“Five lessons of ‘Total Recall’s’ disappointing box-office results”
The LAT’s Steve Zeitchik weighs in on the less-than-stellar opening weekend of Total Recall:
When Universal moved “The Bourne Legacy” off this past weekend, blinking in its box-office staring contest with Sony’s “Total Recall,” it seemed a clear indication that the latter was primed for success. The remake had all the elements: well-liked stars, a title that conjured goodwill (but not fierce protectiveness) and, now, a clear calendar.
Yet the science-fiction action pic mustered just $26 million in domestic dollars, failing even to win the weekend, let alone make much of a dent in its roughly $125-million budget.
What happened?
Zeitchik lists 5 lessons. You can go here to see the full list. The biggest one in terms of possible business ramifications is this one:
— The right name doesn’t mean much. For years, Hollywood has believed remakes work because they come with a marketing head-start. But “Total Recall” is the latest, and possibly the most potent, example to disprove this way of thinking. In theory, this was the perfect candidate for a remake. Paul Verhoeven’s original, also loosely based on a Philip K. Dick story, was regarded as a classic, but of the pop kind. People remembered it, but few were offended that it was being remade. Yet that seemingly perfect combination didn’t give it a boost.
If the movie studios can’t rely on consumer pre-awareness to help market a movie, that is a major concern. In a business where so many of the choices related to green lighting a project are fear-based, doing everything decision-makers can to minimize risk, remaking popular movies is perhaps the safest strategy of all. It’s not only about moviegoers already being aware of the previous title, it’s also a belief that whatever elements the first movie had contributing to its success can carry over to the remake. Moreover by doing a remake, the studio can increase the value of that property in their library. The latter, however, presumably only works if the remake is successful.
I doubt the failure of one remake in terms of domestic box office will cause the major studios to veer away from this business strategy, and certainly not Sony until it tracks the international performance of Total Recall which will almost assuredly outperform what the movie does here at home.
Did any of you see Total Recall this weekend? What were your impressions of it as a movie? Plus if you have any thoughts on the whole remake business strategy, I’ll see you in comments to continue the discussion.
UPDATE: For the Guardian’s take on the Total Recall misfire, go here.
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