So Is "Lincoln" #1 At The Box Office, Or WTF?

I'm sure they'll make excuses if this film makes no traction, and is gone within three weeks.

• It never had a chance of beating Breaking Dawn: Part 2 but it is doing quite well.

• It's made $60 million in two weeks of wide release and should easily cum over $100 million by the end of the year. Shows how much you know, you freaking dumbass.

• I don't rate movies by how well they do at the box office.

  charlie

• There's no way any movie out right now would beat Twilight or a James Bond movie at the box office on Thanksgiving weekend. #3 is not a bad slot for a movie about American history. Your argument is invalid, OP.

• [quote]I don't rate movies by how well they do at the box office. by: charlie Mary!

• Don't call me "Gigdet" anymore!

  Sally Field, arranging mantlespace for 3rd Oscar

• [quote]It's made $60 million in two weeks of wide release and should easily cum over $100 million by the end of the year. "Lincoln"'s only made $37 million so far.

• It's being heralded as "the number one biopic in America!"

• [quote]"Lincoln"'s only made $37 million so far. In the US. It's made more than that overseas.

• According to Nikki Finke: Lincoln (DreamWorks/Fox/Disney) Week 2 [Runs 2,018] PG13 Wednesday $4.2M, Thursday $4.8M (+16%)3-Day Weekend $21.0M, 5-Day Holiday $30.1M, Cume $58.2M

• Lincoln, Box Office, Ford Theater, Ticket Booth... The usual.

• Movie theaters have been asked not to place Skyfall posters to the direct left of Lincoln posters as it gives the impression that Bond is firing into Lincoln's head.

• I couldn't believe how boring the movie was. I was so bored and it moved so slowly I almost demanded my money back.

• The movie should have focused on Mary Todd.

• [quote]I don't rate movies by how well they do at the box office. Hollywood does. It's a business.

• Week #1, what was its box office rank? I'm guess this week it's #3?

• [quote]Your argument is invalid, OP. I didn't make an argument, you dumb fuck. I asked a question.

  OP

• Its first week wide release, did it debut at #1? It'll win an Oscar even if it bombs. The award's already bought and paid for. They made the announcement before anyone even saw the damn thing. This is the problem with Hollywood.

• Prestige pictures consider box office a gauche obstacle to Oscar success. I've no doubt The Avengers will be nominated for best picture like Avatar but successful films have never won best picture going back to the origins of the award.

• It's going wider after Christmas and will make more after it earns, I think the technical term is, a shitload of Oscar nominations.

• [quote]and should easily cum over $100 million by the end of the year I would easily cum over a $100 million as well. Hell, I'd easily come over $1000.

• R16, it's first week out was in limited release, so we can't quantify Lincoln's box office place like we can Bond or the vampire movie. It is doing quite well considering it's a dusty drama whose outcome we know. It should reach $100 million in the US once the awards nominations start rolling in. I'd be shocked if it doesn't.

• R19 Um, off the top of my head.. Forrest Gump Domestic Total Gross: $329,694,499 The Silence of the Lambs Domestic Total Gross: $130,742,922 and then after some searching... The King's Speech\t\t$135,453,143 \t Slumdog Millionaire $141,319,928\t The Departed\t $132,384,315 Million Dollar Baby\t $100,492,203\t The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King\t$377,027,325 Chicago\t $170,687,518\t A Beautiful Mind\t\t $170,742,341\t Gladiator\t $187,705,427\t American Beauty\t $130,096,601\t Shakespeare in Love $100,317,794\t Titanic $600,788,188\t your theory is flawed.

• Also, "The Sound of Music" was highly popular and it won Best Picture and Director. Many critics dismissed it as corn, but it became not only the highest grossing film of the year but of all time, surpassing "Gone with the Wind"'s 26-year-old record.

• Wow, r23 - those are some pretty specific box office grosses for off the top of your head. You have an impressive memory.

• LINCOLN as a movie is nowhere near as successful as Day-Lewis' performance. He's the only reason to see it.

• I think it should easily surpass $100. million. I will spend my $7. (bargain matinee) this weekend.

• [quote]Also, "The Sound of Music" was highly popular and it won Best Picture and Director. Many critics dismissed it as corn, but it became not only the highest grossing film of the year but of all time, surpassing "Gone with the Wind"'s 26-year-old record. It also played for years. In major cities like New York, it played "Roadshow", one huge theater exclusively, shown at 2:00pm and 8:00pm with reserved seats for a year before opening in the rest of the area to "popular prices" and multiple showtimes and still became the biggest grosser. Those days are long gone.

• You're an idiot, OP. LINCOLN was never going to score #1 opening against SKYFALL and BREAKING DAWN. Your assertion that it will be "gone in three weeks" is the height of DL stupidity. Learn what you're talking about before throwing shit around next time.

