag with tons of loose ends.  It had its moments, and for that I am grateful.  But it really isn't that good in my opinion.  Maybe it just wasn't the kind of film I like...  I don't know.  But I won't beleaguer my stance.  Just give me NoDS, and I will be thankful that Depp Shadows came along.  Don't give it to me, and I will continue to think about all of the ways it could have been improved.