Critics Consensus: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Doesn't Shine

Twilight is a franchise strictly targeted toward tween females, so I'm content to leave it be...

Nov 17 - 04:37 PM

Wow, how surprising! Happy feet 2 is a incredible unnecessary sequel. I don't think there was anyone who asked for it, not even the origanal's biggest fan. Descendants is one of the year's first real Oscar contenders. My B.O prediction:
1 Breaking Dawn 154 Million ( I just hope it doesn't beat potter's record)
2 Happy Feet 2 22 Million ( Before I thought it would do less, but I've been convinced to raise my prediction)
3 Immortals 18 Million ( Assuming all the males are dragged in twilight by their girlfriends)
4 Puss in boots 15 Million
5 Jack and Jill 14 Million.

Nov 17 - 04:38 PM

2d Colorblind

I predict Breaking Dawn will make 120 Million opening. My instingts are sometimes wrong but I definitely feel like that.

Nov 18 - 12:00 AM

2d Colorblind

Oops! It will be 150M finish though. I underrated America's vulnerability to the media hype - again. I so hate to be wrong. Now, there's only the question how much it will drop the second weekend.

Nov 19 - 05:08 PM

Ken Wolfson

do not fear about twilight, there simply aren't that many teenage girls and sexually-repressed mothers in the U.S. HP's record is safe.

Nov 18 - 03:22 AM

King Simba

I actually think Breaking Dawn Part 1 might show a decrease from Eclipse and New Moon given that not only is it considered the weakest book but also because its only the first half of the book, which might slightly lower fan anticipation, similair to what happened with Deathly Hallows Part 1 (which ended up selling the least amount of tickets domestically of the Potter movies)

Nov 18 - 03:48 AM

Flash T

The worst thing about happy feet two is George Miller stating that after that his head isn't in the right place for Mad Max 4 despite the construction of 150 cars :(

Nov 18 - 04:39 AM

Charlie Voelker

There are few weekends in a year that I avoid the movies theaters... This would be one of them.

Nov 17 - 05:00 PM

karl anderson

I agree ...Im holding my breath that the Muppet Movie doesnt follow suit next weekend....go Kermie !!

Nov 18 - 07:18 PM

Jon Owens

Nothing for me this week.... Happy Feet 2 is extremely unnecessary. And I wouldn't be caught dead seeing Breaking Derp...

Nov 17 - 05:30 PM

Kathryne C

I knew Happy Feet would suck. I didn't think Breaking Dawn would suck THAT much...
Descendant's score is really impressive though. 8.5 is a pretty average best picture nominee grade one this site.

Nov 17 - 05:32 PM

Justin D.

Nothing any critic - or intelligent human being - says will sway the army of tween girls lining up at the theaters from spending dad's hard earned cash on this tripe. It will make tons at the box office. Happy Feet was an okay film and didn't need a sequel but parents will likely take their kids to go see it anyway.

Nov 17 - 05:43 PM

Nik Summers

sometimes women work, too.

Nov 17 - 06:27 PM

Justin D.

And mom's hard earned money as well.

Nov 17 - 06:43 PM

Slade Uppercut

Yet another week of theatrical sludge...

Nov 17 - 05:44 PM

Matheus Cassiano

Just a bad BAD week

Nov 17 - 05:47 PM

Bentley Lyles

I'm the only guy on this thread who will be seeing Breaking Dawn. My family and I don't consider ourselves Twi-Hards but we watch the films anyway. I'll go through the torture so you wouldn't have to! As for Happy Feet 2, this just didn't look good. The first one happens to be one of my favorites. Plus, the two shrimp (voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, two of my favorite actors) are so annoying in the commercials! I'll wait for the DVD or if it comes to my local bargain theater. You can't say "no" to $2 admission!

Next week, MUPPET DOMINATION! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM89T74MPnE
And I might see Hugo since I read the book and really enjoyed it!

