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(Forbes) Why You Saw 'Captain Marvel' And 'Wonder Woman' But Not 'Alita' And 'Tomb Raider'.
- Thread starter Old Man Spike
- Start date
Alita a love story? Thats like calling The Breakfast Club a film about lunch sushi 🍣
Wonder Woman is a decent Marvel style Super Hero flick. It was competent all around, but imo it's extremely by the numbers.
Alita is an overly ambitious spectacle film that's kind of a mess in a lot of ways, but has a lot of heart for a blockbuster.
I'm pretty much in the target demographic for Alita (huge old school anime weeb), but even I was put off by the mediocre marketing campaign. I ended up seeing it due to good WoM, but it's pretty obvious why it was not a huge commercial hit here in the US.
tomb raider - shit
Alita - wanted to watch, none of my friends did. will watch on netflix
cap marvel - it's MCU, prep for Avengers
Alita - wanted to watch, none of my friends did. will watch on netflix
cap marvel - it's MCU, prep for Avengers
I think he's right and seeing some people not willing to acknowledge his point even a little bit is telling. "People went to see what they were interested in" is a very shallow reading of the situation. Franchises and established IPs are stronger than ever and are cannibalizing everything around it. There is very little reason why a movie like Ant Man was more popular than say Mad Max other than it was safer and part of an established thing. There was nothing inherently more appealing about a superhero shrinking compared to a post apocalyptic non stop action film. Same with Captain Marvel which by all account is a solid movie and yet in the box office is disproportionally stronger than other solid female led blockbusters. Franchises and IP recognition supersede everything else when it comes to audience interest.
I only saw Captain Marvel in theaters. Wonder Woman was borrowed from the library and I didn't even like it
Alita creeped me out and there have Tomb Raider might have gotten me if it wasn't called Tomb Raider
Alita creeped me out and there have Tomb Raider might have gotten me if it wasn't called Tomb Raider
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I haven't watch the other films but the reason I went to see Captain Marvel is because I'm highly invested in the MCU at this point and because Marvel consistently puts out movies that I enjoy watching. It's as simple as that. I have no interest in seeing the other movies because I don't care about TR or Alita, I'm not invested in th characters or stories the way I am with Marvel. MCU did a great job of getting me hooked so they can happily have my money anytime they drop a new film.
The love story is the dramatic heart of the movie. Not sure how you could see it differently.
I liked Alita btw and thought it was better than Capt Marvel
Done. This isn't a complex situation. Two of the four movies looked really good... the other two were considerably more divisive. People go to see movies that they give a shit about or that look worthwhile.
Alita is great. I sneaked in a screen and watched it again after Captain Marvel. The overworld is top tier. So much better than Captain Marvel's fake 90s. Only thing drag it down is the boyfriend guy.
I would go to bat for Alita.
I would go to bat for Alita.
Some anime have some of the best writing there is. See: Naoki Urasawa's Monster.
But I get being turned off in Alita's case. Screams generic fighting anime.
I saw em all in theaters except Tomb Raider. Mostly because it looked and reviewed like a bad movie.
I've seen WW only of those movies but Tomb Raider and Alita both look like straight up garbage. Not the hill to go to bat for this
I find the love story component of The Matrix about as important as it is in Alita.
Alita looked interesting but ultimately the eyes creeped me out and I really enjoy anime. Seeing big eyes on a real person just seemed strange to me. It similar to how in realistic fantasy movies where they give certain creatures big eyes to make them appear more strange.
I saw WW and Alita. Checkmate!
On a serious note, I think it's unfair to say people wouldn't embrace Alita's diversity bc it was unfamiliar when the title character is CG and her race is ambiguous. Not to mention the fact that most of the supporting cast is white.
On a serious note, I think it's unfair to say people wouldn't embrace Alita's diversity bc it was unfamiliar when the title character is CG and her race is ambiguous. Not to mention the fact that most of the supporting cast is white.
Hmm, how will we crack this rubric?
One was a video game movie, so already that sends alarms off and for good reason.
The other had a bug eyed nightmare inducing character in a movie that was screaming "I'm anime".
No surprise people weren't interested.
One was a video game movie, so already that sends alarms off and for good reason.
The other had a bug eyed nightmare inducing character in a movie that was screaming "I'm anime".
No surprise people weren't interested.
I saw 3 of these movies in theater. I watched Tomb Raider on HBO. I wanted to see it in the theater but never got the time.
Tomb Raider looked a bit shit, and Alita had the eyes.
Which is a shame in Alita's case because they totally work after 5-10 minutes with the character, but goddamn were they off putting in the trailers. I was this close to skipping it because of that, but I'm so glad I didn't. Lovely movie, if a bit flawed.
Which is a shame in Alita's case because they totally work after 5-10 minutes with the character, but goddamn were they off putting in the trailers. I was this close to skipping it because of that, but I'm so glad I didn't. Lovely movie, if a bit flawed.
