Ghostbusters trailer *Brand New* (2016)

[The Dark Knight]

Yup. Pretty much sums it all up.

BLB.

Bill Looks Bored.

#equalitybusters

[riddler]

I kind of wonder if Bill only took the role as a nod to the departed Ramis.

[Silver Nemesis]

I think Sony's got his kids.

But in all seriousness, there's an email exchange on WikiLeaks where Sony plots to pursue "aggressive" litigation against Murray if he "again declines to engage with Ghostbusters". It dates from late 2013, approximately 9 month before Paul Feig was officially announced as director. The emails also indicate Sony's plans to keep the lawsuit secret, fearing the public would turn against them if they found out. You can read the whole exchange here: https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/104704

Now whether or not they ever did threaten Murray with litigation is open to speculation. But here we have concrete proof they were plotting to do so as recently as October 2013. It's not hard to imagine similar threats being made since. That would certainly explain the look on Murray's face.

While we're on the subject of Sony's dishonest tactics, I noticed that picture of Wiig at the premiere - the one with the little girls in Ghostbusters outfits - has been circulating on social media, usually captioned with: "This is why the new Ghostbusters film is so important." Apparently these people are unaware that the little girls weren't actually Ghostbusters fans. In fact they hadn't even seen the movie. They were part of a dance troupe Sony paid to perform in costume on the red carpet. But now all the SJWs are spreading the picture around as proof the next generation of females need this film to succeed. And if you don't pay to see it, you're betraying your daughters, nieces and granddaughters.

It's almost as bad as when Sony tried to score points with the public by having the cast show up at a children's hospital. Because we all know how much kids love the cast of Bridesmaids, right? In the end the stunt backfired epically and spawned a series of memes about Sony exploiting sick kids for photo ops.

And to think, some people still support this film.

Meanwhile the RT score has dropped to 75% and is presently 48% ROTTEN with Top Critics. The Metascore has dropped to 59, which places it in the 'mixed' bracket. Analysts have increased their OW predictions to $50 million. Unless it performs amazingly overseas, $50 million would still indicate a flop.

[johnnygobbs]

Meanwhile the RT score has dropped to 75% and is presently 48% ROTTEN with Top Critics. The Metascore has dropped to 59, which places it in the 'mixed' bracket. Analysts have increased their OW predictions to $50 million. Unless it performs amazingly overseas, $50 million would still indicate a flop.

If $50 million is all it makes during its entire run, it would be a flop, but for an OW it isn't a disaster.  Kung Fu Panda 3 made 'only' $41 million on its OW.

Also, who decides who is a 'Top Critic'?

[Catwoman]

I think Sony's got his kids.

But in all seriousness, there's an email exchange on WikiLeaks where Sony plots to pursue "aggressive" litigation against Murray if he "again declines to engage with Ghostbusters". It dates from late 2013, approximately 9 month before Paul Feig was officially announced as director. The emails also indicate Sony's plans to keep the lawsuit secret, fearing the public would turn against them if they found out. You can read the whole exchange here: https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/104704

Now whether or not they ever did threaten Murray with litigation is open to speculation. But here we have concrete proof they were plotting to do so as recently as October 2013. It's not hard to imagine similar threats being made since. That would certainly explain the look on Murray's face.

While we're on the subject of Sony's dishonest tactics, I noticed that picture of Wiig at the premiere - the one with the little girls in Ghostbusters outfits - has been circulating on social media, usually captioned with: "This is why the new Ghostbusters film is so important." Apparently these people are unaware that the little girls weren't actually Ghostbusters fans. In fact they hadn't even seen the movie. They were part of a dance troupe Sony paid to perform in costume on the red carpet. But now all the SJWs are spreading the picture around as proof the next generation of females need this film to succeed. And if you don't pay to see it, you're betraying your daughters, nieces and granddaughters.

It's almost as bad as when Sony tried to score points with the public by having the cast show up at a children's hospital. Because we all know how much kids love the cast of Bridesmaids, right? In the end the stunt backfired epically and spawned a series of memes about Sony exploiting sick kids for photo ops.

And to think, some people still support this film.

Meanwhile the RT score has dropped to 75% and is presently 48% ROTTEN with Top Critics. The Metascore has dropped to 59, which places it in the 'mixed' bracket. Analysts have increased their OW predictions to $50 million. Unless it performs amazingly overseas, $50 million would still indicate a flop.

Not only will I not be supporting the film, I won't be supporting Sony period. If I still had a Playstation I would have thrown it in the yard for the way they've treated fans of one of the most beloved movies ever for not wanting that movie's legacy to be, well, slimed on.

[Silver Nemesis]

If $50 million is all it makes during its entire run, it would be a flop, but for an OW it isn't a disaster.

It is for a movie that cost approximately $300 million after rebates (including global p & a) and which isn't getting a release in the largest overseas market (China).

Also take into account the fact that US box office has been significantly down this year (which is why almost every big budget movie has underperformed, with a few notable exceptions such as Deadpool, Zootopia, Cap 3 and Jungle Book), combined with the fact The Secret Lives of Pets overperformed in its opening weekend (to the amount of over $100 million – and animated films usually experience smaller 2nd weekend drops than live action films), then factor in the impending release of Star Trek Beyond next week, and things aren't looking too good for Ghostbusters.

Sony was banking on this film bringing in the kind of money a Marvel superhero film would. And that's not going to happen. Barring some sort of miracle, this movie is definitely flopping. Sony is about to lose millions. And that's to say nothing of the money wasted on producing merchandise that's destined for a landfill in the Arizona badlands.

Kung Fu Panda 3 made 'only' $41 million on its OW.