Nov 17 - 06:00 PM

Carlos Flores

No, I'll be seeing it as well. My friends are big fans of it. ( If you been paying close attention to all the comments I've ever posted, you'll find my friends have horrible taste in film. Still good people with bad taste are better then A-holes with great taste)

Nov 17 - 06:39 PM

dude meister

I feel you bud, my friends have awful taste too.

Nov 18 - 01:09 PM

Rebecca Clark

AWESOMECAKES!!! (About your Muppets and Hugo POVs)

Nov 17 - 08:57 PM

Dave J

Actually, they're alot of girls who will be dragging there boyfriends to go see Twilight, even though Happy Feet still got a better rating than Breaking Dawn! You've must've enjoyed some of the Twilight movies to some extent, otherwise why would you continue to watch the films!

Nov 18 - 01:37 PM

Dave J

The general description according to RT is that Breaking Dawn consisted of "cringe-worthy dialogue" as opposed to Happy Feet- lackluster script and an overabundance of supporting characters! Hope you don't come out dissappointed!

Nov 18 - 02:46 PM

Chris Skoufis

Pitiful week for movies. Breaking Dawn shouldn't be in two parts. Next week's movie can't come soon enough (Those Muppet's better destroy Twilight).

Nov 17 - 06:06 PM

Dave J

The reason why it's divided into two parts is the result of Harry Potter's final book and the more than double the boxoffice receipts by splitting the book into two movies instead of one!

Nov 18 - 01:12 PM

Link O'Fett

They felt they had to play copy cat with Harry Potter. The only difference? The two-part Potter finale was actually good and deserved to be two films.

Nov 18 - 04:28 PM

Janson Jinnistan

How the hell is "Descendants" not a WIDE release? Has George had any trouble selling tickets lately? Just more proof of how Hollywood rigs the box office results, because I have no doubt that, given the option, this would be the #1 film this week. Handsome George, comedy with 'feel-good' award pretentions, sassy teens - it's just not a fair fight. Oh well, more money for "J Edgar", if anyone over 24 shows up at all. (And, by the way, thanks for the Twilight airbrush job, I had no idea Kristen was so...'supple') I guess it'd be redundant of me to make a joke about "The Lie", but we've already seen "The Other F Word". "Heir Apparent" must be a contender for worst title of the year, with a chance at worst character name, and "billionaire's son who must outsmart armies of dangerous people" certainly a contender for worst plot pitch. Who says Jason Statham has no taste?

Nov 17 - 06:09 PM

Carlos Flores

Descendants would stand a chance at number 1. Clooney isn't that big of a draw. If Ides of march couldn't beat real steal, then descendants definitely couldn't beat twilight. As it is, their gunning for oscars, not box office, with this movie.

Nov 17 - 06:35 PM

Janson Jinnistan

"Ides" is not "Descendants". One is a rather pessimistic political drama (at a time when people need very little encouragement to be pessimistic about politics) and the other is comic-drama about family and paradise. Clooney is still a general draw, and the TV ads for this film are infectious. We'll never know, because it won't be given the opportunity. I stand by my guess that it would be competitive as something (anything!) that would attract any film-goer who is an actual adult.

Nov 18 - 12:51 AM

Carlos Flores

Well, yes, I also think it would competitive. I'm just saying I don't see how it could win this weekend. Some other weekends, maybe.

Nov 18 - 05:53 AM

Janson Jinnistan

Amend: I now have a doubt.

Nov 18 - 06:21 AM

Big Brother

Agree with Wiz, George Clooney isn't as much BO dynamite as you might think. If you remove the Ocean's movies and Spy Kids films (Which I didn't even know he was associated with) He hasn't had a 100 mil movie since A Perfect Storm and has had a ton of critical Yays and BO Meh's. Nothing thats going to put fear into the hearts of the Twilight Producers. Twilight will come out huge and fade fast, but end up with the same BO totals it always does, maybe a bit more because of inflation and final installment bump.

