Habsy's Prestige Film Preview for 2009: aka Oscar Bait

[Habsburg]

Agora/Amenabar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u50zEun07b4

Rachel Weisz (not a fan)

Alexandria.

A movie about Hypatia? This is going to be terrible, right?

I know, and Rachel Weisz.  Cannes reception was very mixed, but it should score in techs.

As for Legend Kidman, she (like many other actresses) may have her share of clunkers, but her great work is GREAT:

Birth
The Others
To Die For
Margot at the Wedding
Dogville
The Hours
Moulin Rouge!
Portrait of the Lady



and I thought her very good in:

The Human Stain
Fur

[The Minsky Moment]

Bottom line: Kidman is a financial double threat.  She can make a studio fat profits was one film, and then turn right around and give them the tax writeoff they desperately need with the next film.  You can't ask for better.

[DisturbedPervert]

For instance the top four from your list:

Your stats seem to be US only.  Australia made 160 million abroad, Golden Compass 300 million

[Valmy]

The Golden Compass   
Cost to make: $205,000,000
Gross: $70,107,728   
Net Loss Percentage: 34.2%
Net Loss: $134,892,272

Wait so they made a film that had to gross 410 million just to be considered a success?  That seems rather idiotic to me.

[PRC]

Wait so they made a film that had to gross 410 million just to be considered a success?  That seems rather idiotic to me.

The gross numbers matched the original list in this thread.. then I got the numbers from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._and_Canadian_box_office_bombs

[DisturbedPervert]

$372 million
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=goldencompass.htm

$211 million
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=australia.htm

[MadImmortalMan]

The Road/Hillcoat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY

Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall

Author Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic road show would not normally be Oscar bait, but Esquire magazine has given it a huge rave.  10 slots.

Holy Crap that looks AWESOME!

Looks like Fallout 3. But in color.

[Eddie Teach]

It seems foolhardy to put $100 million on a star-driven vehicle in general, that's why you have people like Elijah Wood, Toby Maguire and Shia LaBeouf starring in mega-smashes. People are going because they're interested in the content, not in the stars. Golden Compass didn't "tank" because of Nicole Kidman, US moviegoers just were unfamiliar or uninterested in the film.

Overall, she's made some bad choices, but she does have some drawing power or her films wouldn't be averaging close to 50 million.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

For instance the top four from your list:

The Golden Compass    
Cost to make: $205,000,000
Gross: $70,107,728    
Net Loss Percentage: 34.2%
Net Loss: $134,892,272

Australia
Cost to make: $130,000,000
Gross: $49,554,002
Net Loss Percentage: 38.1%    
Net Loss: $80,445,998

Margot at the Wedding
Cost to make: $10,000,000    
Gross: $2,012,086    
Net Loss Percentage: 20.1%    
Net Loss: $7,987,913

The Invasion
Cost to make: $65,000,000
Gross: $15,055,795
Net Loss Percentage: 23.2%    
Net Loss: $49,944,20

To be fair....Most of those movies though have had pretty big DVD sales. And her Pre Tom Cruise Beard/Wife phase was much more profitable.

I blame Tom Cruise for the sad state of La Kidman.