Illumination presents Sing

[WAJAS]

Most school markets around the country are out of school, the amount out right now i'd wager is very close to Moana.

Plus, it's 4 days before Christmas... even if school is technically still in session, all tests and important stuff is normally done by this point and schools are seeing incredibly low-turnouts.

Actually, the vast majority of schools in Florida finish their final exams today.

 

[Nick]

Actually, the vast majority of schools in Florida finish their final exams today.

I didn't realize that since Orange County has been out since last week and I just assumed from my own experience in schools that most would be out already.

I'm not rooting for this films failure as i'm fairly sure that it will be a pretty big hit over the holiday period. However, the reason I am so down on the film is because whether it makes a lot of money or not, I feel like Illumination should be better than this. I know they CAN do better, too.

Obviously it seems like Illumination just wants to make films that appeal to the lowest common denominator, but i'd rather they step it up to the level of a Kubo or Zootopia type level where there's actually deep levels of story. That's just my opinion though on how I view Animation. The issue is this looks much close to the upcoming The Baby Boss than something of actual quality. I may give it a watch while i'm out seeing RO again this weekend, but we'll see.

 

[WAJAS]

I didn't realize that since Orange County has been out since last week and I just assumed from my own experience in schools that most would be out already.

I was looking at local school calendars to judge crowd levels earlier this week and was confused as well. It seems a lot of Florida counties have moved breaks up and/or shortened winter break. Orange County seems to be the odd on out.

 

[UNIrd]

I don't think Illumination Entertainment is the place to look for something a bit more cerebral. I love Disney's output as of late, but I also know quite a few people who weren't fans of Zootopia or Moana. It's nice to have alternative programming in Sing, Pets. etc.

 

[Nick]

I don't think Illumination Entertainment is the place to look for something a bit more cerebral. I love Disney's output as of late, but I also know quite a few people who weren't fans of Zootopia or Moana. It's nice to have alternative programming in Sing, Pets. etc.

I get what you're saying, but with them now owning DreamWorks, the two practically blend together as middle/average tiered animation. It's family friendly so it makes money (well, DWA is actually struggling to make any decent money of late tbh), but it leaves you fairly empty. You forget about it quickly.

By having two animation studios, it's the perfect opportunity to have two studios that do different things, but still make a lot of money.

 

[captainmoch]

I'm not rooting for this films failure as i'm fairly sure that it will be a pretty big hit over the holiday period. However, the reason I am so down on the film is because whether it makes a lot of money or not, I feel like Illumination should be better than this. I know they CAN do better, too.

Having seen the film, I'd say it's better than you're giving it credit for. It's the best Illumination movie that isn't Despicable Me related at least, imo. It has a surprising amount of heart despite the unoriginal plot. I do get where you are coming from, though. It'd be nice if Illumination could try to make some things on the level of Disney/Pixar/DreamWork's best work, but part of me feels like they don't have to. Not every film needs to be perfect, and I can appreciate Illumination for giving us occasional enjoyable popcorn flicks.

 

[NJBrandon]

Most school markets around the country are out of school, the amount out right now i'd wager is very close to Moana.

Plus, it's 4 days before Christmas... even if school is technically still in session, all tests and important stuff is normally done by this point and schools are seeing incredibly low-turnouts.

As a teacher, that is absolutely not true at all.

 

[Nick]

As a teacher, that is absolutely not true at all.

Well then you have a different experience than I. My post did come off a bit like I was stating fact, so sorry for that.

As a student years ago (well, not that long ago, only 5 years), after the finals were done, there would only be about 50-60% of the kids that would be in classes, the lunchroom, etc during those days after before the break. I'm sure it's different in other places, but when you could literally be at the beach within 20 minutes from where I was and it be warm enough to do so most of the time, it's not surprising.

 

[GadgetGuru]

Just saw this. Definitely the most heartfelt movie Illumination has done since the original Despicable Me. If this ends up being the norm from them, I'd be okay with that.

It also screams stage show. Or, God forbid, another 3D show. The theater is fleshed out enough that it would be a natural queue.

 

[quinnmac000]

Just saw this. Definitely the most heartfelt movie Illumination has done since the original Despicable Me. If this ends up being the norm from them, I'd be okay with that.

