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$15K film earns $60 mn, spooks movie moguls
28 Oct 2009, 0501 hrs
WASHINGTON: The storyline may be scary, but it is the bottom line that has Hollywood moguls shrieking. In a rare departure from the familiar
Dracula
Dracula was introduced in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. Although "Dracula" was not the first work of vampire fiction, the story and character are considered the foundation of modern vampire popular culture.
Hollywood script that equates big bucks with reaping a box-office bonanza, a home-made horror flick has become a monster hit in the US at a time when filmdom is spooked by the economy.
‘Paranormal Activity’ was shot by a novice director at his home in one week with two unknown actors and a handheld camera. It cost so little ($ 15,000) that it has been dubbed a “no-budget’’ production. It has grossed over $60 million and is on its way to crossing $ 100 million during Halloween weekend, when horror sells well.
Here’s the terrifying, and sad, counterpoint to this filmdom fairy tale: ‘Amelia’, the Mira Nair-directed film about the all-American aviatrix heroine that cost $40 million to make and was released big the same weekend, ended up with a lame $4 million.
Horror spooks Hollywood’s splurge-to-earn formula
Hollywood’s latest low-budget scare-fare ‘Paranormal’ competed last weekend against two other “blockbusters’’: The $50 million ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ and the $65 million ‘Astro Boy’. It busted both. Horror trumped honor by a country mile.
The coup has horrified Hollywood bigwigs, whose mantra generally has been to spend mega bucks at extravaganzas aimed at blowing the box-office down.
Movie moguls are now wondering about the fate of James Cameron’s $250 million ‘Avatar’ and about the prospects of big budget movies in general. Just this past summer Paramount’s ‘GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,’ costing $175 million, was laid low at the box-office.
28 Oct 2009, 0501 hrs
WASHINGTON: The storyline may be scary, but it is the bottom line that has Hollywood moguls shrieking. In a rare departure from the familiar
Dracula
Dracula was introduced in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. Although "Dracula" was not the first work of vampire fiction, the story and character are considered the foundation of modern vampire popular culture.
Hollywood script that equates big bucks with reaping a box-office bonanza, a home-made horror flick has become a monster hit in the US at a time when filmdom is spooked by the economy.
‘Paranormal Activity’ was shot by a novice director at his home in one week with two unknown actors and a handheld camera. It cost so little ($ 15,000) that it has been dubbed a “no-budget’’ production. It has grossed over $60 million and is on its way to crossing $ 100 million during Halloween weekend, when horror sells well.
Here’s the terrifying, and sad, counterpoint to this filmdom fairy tale: ‘Amelia’, the Mira Nair-directed film about the all-American aviatrix heroine that cost $40 million to make and was released big the same weekend, ended up with a lame $4 million.
Horror spooks Hollywood’s splurge-to-earn formula
Hollywood’s latest low-budget scare-fare ‘Paranormal’ competed last weekend against two other “blockbusters’’: The $50 million ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ and the $65 million ‘Astro Boy’. It busted both. Horror trumped honor by a country mile.
The coup has horrified Hollywood bigwigs, whose mantra generally has been to spend mega bucks at extravaganzas aimed at blowing the box-office down.
Movie moguls are now wondering about the fate of James Cameron’s $250 million ‘Avatar’ and about the prospects of big budget movies in general. Just this past summer Paramount’s ‘GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,’ costing $175 million, was laid low at the box-office.
