my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » Box office disaster: 'Oogieloves' has the worst opening weekend of all time (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Box office disaster: 'Oogieloves' has the worst opening weekend of all time System Notices Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi Posts: 215 Registered: Apr 2004 posted 09-03-2012 10:51 PM                 Entertainment Weekly by Grady Smith OOGIELOVES-BALLOON-ADVENTURE After its inauspicious opening Wednesday, when the bizarre kiddie flick The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure earned a shockingly low $47 average at each theater, it looked like it could be headed for the worst opening weekend of all time for a film playing in over 2,000 theaters. Well, it happened. According to studio estimates, the colorful toddler-targeting entry, which is being distributed by Kenn Viselman Presents (Viselman formerly found massive success as producer of The Teletubbies), earned a truly awful $448,131 from 2,160 theaters in its debut three-day weekend. That gross yielded a per theater average of $207. Yes, you’re reading that correctly: $207! Movie and DVD Guide: Get the latest news, photos, and more Just how low is that? Let’s pretend that the average ticket price for each customer was about $7 this weekend. That would mean that only 30 people saw Oogieloves at each theater — across all its showings — over the past three days. The film, which stars a series of creepy costumed characters with names like Toofie, Zoozie, and Goobie, as well as a vacuum cleaner named J. Edgar (and not to mention Jamie Pressly, Cary Elwes, Christopher Lloyd, and Toni Braxton, whose heart will never unbreak now), cost $20 million to produce, and another reported $40 million to promote. Was the marketing money well spent? Judge for yourself in the trailer below: Oogieloves trailer Oogieloves steals the opening weekend “record” from Delgo, the misguided 2008 animation, which earned only $511,920 in its opening weekend from (cue scary Phantom of the Opera chord progression) 2,160 theaters — the same number as Oogieloves. There’s gotta be some sort of curse around that theater count. Now, let me turn this hilarious story (if you’re a box office nerd like me) over to you, readers. Did you even know Oogieloves was coming out? Were you possibly one of the people who saw it this weekend? Are you surprised it bombed this badly?  |  IP: Logged Brent Francis Film Handler Posts: 84 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Nov 2008 posted 09-04-2012 08:12 AM                        Saw the ad (repeatedly). Thought it was a live kids show until the 3rd/4th time when I noticed the credits. Even as a live kids show, it looked like it would have been awful.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-04-2012 09:43 AM                        They actually gave away a CAR to promote this piece of junk at CinemaCon. I don't claim to always be able to spot a bomb but in this case I knew it the minute I saw the poster.  |  IP: Logged Shawn M. Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 175 From: Arlington, VA, USA Registered: Feb 2012 posted 09-04-2012 05:21 PM                    This thing is proof that you don't have to die to go to Hell. We had the trailer on Madagascar 3. Kids and parents alike thought it was crap.  |  IP: Logged Caleb Johnstone-Cowan Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 593 From: London, UK Registered: Mar 2006 posted 09-04-2012 05:31 PM                     Is this based on an existing show on US TV?  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 09-05-2012 03:54 AM                     No, an original idea, but it's been in the can since 2009 ... and they should have left it there.. or just released it straight to home video. ...and I thought Barney was bad -Monte  |  IP: Logged Edward Havens Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 614 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Mar 2008 posted 09-05-2012 11:32 AM                     The guy behind the Oogieloves, Kenn Viselman, was a marketing executive for Thomas the Tank Engine and The Teletubbies, and he thought he could do his own children's series. I guess he learned the hard way that creating a successful television series for small children is not the same as creating a successful movie for small children. Could it be because a parent could just plop the kid in front of the Boob Tube and go do their own thing, while a parent must sit through this type of garbage in a movie theatre?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-05-2012 12:44 PM                        You'd think some of the investors or board members or whatever would have taken one look at this and said, "this is going to suck...let's cut our losses and go right to Nickelodion with it." But no, they drop $40 million into marketing thinking that's going to solve the problem. Didn't they show it to a test audience with real kids?  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 09-05-2012 01:49 PM                     I saw the trailer on my last cinema visit.......I thought it was a "joke"...the audience did a little WTF groan at the end of the ad.  |  IP: Logged Edward Havens Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 614 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Mar 2008 posted 09-06-2012 10:03 AM                     Mike, I don't think Mr. Viselman had any additional investors or board members. My understanding is that he alone financed the movie and created his own distribution company to release it. What's even scarier? Mr. Viselman has plans to make a second Oogieloves movie for release next August, and the abject failure of the first film theatrically has not dissuaded him from going through with it.  |  IP: Logged Jim Henk Master Film Handler Posts: 364 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 09-07-2012 11:04 AM                     quote: Edward Havens Mr. Viselman has plans to make a second Oogieloves movie for release next August Head trauma must be an awful thing. We should wish Mr. Viselman a speedy recovery.  |  IP: Logged Bruce McGee Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1776 From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular. Registered: Aug 1999 posted 09-07-2012 12:08 PM                     I knew nothing about this bomb until it hit the theatre. 60 million dollars for this? Wow. "It's the BEST MOVIE EV-ERR!!!" (This is from the voice box in the lobby standee.) Teletubbies was so gentle and sweet to watch.... I've heard that no 35mm film was harmed in the making of this thing.  |  IP: Logged Justin West Master Film Handler Posts: 271 From: Peoria, IL, USA Registered: Jul 2001 posted 09-10-2012 12:11 AM                     Bruce: No 35mm film may have been harmed...but a lot was wasted with this movie!  |  IP: Logged Robert Crabtree Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Largo, FL Registered: May 2008 posted 02-26-2013 03:29 PM                     My local theatre had promo bags and cups for this clunker. On first sight I thought "Ewww". I was fortunate to never sit through the trailer though.  |  IP: Logged John Roddy Expert Film Handler Posts: 114 From: Spring, TX, United States Registered: Dec 2012 posted 02-26-2013 06:55 PM                        I still have two unopened cases of the promotional glow wands they sent us for the opening weekend. They only last for a minute or two before fading out almost completely, but it's still a lot of fun to light one or two of 'em up every now and then.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.