X-Men Origins: Wolverine Box Office Bonanza – The Curse Is Broken
X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been plagued by both pirates and swine flu. Many wondered in the movie might be cursed. Well, if there was a X-Men Origins: Wolverine curse, then the curse appears to have been lifted. On Friday, May 1, X-Men Origins: Wolverine had thirty-five million reasons to believe the film’s spell of bad luck is over.
By most estimates, X-Men Origins: Wolverine opened to a $35 million box office on Friday, boosted by strong midnight showings on Thursday night. While the opening day didn’t break any records, it was a very solid opening day in the face of swine flu concerns that might have led some in affected states to avoid crowded movie studios.
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Swine Flu Foils X-Men Origins: Wolverine Premiere
It’s like something out of a comic book, but unfortunately it’s all too real. Just days before X-Men Origins: Wolverine was to have its Mexican premiere in Mexico City, Twentieth Century Fox has decided to delay the film’s premiere due to the swine flu outbreak. The very name swine flu conjures up thoughts of something unleashed by a diabolical menace.
However, there is no super-villain behind swine flu, rather it is just a frightening new mutation of the flu. In the irony of all ironies, a mutant flu with potentially deadly consequences is foiling the Mexican premiere date of a movie featuring the world’s deadliest mutant.
Prediction: Wolverine Movie Will Be A Monster Hit
There has been lots of speculation that an illegal bootleg copy of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie that appeared online could result in a failure at the box office for the movie. The early reviews from the people who watched the download were mixed, ranging from people saying it won’t appeal to comic book Wolverine fans to absolute rave reviews. One of those Wolverine rave reviews was from a Fox News journalist, who subsequently parted ways with Fox News over the fact that he reviewed a pirated copy of the film.
Also, after comic book movies dominated the summer of 2008, there has been a string of recent comic book movie flops. The Spirit, Punisher: War Zone, and The Watchmen all failed to live up to expectations at the box office. Could Wolverine be the latest in a series of comic book movies to struggle at the box office?
Has the Wolverine Movie’s Release Date Been Pushed Forward?
In order to extend their opening weekend gross, Den Of Geek reports that 20th Century Fox has pushed up the release date for the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie from May 1st to April 29th.
Does 20th Century Fox know that? A quick trip to the official website for X-Men Origins: Wolverine still lists May 1st as the official release date. The site’s official countdown also confirms the May 1st release, and a new Wolverine movie poster just released online a couple days ago even has May 1 listed as the release date.
It’s not uncommon for studios to move up the dates of blockbuster releases in order to boost opening weekend ticket sales, so it would not be surprising if Den of Geek’s report is correct. By pushing the release date up a couple of days, 20th Century Fox could hopefully inflate its gross ticket sales in an already down market.
Expect Big Movie Previews During Super Bowl XLIII
While you are watching the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, be sure to check out the multitude of movie trailers during the Big Game’s famous commercial breaks. According to Variety, “nearly every studio will push pics [films] during the big game, airing on Feb. 1.”
Paramount will advertise for high profile titles including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek and G.I. Joe. Universal Studios plans to show ads for the upcoming Land of the Lost live action movie, starring Will Ferrell, and the latest installment in the Fast and The Furious franchise.
Would Bad Watchmen and X-Men Origins: Wolverine Ruin the Comic Book Movie Industry?
Now that Fox and Warner Brothers have settled their Watchmen movie lawsuit, the next big question is whether or not the Watchmen movie will be a huge draw at the box office. With a reported $130 million budget, it’s going to take more than fanboys and graphic novel lovers to put that thing in the black.
Will the general public want to see Watchmen? The trailer itself should get a lot of folks excited, which should translate into a large opening weekend. But what about after that? Watchmen is an intricate tale with a ton of flashbacks. Will Zack Snyder be able to take the material and craft it into a story that anyone can follow? Especially those folks that know NOTHING about the story before they sit in the theater?
Website For Wolverine Movie Videogame Launches
As of this writing, the world still has over 109 days until X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens in theaters. But, until then, fans of the nearly indestructible mutant can begin online pre-registration for the video game version.
The video game’s official website is aptly named Uncaged.com, as it promises to focus on Wolverine’s escape from the Weapon X project. The site was created and is maintained by the game’s creators, Raven Studios and Amaze Entertainment. After the page fully loads, the offical logo for the movie appears. As you pass your cursor over it, a set of cyber-claws slashes the logo, shredding it to pieces. Within seconds, Logan’s healing powers take effect, restoring the logo to its former glory.
Could Watchmen Movie Delay Put It Up Against Wolverine Movie?
Film production companies in Hollywood sue each other all the time. Most lawsuits go without notice or interest from the public. However, every once and awhile a movie that is highly anticipated by the public gets embroiled in one of these lawsuits, and such is the case with the Watchmen movie.
While this is oversimplifying the dispute, Warner Bros. has a completed Watchmen movie ready to be released in theaters on March 6, 2009, but 20th Century Fox believes that it still has rights to the property. On Christmas Eve, a federal judge in Los Angeles sided with 20th Century Fox and agreed that 20th Century Fox did still have some rights in Watchmen.
Now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox is looking to get an injunction to delay the scheduled March 6 release date of the Watchmen movie. On the other hand, Warner Bros. seems to have no interest in settling and plans to go to trial or to appeal the ruling. What this spells for comic book fans is that the Watchmen movie release will likely be delayed.
Wolverine Movie Trailer Now In High Definition
For those few hundred million people who didn’t go see The Day The Earth Stood Still this weekend, the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie trailer is now online in all its high definition glory. While you can count me among those who just couldn’t stomach a Keanu Reeves move even for the chance to see the Wolverine trailer, I did check out some of the Wolverine trailer bootlegs online.
Wolverine Trailer Bootlegs Creating Stir Online
Usually, production studios are all too eager to have as many people as possible watch their upcoming movie trailers in as many places as possible. However, if you’re the studio behind a trailer like X-Men Origins: Wolverine that is highly anticipated by comic book fans, then sometimes you try to limit access so you can use it to promote your other movies and products.
With The Day The Earth Stood Still movie not getting kind reviews from the critics, it’s no wonder that Twentieth Century Fox decided to premiere the X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer in front of the movie to generate a little buzz. While we haven’t heard any reports of people buying The Day The Earth Stood Still tickets and walking out after the Wolverine trailer, it was likely enough extra incentive to get some comic book fans that were on the fence to go see the movie.
