Depressingly (both in content and because I haaaaaaate "tracking numbers" bullshit being part of the film discussion, but such is life) the "story" of "Pacific Rim's" impending release has turned toward suspense because it's tracking numbers (of likely domestic boxoffice) aren't anywhere near what the people who paid $200 Million+ to make it wanted to see (it's currently projected to open behind "Grown-Ups 2.") But I'm still pulling for it and "Elysium" as the champions of original studio genre-movies this year, and this epic new (final?) trailer is a good reminder WHY:
I can't say that I'm shocked by the tracking though - it feels like the massive ad push that Warner Bros. threw behind making sure "Man of Steel" didn't disappoint (which, incidentally, thanks to the studio's own sky-high projects it still somewhat has) sucked all the oxygen out of their schedule. The press for this thing should've been choking the airwaves (especially on the kiddie networks) and overflowing the toy-aisles to the point that every parent of a school-aged child should be sick to death of hearing about it by now; but it still feels like they're only really pitching to an audience that was already sold back when they greenlit it based simply on the name "Guillermo Del Toro." I'm glad Warner Bros. likes seeing guys like me go nuts for their SDCC rollouts, but guys like me were going to see this anyway - your job is to making my mom want to see your robot movie.
The film is still unlikely to "bomb" given the fact that basically none of this Summer's tentpoles other than "Iron Man 3" have had strong legs for the long-haul; "The Lone Ranger" is almost-certainly DOA, "Man of Steel" will be on its way out of the top-ten by then. And it's all-but garaunteed to do extended, long-term, gangbusters business in the now-vital Chinese/Asia market. But "optics" still count, and the spectacle of one of Summer 2013's few non-sequel/reboot/franchise blockbusters opening second (or worse) to Adam Sandler's yearly "my comedian friends have bills to pay" make-work project is a persuasive-looking argument for turning down good original scripts in favor of "what the hell can we make out of 'Knight Rider'??"
In the background of all of this, by the way, are the substories that A.) Warners and "Rim" co-producers Legendary Films are in the midst of a nasty break-up and B.) WB is supposedly devoting the vast majority of it's attention to turning the post-"MoS" DCU movies into another decade-spanning corporate safety-net a'la "Harry Potter." Such is the way of things.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
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