Annihilation (2018) - Trailer

Well look at the box office receipts of recent sci-fi movies that don't have a guaranteed audience

Blade Runner 2049, Life, Ghost in the Shell, The Dark Tower, Valerian etc

None did very well.
 
darkgen said:
Still unclear about the rationale. Was the confidence simply not there that it would be a theatrical success?
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I'm guessing so. It must be damn expensive to screen and advertise to such an extent. I guess they weighed up the potential profits of a widespread European release and found it wanting, when they could just as easily sell it to Netlix for a guaranteed sum.
 
I sit 6ft away from a 55" B7V OLED, that's more than big enough (and I don't get some ****ing inconsiderate twonk sitting behind me rustling his BAGS of crisps like it's going out of fashion. Really ****ed me off in the Black Panther screening I went to). Home streaming within 2 weeks of a cinema release should definitely be an option imo.
 
Maybe they looked at Ex Machina, which made $36m. Annihilation, has a budget of about $50m. With marketing costs on top, there's a good chance it would have lost money.

EddScott said:
Doesn't bode well for future Sci-Fi movies of the studios don't have confidence they'll get a good return.
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Depends on what type of sci-fi. I suppose it doesn't bode well for more thought provoking sci-fi where you have to engage your brain a bit. Big stupid sci-fi films I'm sure will continue to get cinema releases.

I blame these people that say, 'switch your brain off and enjoy' when it comes to big stupid films. Seems that too many switched their brains off and didn't reengage them afterwards. ;)
 
Marsman said:
Big stupid sci-fi films I'm sure will continue to get cinema releases.
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“too intellectual” and “too complicated,”
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Probably watched it, realised there was more speaking than explosions, forgot to cast the skinny English bird that can't seem to wear any clothes (although she's a big fan of #metoo) and decided it was going to flop. :)
 
I love learning about things like this - seems there's a rich vein of sci-fi to tap into and it's great adding books to my ever growing to read list. Are any of VanderMeer's other books worth a read?
 
Pleasantly surprised that Netflix picked this up and happy that my sub is going towards some seemingly decent content

Unlikely that I'd go to the cinema to watch this but given the subject matter and director I would've picked up the bluray when it came out - so it'll save me a few quid :)
 
The decision to release “Annihilation” online internationally was reportedly made after a poor test screening. Paramount financier David Ellison was allegedly worried that the film was “too intellectual” and “too complicated,” and asked for the film to be changed for a wider audience.
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These are the same sort of money guys that nearly stopped filiming on films like Titanic, and cut the budget of Guardians Of The Galaxy because they were sure it wasn't going to make any money. Yet they okay films like the last Fantastic Four movie and countless other terrible films that no one goes to see. They don't know what they are doing, they just throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. This time they had Netflix as a safety net. It will be interesting to see if Netflix make it a massive success and David Ellison looks silly.
 
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Steampunk said:
These are the same sort of money guys that nearly stopped filiming on films like Titanic, and cut the budget of Guardians Of The Galaxy because they were sure it wasn't going to make any money.
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?

The guardians of the galaxy budget was huge

https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/...-the-galaxy-was-over-budget-at-232-million/3/

And as far as I know, there was never any point that filming on Titanic was going to be stopped. It went over budget and schedule but the battle Cameron had was with the studio over the running time. Fox wanted an hour edited out of it!
 
Interesting article re. the Netflix release. Quite interesting that big studios can now use Netflix as a 'backup' if they don't think the film will do very well. As long as it's a critical success, Netflix still wins. Wonder how they work out if it will be deemed a successful purchase though... unlikely they will gain subscribers for that one title alone.

‘Annihilation’ on Netflix: Moviegoers Need to Take Responsibility For Paramount’s Controversial Deal
Similar to Aronofsky and Alexander Payne’s movies, “Annihilation”represented an auteur-driven risk carrying a large price tag at $40 million. In many ways, Paramount should be feted for allowing these directors to see their visions through on these budgets. Unfortunately, not even the star power of Jennifer Lawrence and Matt Damon could save “mother!” and “Downsizing” at the box office. Paramount took two risks and nobody showed up to support them. Anyone at Paramount had to realize following these bombs that “Annihilation,” another big-budget auteur effort with an A-list celebrity in the lead role (Natalie Portman), was far from a guarantee for financial success.
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It all comes down to art versus profit really. Kudos to Paramount for making these films, but there's literally no point if they lose money on all of them.
 
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