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| After Earth (2013) Will Smith, M. Night Shyamalan |
What does M. Night Shyamalan have in common with the worst director since Ed Wood? One word: Profit.
After Earth is a box office
bomb, but surprisingly he’ll still make money.
After Earth shares the
distinction of being M. Night Shyamalan’s
fourth straight dud and Will Smith’s first flop since Wild, Wild West. I’ll have to
update my M. Night Shyamalan Chart of Descent.
Interestingly enough, Business Week
did a chart that shows that while his movies are getting torn to shreds
by critics, they still make money. The
Happening, made on a $48 million budget, earned $163.4 million
worldwide. The Last Airbender,
earned $319.7 million worldwide on a budget of $150 million.
This means that Shyamalan is the big budget equivalent of Uwe Boll.
Boll makes horrid movies but, thanks to tax loopholes, always makes a
profit.
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, who’s been called the “Ed Wood of the 21st Century.” He makes one critically panned movie after another, like Postal (2007), In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2006) and House of the Dead (2003). Shyamalan is a director, producer and screenwriter who’s made one critically panned movie after another, like The Village (2004), The Happening (2008), and now, After Earth (2013).
Will Smith, who came up with the story and was the executive producer
of the film, said the project gave him valuable time to spend with his
son. “Filmmaking and entertainment is our family business,” Smith said
at a news
conference.
“So, it really gave us an opportunity for the last year to spend ten or
twelve hours a day together, every day. And for me it’s just the best
way, for me at least, to parent.”
So, it’s good to know something good came out of this film besides a paycheck.
How do you feel about M. Night Shyamalan’s movies? Do you think it’s fair to compare him to Ed Wood? Have you seen After Earth?
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7 Comments
Glad Will got something out of it.
Boll is the worst and he always gets name actors. Go figure.
The worldwide market is what helps these crappy movies make money because I guess they're really starved for entertainment overseas and pretty much watch anything. Maybe we're just spoiled. I saw Boll's latest "Assault on Wall Street" got a 24/100 on Metacritic. That's probably a new high for him. lol
International has really been the name of the game for making blockbusters profitable. Anymore hollywood thinks globally rather than domestically. In the case of The Last Airbender, it was a big property overseas before the film. That said, when factoring how profitable a film actually is, you cant forget that for a big budget film it's not uncommon for the marketing costs to be upward of a 100 million itself. And that's not reported in the budget.
With After Earth I don't see international bailing this one out. It needed a stronger push domestically to eat up that hurtle as you figure it'll basically need to double its budget to be theatrically profitable.
Seriously though, M. Night needs to cool it for awhile, then come back and direct someone else's script without his own interference. He started out strong, with a few good films. I still think he can be good again, if he doesn't get in his own way.
i would like my money back… then we all would win.
M. Night started out so well. I don't know what happened to that guy.
Nutschell
http://www.thewritingnut.com
Roger Corman directed/produced 300-400 films and I think I'm right in saying he made a profit on all but 6. There are other examples too – it's about being able to make a movie relatively cheaply and quickly, and also having very good salesmanship/business savvy. The opening box office is just one part of the film industry and many filmmakers aim for other areas – international or art house cinema, DVD, TV broadcasting or online sales.
What's impressive about M. Night Shyamalan continuing to make a profit is that his movies are not bottom-of-the-barrel cheap, he works with big names and big effects. Incidentally I have heard rumours that After Earth is not a complete washout and I plan to see it at some point.
Why have all the trees around me started rustling?
I just saw this and two things stood out: it's an M.Night Shyamalan film that's not all about the twist, and it's a Will Smith film that's not all about Will Smith. Yes, it is about his son, but even so seeing Mr. Smith in a minor supporting role is a real treat. It's no Sixth Sense but it's also no Happening although there are lots of trees. I'll expand a little in a review shortly.
Incidentally it's a Uwe Boll film in another sense: another film with a video game plot structure. Hero must get through a series of stages while another character guides him from a distance.