Not really. Only if you look at the head-up-your-own-arse Yankee box office numbers. It's killing it in the international theatres. I have no idea if the movie is good or not (it looks like it sucks major balls) but it drives me nuts when Americans think their box office numbers are the only thing that matter. Time to realize there's a bigger audience out there. The Mummy may be a giant piece of shite, but it's far from a box office flop.
So, it turns out there was already a Dark Universe. I don't remember this movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093560/
It's good, you should check it out. Oh, the dialog and music are unabashed 80's cheese, but the monster effects are pretty good.
I just watched a video on Cracked about the Dark Universe and how bad of an idea it is and I'm forced to agree. I just don't see how they're going to pull this off. Unfortunately, they've already gone ahead with casting and scheduling.
It's a flop. Universal lost 95 million on it. Gotta remember, you have to double the budget to account for advertising. It's okay, I forgive you. That's all I ever wanted for you. That's all I want for everyone. Even monsters like Flashlight can be saved.
So are they going forward or not? This should be a lesson for all studios, don't make a movie expecting a sequel or franchise, just make a solid movie. The only exception is if your movie is Star Wars and you are in between episodes.
I tend to think they'll at least go ahead with "Bride Of Frankenstein", because all the gears are already in motion for it. But it's going to have a lot riding on it. DC took a critical pounding until Wonder Woman, but those movies all still profited.
For no other reason than they want Angelina Jolie (yet they haven't landed her, yet they're proceeding as if they have) and they think she's a bugger star than Javier Bardem. But no, this cinematic universe isn't cynical.
I'm guessing math wasn't your strongest subject. The movie has grossed about $300-million worldwide. Which, even if you take into consideration worst-case scenario marketing costs, it's already netted at least over $50-million in profit. That's a 25% return on investment. Any Wall Street investor douchebag would drool over that kind of profit. It's okay, I forgive you.
We're dealing with Follywood, though. A movie can turn a profit, but because it made less than the producers expected, will be considered a "bomb." However, there are a number of movies which have bombed in the US, but made so much money overseas that they had a sequel made, simply because the producers were more interested in the overseas numbers than the US figures. Have to wait and see on this.
You gotta love Hollywood accounting. Apparently, Return of the Jedi is yet to become profitable. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? $167 million in the hole despite a worldwide take of $939 million.
And yet all those reality-impaired Hollywood liberals like to tell us about paying our fair share of taxes.
Point is, there are fuckers really sucking our blood, and killing kids that ought to earn your ire and contempt second by second forever, not just now and then. There should be no room in your head left for class envy over stupid Hollywood.
It's not class envy, it's recognising hypocrisy. When I get a Goldman Sachs banker bellyaching about greed, or an arms dealer whining about gun crime they'll get the same short shrift from me.
Oh dear. Never good to see a talent fade into being a repetitive hack. Hope you get your groove back soon.