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FRIDAY PM/SATURDAY AM WRITETHRU: Friday numbers for North American Top 10 movie grosses:
1. What an impressive start for the Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures mind-bending scifi thriller from 3,792 theaters, with Friday's $21.6 million including $3M midnight shows in 1,600 locations. Audiences rated it an overall "B+" Cinemascore, with the under-25 crowd giving it an "A". Then again, this is Summer 2010's most anticipated film because of Chris Nolan's incredible track record for critically acclaimed big box office actioners (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) as well as smaller psychological dramas (Memento and Insomnia) films -- and Inception represents both genres. (By the way, have you seen Inception's comic book preview? This rather innovative marketing gimmick is here.) But I've rarely seen Hollywood all over the map when it came to a movie's expected 3-day weekend grosses like this time.
That's because this was an original film not easily explained in a 30-second spot. Rival studios gave me predictions ranging from a low of $40sM to a high of $60M -- and everything inbetween. Now it could get close to $55M even though, surprisingly, tracking didn’t jump quite as much from last Monday to now. Comps include Shutter Island with a bump for summer, or Batman Begins plus inflation. But no one is certain what to add for "The Nolan Factor". Yet everyone agrees that the pic will have considerable legs if audiences don't find it too dark or too hyped or -- god forbid! -- too smart. Though one reviewer complained, Nolan's visionary film has "no soul, no sex, and almost no joy".
Overseas, Warner Bros plans a 3-week roll-out for the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer with Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This weekend, 10 markets open, including the UK. From July 21st to 25th, a total 29 markets open, including France, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Australia, Russia, and the Benelux. Then, from July 28th to August 1st, another 13 markets come on line, including Germany.
2. Despicable Me 3D (Universal) Week 2 [3,501 Theaters]
Friday $10.3M (-52%), Estimated Weekend $33M, Estimated Cume $118.5M
Solid hold after last week's big Friday for this Illumination toon.
3. What a big disappointment for Disney. Sorcerer's Apprentice only made $5.4M Friday from 3,504 theaters for what should be a paltry $16.5M for the 3-day weekend. The studio even moved up its opening to Wednesday to garner extra attention but added only a 2-day cume of $7M ($3.7M Wednesday from 3,385 locations, and $3.2M Thursday). The estimated cume is $21.8M. Little wonder that Hollywood thinks this may well be the last film at Disney where megaproducer Jerry Bruckheimer just phones it in. The pic's 5-day projection kept going down, from $35M to $30M to $25M for the costly Nic Cage starrer. But I'd been following the pic's tracking, which at no point hinted at a blockbuster. At 2 1/2 weeks out, Sorcerer's Apprentice was tracking worse than Bruckheimer's U.S. underperformer Prince Of Persia did.
Though exhibitor screenings had gone well, Disney was concerned. A week later, numbers for Sorcerer's Apprentice showed gains. But then, Sorcerer's Apprentice stalled at 8% first choice, which is unusual. "You'd like to see that weekend before opening show some real growth. But the pic is not showing a heck of a lot of strength with family audiences," a source told me at the time. Then again, Prince Of Persia was a North American disappointment when it opened to $30M. But it has made 72% of its money internationally. That is the only hope for Sorcerer's Apprentice now.
4. Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Week 3) [4,001 Theaters]
Friday $4.5M, Estimated Weekend $14M, Estimated Cume $265M
5. Toy Story 3 3D (Disney) Week 5 [3,177 Theaters]
Friday $3.4M, Estimated Weekend $12M, Estimated Cume $363M
6. Grown Ups (Sony) Week 4 [3,074 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Estimated Weekend $12.2M, Estimated Cume $129.5M
7. Last Airbender 3D (Paramount) Week 3 [2,805 Theaters]
Friday $2.2M, Estimated Weekend $7.2M, Estimated Cume $114.5M
8. Predators (Fox) Week 2 [2,669 Theaters]
Friday $2.1M (-79%), Estimated Weekend $6.8M, Estimated Cume $40M
Huge Friday to Friday drop. Another summer disappointment for Fox.
9. Knight & Day (Fox) Week 4 [1,925 Theaters]
Friday $1.1M, Estimated Weekend $3.5M, Estimated Cume $69M
10. Karate Kid (Sony) Week 6 [1,532 Theaters]
Friday $635K, Estimated Weekend $2.1M, Estimated Cume $169.1M
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But do they need more than solid?
Saw it myself at midnight last night and it was excellent! Nolan truly outdid himself! (Should be noted that he also did The Prestige which was also excellent).
