Hairspray: hit or flop?- Page 4

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 7/17/07 at 4:45pm

He'll be a Scientologist in no time, trust.

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 8:37am

Saw a screening last night.

It was fun. Nothing more, nothing less. Not as good as the B'way show.

Standouts: Michelle Pfeiffer (goddess), James Marsden, Allison Janney.

It took a while for me to get over the fact that Travolta looks like Miss Piggy, but he brought it towards the end.

Queen Latifah needs to stop. She can carry a tune, nothing more. Her performance barely scratched the surface, and her vocals left me pining for pretty much ANY B'way singer to tear it up. She's a bore.

[Midnight Radio]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 10:10am

70 million opening week.

I am still very worried about Travolta, especially hearing his version of Timeless to Me, which was basically lacking of any emotion what-so-ever.

Also, how was Amanda Bynes? On the cd, her vocals sound terribly bland...

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 10:11am

Thankfully, Bynes only sings about 5 lines in all. She sounds awful.

Her acting is non-existent. I missed Kerry Butler terribly.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 10:14am

That's a suprise about Latifah. I thought she was a powerhouse in Chicago.

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 10:17am

You may disagree about Latifah, then.

I found her to be ok in Chicago, but nothing great.

I wished that Kathy Bates had played Mama, as originally planned. Now that would have been powerhouse.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 3:53pm

early predictions:

from boxofficeguru:
John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, and newcomer Nicole Blonsky join forces for the lavish musical Hairspray, the 2007 movie version of the popular Broadway version of the 1988 cult film from John Waters. The new PG-rated pic has earned glowing praise from critics which will certainly help its cause in a summer full of action hits aimed at young males. Hairspray will skew more female and could appeal to multiple generations given the broad range of stars from teen queens to middle-aged sex symbols.

New Line does not have an easy sell here. However the studio was wise to program the release into the second half of summer knowing that audiences may be all actioned out by now and looking for something different. Musicals rarely hit the big screen during the summer although in 2001 Moulin Rouge opened wide to $13.7M and a $6,019 average leading to a respectable $57.4M gross. Hairspray hopes to become a hit like Chicago and Dreamgirls, rather than a dud like Rent or The Producers. Broadway musicals don't always translate well onto the big screen but starpower often helps to make them click with moviegoers. Hairspray boasts a solid line-up of Hollywood stars and with strong reviews should attract a good following at the box office. Dancing into more than 3,000 theaters, the Adam Shankman-directed film could collect about $19M this weekend.


from boxofficereport:
Weekend Predictions: July 20 - 22
1. Harry Potter 5 - $38.0 m, $213.0 m, (-51%)
2. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry - $36.0 m, $36.0 m, (NEW)
3. Hairspray - $23.0 m, $23.0 m, (NEW)
4. Transformers - $22.0 m, $264.2 m, (-41%)
5. Ratatouille - $12.0 m, $166.0 m, (-33%)
6. Live Free or Die Hard - $7.0 m, $116.0 m, (-38%)
7. License to Wed - $4.8 m, $39.5 m, (-35%)
8. 1408 - $3.2 m, $68.0 m, (-35%)
9. Evan Almighty - $2.8 m, $93.5 m, (-43%)
10. Knocked Up - $2.5 m, $142.8 m, (-33%)

I think it's a tough call this weekend between Potter and Chuck & Larry. I'm giving a slight edge to Potter, in part because I think Hairspray will limit the potential of Chuck & Larry a bit this weekend, but I could see it going either way.

I also expect pretty good holds across the board this weekend, as people try to catch some of the holdovers before the Simpsons/Bourne/Rush Hour wave hits starting next week.

***

oh, and hairspray increased its theater count from 3,000 to 3,121. i'm still sticking with my $20 million opening weekend gross.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 4:01pm

I agree RobbO. And the release of the new potter book will keep that film on top I'm sure.

edit-Gitesh Pandaya is almost always right. He's usually only off by less than a million.