• R18, all movies (in one version or another) are floating around LA long before they're premiered publicly. A lot of people had seen "Lincoln" and started the Oscar yapping, especially about DDL. Also, don't discount advance PR on any film. They get out there and talk Oscars for the worst shit imaginable.

• Just saw a matinee today. Theatre was 90% full. Audience applauded at the end.

• "Audience applauded at the end." Why do people do that? I was just at a revival house showing "Gone With the Wind" last weekend and people did that at the intermission and at the end. Both times I wanted to tell the clapping audience, "Vivien Leigh can't hear you. Vivien Leigh is dead."

• r32 you're not cute. Did anyone else enjoy picking out the mos in this film, or was it just me?

• I went to see the film today and had to catch a showing 3 hours later because it was already sold out. (We saw Life of Pi in the meantime, and the lead actor is kind of a cutie). Anyway, theater was packed for Lincoln. I heard people saying they were going to ask for a refund because they couldn't find seats together. Of course this isn't a good barometer. I live in a liberal city with a university. Where I hail from in the south, this would play like a horror. I enjoyed the film immensely, but wouldn't say that I loved it. Sally Field* and Tommy Lee Jones stole the show for me. R32, I completely agree. When I was a kid, I don't remember people applauding at the end of films. And I'm 25, so I'm not talking ancient history. The first time I saw it happen was for Iron Man, and just about every film since. It's a completely bizarre thing to do. *I'm all about Sally winning #3, and I am no fan of Anne Hathaway, but I did see an extended trailer for Les Miserables this evening and must admit, it looks like Anne is serving some serious dejected prostitute mother realness.

• It's a movie that appeals to an older, more intelligent audience. Obviously the teenagers and 20-somethings who set box office records aren't going to flock to see it. Look at The King's Speech for a more accurate box office model for Lincoln instead of Twilight.

• The King's Speech didn't have music and four major leads under 30.

• R36 what the heck are you talking about? Neither does Lincoln.

• I think it's #1 per screen.

• The movie,"Lincoln" is a dialogue heavy, political movie that takes on the issue of slavery in a very direct way, and depicts racism at it's foundations in this country. It also shows a very stark difference,a huge divide between the South's & the North's perceptions of the Civil War. The South saw itself as another country. They wanted to negotiate as a foreign country in the peace talks. Lincoln was adamant they were not a country, they were rebels, and the states they lived in were still part of the USA. He didn't want to be punitive as some in his party insisted. He wanted to conciliatory. I am surprised the movie is doing so well, especially when you consider that our President only got 39% of the white votes, and the South is solidly against him. It was intelligently rendered. Spielberg bet on the intelligence of his audience. So if the movie is doing well, it's encouraging on a lot of levels.

• Of course they'll make an "excuse." That movies that are no 2 at the box office are generally not 3 hour political histories.. Oh, wait. That's not an excuse. That's just true. But you knew that.

• I love you R32!!

  "in new screen splendor.... GWTW!'

• It's disappointing that Breaking Dawn is doing so well. I thought the fans were supposed to boycott it after Kristen 'cheated' on Rob? They still went anyway?

• Can we assume it's not doing well in the south where they're still pissed about losing and all the trouble with negroes since then?

• [italic]You're an idiot, OP. LINCOLN was never going to score #1 opening against SKYFALL and BREAKING DAWN. Your assertion that it will be "gone in three weeks" is the height of DL stupidity. Learn what you're talking about before throwing shit around next time.[/italic] Get some help, hon.

• [quote]The movie,"Lincoln" is a dialogue heavy, political movie that takes on the issue of slavery in a very direct way, and depicts racism at it's foundations in this country. And showing what a racist bastard Lincoln was?

• Lincoln is only at #3 right now and is way behind Breaking Dawn and Skyfall

  http://www.imdb.com/chart/

• R35 nailed it. Lincoln will also stand the test of time.

  charliei

• The only big money maker surprise on r23's list - to compare it to Lincoln in terms of genre and tone - was The King's Speech; which is still, though it's a very good movie, a shocker as a blockbuster hit. All those other movies are Although flawed, Lincoln is a great movie. It is also far longer and requires a great deal more intellectual concentration of its audience than The King's Speech. It will not be shocking if it doesn't make big bucks. But so what?

• I loved Lincoln but it will not stand a chance against Les Miz as that film will be perceived as commercial and classy/artful. Maybe, just maybe, DDL and Sally will win but I have a feeling that Hugh's love affair with Hollywood and the rare opportunity to award him an Oscar will carry him over. And Sally's already won 2 more important Oscars so I think Anne will take it.

  You liked me, you really, really liked me!

