Detective Pikachu

[JungleSkip]

Detective Pikachu held its own against Endgame, coming in with $58M, compared to Endgame’s $63M.

But it certainly was no $100M opening, @JungleSkip :tease:

I said 80, not 100 O:

But yea, we’ll less than what I thought. Deserved to make more, tbh. Ton of fun.

 

[Nick]

I said 80, not 100 O:

But yea, we’ll less than what I thought. Deserved to make more, tbh. Ton of fun.

Fun, but not anything more than your average popcorn flick, imo. Bumblebee being something I’d equate it to.

 

[TheGentTrent]

Man, are people just really averse to video game movies? Like JungleSkip said, this is Pokemon fer cryin out loud. If there was ever a gaming brand that could defy the odds and be a smash hit, it was this one. There seemed to be genuine anticipation amongst the fans and the reviews have been fairly good for the most part.

What went wrong?

 

[quinnmac000]

Man, are people just really averse to video game movies? Like JungleSkip said, this is Pokemon fer cryin out loud. If there was ever a gaming brand that could defy the odds and be a smash hit, it was this one. There seemed to be genuine anticipation amongst the fans and the reviews have been fairly good for the most part.

What went wrong?

What do people associate with Pokemon? Battling which this film didn't have. Secondly, there was a talking Pikachu. Lastly, I don't think the word of mouth was that strong. The story and acting was very very very very weak with a lot of the film being saved more so because of the Pokemon. If you go through the reviews a lot of them do state Pokemon and seeing them on scene was great but the film itself had issues.

 

[JungleSkip]

Fun, but not anything more than your average popcorn flick, imo. Bumblebee being something I’d equate it to.

I have it 3rd on my list for the year so far behind Endgame and HTTYD3

What do people associate with Pokemon? Battling which this film didn't have. Secondly, there was a talking Pikachu. Lastly, I don't think the word of mouth was that strong. The story and acting was very very very very weak with a lot of the film being saved more so because of the Pokemon. If you go through the reviews a lot of them do state Pokemon and seeing them on scene was great but the film itself had issues.

It had an A CinemaScore in the US, so no, the word of mouth was not weak. It should have great legs in the US.

 

[quinnmac000]

I have it 3rd on my list for the year so far behind Endgame and HTTYD3

It had an A CinemaScore in the US, so no, the word of mouth was not weak. It should have great legs in the US.

it has an A- score. Same as Dumbo and Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Reunion.

Cinemascore

John Wick: Chapter 3 will pull from the male audience which was the majority of the audience who attended Detective Pikachu this weekend as well as those repeating to see Avengers Endgame before Aladdin the following weekend takes over the biggest screens.

 

[JungleSkip]

it has an A- score. Same as Dumbo and Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Reunion.

A- is good dude. IDK what you have against this movie. :bonk:

 

[RFRees]

I saw the movie on Friday. As someone who grew up on the games and actively plays Pokemon Go, I enjoyed the movie. It was a bit cliche, using the "you can talk!" trope, but it worked well and didn't take itself too seriously.

I said 80, not 100 O:

But yea, we’ll less than what I thought. Deserved to make more, tbh. Ton of fun.

It was projected at 55? It made 58? So it topped expectations and the trajectory is in the "success" range.

They knew they were up against Avengers going into this.

Everyone should keep in mind that a lot of people are categorizing this as a video game movie (even though it's an anime/etc IP as well)... and if that label sticks, then this could go down as the most successful video game movie ever.

EDIT - Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like Warcraft is the 'video game movie' to beat at $433 million globally, Detective Pikachu is currently at about $166 million globally. (The record breaking box office open for Warcraft in China set its global total unusually high considering the movie only made around $47 million in US.)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) would be the domestic goal to beat, at $131 million and Detective Pikachu is currently at $54 million domestic.

And yes it came in #2 behind Endgame this past weekend, but Detective Pikachu also ranks #6 biggest opening weekends (of all time) for movies which got beat their opening weekend. Keep in mind Frozen is #3 on that list ($67 million opening weekend, bested by Hunger Games: Catching Fire) and ended up making $400 million domestic / $1.2 billion global.


Edit- 5/25
DP just needs another $1 million to place it at #2 all time highest grossing domestic box office for a video game movie adaptation (beating Angry Birds). Another $25 million places it at #1 (currently behind Lara Croft).

Pretty far off from Warcraft for global numbers though.

 

[HereWeGo]

It was projected at 55? It made 58? So it topped expectations and the trajectory is in the "success" range.

It actually came in just under 55.

Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019) - Box Office Mojo

 

[RFRees]

It actually came in just under 55.

Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019) - Box Office Mojo

Not sure where the discrepancy in totals comes from, Variety reported 58. Though I usually get my numbers from box office mojo.

 

[rhino4evr]

I don’t know why everyone cares so much about box office. This movie did pretty well considering it’s competition. Believe it or not Pokemon doesn’t appeal to everyone. Shocker.

 

[HereWeGo]

Not sure where the discrepancy in totals comes from, Variety reported 58. Though I usually get my numbers from box office mojo.

Variety's was just an estimate (that article was written Sunday morning). Box Office Mojo updates everything with the actual amounts Monday morning/afternoon once the studios report what they made. Usually it's not too far off but for some reason Pikachu had a much bigger drop on Sunday than was expected.

 

[RFRees]

What do people associate with Pokemon? Battling which this film didn't have. Secondly, there was a talking Pikachu.

This was based on the Detective Pikachu game which has a talking Pikachu and little to no battling.

I don’t know why everyone cares so much about box office.

Box office determines whether the movie is a "success", and if successful, it opens the possibility to sequels/spin-offs/similar movies. It sets precedence.

Say the first Spider-Man and X-Men movies had bombed in the early 2000s... If that happened, we likely wouldn't have had nearly as many comic book movies, Disney may not have bought Marvel at all, and as a result, theme parks, tv, movies, would all look different.

This thought experiment can be used on other IPs... Think about if the first Harry Potter movie had bombed. Imagine Fast And Furious had bombed

So while a hugely successful Detective Pikachu doesn't necessarily mean there will be a massive impact to industries (like Spider-Man or Harry Potter), the box office determines whether some doors open or close.

 

[Mike S]

Just got back.

Cute fun movie overall even though some of it was predictable.

Rhyme City should definitely be the model for what a Land should be.


The biggest laughs for me were

Spoiler: Just in case

the Home Alone gangster movie showing up and Pikachu singing the Pokémon theme.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Jonathan Krisel To Direct ‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu’ Sequel At Legendary

Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel is in negotiations to direct the Pokémon Detective Pikachu live-action sequel.

deadline.com

Legendary is at it again!

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Sequel should be Detective Bulbasaur.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Sequel should be Detective Bulbasaur.

should be Detective Eevee but no one’s ready for that discussion