The Reject Report Preps for the End of the World in 2012
Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 13, 2009
Well, the end of the world is coming to a theater near you this weekend, and that will be the main focus here at the Reject Report. Yes, the long-awaited disaster epic 2012 is finally upon us and it is sure to be one big hit. That’s pretty much the main order of business beyond a few limited releases this weekend.
There is, though, one other wide release besides 2012 this weekend. It is Pirate Radio, and it stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans in a story about a jolly band of rebel deejays. It’s set in the era of those outlaw pirate radio stations that used to broadcast to the British Isles from boats in the North Sea in the Sixties. Fun stuff. Richard Curtis writes and directs.
Personally, I’m probably more interested in seeing Pirate Radio this weekend, mainly because I’m a sucker for anything British from the Sixties, whether it be Austin Powers or any other movie. Still, it’s only in 882 locations so I see maybe a $3.4 million domestic haul for this one. In a sure sign of trouble, the folks at Focus Features changed the name of the movie already. The original title was going to be The Boat that Rocked. Actually, that was probably a more interesting title, but I’ll still see the movie and see if I like it.
Watch the Pirate Radio trailer:
Now onto the end of the world, and our friend the director Roland Emmerich has done it again with yet another one of his apocalyptic movies. He’s made Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and a whole host of movies. Now he takes on 2012, named for the year in the Mayan calendar when the end of the world is supposed to happen. The all-star cast features John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson. Apparently there’s a lot of destruction to look forward to in the movie, including the destruction of Yellowstone National Park, a tsunami engulfing Washington D.C., and a host of other terrible things.
Now on to my fearless prediction. Personally, I fully expect the critics to completely crucify this movie (as they have done to Roland Emmerich in the past), but I also fully expect the audiences to ignore the critics and go see it anyway. For whatever reason — the American psyche, I dunno — it just seems domestic audiences will rush to see apocalypse movies and flicks with a lot of end-of-the-world death and destruction. To me, this is the kind of movie American audiences will eat up, with lots of nutty stuff happening that fits right in with what the conspiracy theorists and doomsday-type people like to believe. My prediction is $63 million for 2012.
Watch the 2012 trailer:
And here is my fearless prediction of how the weekend will unfold for the Top Ten:
- 2012 $63 million
- A Christmas Carol $17 million
- The Men Who Stare at Goats $8.5 million
- Michael Jackson’s This is It $8.1 million
- The Fourth Kind $6.5 million
- Paranormal Activity $5 million
- The Box $4.2 million
- Couples Retreat $3.7 million
- Pirate Radio $3.4 million
- Law Abiding Citizen $3.3 million
That’s it! Back to see if my box office prediction for 2012 comes true later this weekend here at the Reject Report. (Hope the 2012 doomsday predictions don’t come true, though.)
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