Guess Who's the Summer's Biggest Loser?
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Distribution, Exhibition
Nothing can really compare to the craptacular showing of ZYZZYX Road, the film that brought in a whopping $30. That's no typo -- it didn't bring in $30 million, not even $30 thousand. I'm not sure any film could ever compete with that, except for maybe a For Justin & Kelly sequel, but there is a stinker this summer that comes sort of close. It was set to be her big comeback. Two films, one she was headlining, and one that she wrote, directed, and starred in. The first made the rounds, but the other didn't go much further than a blog post or two. Figure out who I'm writing about yet? Yes, it's Nia Vardalos and her feature I Hate Valentine's Day. Gordon and the Whale dug into the little feature that couldn't, revealing that after spending $5 million and making well over $200 million on My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Valentine's Day only brought in eleven thousand dollars in the U.S., from three theaters. Sure, the film hit almost a million with its foreign run, but that doesn't even cover the film's estimated $3 million price tag. Ouch.
Nevertheless, Tom Hanks' Playtone loves her. The TV show might have tanked, as well as her long-awaited follow-up feature (and disappointing showings on the rest of her post-stardom work), but she's in line for two more Playtone productions -- one writing, and one writing and acting. Will they bring more success? It'd be nice, but at this point, it'd also be a shocker. Maybe they should have waited until February 14 to release this puppy. At least then they'd have gotten the coupley audience.
_thumbnail.jpg)
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
9-02-2009 @ 10:58AM
Ryan said...
She also did another movie this summer, "My Life in Ruins."
It also didn't do that well, but compared to the gross of "I Hate Valentine's Day" then it was a blockbuster. Heh.
The movie made $8.7 million in the US and $15.5 million worldwide.
Reply
9-07-2009 @ 12:59AM
Ellen said...
We watched "I hate Valentine's Day" on our ON Demand Cable and it was cute! I love Nia Vardalos and John Corbett so would always be up for anything. We thought it was great. My life in ruins was also wonderful-just fun, escape, entertainment. All I need from a movie and at least as good as "The Hangover", "All About Steve", and better than "The Proposal!"
9-02-2009 @ 11:43AM
Stan Winsome said...
I honestly don't see why they keep giving her chances. It's obvious My Big Fat Greek was a onetime deal and nobody wants to see her in anything else. Give someone else a shot, Tom.
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 8:15PM
Carly said...
Because she is good friends with Tom Hanks and his wife. That's all it takes in Hollyweird. Or, of course, your parents are famous. Or you're fu*king someone famous.
9-07-2009 @ 12:59AM
Ellen said...
And that is your opinion. I would see anything and everything by Nia Vardalos! Love My Life in Ruins AND I hate Valentine's Day
9-06-2009 @ 4:04PM
scott said...
Never even heard of these films... which means they weren't given a decent marketing campaign to begin with... or they weren't given one because they were so bad no one would.
But if they were that bad why not direct to video? Happens all the time with films that are'nt so bad and ones that are.
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 4:21PM
Paul said...
A film "released" in just three theatres? No wonder it tanked.
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 4:39PM
Crapfabulous said...
Craptacular..?? I just leanred a new word...
Reply
9-07-2009 @ 11:36AM
Linda said...
I really loved MYBIG FAT GREK WEDDING......maybe if she got out the windex.........she could fix what's wrong with her next movie....haha
Reply
9-07-2009 @ 5:44AM
Michael said...
My Big Fat Greek Wedding was one of the very first movies I ever walked out of in the middle............ because it was soooo BAD!
9-06-2009 @ 4:58PM
Linda said...
CORRECTION: MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING !!!
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 5:03PM
Tommy Boy said...
Strange what movies go directly to video. There is a 2009 Harrison Ford movie entitled "Crossing Over". Played in a couple hundred theaters and went to video. Why only a couple hundred theaters? This movie was great!!! I truly believe if they would have marketed this movie and put in nationwide in the U.S. it would have made millions. I recently bought it off eBay and was totally amazed at how good it was, being it never came to our local theaters. Rent it. You'll love it.
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 5:15PM
Troy said...
Come on folks: "Bruno" was the biggest bomb !!!!
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 8:16PM
Kathy said...
Ya got THAT right!
9-06-2009 @ 5:32PM
v j weiner said...
The recent movies are so bad mainly because
nobody writes good screenplays anymore. This
generation has just about done its deed by
ruining the English language into only visuals with
the same car chase; the same house explosion;
the same sexual discovery; and the reality actors
all look like your cousin Jeffrey. You can stay home
and get more out actual life watching the real life
characters in your backyard than on the screen,
or watch CNN's daily events. Why go anywhere?
The British aren't coming either to save the cinema
and take all the awards because their actors speak
good English or their writers have something interesting
to say, because DVD's make more money than the
flops in the movies, and that's what we are about.
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 5:43PM
atp2007 said...
I absolutely agree about the poor quality of movies these days. Most of what are considered major movies are the loud, blow it up type aimed at 13 year old boys and foreign audiences (so translation of a real screenplay isn't needed) or mediocre movie versions of popular novels . I was just discussing with some family members how difficult it has been to put Movies on my Netflix list as there really isn't much we desperately want to see these days. So mainly our movies in the last 2 years are foreign and often several years old (like the wonderful German Capra-ish "In July" or the Russian "12"). Maybe if they would put as much money and effort into screen plays as they do special effects movies might get interesting again.
Reply
9-07-2009 @ 3:10PM
Roger Fulton said...
EXACTLY...my wife and I still search the Friday newspapers desperately seeking that ONE movie we can't wait to see.
Nothing. It's all cartoons, animated mindless junk for kids or grown up teen agers, slasher or horror movies for the mindless. We rented Crossing Over and thought it was great.
We are sick and tired of movies with the hidden political messages...NUTZ. Knock it off. What happened, like the say in the above posts, to just good, adult stories. There must be a hundred good stories in the Civil War, the falling towers, the Titanic, as yet UNTOLD. I have yet to see anybody tackle the TRUE Kennedy assassination story, I mean - dig out "The Dark Side of Camelot" by Seymour Hersch, pare it down and make a movie out of it.
Oliver Stone, he's always wanting to piss off people, why doesn't he do it?
9-07-2009 @ 9:27PM
atp said...
I am in the process of reading the biography of Thomas Jefferson and have just gotten to when he is the Envoy to France and mets a guy who wants to trade furs to China. Jefferson siggests that he travel across Siberia to see if it is possible to transport furs into China from the Northwest Territories. Since he can't get approval to do it fro Catherine the Great, he does it secretly but is caught by her agents just before gettin to the Siberian coast. I kept thinking what a great movie it would make. Not to mention that there has never been a really good biographic movie/teleseries of Jefferson and all the amazing things in his life.
9-06-2009 @ 5:52PM
Katteee said...
uummm, yeah. i saw I HATE VALENTINES DAY and it was horrible!! :0 i was not surprised when I read that it made only $30. Please comment and tell me if anyone agrees.
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 6:01PM
Mrs. Mac said...
It was the movie ZYZZYX Road that only made $30.
Never heard of it, but Zyzzyx Rd. is real. It's off of the I-15 in the desert between L.A. and Vegas.