duncan228
12-06-2009, 04:24 PM
Is 'New Moon' the worst successful movie ever? (http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/million-222460-new-moon.html)
By Barry Koltnow
The Orange County Register
By the time you read this, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," will have surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office, moving it into 68th place, just behind "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which racked up a measly $516 million in its theatrical run.
"New Moon" will suck the life out of many others on that all-time list, which is headed by "Titanic," the 1997 film that collected more than $1.8 billion – back when $1.8 billion really meant something.
Since Nov. 30, when the teen vampire movie hit $493 million, it has passed "Twister," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "Aladdin."
Before it's done, "New Moon" could easily wind up in the Top 40, which means that it would best the celebrated Pixar animated film "The Incredibles," which is the current number 40 at $624 million.
That is quite impressive, but I maintain that "New Moon" is headed for even greater glory – a coveted spot on my exclusive list of the 10 worst movies to gross at least $500 million at the worldwide box office (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/million-222460-new-moon.html?pic=1).
I don't care how many people love it, or how much money it makes, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is a really bad movie.
Before you "Twilight" fans try to drive a stake through my heart, allow me to present a peace offering in a disclaimer.
The truth is that I enjoyed "Twilight," the original 2008 film that grossed a paltry $351 million for 154th place on the all-time list.
It didn't make my all-time worst list because I think it had many bright spots, including Robert Pattinson's entrance as the ultimate bad boy Edward Cullen, and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, every parent's nightmare because of her attraction to freaks and monsters.
The sequel, on the other hand, has none of the good qualities of the original, and all of the bad qualities of a movie sequel intended to lead to another movie sequel.
Still, it does not top my list of the worst movies with grosses higher than $500 million. Compared to the "Transformers" sequel and Ron Howard's adaptation of the novel "The Da Vinci Code," it has a long way to go in awfulness.
Here are my worst 10, and don't criticize me for omitting "Pearl Harbor," "Mission: Impossible" and "Meet the Fockers." They reached the $400 million plateau, but fell short of qualifying for this list.
The worst successful movies
1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009) The sequel brought in an astounding $832 million, and one could only imagine what it would have made if it had a plot that made sense. P.T Barnum was right.
2. "The Da Vinci Code" (2006) This movie was so bad that one wonders how A-listers like director Ron Howard and actor Tom Hanks could have considered making a sequel. Actually, I'm amazed that they had the courage to walk in public after this movie came out. They not only came out, but made "Angels and Demons." What could possibly have motivated them to make another movie after being publicly vilified? Oh, that's right, the original made $757 million.
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) This is the third-biggest-grossing movie of all time, with $1.06 billion at the box office, leading to the next entry on our list.
4. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007) It made $958 million, so it must have been a good movie. Welcome to movie studio logic.
5. "Star Wars Episode 1 “ The Phantom Menace" (1999) Never have so many waited so long for so little. It made $922 million before people realized they had been taken for a long, long ride to a theater far, far away.
6. "2012" (2009) With nearly $600 million in the bank, director Roland Emmerich was the only person to survive this disaster.
7. "Hancock" (2008) With Will Smith, it made $623 million. Without Smith, it would have made $600.
8. "Shrek the Third" (2007) A license to print money, this animated franchise lost its charm by the time the studio got around to bilking the public with this second sequel.
9. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (2009) Hey, we made a lot of money the first time, so let's make another one, even though nobody asked.
10. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009) I'm not saying that this is the 10th worst movie that made at least $500 million. All I'm saying is that the pain of watching this ludicrous movie is so fresh that I can't think clearly enough to compare it properly against its competition. After a sufficient amount of time has passed, I may decide that it belongs higher on the list, although I can't imagine it ever overtaking "The Da Vinci Code," which had high-minded intentions. "New Moon" was simply made to keep the money train rolling.
By Barry Koltnow
The Orange County Register
By the time you read this, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," will have surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office, moving it into 68th place, just behind "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which racked up a measly $516 million in its theatrical run.
"New Moon" will suck the life out of many others on that all-time list, which is headed by "Titanic," the 1997 film that collected more than $1.8 billion – back when $1.8 billion really meant something.
Since Nov. 30, when the teen vampire movie hit $493 million, it has passed "Twister," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "Aladdin."
Before it's done, "New Moon" could easily wind up in the Top 40, which means that it would best the celebrated Pixar animated film "The Incredibles," which is the current number 40 at $624 million.
That is quite impressive, but I maintain that "New Moon" is headed for even greater glory – a coveted spot on my exclusive list of the 10 worst movies to gross at least $500 million at the worldwide box office (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/million-222460-new-moon.html?pic=1).
I don't care how many people love it, or how much money it makes, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is a really bad movie.
Before you "Twilight" fans try to drive a stake through my heart, allow me to present a peace offering in a disclaimer.
The truth is that I enjoyed "Twilight," the original 2008 film that grossed a paltry $351 million for 154th place on the all-time list.
It didn't make my all-time worst list because I think it had many bright spots, including Robert Pattinson's entrance as the ultimate bad boy Edward Cullen, and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, every parent's nightmare because of her attraction to freaks and monsters.
The sequel, on the other hand, has none of the good qualities of the original, and all of the bad qualities of a movie sequel intended to lead to another movie sequel.
Still, it does not top my list of the worst movies with grosses higher than $500 million. Compared to the "Transformers" sequel and Ron Howard's adaptation of the novel "The Da Vinci Code," it has a long way to go in awfulness.
Here are my worst 10, and don't criticize me for omitting "Pearl Harbor," "Mission: Impossible" and "Meet the Fockers." They reached the $400 million plateau, but fell short of qualifying for this list.
The worst successful movies
1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009) The sequel brought in an astounding $832 million, and one could only imagine what it would have made if it had a plot that made sense. P.T Barnum was right.
2. "The Da Vinci Code" (2006) This movie was so bad that one wonders how A-listers like director Ron Howard and actor Tom Hanks could have considered making a sequel. Actually, I'm amazed that they had the courage to walk in public after this movie came out. They not only came out, but made "Angels and Demons." What could possibly have motivated them to make another movie after being publicly vilified? Oh, that's right, the original made $757 million.
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) This is the third-biggest-grossing movie of all time, with $1.06 billion at the box office, leading to the next entry on our list.
4. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007) It made $958 million, so it must have been a good movie. Welcome to movie studio logic.
5. "Star Wars Episode 1 “ The Phantom Menace" (1999) Never have so many waited so long for so little. It made $922 million before people realized they had been taken for a long, long ride to a theater far, far away.
6. "2012" (2009) With nearly $600 million in the bank, director Roland Emmerich was the only person to survive this disaster.
7. "Hancock" (2008) With Will Smith, it made $623 million. Without Smith, it would have made $600.
8. "Shrek the Third" (2007) A license to print money, this animated franchise lost its charm by the time the studio got around to bilking the public with this second sequel.
9. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (2009) Hey, we made a lot of money the first time, so let's make another one, even though nobody asked.
10. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009) I'm not saying that this is the 10th worst movie that made at least $500 million. All I'm saying is that the pain of watching this ludicrous movie is so fresh that I can't think clearly enough to compare it properly against its competition. After a sufficient amount of time has passed, I may decide that it belongs higher on the list, although I can't imagine it ever overtaking "The Da Vinci Code," which had high-minded intentions. "New Moon" was simply made to keep the money train rolling.