Telling of what? The idea that highly marketed sequels and "cinematic universes" are sucking the oxygen out of the movie market is an opinion I've been hearing without opposition for over a decade. That opinion doesn't become novel because you decided to compare films with female leads. If anything, a piece like this reeks of hackish exploitation of the cultural zeitgeist that is recognizing and pushing for female representation in Hollywood blockbusters.
That's why I enjoyed new Tomb Raider, Vikander brought more to the character than OMG BOOBZ! The movie itself was boring as hell, though. A shame we'll never get the sequel.
I saw all four films, and would rank them Wonder Woman > Alita >>> Captain Marvel >> Tomb Raider
That being said, I don't feel like the failure of TR, Alita, or hell, even Ghost in the Shell has a large amount to do with being female led. I don't think the female leads helped the film a huge deal, nor did they hurt them. TR looked incredibly generic (and was), and Alita has a hard sci-fi premise that never does all that well regardless of quality or even franchise reputation. Hell, look at Blade Runner 2049, which has grossed far less than Alita has so far despite having a bigger lead, a better director, and being a better film overall.
Captain Marvel did well in large part because it's part of the Marvel machine. Like GotG when they were first introduced, people will turn out to see it because of the brand it's associated with regardless of if they know the character. Captain Marvel also benefits from being an integral character in the conclusion that many people are eagerly awaiting.
I feel like being female led can skew the results slightly one way or another, but they don't make or break it.
Also: Atomic Blonde made $100 mil on a $30 mil budget. John Wick made $88 mil on a $20 mil budget. The issue with Atomic Blonde (which I also saw) was a limited market for that kind of hard R shooter type of film. Atomic Blonde would have made a truckload of money in the 90s, but now it's all about comic book movies and Disney remakes.
That being said, I don't feel like the failure of TR, Alita, or hell, even Ghost in the Shell has a large amount to do with being female led. I don't think the female leads helped the film a huge deal, nor did they hurt them. TR looked incredibly generic (and was), and Alita has a hard sci-fi premise that never does all that well regardless of quality or even franchise reputation. Hell, look at Blade Runner 2049, which has grossed far less than Alita has so far despite having a bigger lead, a better director, and being a better film overall.
Captain Marvel did well in large part because it's part of the Marvel machine. Like GotG when they were first introduced, people will turn out to see it because of the brand it's associated with regardless of if they know the character. Captain Marvel also benefits from being an integral character in the conclusion that many people are eagerly awaiting.
I feel like being female led can skew the results slightly one way or another, but they don't make or break it.
Also: Atomic Blonde made $100 mil on a $30 mil budget. John Wick made $88 mil on a $20 mil budget. The issue with Atomic Blonde (which I also saw) was a limited market for that kind of hard R shooter type of film. Atomic Blonde would have made a truckload of money in the 90s, but now it's all about comic book movies and Disney remakes.
Tomb Raider had zero marketing. I didn't even know they were making one until I went to the theater to see a different movie and I noticed it under the "Now Playing" list.
I watched all 4 of them and enjoyed all 4, actually. The Tomb Raider actress did a pretty darn good job in her role, and the movie was reasonably fun.
The eyes in Alita were nowhere near as bad as the trailer(s) / poster(s).
The eyes in Alita were nowhere near as bad as the trailer(s) / poster(s).
I've only seen Wonder Woman. I'll see Captain Marvel and Alita on streaming/video.
Tomb Raider isn't happening.
Tomb Raider isn't happening.
This may as well try to dissect why any movie fails at the box office. Yeah, people are going to go to the theater to see characters and a fiction they have investment in. Captain Marvel should have a place in the Marvel canon, and Wonder Woman, after all these years, deserves to be on-screen as a member of DC's trinity.
Tomb Raider is a mediocre-as-fuck reboot of a shlocky film franchise, that doesn't capture the spirit of the original games, or the intensity of the new ones.
Alita scared people off with the bizarre face effect, and even then, the trailers weren't all that great. It's an alright movie, and it deserved better at the box office, but it shouldn't be confusing why people were hesitant.
Neither Alita or TR's failings should be a sign of Hollywood not wanting women taking a spotlight in film. People already have a hard time justifying going to the theater for shit they don't already have some investment in. Neither of those films felt like an event for people to gather around.
Tomb Raider is a mediocre-as-fuck reboot of a shlocky film franchise, that doesn't capture the spirit of the original games, or the intensity of the new ones.
Alita scared people off with the bizarre face effect, and even then, the trailers weren't all that great. It's an alright movie, and it deserved better at the box office, but it shouldn't be confusing why people were hesitant.
Neither Alita or TR's failings should be a sign of Hollywood not wanting women taking a spotlight in film. People already have a hard time justifying going to the theater for shit they don't already have some investment in. Neither of those films felt like an event for people to gather around.
Alita had interesting ideas, but it was one movie way too long and the execution wasn't the greatest.
Anyways, I saw Wonder Woman, Alita, and Captain Marvel. Loved the last one and generally liked the others.
