Rent ranked #5 in America's Box Office- Page 2

[ellenoshalom]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:59pm

^^^o geesh. 17 million wow. I thought it was a little more.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:59pm

ethp23, I couldn't agree with you more. If middle America is going to see a RENT, it will have to be the real thing or nothing. Not only does this film adaptation do a disservice to the original, it does a disservice to the civil rights movement and the gay community. We can't afford to give middle America another reason to discard us.

[YankeesFan175]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:02pm

well i said it on the other thread and ill say it again now:

i saw that RENT is playing in about 1000 less theaters than every other movie above it. for only playing in a little over 2000 theaters nationwide with only about 5 showtimes a day isnt that bad. if it was playing in more places and/or had more showtimes itd prolly do better.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:02pm

I somewhat agree, eth23 and Foster. Personally, I'm a little irked when people say this film does the original production justice, or that it's well-made. It's not. Let's not fool people into thinking Jonathon Larson made a load of crap. He wrote something beautiful (flawed, but beautiful), and the film simply did NOT capture that.
Updated On: 11/27/05 at 03:02 PM

[ellenoshalom]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:07pm

^^^ how do yall think the film could have capture the essence of the true RENT. Because I thought Chicago wasn't the best yet they had a great cast. Basically the cast saved them.

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:07pm

Believe or not, not everyone believes that the film doesn't capture the spirit of the stage show. It's not a perfect movie, but the show isn't perfect, either. Too bad about the box office.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:10pm

ellen, I think they simply could have gotten a better director and screenplay writer. Columbus just wasn't the man for the job.

Laura, most of those who think the film captured the spirit of the stage show are already fans. It has gotten some new ones, but I think if it TRULY captured the piece as well as the production originally did, that initial powerful reaction it had on Broadway would be duplicated in some form, but magnified as well because it's on a larger scale.
Updated On: 11/27/05 at 03:10 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:12pm

As a gay man, I am proud of this film. And, no, it is not definitive that this is a bad film. While a bunch of you may think that--not everyone does. And as has been demonstrated in the reviews thread, most of the major reviewers gave it a good review. So get over yourselves and your need to proselytize that it's a bad film. You have your opinions and others have theirs.

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:14pm

Ellenoshalom I actually have a complete opposing opinion on the cast issues. I think that Chicago's cast was much weaker than Rent's. They did however have the names that Rent lacks.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:16pm

I just think *any* notion of giving your opinion with the air of sweeping generalization is ridiculous. Like, to say that the only people for whom it captures the message are its fans? That's absurd.

My father slept through the show on stage, and then spent three years telling me to stop wasting my time and my money. He was moved by that movie, and was *certainly* not ever a fan.

Case in point.

[Eileen2]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:17pm

According to Variety, it came in at #4, playing at about 800 fewer theaters then the ones in front of it.

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (WB) 3,858 $81.4
2. Walk the Line (FOX) 3,138 $27.6
3. Yours, Mine and Ours (PAR) 3,206 $24.5
4. Rent (SONY) 2,433 $18.1
5. Chicken Little (BV) 3,475 $16.7

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:17pm

jrb_actor, exactly. We have our opinions and others have theirs. That's what a message board is about. So you get over yourself and as you've done, let people express their opinions.

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:18pm

and the one behind it!

[my2cents]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:19pm

Wow thread #3 on box office results. Every few hours i come back and there is a new thread. Rent got some pretty bad reviews and did 18 million. On box office mojo it is ranked #21 of musicals listed since 1974 and has so far grossed more then Hair, grease 2, a chrous line, hedwig, newsies, and pirates of penzance among others. Ofcourse one has to add in budget, inflation, tickets prices etc.

Ellenoshalom couldn't you just have put this info in one of the other two threads?

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:22pm

No, foster, you aren't going to turn this on me. I have never tried to suppress anyone's opinion that the film is bad. I HAVE tried to suppress the way some of you have been on a war path to convert or admonish or dismiss those of us who did like the film. Now, maybe YOU aren't in that group, but trust me--there has been so much of it these past few days.