Saw the pic last night. I thought it was great, but THIS MOVIE WILL GO OVER MOST PEOPLE’S HEADS…Definitely TOO smart for John Q Moviegoer…
On behalf of John Q Moviegoers everywhere, how ’bout you give us a chance? CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL!
I agree people won’t get it, it is a smart smart movie, but the buzz is incredible, already a over 9.3 rating on imdb, twitter’s blowing up about it, the buzz will spread like wildfire.
I hope this movie is huge, it’s about time a filmmaker challenges the audience to (gasp!) think.
There is no challenge to think at all! Nolan explains everything throughout the movie.
The challenge is to stay awake through all the boring explanations.
Honestly, this movie is for dumb people who think that understanding an overly complex puzzle that is explained to you in obvious exposition makes them smart. The movie is fine and I hope it makes a billion dollars because I’d rather have movies that try a little too hard than basically any other tentpole made by the studios this year… but don’t act like it’s even as clever as Memento.
Really? I thought it was pretty straightforward.
Well, considering how moviegoers are finally seeing through the bullshit of Hollywood by avoiding junk like Killers,Persia,and SATC after their 1st weekends, it could have legs after all.
WHEN it’s all done…opening weekend; 70 to 80 mil.
Of course, just because a movie must be seen more than once to be understood doesn’t necessarily mean it’s too smart. Smart can mean making complex concepts easy to comprehend.
While this movie may be too smart for some, I certainly didn’t think it was too complex. You just have to pay attention, which may prove too difficult for Generation ADD.
I am surprised at how well Inception handles a twisty, turny plot. Agree that the main concern would be dumb moviegoers not getting it. Especially since movie plunges you into the dream logic from the get-go, but that is probably a smart move.
Since Leo spends WAY too much time explaining to the audience as though they are 4th graders I don’t see any danger of people not getting it. For us above the 4th grade level maybe a little bit of show me instead of tell me would have been better.
55m for the weekend
Saw the midnight IMAX and had three thoughts as I watched this spectacle unfold.
1. Immediate dream sequence immersion is good (if a bit jarring).
2. This movie might be too smart/cute by half for some viewers.
3. Christopher Nolan did it again. The $$$ should flow.
Positive word of mouth plus the “Nolan” factor equals $60M+ opener.
The phrase “too cute by half” is itself too cute by half.
I’m quite surprised by the B.O. predictions in this post. I think Nikki’s sources are low-balling. If “Inception” only does mid-40s, that would put Gitesh Pandaya over at Box Office Guru almost 30 million too high, which would be unprecedented. He’s rarely that far off. He’s predicting $73 million. Considering the buzz and the reviews, I think it may be more like 80-90. Regardless, this flick will have serious legs!
I watched The Departed (again) on FX two nights ago (great film) and EACH and EVERY commercial break included an ad for Inception (sometimes a really long ad). Feels like I’ve already seen the pic, but still looking forward to seeing it whole.
The special effects and cast looks great. Leo DC picks another winner. He should start a cable tv show that helps other actors pick good pictures to act in. Many big stars could use the help and tips.
leo’s post-titanic method is essentially picking projects based on the director, who almost always has a lot of acclaim – woody allen, danny boyle, spielberg, scorsese, ridley scott, sam mendes, and now chris nolan.
Smart method (and picked pretty well with titanic). I never saw “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” (so wrong to assume) but I assumed he’d be the actor’s equivalent of a boy band (flash in the pan) or the brat pack type. But was clearly wrong. Picking projects based on directors makes sense and has worked. Wonder if he (or his reps) read the scripts as well when choosing. Seems most great actors have a dud here or there so his method works well and can likely be used by others.
Don’t know if that’s what he’s actually doing, but I would like to see him do something a little less tense. He needs to lighten up a bit and do a comedy or something. A good one, though.
He kind of lightened up with Catch Me If You Can if you think about it.
That’s funny that you say that JohnDoe. While I was sitting there all bored during Inception, I was thinking about how Leonardo Dicaprio is always so intense in his roles. I love his acting style, but it’s always intense.
I’d like to see him do a comedy. Maybe a Romantic Comedy like when Will Smith did Hitch? But yeah, it has to be a good comedy. He could even still be intense with his acting, just put his character in humorous circumstances.
Not an empty seat in the house when I saw it in IMAX last night… I really thought the opening day numbers would be a bit higher. Not that these are bad by any means, especially with the great WOM: Lots of people were just standing in the parking lot afterward, talking it over and trying to figure it out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Saturday’s take is flat or just slightly below Friday’s.