Nov 17 - 06:41 PM

Janson Jinnistan

You're probably right about "Twilight" beating "Descendants". But I still think it'd be competitive. It would give the parents something to watch after dropping their kids off. But it's still ridiculous that the two films in wide release are both strictly marketed to children so that adults have no choice but to go home and watch Onion News Network or Boardwalk Empire instead. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. The studios hedge all their bets on juvenile entertainment, and then blame the adults for not going to the theater anymore.

Nov 18 - 01:00 AM

King Simba

Descendents would be lucky to come close to Happy Feet 2's opening weekend. Can you think of any drama film that grossed more than 40 mil on their opening weeked? Even the Pursuit of Happyness, which had the biggest star on the planet and was sold as the perfect feel good drama didn't reach 30 mil on its openeing weekend. Dramas like Descendents tend to make their grosses through legs not opening weekend. Also George Clooney's draw power comes through reliability more than anything else. Outside of the Ocean Eleven franchise, his films usually open decently but nothing great..

Nov 18 - 04:24 AM

Brad Hadfield

The Descendents has a bad title, too. It sounds dumb, but I think that can hurt a movie.

Nov 18 - 06:32 AM

Janson Jinnistan

I think it's pretty funny, about family and entropy.

Nov 18 - 06:46 AM

King Crunk

The Descendents would get killed if it went wide this weekend. Breaking Dawn is sure to open in the 120 million range at worst, closer to 140-150 at best. Dramas simply do not pull that kind of audience in, no matter how good the trailers and TV spots look. Twilight will more than likely make more in its opening weekend than any drama (wide release or not) this year will make in its entire run. If anything it is a smart move to keep it limited at the moment. It'll build word of mouth up from the smaller audience, who will tell people about it as it slowly creeps into a wider and wider release. This also allows it to stay fresh in the minds of Oscar voters, since it will be a longer roll-out, and if it garners Oscar noms/wins, it'll only have a better chance of making more money, as it will be in theaters longer. If anything, FilmDistrict should have done the same thing with Drive earlier this year.

Nov 18 - 01:45 AM

Big Brother

Yeah, nothing short of a new Harry Potter Film, a Star Wars release or maybe the next Batman was going to compete with Twilight this week. Like it or not, those movie's are opening day freaks of nature. You can't fight a phenomenon.

Nov 18 - 05:08 AM

Matanuki .

I'm happy in my faith that if the next Batman film did come out this weekend, Twilight would crash and burn faster than it already will. :)

Nov 20 - 04:13 PM

Janson Jinnistan

Part of the problem is this "winner take all" football attitude towards opening weekend that has infected Hollywood. But it's a vicious cycle to say that adult fare can't compete when theaters alienate adult viewers. I like choices and options. Look at these choices: Teen romance and pre-teen cartoon. Next week: Muppets, Hugo, Arthur Christmas. I have to go to a film festival to find anything interesting? Can you feel my frustration? We all know kids are eager suckers, easy to part from their chore money or trust funds or wherever all this disposable income comes from. But it's only been in the last decade that this dogma about the R-rated drama being unprofitable, or the idea that a film is a bomb if it comes in #2. I admit I'm disconnected from the Twilight machine. 150 million? I dunno, maybe. Sounds far-fetched - that's half the total gross of the last one in one weekend? But what do I know? I thought this was the third film. They've been churning 'em out while I wasn't paying attention. I think there is business in more adult fair - not box-busting record smashing business, but respectable business. When I saw "J Edgar" this week (better than I feared, but dreary), they were STILL playing "Abduction", first run theater! That film is averaging $560 per screen. Are you telling me they can't scooch that out of the way for something more 'limited' like "The Guard", "Take Shelter" or "Into the Abyss"? Maybe it's the chains (Carmike and Regal), but these multi-plexes avoid the smaller films like lice. I do believe the audience is out there, if they choose to tap them, but Hollywood prefers to treat them like farm animals.

