# 20 box office bombs of 2015 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2015, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309 "2015-11-01T03:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/41 "2015-11-04T07:11:48Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If you are doing predictions you have to change them every week (or day) or else people stop reading. Hillary Clinton has a 100% chance of winning the presidency but you won’t find anyone online repeating that week after week. The horse race is always far more interesting to read about. That’s true for politics, but Oscar preseason is only three months long and things can change from week-to-week as more critics see the films with “buzz.” There is no consensus that everyone knows everything about (because the films haven’t been released yet). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/42 "2015-11-04T07:21:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It doesn’t appear to be possible to make a good Fantastic Four movie, more’s the pity. Pixar managed it 🙂 Only movie on the list I’ve seen is _Jupiter Ascending_, and I have very mixed feelings about it but on balance, I liked it. I will watch _Last Witch Hunter_ when it comes out here, I’ve heard lots of good things about it . Also Shaun The Sheep. Why would I be interested in another take on Jobs? I already watched the Ashton Kutcher one, I don’t see why another portrayal of Jobs as a charismatic asshole is going to enrich my life. Also, not a huge Fassbender fan, and I’m over Walk-and-Talk Sorkin Nothing else intrigues me enough… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/43 "2015-11-04T16:05:03Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That’s true for politics, but Oscar preseason is only three months long and things can change from week-to-week as more critics see the films with “buzz.” There is no consensus that everyone knows everything about (because the films haven’t been released yet). It’s true everywhere. You’re absolutely right that the Oscars are more volatile because of the late entries of so many films. What is Vulture and the others basing their opinions on in that case? Buzz and box office grosses and gossip. The actual Academy voters aren’t being polled and most of them aren’t talking to the people online. Especially with the Academy disproportionately old and not natural social media users. It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. That’s why everybody does it because they can get away with being spectacularly wrong and nobody will hold it against them. The object is to be interesting in the moment, not right. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/44 "2015-11-04T22:01:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m over Walk-and-Talk Sorkin “Did we just go in a circle?” I loved \*\*Shaun the Sheep \*\*because I was predisposed to and I took my stuffed Shaun to the theater and amused a couple of kids behind me. And the Shawshank dog poster was gold! ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/45 "2015-11-04T22:56:17Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Wonder is Shaun the Sheep will do well in the rental market. > I really like Aardman animation, but am not likely to go to the theatre to see it. > > Plus, the estimated budget was $25,000,000. So not a hit, but proportionally not that bad (and $83,000,000 worldwide is nothing to sneeze at) > > Brian Took my 4 years olds to see it and I was laughing quite a lot myself. Worth seeing. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/46 "2015-11-07T19:03:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > It definitely still has a chance for Oscars. It might not be as sure of a bet as it was, but it’s not a complete loser. It’s done disappointingly for the studios, but it still has made $14 million so far on a $30 million budget. It’s not a movie that made $1 million and disappears quietly. Okay, so _Jobs_ must have been an Oscar shoo-in. Made for merely $12M and as of 21 days of release had made slight more money than _Steve Jobs_. If your film doesn’t do as well as the Ashton Kutcher version, people are going to notice. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/47 "2015-11-07T19:27:58Z")
Having seen Spectre last night, I truly hope it’s added to the list of 2015 bombs. I just don’t want the fact that it makes money to be motivation for another turd like it in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/48 "2015-11-07T20:41:22Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Okay, so _Jobs_ must have been an Oscar shoo-in. Made for merely $12M and as of 21 days of release had made slight more money than _Steve Jobs_. > > If your film doesn’t do as well as the Ashton Kutcher version, people are going to notice. They are, but then Kutcher’s version of Jobs didn’t get the kind of FYC push that Fassbender’s is about to. I think it’s actually a coin toss at this point…it might sneak into Best Picture under the new format, and Best Actor is a weaker field than in some years. I really wouldn’t bet on this either way. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/49 "2015-11-07T21:33:59Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > Looking over that list, I saw four of them… > > **”Steve Jobs”** - Saw it last week. Thought it was very good. > **”Jem & the Holograms”** - Looked horrible so I wouldn’t waste my time. (though ironically, I worked at Hasbro in the 80’s and was there when the toy was created. Still don’t want to see the movie though) > **”Rock the Kasbah”** - Big Bill Murray fan but the trailers looked like crap. Also, I hadn’t heard anything about this movie until they started the TV campaign. Never a good sign. > **”The Last Witch Hunter”** - A Vin Diesel movie?? No thanks. > **”Pan”** - This one looked like a dog from the first preview I saw. Gave it a pass. > **”Crimson Peak”** - Horror films bore me. So I didn’t bother with this. > **”Shaun the Sheep”** - Sorry I missed this one. It came and went pretty quick. > **”The Walk”** - I saw this on IMAX. WOW!! The only way to see this IMO, is on IMAX. If you’re scared of height, you’ll be scared to death! If you see this on TV, it’ll have no impact. > **”Hot Tub Time Machine 2”** - Thought the first one was pretty mediocre, so I didn’t bother seeing the sequel. > **”We Are Your Friends”** - Wait, they want me to pay to see a Zak Efron film? No thanks. > **”Fantastic Four”** - If they’d ACTUALLY made a movie about the Actual Fantastic Four I’d have been there opening day. But they didn’t. > **”Entourage”** - Thought the TV series was a waste of time, so, pay $10 to see it in the theater? Nope. > **”Aloha”** - Looked like a good cast but heard so many bad things about it, I passed. > **”Jupiter Ascending”** - Unfortunately, I saw this piece of crap. I’ve seen 46 films so far in the theater this year. This one was the WORST. > **”Mordecai”** \_ See this? Uh, no thanks. > **”Unfinished Business”** - I like to laugh at comedies. If Vince Vaughn is in a film, it’s never funny. Especially when it’s supposed to be a comedy. Didn’t see it. > **”Strange Magic”** - Had no interest in this one. > **”Blackhat”** - I would have seen this one, but the poor reviews kept me away. > **”Seventh Son”** - Another film that looked uninteresting. > **”Chappie”** - I saw this one. Very forgettable with some REALLY bad performances. I saw 10 of these and the ones I really liked a LOT were Steve Jobs, Crimson Peak, The Walk and We Are Your Friends. I liked Shaun the Sheep and Blackhat. There were elements I liked about Jupiter Rising (the Brazil homage and Terry Gilliam’s cameo) and Aloha (the scenery on the big screen since I’ll never be able to go to Hawaii, the music, as always in a Crowe film, is excellent, and I’m kind of a shallow sucker for Bradley Cooper). I only saw Chappie because it was by the director of District 9. Good themes but it mostly didn’t work for me. I wanted to see Jem just because, shut up, I thought the first one was a lot of fun, and Rock the Kasbah because I like Bill Murray and hey, it’s a Berry Levinson film. Also Seventh Son because it was directed by Sergey Bodrov, who was responsible for what I thought was a REALLY good movie, Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (plus I don’t think Julianne Moore does anything for the money and that had me curious too). They were low priority for me though and I waited too long. They left the theaters too quickly so I never got a chance. I had no interest in Entourage, Mordecai, Unfinished Business, Hot Tub 2 or Fantastic Four (I LOVE the Marvel movies but this didn’t look appealing at all). Strange Magic is unknown to me. Last, I got a free pass to Witch Hunter and HATED it. The best things I can say about it? The craftspeople got paid and a resume entry so good for them. Plus, I really liked Rose Leslie. I hadn’t seen any of her TV work so it was my first exposure to her. I hope to see a lot more of her in films in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/50 "2015-11-07T21:51:52Z")
Another issue for me, at least, is the number of movies rolling out each weekend vs. the number of available screens. I love going to movies, but my weekends have been tied up the past couple of months. Finally, last week my wife and I had a chance to go see something. We were choosing between _Bridge of Spies_ (which is what we eventually picked - I liked it a lot), _The Martian_, and _Truth_, the Marla Mapes/Dan Rather story about George Bush’s Guard service memo, which was just opening that weekend. I figured we’d have a chance to see _Truth_ later. Guess what? This week it’s already gone, out of the theatres, vanished without a trace. We had similar experiences this fall with _The Walk_ and _Steve Jobs_, two other movies I wanted to see but they weren’t here longer than two weeks. I have no interest, usually, in rushing out to catch a film opening weekend, unless the anticipation has been building up for something great. But if other interesting movies aren’t going to even stay in theaters for more than a week, what’s a fellow with a life to do? We do have a second-run theatre in town, so fingers crossed that these three movies will show up there eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/51 "2015-11-07T22:56:19Z")
I know how that is. I rushed out to see some smaller movies like Freeheld (with Julianne Moore and Ellen Page) and 99 Homes (with Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield) because I knew they wouldn’t be around long, and I’m so glad I did. After seeing The Walk and Everest in 2D I was going to bite the bullet and see them again in 3D, and I HATE paying extra for 3D! However, I was going to wait until they played on discount night, when all movies are much cheaper. Nope, they left the theater before I could. I’m more upset about missing The Walk in 3D than Everest, but I really did want to see that spectacular scenery in 3D. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/52 "2015-11-08T05:29:50Z")
I never heard of half of these films. And the ones I did hear of looked awful. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/53 "2015-11-08T06:57:00Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I wanted to see Jem just because, shut up, I thought the first one was a lot of fun The first one? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/54 "2015-11-08T08:51:24Z")
We liked _Crimson Peak_. It’s more a ghost story/mystery than horror flick. Could be people were expecting more horror.not ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309/55 "2016-11-11T11:53:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > \ > > Sorkin’s not winning the Oscar will be like Trump winning the presidency. Yes, indeed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-box-office-bombs-of-2015/736309.md?page=2)