64m for the weekend
Saw it last night at The Arclight….loved it. Great movie.
This is the kind of movie that makes us remember why we fell in love with films in the first place. It’s imaginative, thought-provoking, visually stunning and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I can’t believe that anyone would worry that it’s too smart for audiences. Do we really think our country has gotten that stupid?
Movie is a w e s o m e. thank you Chris Nolan (and Emma!) for having a brain and not being afraid to use it. Cast is a thing of beauty. kudos to marketing peeps @WB.
Saw it. Liked it. But you have to work to understand it. Most of it will sail over the average moviegoer’s head.
Too smart? If only. This sludge can make you have your own dreams by putting you to sleep. Limbo, totums & kicks, oh my! And for the crowd who loves it: honestly, it makes no sense whatsoever. Nolan has just picked your pocket of $12.
Sorry, you’re too dumb to understand it Joe.
That is inane. It makes perfect sense. Just watch it. If you need an explanation, just say so and I will provide. How can anyone bash this film: it’s daring, it’s original, it tries something utterly new on an amazing scale. And it’s wrenching toward the end. I’m sorry but how could anyone fall asleep watching this. IT is engrossing.
You’re not dumb, Joe. If you are a thinking person, it IS hard to understand. I love C Nolan and I liked this movie, but taking the logic the movie itself provided IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.
And every time some that they set up is about to be broken, they give a long exposition speech which kinda kills everything that was set-up before that. There are many examples but I won’t do spoilers on opening day.
If you are willing to just go with it, buy what they say, and not ask questions, yeah you’ll “get it”, but you can’t look too close cause there are plenty of flaws.
That being said, I still liked it for what it is trying to be, and I’m still a HUGE Chris Nolan fan.
Oh, and weekend prediction? high 40’s low 50’s… with average drop off next week. Sorry, it’s not a word of mouth’er.
Should have waited for the early evening update. And though I wasn’t crazy about it, people on Twitter are losing their shit in a positive way.
black chick, I think you are definitely on the right track with this although I don’t know if I entirely agree (however, I think your explanation is a perfect fit for why ‘The Dark Knight’ isn’t all that smart of a movie).
Angelique above wrote something like there was too much telling and not enough showing and although I agree with her I really didn’t see how they could have got around it given that the movie would otherwise be riddled with non-sequiturs. Thinking about it now, it’s probably why the film left me so cold – it would have been the job of the filmmakers to make the story flow together without all the exposition. I just lacked the delight that one feels when having witnessed something truly elegant and ingenious.
Like Angelique and yourself I think it’s highly unlikely that someone could ‘not get’ this movie since it’s sort of all up there on screen both in terms of ‘logic’ and the reaction the audience is supposed to be having. And of course, like you have said, there is a really good chance that it doesn’t really make sense anyway. The arrogance of all the commenters who are sure that even though they ‘get’ the movie, most other people wouldn’t, takes my breath away. Nolan sure knows how to bring this out in fans…
… Also forget to add: I too hope the movie makes a billion dollars – better this than something like ‘Transformers 3′. I’m happy something like this was even attempted on this budget – it’s really close to being a great film. I went it wanting to hate it and came out wanting to love it.
I didn’t find the film too smart, I found it boring, slow and obvious. The “twists” came complete with warning claxons and brightly it signs telling the audience where we’re going (oh, and don’t forget to be surprised!).
Anyone that think the movie is going to dumbfound American audiences has an insipidly low view of his/her neighbors.
the difference in profit between this weekend and next will be small. This is the type of movie that attracts super Nolan fans who have to see it ASAP, as well as avid movie goer who’d prefer to watch w/o the excessive opening weekend teenage crowds. Big legs
i’ve been wanting to see this since i first read about it!
i always used to have great dreams, but nothing for 2 years.
You guys are so lucky that you’ve seen it. but, i wasn’t expecting it to make as much as avatar.
Saw it at a screening, and believe it or not I hadn’t paid attention to or been hit by a lot of what I’m now being told is wall-to-wall promotion. (I was out of the country for 3 weeks) I’d seen a couple of trailers that didn’t tell me much, save for the fact that it somehow sort of “mind-bendy,” which held ZERO interest/intrigue for me.
The first third dragged a bit for me, and then I was hooked and on for the ride. It was fascinating watch Nolan et al contend with three simultaneous levels of time, and THAT they were doing that, and how/why, became clearer with the watching.