• Lincoln was written by Tony Kushner. Everytime they mention his name in Entertainment Weekly, they mention in parentheses that he is Married to EW critic Mark Harris, and I always do a doubletake to see such a casual mention of a man married to a man.

  Non%20Sequitor

• Why are people saying it's either/or with Sally and Anne Hathaway? As I see it, Anne is a Best Supporting Actress shoo-in, and Sally is going to win a Best Actress nomination. Jennifer Lawrence will probably get a nomination, but that will be it. After all, it's a Harvey Weinstein/David O. Russell movie so they are hyping Silver Linings Playbook like crazy. It might make them feel better, but the only thing they could get out of it is Robert De Niro as a Best Supporting actor nominee. Lincoln could generate multiple Best Supporting Actor noms. David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, even the very surprising James Spader. I think Gloria Reuben may also get some consideration for Supporting Actress. Her scene with Lincoln on the porch where she tells him "who she is" was powerful and very understated.

• [quote]Why are people saying it's either/or with Sally and Anne Hathaway? As I see it, Anne is a Best Supporting Actress shoo-in, and Sally is going to win a Best Actress nomination. Disney is submitting Sally in the Supporting Category. If you go to Deadline, you can see what categories they are targeting if you happen to catch one of the rotating "For Your Consideration" ads. They are also only pushing Tommy Lee Jones for Supporting because they don't want a costar competing with him. Jennifer Lawrence is also probably the frontrunner for Best Actress at this time. Very weak field + Weinstein support + only major category that "Silver Linings" will probably be competitive in.

• I think that's a wrong-headed approach if it's true, R52. Maybe Deadline got it wrong, or Disney will change their minds. I love Sally and her gay son!

• Sally is not getting in Lead. She's Supporting.

• I live in Nashville, saw Lincoln on a week night, and the theater was packed. So, I guess it's doing ok in the south. Most of the audience was over 50. Very few younguns. I didn't care for the movie. Daniel Day Lewis is phenomenal; charismatic, shrewd, intelligent, political, natural. Everyone else acted stiff and waxen, as though they were too aware they were playing an Historic Person. It was dull and boring, even though the subject matter is anything but. It just was ponderous.

• [quote]Sally is not getting in Lead. She's Supporting. Sally is getting lead, so just deal with it!

• I loved the movie, but I think Spielberg blew the very end.

• Earning 20% more per screen that Twilight and Bond.

  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/

  Leondard%20Maltin

• People applauding is a signal to the rest of the audience. It communicates to them and to people who hear about it (such as yourselves) that they are especially enthusiastic about the film. Word of mouth is what sells films with legs.

• [quote]Everyone else acted stiff and waxen, as though they were too aware they were playing an Historic Person. People were much more stiff and formal in the 19th century, especially in the presence of the President. [quote] I think Spielberg blew the very end. He does that a lot. Not sure I agree this time. SPOILER ALERT: I don't think we needed to see another rendering of the assassination. Ending with his second inaugural address shows what might have been.

• I wanted the movie to end with him walking out, to go to the theatre with his wife, with his valet looking at him with a mix of deep pride and affection, tinged with sadness. The movie that came after that robbed the ending of it's power. I mean, we all know what happened. And btw: Spoiler ALERT: Speilberg doesn't film the assassination itself. I wonder how many people realize it was a true conspiracy. Lincoln's Secretary of State, Seward (played by David Strathairn) was also badly injured in a simultaneous asassination attempt at his home that night.

• Another vote for ending the film with Lincoln walking out the door. What was Spielberg thinking?!? This was a true no-brainer.

• Will Keira be nominated for Anna Karenina? This is truly a sad year for best lead actress. Glenn should have delayed that Albert Nobbs movie to this year. They're going to have to nominate Meryl for the silly comedy she made with Tommy Lee just to round out the category.

• It's a flop. I wouldn't want to be Daniel Day-Lewis today.

• Oh, R64, sandbox time is over. Back to kindergarten.

• 32 is the silly queen who started the thread about teenagers not knowing their attractiveness level. EVERYONE hates these types. Mos refer to them as "silly queers" even.

• And yet, r62, had he done that all you fussy queens would have been all over him for being melodramatic.

• So, the OP has been proved to be an idiot. He didn't even know enough to check out the box office. What a loser. And his later comments show, he has issues with the whole idea of Lincoln.

• 1. Totally agree that it should have ended with Lincoln walking out to the theater. Everything after that was awful. And I hated the transition shot to the inauguration speech that had him reflected in the flame of a candle. WTF? 2. Did some of those Best Picture winners become super profitable at the box office only after winning the Oscar? For example, was The King's Speech already doing well before winning? Or Million Dollar Baby? I suppose Lincoln could experience second wave enthusiasm/success if it did win.

• It hasn't yet reached its peak on its FIRST wave of enthusiasm.