"Speed Racer" Crashes And Burns

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May 12, 2008 07:58 PM EST | AP

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LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer" downshifted to third place in its debut weekend with $18.6 million in box-office receipts while Marvel Studios' "Iron Man" kept a lock on first with $51.2 million in ticket sales.

The Wachowski brothers' anime-inspired racing movie came in about $1.6 million short of studio estimates Sunday, finishing way behind expectations. The studio, owned by Time Warner Inc., said the movie would have a tough time covering its $120 million budget.

"What Happens in Vegas," 20th Century Fox's comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, meanwhile pulled down $20.2 million for second, slightly above estimates made early Sunday.

"Iron Man," which stars Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, saw revenue slip a respectable 48 percent from its opening weekend, bringing its domestic sales to a total of $177.8 million. The film is being distributed by Paramount Pictures.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC:

1. "Iron Man," Paramount, $51,190,629, 4,111 locations, $12,452 average, $177,825,024, two weeks.

2. "What Happens in Vegas," Fox, $20,172,474, 3,215 locations, $6,274 average, $20,172,474, one week.

3. "Speed Racer," Warner Bros., $18,561,337, 3,606 locations, $5,147 average, $18,561,337, one week.

4. "Made of Honor," Sony, $8,116,323, 2,734 locations, $2,969 average, $26,791,494, two weeks.

5. "Baby Mama," Universal, $6,225,790, 2,627 locations, $2,370 average, $40,836,370, three weeks.

6. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Universal, $3,837,240, 2,376 locations, $1,615 average, $50,781,745, four weeks.

7. "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," Warner Bros., $3,106,424, 2,264 locations, $1,372 average, $30,667,308, three weeks.

8. "The Forbidden Kingdom," Lionsgate, $2,169,323, 1,724 locations, $1,258 average, $48,530,104, four weeks.

9. "Nim's Island," Fox, $1,463,622, 1,601 locations, $914 average, $44,395,857, six weeks.

10. "Prom Night," Sony Screen Gems, $1,012,986, 1,465 locations, $691 average, $42,785,107, five weeks.

11. "Redbelt," Sony Pictures Classics, $1,012,435, 1,379 locations, $734 average, $1,109,674, two weeks.

12. "21," Sony, $851,385, 978 locations, $871 average, $80,434,035, seven weeks.

13. "The Visitor," Overture Films, $729,212, 217 locations, $3,360 average, $2,475,492, five weeks.

14. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!," Fox, $605,347, 770 locations, $786, $150,699,120, nine weeks.

15. "88 Minutes," Sony, $534,104, 625 locations, $855 average, $16,460,014, four weeks.

16. "Drillbit Taylor," Paramount, $508,095, 267 locations, $1,903 average, $31,760,807, eight weeks.

17. "Young At Heart," Fox Searchlight, $388,928, 145 locations, $2,682 average, $1,444,646, five weeks.

18. "10,000 B.C.," Warner Bros., $347,407, 409 locations, $849 average, $94,042,448, 10 weeks.

19. "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," Rocky Mountain Pictures, $328,836, 402 locations, $818 average, $7,235,324, four weeks.

20. "Street Kings," Fox Searchlight, $240,553, 297 locations, $810 average, $25,649,703, five weeks.

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On the Net:

http://www.mediabynumbers.com

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Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Rogue Pictures are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount and Paramount Classics are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Marvel Studios is a division of Marvel Entertainment Inc.

(This version CORRECTS typo in lead to Studios' sted Studio's.)

 
 

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I saw it with my 11 year old little brother and he adored it. Although he did think it was too long (which it is.) It is bad and weird as hell in places (like the original) but stunningly original visually. The long car race especially is one of the wackiest pieces of filmmaking I've ever seen -- and completely fun.

It's a great kids movie.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:49 AM on 05/14/2008

I saw it and everyone in the family liked it a lot. It is a great kids movie. I am really suprised it is not doing better.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:44 PM on 05/13/2008

Non stop action and entertainment. Amazing effects.

They've invented a whole new way to make movies.

AND IT ROCKS!