I DO confess one “insider” aspect also had me rapt. Through the last half I kept wondering how ANYONE could comprehend the script reading it, and trying to decide whether they wanted to participate. Had to have been exceptionally well written out the gate to hold readers.
The film isn’t flawless, and I’m intrigued that friend and pro reviews of some aspects (especially Ellen Page) run the full gamut from “excellent move” to “drek” (I put her in the former category) but without having been victimized by the reported deluge of promotion, I walked out loving the movie.
Oh, and perhaps best portrayal of weightlessness ever seen on film. Very cool with Gordon-Levitt fighting, and moving six bodies.
One DOES have to give in to the premise, but I think Nolan and the rest made that fairly easy.
@ chris “This is the kind of movie that makes us remember why we fell in love with films in the first place. It’s imaginative, thought-provoking, visually stunning and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I can’t believe that anyone would worry that it’s too smart for audiences. Do we really think our country has gotten that stupid?”
You took the words out of my mouth, I “work” aka assistant in the industry and this movie reinforced why I chose to work such horrible hours for such horrible pay – to someday work on a film of this statue
The film starts slow, and its view on dreaming–stuff concerning catharsis and elevators that literally take you deeper in the subconscious–is a little too literal-minded. The action scenes are a little choppy, except for the wonderful floating hallway scene, and I couldn’t become too invested in Cillian Murphy’s character and his problems with his father. But it’s a decent action movie and Ken Watanabe does a knockout job.
Just saw it. Fucking TERRIFIC action movie, one of the best ever.
Too smart for people though? Uhhhhh. Everything is explained in detail. Strenuous, unnecessary detail that often comes across as hammy at best. And let’s not forget that Chris Nolan is a mediocre writer. The Kubrick comparisons make me want to puke – Kubrick was NEVER this literal, not this cliched. Of course, for this big of a project, the writing is well above-average, considering what gets made these days.
I think it’s snobbish to suggest that this movie goes over the head of the average moviegoer. They did fine with “Memento,” which is infinitely more complex and explains a lot less. If the dreamscape of this movie (which is essentially a big-budget action movie) confuses people, Fellini’s “8 1/2″ should be banned and pulled off shelves lest it results in exploding heads.
8 1/2 did make my head explode. I don’t remember anything after the circus people.
A preview comic isn’t even remotely innovative. Are you serious? Smokin’ Aces did it years ago… The Crazies did it earlier this year. And frankly, the Inception comic book isn’t even very good… and it gives away way too much of what makes INception so special in a weaker format. Sometimes I wonder about you but I guess I shouldn’t read this site and take it very seriously, 25th most influential site or not. You really need to hire a fact checker.
word of mouth on this should give it some legs. this was a great film.
that is not a BIG DAY for 200 mill costing movie. expect significant drops and reality to kick in very soon for nolan, warners and company. those predicting 70 plus weekends were dreaming (pun intended). yet another indicator that critics and audiences could not be further in their taste. this could be a big disappointment for warners as it will never even get close to 200 mill domestically.
MJ
“Inception”’s budget was $160 mil, not $200 million.
And it will EASILY break even, I’d say in two weeks or a little more – I’d say the film will finish around $180 or more domestically, and that’s not even counting over seas.
So,many things wrong with this. Declaring victory before even the Opening Day numbers are posted? Wow. Your like the Old Spice man, on a horse. 20M opening day for an original film is amazing. Considering Avatar opened to 26M and oh yeah, it went on to the biggest film of all time. The story is not written on how Inception is going to do, but word of mouth is off the charts.
Um, critics did not go crazy for this movie. Rotten Tomatoes has it 76% among top critics, which is good but not great. Hard to draw any conclusions from that. And critics don’t have anything to do with box office predictions, that’s a studio exercise. Anyway it’s audiences who want to see this movie, because a sizable portion of the movie-going population thinks Nolan can do no wrong. It could have gotten 10% and people still would have turned out. Not having seen it yet, I suspect it’s going to be like all his films: look great, ton of style, clunky plot, super-clunky dialogue, won’t make a ton of sense, but entertaining in the end. Which I suppose is about a 76.
I thought it was easily one of the better films of the summer (which when compared to crap like The Last Airbender, isn’t that hard). Nolan continues to craft what I consider to be some of the best stories around in recent memory, and I really like the casting choices in his films. Ken Watanabe is one of my personal favorites, and seeing him get a bigger role here than he did in Batman Begins pleased me greatly. Big props to Tom Hardy as well.