Nov 18 - 05:14 AM

Big Brother

Yeah, I totally get what you're saying. Hollywood has become very predictable with their scheduling. Summer is filled with Big Budget action, Jan/Feb is all the clunkers they don't believe in, Awards season, family stuff at the Holidays. I'd like to see them mix it up too, also don't disagree that a solid adult film could be competitive with Twilight far from it, just saying it'd have to be competitive in a different way i.e. make like 50 mil opening week and then outlast Twilight which has a built in rabid fanbase who're going to front load like a mutha. The Adult films because of the nature of their audience have to take more the Avatar, Titanic, ET route and be in it for the long haul. I think Hugo could be a good watch for adults even though it's obstenibly a kids movie. Can't bring myself to believe Scorcese is capable of making just a fluff piece without at least some layering to it for an adult audience.

Nov 18 - 07:58 AM

Janson Jinnistan

Not to imply I'm above kids movies. I will be seeing both the "Muppets" and "Hugo". (Never heard of Arthur Christmas, but if it doesn't have Dudley Moore, I just don't care.)

Nov 18 - 10:14 AM

David Tanny

Loved The Guard. Oscar nom. for Brendan Gleeson?

Nov 18 - 11:07 AM

King Crunk

I agree that I wish more theaters would play more adult fair, but even if they did, a lot of it is a hard sell, as the older/mature audience is harder to get into the theater than Twihards. I was just stating that even for a drama aimed at adults to open in the 35 million range against Breaking Dawn, it still would not even look like competition, even though I'm sure the makers and the studio would be happy with that figure. Competing with mainstream fair that has wide appeal and a built in due to it being a sequel kills any idea of competition, unless it was say, A new Batman movie opening head to head with the newest Spiderman. Neither studio would allow something like that to happen, because the movies would be competing for the same audience, and both would be hurt. Got a little off topic, sorry, but anyway, 150 million is on the higher end of expectations, but make no mistake it will be somewhere between 120-150. These movies on some of the most front loaded that come to theaters. I do not remember what the last one, Eclipse, made on its opening weekend, but I know New Moon opened in the 120's. And if I remember correctly, Eclipse opened on a Wednesday, so it's opening weekend was smaller than it should have been. I have only seen one of the Twilight movies, New Moon, and that was because the girl I was dating at the time was coo-coo for coa-coa puffs about it. We went to the local theater in my hometown, which is relatively small, on the night it opened, I asked the lady at the counter for two tickets for whateveroclock showing, and she said they were sold out. I asked for the next time then. She clarified for me that they were sold out for the next two days. The weekend is going to be HUGE for this movie. The next one will be even bigger since it is the final installment. Also, not to jump around too sporadically, but as Bigbrother noted, films that appeal to older audiences usually make their money over time, not all at once. Avatar made over 700 million domestically; it opened in the mid 70's. Another out of left field movie that was huge, but also started as a limited release and built up over time, was Juno. So, just because a film like The Descendents is not jumping to a nationwide release out of the gate, does not mean it is doomed to single digit numbers at the box-office.

Nov 18 - 03:48 PM

Janson Jinnistan

I'll admit it. I want "Descendants" for my own selfish purposes. I would say that since it would attract a different audience, there's no conflict, but then I thought, what would decent working people do when they show up at the ticket booth to find the loud, swooning, gum-chewing, texting and tweeting mall-goth FIENDS lined up for miles? Chances are, they're not getting in that line.

Nov 19 - 11:14 AM

E.M. hook

Descendants is getting a wide release at christmas, check your facts..... Aaaand Happy Feet two is targeted for kids, go see grown up movies people

Nov 18 - 10:49 PM

Janson Jinnistan

Check your fingers. I want it NOW!

Nov 19 - 11:51 AM

Kadeem Stewart

I think this will be a big Thanksgiving with Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1. More bang for your buck. Unless if you're on the critics side, that's your problem. If you're a big Twi-hard fan, go see the movie if it's worth your money. Still, I don't trust movie critics and those stupid tomatometers.

Happy Feet 2 is so drastically melo and I'll probably skip it and see either "The Muppets" or "Arthur Christmas" next weekend before black friday.

Nov 17 - 06:43 PM