It got good reviews from both comic fans and professional critics, but it did terribly at the box office (It’s only made back half its budget). I personally thought it the most amazing 3D film since Avatar and the best action film I’ve seen in many years.
Why?
Lots of movies are bombing lately. I partially blame TOO MANY MOVIES COMING OUT for this.
And hey, I didn’t see it so I’m certainly not in any position to judge, but look how many ‘classic’ movies failed at the box office.
I saw it with my sons and we all loved it. I think it wasn’t marketed very well. I don’t recall seeing ads for it until about a week or so before it came out. I think maybe the marketing was counting on the word of mouth about a new Judge Dredd film to carry it more than it did.
I just can’t stand going to the movies these days unless I’m going to one of the local drive-ins. That means, at most, going from April or May to sometime in September. The local theaters are too expensive and, more importantly, too full of noisy jerks to make it worthwhile. At this point, I’ll pick up Dredd as a rental and see if I can find a way to get the 3D version to rent.
Most things I’ve read have suggested that it’s mostly due to a lack of marketing.
I had no idea this movie even existed until I walked past a place last week with a poster in the window.
Judge Dredd simply isn’t a well-known character in the US- and to the extent that non-comics fans are aware of him, it’s through the Stallone movie, which was laughably awful and probably soured most people on the idea of a remake.
I was expecting the movie to maybe not do well because some people these days wouldn’t be so thrilled about a world where cops were judge, jury & executioner.
I saw it and thought it was a terrific film, perhaps the most genuinely believable comic book movie yet made, and a fantastic interpretation of the character that kept true to the spirit of the comic while both working within a budget and making that work to its advantage in its tightness and claustrophobia. Some top-notch performances, too: Karl Urban was The Law, and Lena Headey was downright fucking scary.
It was R18 here, though, which wouldn’t have helped its chances: it was extremely violent, and toning that down just a bit wouldn’t have killed it as a movie, and made it more accessible to a wider audience. The 3D was excellent, but it was downright hard to find a 2D screening, and I think a lot of people are still fighting shy of that: again, it wouldn’t have killed it to release it more widely in both formats.
And yeah, the advertising: there was a pretty good poster campaign here, but no TV spots and I think a lack of general awareness that it was out except among the hardcore fans just wasn’t enough for it to make decent coin. I think that it will do very well on DVD; it certainly deserves to. If you haven’t seen it, rent it.
I blame the 3D. People aren’t crazy about paying the surcharge for what they perceive as a B-movie.
October is a weak season for movies. Of course, that’s not a complete explanation because weak movies get dumped into October for that release.
There’s a Dredd movie? - News to me.
All the marketing I’d received about it was a previous thread in these boards. My first news that it’s already out have, in fact, been this thread.
I read in Starburst that it bombed due to 3 things.
Me, I am a long time Dredd Fan - been reading Dredd for 35 years - yes I was 12 when 2000AD came out and started reading from day 1. (
so prepare for a bit of a rant from me:D)
I went to see the movie 7 times and Loved Urban’s Dredd. would loved to have seen him in a more traditional Uniform and Bike but hey we accept the change as long as the helmet stayed on and no love interest. Damb Sly Crap Movie) - cant wait for the DVD - not keen on 3D and think that as a gimic it doomed the movie - it was there to make the Slo-Mo look artistic (IMO) who wants to see beautiful images when watching Dredd - I would rather see Future fashions on some fun 2000AD charachters (Max Normal? a Tap Gang? Something). I would have like to seen a Karl Urban Dredd with a Sly City backdrop (the only bit of the movie tht worked).
I know of Judge Dredd because the Bangkok Post used to carry the comic strip. But they dropped it 15 or 20 years ago, so I don’t know how well known he is here now. But the movie did play here last month I think it was. Absolutely no marketing, plus I think it was only in 3D, which the wife and I can’t stand and won’t watch. It disappeared quietly after a week, I think it was.
I saw tons of ads for it, so I’m not going to blame a lack of marketing. However,
I only know of Dredd from the Judge Dredd movie, which I enjoyed as a young lad (I was 16 and saw it in the theater), but not something I was eager to see a sequel to.
There was no star power. I didn’t recognize Karl Urban’s name, and from the trailers, it seems that he never takes his helmet off. I’ve since learned that this was an artistic decision in keeping with the character, and one that Urban had to make even though it undoubtedly didn’t help his career. Nevertheless, it made me think that the movie was a low-budget cash-grab; I pictured a made-for-video action schlock-fest that the studios were hyping and pushing to the theaters because it was a slow month. That combined with,
Dredd 3D. A good rule of thumb is that any time 3D is in the title of the movie, the movie sucks.
So I wouldn’t say it was a lack of marketing, but bad marketing. Here’s what would have worked on me: A) Don’t call it Dredd 3D, B) film a Karl Urban scene without the helmet, leave it on the cutting room floor but put the footage in the trailer so I know who the star is, and C) Put out some info that says this isn’t a sequel to Judge Dredd.
I’ll probably see it this weekend if it’s still in a theater near me.
Also news to me is that *Judge Dredd *was originally a comic book, even though I was aware of the Stallone film from years ago— or at least aware of its awful reviews, as I never saw it. Maybe the producers should’ve preceded the release with some kind of awareness-raising campaign.
I may rent it from Netflix when it’s available, but my enthusiasm for such films is waning. I saw The Avengers recently, and realized that while it was indeed one of the best comic-book-inspired films I’d seen in years, it also wasn’t all that great.*
Yup, never knew it existed. And if I did probably wouldn’t have gotten past the awful Stallone movie to go see this one.
there was a new Judge Dredd movie? out recently? who knew - not me, that’s for sure
ETA - this is a shame, because I really like Karl Urban
I saw it–thought it was all right. Not great, not bad. Extremely violent, and almost completely humorless. The violence was fine, but the unrelenting grimness of the thing was a bit offputting for me. I like at least a little bit of relief.
That said, though, I didn’t think it should have bombed. It was definitely better than some of the stuff that did a lot better.