Speed Racer is the best movie I've seen in years. It far surpassed my expectations, which were low because I didn't think the original classic needed an update.

imo

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:32 AM on 05/13/2008

I don't think it was bad...it just came out at the wrong time.A week after Iron Man? What were they thinking? Anyway, I think they did a good job on it. If it tanks,they can afford to pay the studio back. It may get its legs when it comes out on DVD - it's gonna look FANTASTIC in HD!
I still like saying, "Inspector Detector", and I hope they make one more-with the Mammoth Car in it.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:46 AM on 05/13/2008

im just mad at the fact that the lead cast in Speed Racer is mainly all-white when in the show they were clearly asian. Thanks a lot Hollywood for distorting millions of childhood memories once again.

I could just imagine them talking about it like its an issue: "Asian cast? Nah, America wouldn't buy that. I don't have enough integrity to pull that one off."

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:29 PM on 05/12/2008

"In the s(sp?)how they were clearly Asian."

Are you high? The original Speed Racer cartoon featured a Caucasian family. Yes, the show was created and animated in Japan, but Speed was clearly white. He was supposed to be a young Elvis look alike. Trixie was white, Pops and his wife were white as was Sparky his mechanic. His younger brother Spritle (sp?) could easily be mistaken for a young Japanese child in the way that the animators drew him.

Regardless, casting a $20 million dollar film with or without an all Asian cast has nothing to do with integrity. It's a business decision. Name an Asian American actor with the star power to open what was supposed to be a summer blockbuster. When you make your first feature film and put your life savings on the line (and go millions into debt) will you show how much "integrity" you have by making casting decisions based on political correctness? Didn't think so.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:01 AM on 05/13/2008

Hollywood summer blockbuster with an Asian cast? Never happen, outside of kung fu.
Wouldn't "The Departed" have been awesome if they had done the remake with the Hong Kong actors from the original? They can speak English, after all. Anthony Wong tops Jack NIcholson any day. And Tony Leung is clearly cooler and tougher than DiCaprio.
How a remake inferior to the original can win an Oscar makes no sense except as a mercy prize for Scorsese.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:36 AM on 05/13/2008

I'm a big fan of Tony Leung and of Hong Kong cinema as a whole (War Kar Wai is my favorite) but the suggestion that the Hollywood remake should have had an all Asian cast rather than three of the biggest movie stars in the world is laughable. Sure, it wasn't Scorsese's best (far from it) but it never would have had even a fraction of the audience and box office it achieved without those stars in the lead roles. There's a reason why big name stars like DiCaprio get paid so much. They attract huge fan bases for the opening weekend gross. You could never open such a film in 2500 theaters with actors no one aside from Hong Kong cinema fans had ever heard of. The film would open in LA and NY and then maybe spread to 50 or so theaters in metropolitan areas across the country. That's it.

It's a business, not a workshop for political correctness. That being said, I think people should check out the Hong Kong original (I have yet to see it) as I'm sure it will be good. Th cast is certainly an impressive one.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:24 PM on 05/13/2008

Eh, I chose to blow my ten bucks a week movie money seeing Iron Man again. At least no one described that movie as something that makes you feel like your eyes are being poked with needles. You guys are not going a long way toward convincing me to see Speed since I hated the cartoon as a kid and I don't have a 6-8 year old boy to bring to the theater with me. My geek buddy's really disappointed that I decided I didn't care to see it this past weekend. Guess he'll have to go it alone.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:51 PM on 05/12/2008

This is what happens when you give too much power to the dudes who brought us Matrix trio. The first one was bad ass, but the second and third sucked!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:34 PM on 05/12/2008

My sentiments exactly... poor Emile he won us (at least me) over in Into the Wild but now the Wachowski curse has him.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:28 PM on 05/12/2008

The Clutch Cargo movie and the Superfriends movie have, thankfully, been placed on hold because of Speed Racer's less than stellar performance.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:15 PM on 05/12/2008

FWIW, my kids have seen EVERY kid movie in the last 3 years.

They'd give this one the Os-CAR.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:13 AM on 05/12/2008

The previews look lame, so I'm not really shocked. Too bad the lead actor had to wear that dorky helmet.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:00 AM on 05/12/2008

RIP Wachowski brothers. Please. If a documentary could be made about them along the lines of "Overnight," all the post "Matrix I" drek will have been worth it. (V for Vendetta was all right, but too long. Self-indulgence.)