It also screams stage show. Or, God forbid, another 3D show. The theater is fleshed out enough that it would be a natural queue.

I know it screams stage show but I see dark ride. With the car chases and all the other stuff, I see it more of a moving theatre with full fledge effects. Think Disaster remade to fit SING because it actual makes sense to do that.

Spoiler

The definitely should starts with the pre-show with the Jpop Red Pandas interrupting like crazy just like the movie. That was the best gag.

 

[Mad Dog]

Within a week or two, Sing will pass up Moana at the box office. It's performing really strong.

 

[quinnmac000]

Within a week or two, Sing will pass up Moana at the box office. It's performing really strong.

Not only in the movie box office but soundtrack sales are stronger than Moana as well and Trolls has sold more than both. Its beginning to look like a great year for Universal.

 

[Nick]

Not only in the movie box office but soundtrack sales are stronger than Moana as well and Trolls has sold more than both. Its beginning to look like a great year for Universal.

I don't know about soundtrack sales, but I do know about individual song performances and none of the songs on the SING soundtrack are currently in the Billboard Hot 100 while 3 of the songs from Moana had their best week to date on the charts. The movie version and pop version of "How Far I'll Go" hit highs of #49 (Aulai'i Cravahlo) and #69 (Alessia Cara) and "You're Welcome" (Dwayne Johnson) hit a high of #73 this past week."We Know The Way" has also charted off of the soundtrack in recent weeks.

While the soundtrack itself may be underselling, the individual songs are performing much better. And in the end, memorable songs are much better for the longevity of a movie than a soundtrack that sells well.

 

[epcyclopedia]

As a human barometer of the zeitgeist, I vote no.

No infiltration, no even nagging word on the street.

 

[Mad Dog]

It's a different soundtrack than the norm though. Lots of songs, most of them already well known by the general populace.

 

[Nick]

It's a different soundtrack than the norm though. Lots of songs, most of them already well known by the general populace.

Like Trolls?

It's obviously a popular movie, but you proved exactly what my point was. Moana has all original songs, so when you hear any of them, you automatically think of Moana. Sing does have a few originals, but when I hear "Firework" by Katy Perry in a store, the first thing I think of is certainly not going to be Sing.

 

[Joel]

I haven't read any of the posts leading up to mine because I just didn't care enough about this movie. It was meh..

Secret life of pets was much better in my opinion.

 

[Andysol]

Like Trolls?

It's obviously a popular movie, but you proved exactly what my point was. Moana has all original songs, so when you hear any of them, you automatically think of Moana. Sing does have a few originals, but when I hear "Firework" by Katy Perry in a store, the first thing I think of is certainly not going to be Sing.

Exactly. Moana is a great soundtrack- I mean great. I love Hawaiian music though and I look like a fool when I'm working on my car with a ton of ukelele and hawaiian songs playing on my phone in Texas :/

Sing- its just Top 40. Its not even a soundtrack... its the equivalent to "Now! thats what I call Music: Sing Edition"

I'm not surprised Sing will bypass moana in box office sales. I mean... Kubo barely made its production cost back while SLOP was making a billion (not that there is anything wrong with SLOP, but its not a masterpiece like Kubo- its just a typical mindless kid flick with laughs and likable characters).

 

[fryoj]

Yeah, finally saw this and it just wasn't great. It was cute, and I enjoyed it, but nothing really stood out. The ending, if not the whole movie, was too predictable. Once you keep clicking off "yeah, saw that coming moments", it loses it's punch. It's obviously doing well, and the kids seem to like it, but it's no Despicable Me and I really can't see a ride. A stage show at best, but even that I have trouble seeing.

 

[Nick]

Now that i've actually looked it up, I wanted to actually address something from last night that we were talking about, which is soundtrack sales.

Moana has been #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart for all 6 weeks of it's release and Sing has only peaked at #3, with Trolls (which has been on the charts for 14 weeks) still ahead of it at #2.

As for raw numbers, those are harder to find, but I do know that as of Jan. 2, Moana was still #6 on the Billboard 200 with 53,000 sold and Sing did not make the top 10.

Not that it's a huge deal, but @Mad Dog, if you could show me where you saw that Sing was selling better i'd love to see it. Maybe I missed it as I only looked for a few minutes and pulled up a few things, but everything I saw pointed to Moana as a much stronger selling force.