Updated On: 7/19/07 at 04:01 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 4:46pm

Never underestimate the HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL fan base.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 4:58pm

Broadway musicals don't always translate well onto the big screen but starpower often helps to make them click with moviegoers.

When did that happen?

[ExpressThis]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:58pm

i saw this off-broadway only. and it was AMAZING> i love live musical theatre...not so much for the movie remakes.

i saw a preview of "I can hear the bells" and amanda bynes...i dont know. Penny should've been more quirky and UGH i hope it gets better than that. thats all i have to say...

oh and john travolta.. i love him still...even though he's an alien man...lady

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/20/07 at 12:05am

It is certified "Fresh" on rottentomatoes.com with 95% positive reviews. WOOT!!! I think that is better than Chicago, Dreamgirls, et al.

[dollwithamission]

Posted: 7/20/07 at 12:08am

I'm not knowledgable enough about the movie business to predict whether Hairspray will be a hit or a flop, but as for Harry Potter...I feel that the book release will keep more hard-core potter fans at home reading this weekend then taking a second trip to see the movie (which I didn't think was worth a second view anyway), so in that respect the book release could be helping Hairspray ticket sales. (I'm making time for both Harry Potter and Hairspray this weekend however.)

[tazber]

Posted: 7/21/07 at 4:20pm

Hairspray will come in 3rd for the weekend, but still off to a good start:

Not far behind was the musical Hairspray which bowed to an estimated $10.9M on Friday in its first day in multiplexes. The New Line release might be on its way to collecting $28-31M over the weekend giving John Travolta his second big hit of the year.

http://boxofficeguru.com/072107.htm

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/21/07 at 4:41pm

Just came back from seeing it and I LOVED it. The theater was pretty crowded, and that is really good for a movie musical in Columbia, SC.

[25th Annual Speller]

Posted: 7/21/07 at 4:59pm

I saw hairspray yesterday. And I think it was better than the Stage version. Except for John Travolta. He was horrible.

[jerseyboyschick2]

Posted: 7/21/07 at 6:29pm

I saw the movie last night and I absloutley loved it!!! The theatre was kinda packed(which surprised me). Lets just say I had to explain to the majority of my friends that it wasn't about HAIRSPRAY itself. But after it was over, there were people singing tidbits of the songs and people on there cell phones going "I just saw Hairspray....it was really good!!" So it's a hit here in Kentucky atleast!!haha

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 1:29am

Big Disappointment after the first 30 minutes which were great!

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 4:25am

Zac Efron is almost as annoying as Paris Hilton. Almost.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 1:54pm

It came in 3rd, but had a robust opening weekend nonetheles.


http://boxofficeguru.com/weekend20.htm

[Midnight Radio]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 4:38pm

Yuck. That numer still feels very samll to me compared to the opening weekends of the big summer blockbusters, which I thought Hairspray would fit in nicely with. I hope buisness stays strong because I have a feeling the budget may have been fairly expensive.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 4:46pm

I believe that it exceeded studio expectations though, Radio.

Hairspray could never compete with summer tentpole films, that it pulled in almost 30 million is apparently a cause for celbration at the studio. Don't forget, that a nice opening weekend will drive ancilary markets as well, like the cd and eventually dvd sales. Also, it is the type of film that will have legs and play well through August, as opposed to tentpoles that have maybe 2 good weeks then begin declining.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 5:08pm

How, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is #1 (even beating Harry Potter) is beyond me.

[DG]

Posted: 7/22/07 at 5:16pm

Dottie - the top demographic saught by Hollywood is teenage boys - and right now, they've already seen the other blockbusters, and have no interest in HAIRSPRAY or POTTER (at least most of them.) The allure of what seems to be frat-boy humor making fun of 'them' is what will lure them in - hence the #1 slot.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 7:48am

congrats to hairspray for having the biggest opening weekend of any musical ever.

biggest. opening. musical. ever.

Updated On: 7/24/07 at 07:48 AM