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:46 AM on 05/12/2008

I sat and watched the making of this movie's documentary. Total BS. I kept thinking something exciting would happen, but it is basically a modernized who framed roger rabbit.
http://www.theidaexpress.com

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:51 AM on 05/12/2008

I would love a modernized Who Framed Roger Rabbit. That movie was fantastic!

As a cartoon fan I cuoldn't have been happier than when I saw that movie.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:52 AM on 05/14/2008

Yeah, ha ha ha to the people who made this multi-million dollar toy commercial. Yet another attempt to profit off of self-indulgent nostalgia for an average cartoon from a long time ago.

Now, if they would only make a movie of Thundaar...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:31 AM on 05/12/2008

I'm waiting for the Clutch Cargo movie myself.

Oh, shit, just gave Hollywood an idea.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:11 PM on 05/12/2008

i dont think that the reviews were fair to the movie.. it stuck to the animated origin that it came from... and the actors were good.. plenty of action in the movie. trying to fit at least 20 episodes in 2 hours was the biggest challenge but it was good movie... and someone tell me

how downey jr repeatedly get superhigh on crack and can come back and re-up his career for the 4th time... oh and in the comic book series... tony stark retires and guess whos the new iron man ... terrance howard :) cant wait for pt 2 :)

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:00 AM on 05/12/2008

I haven't seen it but...they should have made it back 15 years ago when they first planned! Yeah I read that they were gonna make this movie back 15 years ago with Johnny Depp and Henry Rollins , now THAT I would pay to see !!!!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:55 AM on 05/12/2008

After the success that is now Iron Man, it's going to be an uphill battle for any other mega-flicks. Speed Racer has a solid fan base, but the crew behind Iron Man spent years working on the source material, stayed true to it, and picked out the best people to pull it off. I'd wager the Hulk movie won't do nearly half as well, given that it doesn't bomb first.

The only contenders here are Indiana Jones 4 and the Batman sequel/prequel/whatever. Sadly, that one will get a boost due to the Heath Ledger death factor.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:10 AM on 05/12/2008

I hope it's better than the reviews. If it tanks any further it only means the Wach brothers get what they deserve by stealing the Matrix story from that sista that sued em and won. I'm glad they went ahead and made her great concept into a movie, but give people credit where it's due. Likewise, as a fan, assess what credit should be given to people who are weak enough to succumb to a chance to get over on hollywood outsiders.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:01 AM on 05/12/2008

"If it tanks any further it only means the Wach brothers get what they deserve by stealing the Matrix story from that sista that sued em and won."

Apparently the "win" you speak of is an myth:

http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/mediapolitics/2005-August/0804-1x.html

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:52 AM on 05/12/2008

This is a film for kids and for those who are still a kid at heart.

Kid's love this movie with a raw passion from what I've been hearing. I saw it and loved it. I have to say that as an art lover and a film lover and a game developer... this movie blew me away. It is a work of masterful art.

It really was unlucky to come out a week after Ironman, which came out of no where and is a giant family hit.

I'd say that this film is this generations Tron. A brilliant movie way ahead of it's time and destined to be a cult favorite when kids who see it now grow up. This film is a work of art inspired by a crappy cartoon. Go figure.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:45 AM on 05/12/2008

This generation's Tron? So, like, this movie sucked too, then? Tron was a fantastically bad film. "Hey, I hear computer games are popular with the kids. Let's make a movie out of Pong!" Please. And I'm astounded that anybody greenlights a Wachowski bros movie after the abominations of Matrix 2 & 3. I don't think it's OK to insult the intelligence of your audience. Even if the audience is composed of eight-year-olds. Let's give kids a little credit.

It's certainly possible to make a cinematic silk purse out of a sow's ear. But based on the Speed Racer and Wachowski legacies, I won't be rushing right out to see the movie.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:07 PM on 05/12/2008

I agree completely. The movie is an audacious and unprecedented product that was clearly a labor of love for those involved. The source material is shallow, the product of a limited budget and cliche plot elements. It is NOT for mass consumption (despite whatever sales pitches the Wachowski's threw to Warner Brothers). I won't recommend the movie to anyone who doesn't already want to see it.
I agree with the Tron comparison and suggest that a Dick Tracy (the Beatty/Madonna film) influence is present as well, especially in villain characterizations (though even shallower). It is a superficial effort, with nary an inch of depth, but oh what surfaces they produced!
To those who suggest that this is a common summer fluff movie, I will paraphrase Alan Rickman's character from Die Hard, responding to being declared a 'common thief.' No! This is an extraordinary fluff movie.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:52 AM on 05/12/2008

Seconded.