It’s an absolutely FANTASTIC movie – but if something like this can “go over people’s heads”, then we’re basically on the brink of “Idiocracy” territory. Try getting through the original version of “Solaris” or having a modern day teen age audience watch “8 1/2″ – this is an action film – more intelligent than average and better written than average – but it’s an action film. I realize that most people in this country can barely hold two opposing ideas in their heads at the same time anymore, but come on…we can’t be THAT far down the road into oblivion that something like this stumps the masses.
Great film, cinema I was in today about 60% full at mid-afternoon. Hardy, Murphy, & Cotillard were perfectly cast.
83% positive on Rotten tomatoes (Despicable Me has 78%). I’d wait
for the second weekend before I made any bold projections about word of mouth making this a serious blockbuster. Inception had a solid, but unspectacular first day.
Just saw it, absolutely incredible. The last seconds made the audience gasp and then break out in applause like I’ve never seen before. Great movie!
You can’t really judge it until you see it at least 2 times because there’s so much info being thrown at you in a dizzying pace. But for what I saw I was indeed impressed. In Nolan we trust.
I’d almost say it bombed.
Very disappointing follow-up to The Dark Knight. Inception will not even finish with half of Nolan’s last.
Um. What? “The Dark Knight” was a SEQUEL to a FRANCHISE that’s been around for over 60 years.
This is an original film – and an opening weekend of $55 million for an original film these days is staggering.
Word of mouth has been very good.
It’s official! This is the worst year at the movies ever! I put all my hopes on Inception and it failed just like every other piece of crap movie, from Shutter Island, to Clash Of The Titans, to Iron Man 2, to Shrek 4, to The A-Team, to Toy Story 3.
Please tell me someone out there isn’t in love with Inception like all these people on here!
Churl,
Toy Story 3 a piece of crap? Do better yourself – douche!
Paul
Uh…”Shutter Island” didn’t come out this summer.
And if you were “putting all your hopes” into stuff like “Clash of the Titans”, “Shrek 4″ and “The A-Team”, then I doubt you’re really “Inception”’s key audience.
AGREED. The third act was an outright bore. The snow scenes with killers on snowmobiles was unwatchable drivel.. you had no idea who was who…. the movie desperately needed an editor to cut about 20 minutes… everyone is loves this movie is simply patting themselves on the back for understanding a “complex” movie… by the way, leo lacked charisma and ellen page was out of place…
$18-$20 million on the first day for a movie that isn’t a sequel of some kind? That’s very good. Keep on “expecting” those significant drops MJ, you’ll be very disappointed when you look around and see just about everyone praising this to the high heavens. Word of mouth is going to help this movie sore well past $200 million. Probably reach near $300 million if things go really, really well.
Word of mouth is already working! I was on the fence about Inception. Not anymore! I am going to see this film tonight.
Maybe this film will do better if they stop yapping about how it will go over the AVERAGE movie goer’s heard. It is a turn off. Just shut up and let people enjoy it.
I agree with sassenach…this movie was not “too complex” and “did not go over my head” in the least and I’m not some sort of cerebral type. I think everyone spouting that may be suffering from low self-esteem and they’re trying to prop themselves up by making those comments. The movie was very good, don’t be scared away by those type of comments.
considering the theme, i’d imagine this film could be compared (boxoffice wise) to the matrix (the first one not the crappy sequels). the original film cost 63M to make and made 26M its opening weekend. but then only dropped between low 20%s and high 20s% for a next few weeks, and then 30% or so for the weeks after which got it up to 171M domestically.
i think avatar had a similar run.– the first week’s boxoffice numbers weren’t amazing. but for inception the first day number (20M) is great, but if it sustains this it makes for only a 60M weekend (at best). but i’m sure warners was looking for more from this 200M film. tack on marketing and we’re looking at what upwards of 350 – 300m.
even if it’s a brilliant film. it’s basically a chris nolan vanity project bestowed upon him by warner brothers to lure him back to make the next batman movie.
I think your catatrophizing mind is a bit overinflated. movie cost 160. P & A: 76. It’ll be fine. Just watch.
A “vanity project”? “Bestowed upon him”? That’s absurd. Nolan’s been trying to make this film for 10 years. He’s a successful director, this is a commercial project, and he can make anything he wants. According to your logic, any movie that a director actually wants to make or writes himself is a “vanity project”. Please.
Why do you think “Nolan’s been trying to make this film for 10 years.” If the idea for the movie was that great, then he could’ve made it ten years ago.