[Kelsey]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:39pm

I would hope it would make more than "Grease 2."

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:57pm

*sigh* I simply don't understand defending that this is a well-done film. To me, it's like saying Crossroads was a great film...even though some people thought it weas fun or cute.

I think people are being drawn to and attachng to the material, not the QUALITY in which it was adapted to film. Good for them for overseeing the flaws, but had it been made better, the material would shine more. And even though it may have captured certain aspects of Rent, it neglected others. For me, that's the bottom line.

I'm not dismissing anyone for LIKING it, but for pretending this is as good as it could have been? Hmph.

[Whiteboy Spice]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 3:59pm

You are making a brash statement in suggesting that anyone who likes this film is "pretending" to do so. Isn't that a little presumptuous and unfair? No one is telling you you are "pretending" not to like it. You didn't like it; that's your honest response. Others did; that's their honest response. Why are you challenging their authenticity?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:00pm

But the fact that someone's opinion is different than yours doesn't mean they're "pretending" it's good. I don't see how you can dismiss simply liking the movie as "pretending" that it's good. Pretending it's good would be if you hated it, and sat there convincing yourself that it was really not that bad, or if you hated it and then went home and still told everybody how great it was. With something like this that has such an ability to elicit very *immediate* responses, there's not really room for "pretending". You like it or you don't.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:00pm

Critics Reviews Average Grade: B

Source Brief Review Grade*
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Melinda Ennis "Don't wait to rent this well-adapted version of the Broadway hit..." more... B+

Boston Globe
Wesley Morris "Some of the staging is just dumb." more... C

Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert "On film, Rent is the sound of one hand clapping." more... B-

Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips "...a pretty good version of a pretty great stage phenomenon." more... B

E! Online "...this is a Rent to own." more... B+

Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman "...a joyful surprise." more... A-

filmcritic.com
Chris Barsanti "... one of the most refreshingly exuberant films of the year." more... B+

Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt "Hugely entertaining and high-spirited adaptation of the hit rock opera." more... A

New York Post
Kyle Smith "...sprinkling showbiz fairydust into the most ludicrous situations." more... C

New York Times
A.O. Scott "...every time the film seemed ready to tip into awfulness, the sneer on my lips was trumped by the lump in my throat." more... B

San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein "...to director Chris Columbus' credit, his schizoid approach works more often than not." more... B

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold "...still a powerful gut punch." more... A-

USA Today
Mike Clark "...stage-like characterizations clash against realistic East Village settings and homogenized production numbers." more... C

^Not Citizen Kane, but nowhere NEAR Crossroads.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:01pm

You are getting to the point of dismissing other's opinions by stating that people are "pretending". You didn't like it, we get it, but many people did. Many individuals did feel it was well done. Could it have been better? Of course, but is there an artistic creation ever made that couldn't be improved upon? But, all you can do is take it for what it is.

And honestly, why are you wasting SO MUCH time intellectualizing an experience that you did not enjoy? It's a bit of a waste of time, why not focus your energies on something else that was a bit more positive for you.

Updated On: 11/27/05 at 04:01 PM

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:04pm

Hear, hear, Anthony, Emcee, and Colleen. I don't have anything to add.

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:04pm

One of the most important things we have to remember on this board is that we are all different people from different backgrounds and there is no way we are going to have the same opinion as everyone else, or even understand their opinion. To keep our discussions from completely turning into circular arguments, we absolutely have to be able to accept we cannot turn everyone over onto our side!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:04pm

I really need to pull myself away from this circus and do some homework.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 4:06pm

I think I just said...if you like it that's one thing. Perhaps "pretending" was the wrong word, though. I never said anyone was pretending to enjoy this film. Not at all. Most of my friends did, and I never asked them to stop pretending that they liked it because they did, and I know that they did.

All I'm saying is that there were very clear points where this film fell short, and I think that's a shame. And while many of us may have enjoyed it, can we not at the same time recognize that perhaps...just MAYBE it could have been better? And that taking some really strong points of the stage show out MIGHT have been a mistake?
Updated On: 11/27/05 at 04:06 PM