I saw it with a 6-yr old and 8-yr old this weekend. They were utterly transfixed.

I was braced for a widely-panned, kid-targetted movie, but what I got was... transfixed.

Is the movie "flawed?" Yup. Would it have been better received if some "flaws" were fixed? Some yes, some no.

The movie, and the Wach bros., are getting kicked too hard.

If Iron Man wasn't released within days...

Two years, or ten years from now, will anyone be talking about "What Happens in Vegas," or any other typical Hollow-wood crap on that list?

And another thing, the trailer for the all-80's-quality-CGI Star Wars VIII looked absolutely ATROCIOUS -- especially followed by the eye-popping Speed Racer.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:10 AM on 05/12/2008

You're half right.
This is a film for kids and for those who don't know any better.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:19 AM on 05/12/2008

I took my 6-year-old to see it today and thought it was pretty good. The story line was a bit over his head (like it will be for most kids, but the race sequences were pretty exciting and eye-popping. Surprised it's not doing better. Maybe word of mouth will help. I often don't understand critics and their reasons for liking or disliking a movie. Bottom line...I was entertained. Certainly worth the matinee price.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:16 AM on 05/12/2008

Remember, Critics are people who wanted to be artist, but did not have the talent. So they harbor hate for those who can create art. And it is well known that Critics will only give good reviews if they are coddled, pampered, treated and showered with special gifts. There were many articles and even some tv stories on just this a few years ago. You dont suck up to the critic and they will ignore or give you a bad review. Its the nature of the beast.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:09 AM on 05/12/2008

Now, now. Just because a film is critically drubbed doesn't automatically make it "art".

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:14 PM on 05/12/2008

No its just a 120 million dollar kids movie. May work with Star Wars... but this is Speed Racer.

They just released a new Speed Racer cartoon and judging from its poor animation I think it was done off of the movies marketing budget top ull suckers... err.. I mean kids into the theatres

OMG, 120 mil on a Speed Racer movie, wtf... who put Bush in charge of Warner Bros.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:32 PM on 05/12/2008

I thought it was pretty entertaining. A lot of action and some corny parts but overall held my eyes to the screen the entire time

I wasn't to thrilled about the commercials because they really don't do the movie right. Whoever was hired to do the ad promos had their heads in a dark place.

GOOD popcorn flick. Take the kids or not it was still worth it. The effects were great.

The chick flicks were just that. For the chicks. I got roped into seeing Made of Honor and wanted to lose the popcorn from Speed Racer. I felt like I needed an Insulin shot afterwards.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:40 PM on 05/11/2008

I saw this with the kids over the weekend in iMAX¦. Speed Racer was entertaining with action to spare. The racing scenes were awesome and at the end, the audience applauded. It has a great anti-corporate story line where Speed Racer is challenged by a race fixing CEO who will stop at nothing to corrupt the sport of racing¦ highly recommend and fun!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:30 PM on 05/11/2008

Nobody cares about Speed Racer. It's nearly the same reason why recent movies like "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and "The Golden Compass" underpreformed at the box-office, but the difference is those movies had a large following of young readers who were guarenteed to fill some seats, even if the thearter didn't fill up. But Speed Racer is based on a poorly animated cartoon that came out over 30 years ago, and last enjoyed a very brief revival over 10 years ago. Way to strike while the fires hot!

Americans saw right through the slick marketing and flashy colors that fill every scene of this movie from the every first trailer. Now, that's not to say these things aren't enough to bring us into the movie theater, but add to that the fact that this movie is 2h15min long, not in 3-D, and has been released right at the beginning of what promises to be one of the most exciting summers in popcorn film history, I just don't have the time, money, or energy to waste on a disappointment like this.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:23 PM on 05/11/2008

The cartoon totally sucked, so it only follows that the movie would suck too.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:01 PM on 05/11/2008

Which episodes did you hate the most?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:21 AM on 05/12/2008

Great review... do you have any books you haven't read that you can tell me suck too? How about any songs you haven't listen to... could you condemn them as well?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:31 PM on 05/11/2008

if you're looking for opinions, my wife says chick flicks are much better than action flicks.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:20 PM on 05/12/2008