Now I must say that I was emphatically not expecting this level of a flop. But The Guardian is reporting advance ticket sales in the UK for Melania and sales are non existent, as you and I understand that term. One intrepid soul (a reviewer perhaps?) bought a ticket for the Friday matinee and two other people bought tickets for the evening. Otherwise, all 28 theaters releasing the documentary have nothing but available seats, so if you’re reading this in Jolly Old England, fear not, you will not be lined up around the block or buying from scalpers. Or, maybe there will be a last minute rush in the next 36 hours.
UK ticket sales for Melania are so far “soft”, according to Tim Richards, the chief executive of Vue, one of the country’s biggest cinema operators. Just one ticket has been sold for the first 3.10pm screening on Friday at its flagship Islington branch in London, while two have been booked for 6pm.
At the time of publication, all seats remained available for the 28 screenings of Melania at the Blackburn, Castleford and Hamilton branches.
The picture was slightly rosier at the Cineworld in Wandsworth, which had sold four tickets, while five backrow seats were also booked at the Cineworld in Broughton.
Maybe some woman decided to abandon her five children in the back row of a theater? I wouldn’t be thinking morbid thoughts but I am falling off the couch reading how the Guardian is reporting this disaster.
Richards told the Telegraph he had received a considerable number of emails from the public criticising Vue’s decision to screen the film. “I have told everyone that, regardless of how we feel about the movie, if it is BBFC [British Board of Film Classification] approved we look at them and 99% of the time we will show it,” he said. “We do not play judge and jury to censor movies.”
One industry analyst told the Guardian they suspected the underlying strategy was “four-walling”, meaning distributors pay a set fee to each cinema if they agree to play a certain title.
This would explain why so many exhibitors – which usually adopt a revenue-sharing model with distributors – have agreed to take on a movie with such modest financial prospects at a time when award-nominated films are vying for screen time.
“I’d be amazed if box office gets reported on this title,” added the pundit, who wished to remain anonymous. The Guardian has contacted Comscore, the body that tracks UK box office performance, for confirmation.
Amazon MGM Studios bought the rights to the film for $40m (£30m) – which reportedly included a considerable sum to the subject of the film – and is spending $35m on a global marketing push. This spend has so far been mostly in the US, with TV spots, billboards and a takeover of Las Vegas’s immersive events venue The Sphere.
If box office isn’t even reported on this film, that will tell you everything you need to know right there. Let’s see if the film even makes $5 million in the states, which was an estimate made earlier this week. Why you would spend $75 million to make $5 million is a bit stupifying but we’re talking politics and Hollywood and Brett Ratner is supposedly still filming at Mar-a-Lago.
Helpful pointer for unsure readers: No, “stupifying” is not a word. The actual word meant here is “stupefying.” The “i” spelling suggests “stupid,” but the word’s meaning does not relate to “stupidity.” It means “astonishing and shocking.” A person of any level of intelligence can be stupefied by some astonishing event or discovery.
OR…………………….
We could be seeing a portmanteau of “stupid” and “stupefying.”
You DO know what a portmanteau is, correct?
Uh oh: predictably, there’s that word ‘flop’ … deservedly so, too! What were those three ticket holders thinking – wonder if all three sought relief, and got a refund?
The 3 tickets were purchased by the 3 Stooges
This ticket is a gift for someone you are obliged to send one to, but secretly despise. That could account for the three in London.
Reminds me of a famous exchange between Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw, who despised one another. Shaw had written a new play and had sent opening night tickets to Churchill with a note saying, “I’ve attached two tickets for you and a friend, if you have one.” To which Winston replied, “Thank you for the tickets. I’m afraid I can’t make the first performance due to other engagements, but I will try to make the second, if there is one.”
Ouch. Now that is cold.
Thank you, England, for delivering the best insult possible to the appalling wife of Herr Trumpler.
“Maybe some woman decided to abandon her five children in the back row of a theater? ” Here’s another possibility – it’s punishment! Cruel and unusual? Maybe. But forcing kids who genuinely need to be disciplined to sit through this sorry assed excuse of a movie would I think result in a marked improvement in behavior. Hell, halfway (if that long) through it the kid(s) would be begging to get their butts whipped with a switch, or a paddle or a belt like some parents would do when I was a kid. My guess is that for a good long while, even the threat of having to sit though it again would bring instant obedience!
“… punishment …” LOL! Priceless!
Three tickets?
As many as that?