Like I say, animated movies experience smaller week-to-week drops than live action films, so a big OW isn't the be all and end all. Kung Fu Panda 3 also made 41% of its foreign gross in China. Last I heard, Ghostbusters isn't getting released in China. Also remember that Kung Fu Panda 3 was the lowest grossing entry in the trilogy. Sony's hoping for a lot more from Ghostbusters. And they're not going to get it.

Also, who decides who is a 'Top Critic'?

From RT's help desk:

Top Critic is a title awarded to the most significant contributors of cinematic and critical discourse. To be considered for Top Critics designation, a critic must be published at a print publication in the top 10% of circulation, employed as a film critic at a national broadcast outlet for no less than five years, or employed as a film critic for an editorial-based website with over 1.5 million monthly unique visitors for a minimum of three years. A Top Critic may also be recognized as such based on their influence, reach, reputation, and/or quality of writing, as determined by Rotten Tomatoes staff.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/help_desk/critics/

Not only will I not be supporting the film, I won't be supporting Sony period. If I still had a Playstation I would have thrown it in the yard for the way they've treated fans of one of the most beloved movies ever for not wanting that movie's legacy to be, well, slimed on.

A lot of people feel that way. Sony's films haven't been doing too well at the box office lately, which is one of the reasons why there's so much pressure on Ghostbusters to bring in the big bucks. A lot of Marvel fans are hoping it won't so Sony's bargaining posture will be weakened and they'll have to sell the full rights to Spider-Man back to Marvel. I don't think that's a very realistic scenario, but I'm all in favour of seeing Sony Pictures crash and burn after the nasty, dishonest marketing campaign they run against Ghostbusters fans.

What Sony really wants is its own version of the MCU. They tried starting a shared universe with The Amazing Spider-Man, but they failed. Now they're trying to start one with Ghostbusters, but that's going to fail too.

[thecolorsblend]

What Sony really wants is its own version of the MCU. They tried starting a shared universe with The Amazing Spider-Man, but they failed. Now they're trying to start one with Ghostbusters, but that's going to fail too.

I'm convinced such a thing was possible with Amazing Spider-Man... and might've happened had someone explained to Webb that he's directing a superhero film rather than Apocalypse Now. A safe, relatively paint-by-numbers sequel to an at best shaky reboot would've been the way to go. I believe it could've been viable.

Then again, there's an argument that all Spider-Man ever was for Sony was a flash in the pan. When you track out the box office grosses, the numbers diminish with every subsequent film until ASM2, which was at best break-even, or even a loss. That started happening with Spider-Man 2 in 2004.

This idea that Spider-Man will automatically do better at Marvel may prove to be an unwise assumption.

Back to Girlbusters though, I wasn't aware that it wouldn't be released in China. This is the first I've heard of that. What gives? That's a huge market. It could be the difference between profitability and loss in foreign grosses. Who the hell made that decision??

A lackluster opening weekend along with stiff competition in the coming weeks and no release in China basically means Girlbusters has literally no chance whatsoever. I can't envision how it doesn't fail miserably at this point.

[Silver Nemesis]

Who the hell made that decision??

The Reds, apparently.

"China's official censorship guidelines technically prohibit movies that "promote cults or superstition" — a holdover from the Communist Party's secular ideology — and the country's regulators occasionally have been known to use this obscure provision as rationale for banning films that feature ghosts or supernatural beings in a semi-realistic way (Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest suffered such a fate in 2006, thanks to its depictions of ghouls and cannibalism)."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ghostbusters-denied-release-china-910563

Even without China, this movie could have had a massive geek audience championing it, if only the filmmakers had courted the approval of the diehard fans. Instead they decided to abuse and ostracise them, as well as anyone with a Y chromosome or IQ number exceeding room temperature. And contrary to Sony's narrative, there are plenty of women against it. Just look at this hateful misogynist right here:

My advice to anyone thinking of going to the pictures this weekend – if you fancy a good comedy, go see The Nice Guys. If you're in the mood for a good ghost story, go see The Conjuring 2. Just don't waste your money on Ghostbusters.

[Catwoman]

I don't know if this has been brought up, I did mention it in my one long rant but just so I'm clear, we're all in total agreement that we would have been just as dismissive of this if it had been an all male team, right? Obviously we wouldn't have all been accused of stuff (me being accused of being sexist is pretty hilarious because, well, you know) but we would have all had the "Why the f*** is this necessary" attitude we had with this before the studio's sh*t started, right? Cause that blows their arguments away.

[thecolorsblend]

I don't know if this has been brought up, I did mention it in my one long rant but just so I'm clear, we're all in total agreement that we would have been just as dismissive of this if it had been an all male team, right? Obviously we wouldn't have all been accused of stuff (me being accused of being sexist is pretty hilarious because, well, you know) but we would have all had the "Why the f*** is this necessary" attitude we had with this before the studio's sh*t started, right? Cause that blows their arguments away.

I'll clue you in on something. I speak only for myself in saying remakes are stupid and I try not to patronize them. "Remake" is a dicey term considering I'm a comics fan. But in general something that began life as a film and is being remade as a film for no reason other than a cash-in is just bad form.

Yes, I would've been just as dismissive about an all-male team. Slightly different reasons perhaps. Because you KNOW Seth freaking Rogen would've been the Bill Murray analog of the movie. But the end result would've been the same. Had a Ghostbusters 3 been made with all or most of the original cast, I think people would've been more tolerant. But a straight remake with a new cast? No thanks!

The fact that this is yet another silly Girl Power thing makes it more obnoxious... but a remake is unnecessary no matter who the stars are.