Box Office: 10,000 B.C. is No Blockbuster

Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on March 10, 2008

The story of the weekend is that the American public has had enough. They are sick and tired of the junk they are getting at the movie theaters, and it’s finally hitting the box office gross at the theaters — at least for this week. To quote Howard Beale, moviegoers are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it anymore.

10,000 B.C. topped the box office this weekend with a take of $35 million. No surprise that it finished in first place. But what did you expect? It was being shown in over 3,400 theaters. It had massive promotion and backing from Warner Brothers. It had virtually no competition. These accountants in Hollywood think that’s all you need to do to brainwash the boring people of middle America into seeing your movie: promote the heck out of it and distribute it as widely as possible.

But this weekend is proof that not all Americans can be had by the Hollywood machine. Too many people are sick of the selections they are getting from the studios right now and uninspired by 10,000 B.C. $35 million is definitely not what the folks in Hollywood were expecting for this 10,000 B.C. flick. They were expecting another 300-type hit and were talking about hitting $50 million for the weekend. At the very least, they were hoping for $40 million. Oh, well.

I don’t think anyone expected the reviews to be so unanimously rotten, either. This movie is getting clubbed to death so badly by the critics that it’s a joke.

10,000 B.C. was running at 8% at Rotten Tomatoes when I checked the site today. That is a DISMAL showing, an EMBARRASSING rating. This is even worse than what Showgirls got (14%, by the way). When your movie is doing worse with the critics than Showgirls, man, you’re in trouble.

I think as soon as word got out about how big a turkey this flick was, a lot of movie fans got scared and immediately decided “I’m not wasting my money on any more crap!” Moviegoers have been burned for weeks by one disappointing movie after another at the theaters, whether it’s Meet the Spartans or Jumper or Vantage Point, and they’ve had enough. True, this is the fifth week in a row that a movie rated Rotten by Rotten Tomatoes has finished first at the box office. But on the flip side, this is the second week in a row that the number one movie in the USA has fallen well short of box office expectations. Semi-Pro had expected $30 million last weekend, and only got $15 million.

Speaking of Semi-Pro, that Will Ferrell movie took a massive 60% hit this week from all the negative reviews and bad word of mouth. It finished with only $5.9 million for the weekend, behind even Vantage Point. The new Disney flick College Road Trip, starring Martin Lawrence, didn’t do so great either, with a $14 mil take. College Road Trip took a beating from the critics as well, with a 14% rating. (Same as Showgirls, by the way.) So that’s a whole bunch of critically-panned movies doing not-so-great business. About time.

Here are the box office totals courtesy of Box Office Mojo.

1 10,000 B.C. WB $35,730,000
2 College Road Trip BV $14,000,000
3 Vantage Point Sony $7,500,000
4 Semi-Pro NL $5,900,000
5 The Bank Job LGF $5,710,000
6 The Spiderwick Chronicles Par. $4,800,000
7 The Other Boleyn Girl Sony $4,000,000
8 Jumper Fox $3,750,000
9 Step Up 2 the Streets BV $3,049,000
10 Fool’s Gold WB $2,800,000

You know, it’s no secret to anyone that we are now at the pit of “dumping ground” season at the movie theaters, with all these bad movies foisted on the public. You look at these movies in the Top Ten, and the only ones critics are enthusiastic about are The Bank Job and The Spiderwick Chronicles. That’s it. The rest are getting reviews that range from disappointing at best to totally hostile at worst. But these flicks are able to get high theater counts, so that’s what moviegoers are stuck with.

Why do these Hollywood studios feel they can get away with dumping a load of garbage on the movie public at this time of year?! Well, maybe it’s because they really are able to get away with it — heck, 10,000 B.C. DID finish in first place. But that is cynical thinking. Eventually, people will say “hell no, we won’t go” after seeing enough of these lame-o turds. What point is there to going to a theater if the flick is no good? To eat gourmet popcorn?! As an excuse to go out on a date?! You’re better off making out with your girl in the comfort of your own home, because going to some of these crummy movies is almost a sure-fire way to sink a relationship. Hollywood should at least consider providing these lovebirds in the audience with some entertainment at this time of year. Give people some hope of a good time at the movies! It’s pretty hard to plop down ten bucks or whatever it costs to go to the theater if you’ve been burned too many times by lousy entertainment.

I must apologize for turning this column into a rant, but I’m sure I am not the only one sick and tired of the choices we are getting at theaters right now. I don’t blame anyone who decides to take their money elsewhere right now.

See you later this week for another Reject Report. Hopefully, better movies are coming to the top of the box office soon, like maybe Horton Hears a Who! I hope it’s good.

Read more articles by John Cairns