'Cowboys & Aliens' And The Box Office: A Summer Battle

Why was alien/Western mash-up's $36.2 million debut considered a failure?
By Eric Ditzian


Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in "Cowboys & Aliens"
Photo: Universal

Hollywood box-office quiz time! One Steven Spielberg-produced alien flick based on an original idea hits theaters this summer, earns $35.4 million in its opening weekend and is roundly praised as proof that original ideas (those not based on board games and theme-park rides and the like) can thrive in the pop-culture marketplace. Another Steven Spielberg-produced alien flick that might as well have been based on an original idea (considering how few people had actually read the graphic novel on which it was based and how screenwriters changed everything except the title) hits theaters this summer, opens to $36.2 million during its first weekend and is tagged a major disappointment.

What gives? Well, in the comparison between the praised "Super 8" and the rebuked "Cowboys & Aliens," a lot, including budget, talent and a certain genre hybrid that just never seems to connect with moviegoers.

" 'Cowboys & Aliens' arrived with big-budget Hollywood hype — the stars (Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig), the huge budget ($160+ mil), and the above-the-line pedigree (Jon Favreau, Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg)," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "On the other end of the spectrum, 'Super 8' carried none of the big production clutter, and most impressively, was made for a third of what 'C&A' cost."

Projections heading into the weekend pegged "Cowboys" to gross in the $40 million to $50 million range, on par with something you'd expect from a movie based on an original idea with marquee talent on both sides of the camera. But reviews were tepid, the public has never shown a deep love for alien/Western mash-ups and, as Gitesh Pandya of Box Office Guru notes, "Cowboys" was the eleventh action movie released this summer. Its audience was also 53 percent male, leading Phil Contrino, editor of Boxoffice.com, to speculate that Universal could have tried to appeal more to women.

"[Star] Olivia Wilde wasn't included in the marketing blitz as much as she should have been," he said. "Going after fanboys can be a risky bet, because it often means that you're alienating other groups."

Perhaps "Cowboys" might have excelled at the box office in March, when even something like "Battle: Los Angeles" (a poorly reviewed original movie, its most recognizable face Aaron Eckhart's) was able to gross $35.6 million. Between the crowded summer calendar, the weak reviews and the unpalatable subject matter, "Cowboys" simply had too many cards stacked against it to thrive. It's likely to drop hugely in its second weekend. While hardly an outright bomb like "Sucker Punch," another original concept, "Cowboys" has stumbled enough to provide Hollywood with some valuable lessons.

To begin, studios are likely to stay far away from the alien/Western concept for a while. What's more, "Cowboys" shows once again that even A-list talent can't ensure a big opening. But what "Cowboys" won't do is make Hollywood shy away from basing films on less-recognizable properties or even original ideas altogether.

"Studios are already gambling on properties that are not based on recognizable properties, and most of them are big-budget sci-fi spectacles," Bock said. "Call it the 'Avatar' effect. Currently, there are nearly a dozen in production, many in 3-D. Most of them do have one thing in common: a dearth of big-name stars. Look for that trend to continue, as studios continue to bulk up the budget with SFX instead of stars."

Check out everything we've got on "Cowboys & Aliens."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668240/cowboys-aliens-super-8-spielberg.jhtml

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The Best Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

I loved the PowerPuff Girls as a kid, man. Yeah I'll admit it. They were awesome. Anytime they'd fly off and cause reckless amounts of property damage, I'd go nuts. Remember the one with the Rowdy Rough Boys? Crazy! I mean, nothing wrong with Dragon Ball Z and even Naruto these days, but each hyperviolent-yet-somehow-adorable episode was a treat. And Buttercup was the shit. Still is. Which is why you need to check out the new Complete Series 10th Anniversary Collection. It's got it all, and for only 25 bucks. Townsville will thank you. -KO More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/spM62ErznYE/the-best-deal-of-the-day

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Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8

classic shell make windows 7 look like xp
If you used Windows XP for a long time (who didn't?), one of the biggest changes when moving to Windows 7 or Vista was the massively-altered Explorer. While the new Explorer introduces some useful new features, it also removed just as many -- which is where Classic Shell comes in!

We've covered Classic Shell before, but here's the crib note: Classic Shell restores almost every Windows XP-era Explorer feature. The best change, in our opinion, is the reemergence of the 'up' arrow, meaning you now navigate without using the Windows Vista/7 'breadcrumbs' address bar. The status bar yet again shows the total size of your selection, and -- praise be! -- the diabolical Windows 7 Copy File 'copy and replace?' dialog has been replaced with a Windows XP lookalike (image after the break).

New to the most recent version of Classic Shell is the ability to make IE9 look like IE8. With Classic Shell the title bar yet again has a caption, so you can see the full title of Web pages. The current security zone and loading progress indicator have been put back into the status bar, too. If you enable 'Show tabs on a separate row,' it's almost like using IE8.

Finally, Classic Shell replaces the omnipotent Windows 7 Start Menu with the age-old 'classic' Windows 2000/XP-style Start Menu. Classic Shell makes the Start Menu skinable, too, if you're into the kind of thing.

As awesome as it sounds, we've only touched on a small section of Classic Shell's feature set. Check the Classic Shell site for a complete list. There's a few more images of Classic Shell in action after the break.

Download Classic Shell for Windows

Continue reading Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8

Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/classic-shell-makes-windows-explorer-and-ie9-look-like-their-anc/

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Comex—or Nicholas Allegra, as the 19-year-old's parents call him—is the brain behind JailBreakMe, perhaps the most popular of all iPhone-busting software packages, and a pain in Apple's ass. But Forbes reports he does it because he's a fanboy. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CjxA-luHe38/the-father-of-jailbreakme-hacks-because-he-loves-apple

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I am sure all of you have had a moment where you’ve been in a pinch to find tools to hang a picture, tap in a nail that has stuck out on a piece of trim, or needed to get a quick measurement.  These are some of the projects the Kelvin.23 can help with. The [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/07/29/kelvin-23-multi-tool-review/

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