2012 senior class photos
2012 West Carrollton graduation
Home of the Week
Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > November > 11
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Do you decide on a movie based on box office?
Many people have debated the wisdom of treating box office figures as news stories. They decry the notion that a movie’s quality should be based on how much money it makes. In a time when Meet the Spartans can be promoted as “The Number 1 Movie in America!,” they have a point.
But I wonder - why do people want to know the box office? I want to know largely because box office can and does very often affect what kinds of movies might show up down the line. I’m interested in that part of the Hollywood game, which is why I check out sites like Box Office Guru and Box Office Prophets.
But then, I’m a movie nut. What about the more casual fan? What good are box office figures to them?
I can think of only one time I saw a movie based on how much money it made, and I got burned. The ads and reviews for The Fast and the Furious hadn’t told me it was worth seeing, so I skipped it. Then I remember being surprised at how well it opened, and some of the reviews were very positive so I decided to see what the buzz was all about. I then realized the movie was neither Fast nor Furious.
So let me ask you: Did you ever decide to see a movie because it made a lot of money at the box office? And did your decision pay off?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Ask the Audience
