“The Color Purple,” a new musical take on Alice Walker’s landmark novel, seemed to arrive as an instant hit. Awash in critical exultation, the movie rolled into theaters on Christmas Day and sold more than $18 million in tickets, a near record for the holiday. Audiences gave it an A grade in CinemaScore exit polls. Oprah Winfrey, who produced the film with Steven Spielberg, celebrated on Instagram. “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” she wrote, adding, “For y’all to buy tickets, dress up in purple, and show up in droves is filling me up.”
But the sizzle has turned to a sputter. “The Color Purple,” which cost Warner Bros. at least $90 million to make and another $40 million to market, collected an estimated $4.8 million from 3,218 theaters in the United States and Canada over the weekend, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data. It was enough only for seventh place, behind George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat” — a period drama that also arrived on Christmas Day — even though “The Boys in the Boat” had only 2,687 theaters.
What happened?
In Hollywood parlance, the movie has not broadened beyond a “specialty audience.” To put it more candidly, “The Color Purple,” enthusiastically received by Black moviegoers, needs more white, Hispanic and Asian ticket buyers to give it a chance. The film’s opening-weekend audience was 65 percent Black, 19 percent white, 8 percent Hispanic and about 5 percent Asian, according to PostTrak, a service that provides studios with demographic information on ticket buyers.
Full story here: https://archive.md/aPimj
Musicals are always difficult now, if they aren’t animated and/or for kids.
I have to wait until it’s available apart from theaters (health issues) to see it, but if I could go, I would be going alone because I know exactly one person that would deal with theater bullshit for a musical.
Now, I could likely talk someone into it if theaters weren’t such a hit-or-miss (mostly miss) experience. That’s a big outlay for a night only to deal with shitty parking, dubiously cleaned seats, and whatever random human fuckery occurs. But for a musical? Nah, nobody I know would go to a musical other than Rocky Horror nowadays.
It kinda sucks because I’m a little hyped to see it, and would prefer to see it with the full surround sound thing and no distractions from my family (they’ll talk any fucking movie to death lol)
If it says ‘musical’ I will pay to not see it.
I’ll need about tree fitty
I’ll send you my Venmo details.
Yeah, for some people find it difficult to accept the conventions of musicals (“why do they start singing - it’s weird”) when audiences accept people flying through the air fighting a sky beam while wearing tights and capes without batting an eye. I suppose that’s why star power is so important for genres that don’t have that mass appeal. The Color Purple and Les Miz’s opening day box office was almost the same (not adjusting for inflation), but after that The Color Purple hasn’t been keeping pace with Les Miz. Partly I suspect because Les Miz had Wolverine fighting Jor-El (or Maximus, the Gladiator) while rescuing Catwoman’s kid from Borat.
Audience behaviour in the theatre (both movies and - shockingly - live) is another barrier these days unfortunately, as is cost. An imax ticket here costs over $50 and even more for the good seats, and even normal ticket prices are over $30.
I feel that. Part of why I love musicals is the same reason I love comics and some books. They’re a little more fantasy than a regular drama or comedy. That kind of escapism is just what I need in life sometimes.