Studios didn’t want to take a chance on the movie because they knew it was a tough sell. Dudette is absolutely right in saying that this movie was greenlit because they want to keep Nolan happy so that he can do the next Batman.
How can people say this film is “too smart”? Everything is explained in detail from the very beginning. And to ensure the audience understands, Ellen Page’s character is pretty much the audience’s surrogate. She asks all the questions a movie goer would ask if they needed clarification.
The movie was good. Best ever? No. Nolan geta credit for the zero gravity hallway fight, but the rest of his action is a bit choppy. Also “Inception” is like “Memento” in where after unraveling the mystery, there is really no need to revisit the film more than once.
All of the explanation would become boring after you already know about the world Nolan created here. But the last half of the film is engaging, right up until that cop out ending.
When the end happened, the theater I was in collectively sucked their teeth.
Again, good movie, but to say it’s too smart for audiences is insulting.
Hope this doesn’t shock too many, and my personal track record has been perfect for the las 10 years, but apply the
modern “Titanic” thinking to the equation and you at most likely arguing over the next Best Picture winnner. Inception is easily the most original, thought provoking, entertaining piece of filmmaking this year. Like it or not it soar miles high above the other releases of 2010. Other than The Kids Are Alright and Toy Story 3, name three more representatives of this years moviemaking excellence…
I had seen and read precious little about the film when I decided to see it. I knew Leo was in it, and I like him. I think I saw one trailer, but couldn’t tell what it was about. Then I saw “Nolan” trending in Twitter and saw for the first time that it was his film. I decided to go right then, and I’m glad I did. I loved watching things unfold, though probably the opening scenes the best because you were immediately immersed in a world you didn’t understand. After that, they explained everything to death.
Still, loved loved the hotel level and all the zero gravity stuff. And really loved the iceberg setting for just how different it was than anything else. Keeping track of the levels was brilliant fun.
Anyone know why the shifting positions only affected people from level one to two, but not through the rest? A rule, I’m sure.
Quick question. “Watchmen” (A movie I disliked) opened to 55.6 million (on a 130 million budget) and that was considered a flop on this site.
“Inception” is projected to make nearly the same amount of money (on a 160 million dollar budget) and this film is NOT considered a flop here?
“Inception” is by far the better film that is also better reviewed by critics. But come on, fair is fair.
The movie was alright. I saw it last night. It wasn’t anything special. The positive things about it were that the action was absolutely fantastic and the plot was fairly sound. The problem was you never really know if what you’re seeing is what is really going on and that answer is never given. If someone doesn’t mind that then they should really enjoy the movie. If someone wants a happy ending, or a definite ending then they shouldn’t see this movie.
An IMPRESSIVE start? When Cameron’s “Avatar” started better in December — 50% better — and was being written off by hysterical media as a disaster?
When the last “Shrek” opened to $70 and was a disappointment?
It doesn’t matter if it’s an original non-sequel or a derivative follow-up — the marketing spend is the same. “Inception” was never going to be the massive opener you wanted it to be, Nikki. Jay Fernandez and Flixster called this weekend perfectly. It’s curiously muted.
And “Inception,” for all of the many hundreds of millions spent on it, is just … so-so.
Well so much for a Hollywood resurgence of the works of Goethe.
Want a mind warp? Try to imagine this movie (pitch, development) making it through the studio system without the kind of clout Nolan deservedly wields now.
Great cinema. Forgot how it feels almost.
Instead of encouraging original pictures, everyone comes on here and bashes it so they can get lukewarm remakes and movies of toys. Way to go armchair dumbass patrol!
Two hours into this movie I looked down at my phone only to realize that I was actually only one hour into the movie.
That’s how slow and boring the first hour of the movie is. I thought maybe I was in a dream within another dream and that’s why time was going by so slowly.
But I wanted to stay and keep watching. Maybe this was all necessary details that would lead to a big payoff in the end.
But no, this movie about dreams turns out to be a nightmare to sit through.
And don’t worry if you’re planning on seeing this movie. It’s very easy to follow. Some people talk about it going over people’s heads, but its really not that difficult to understand.
I think that’s where the problem lies in this movie. Nolan himself thought that it would be hard to understand, so he feels he has to explain everything that has happened or will happen throughout the movie. He doesn’t want to lose the viewer by having them be confused. But, the funny thing is, the movie is pretty simple.
Cut out some of those long boring scenes where they’re trying to explain the story as they go along, and this movie could’ve come in somewhere around the 100 minute running time, and it could’ve been a much better movie.
As it is, it’s a bore.