r/boxoffice • u/JoJoWithTheFroyo Universal • 12h ago
Domestic Disney / 20th Century’s Whalefall grossed an estimated $3.00M domestically on Friday (from 3,065 locations), including previews.
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u/RickRaptor105 Universal 12h ago
Loved the movie, but when the most common non-snarky comment I've seen under every trailer is "these scenes stress me out so much there's no way I'd watch a whole movie of that on a big screen with surround sound" I understand why it's not performing well
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u/baliancarlson 12h ago
Isn’t that kind of the point of survival thrillers, though? Gravity played on the fear of space, Fall on the fear of heights, Buried on being buried alive, etc. All those films were successful.
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u/DonnieRodz 4h ago
There’s enough anxiety inducing shit on the news every day. Maybe it was just released in the wrong political atmosphere.
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u/Brad_Spitt_ 11h ago
Agreed. It’s an anxiety attack with an hour and 45 minute runtime. Still enjoyed it though.
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u/ShimraJaye 11h ago
Bonus! For those of us who have recently lost their fathers (mine died just under 3 years ago now...) it's an unexpectedly raw examination of grief in the wake of an imperfect parental relationship. Intercut with some of the most claustrophobic scenes since The Descent.
(Not me big ugly weeping during the "whale Mufasa" scenes...)
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u/FalseAmphibian3616 4h ago
I was stoned on edibles and there were several times I considered nope-ing out due to the stress of watching it. Any scene without dialogue was 5/5.
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u/Brad_Spitt_ 4h ago
I was in the exact same situation! Thought “this is a perfect edible movie” and I was very wrong (again).
But what a ride it was, even if my blood pressure was spiking the entire length.
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u/grmayshark 11h ago
I mean 127 Hours was marketed as see the dude with his arm stuck in a boulder for 90 minutes and that was a modest hit ($60m on an $18m budget). Gravity was Sandra Bullock floating in space for 90 minutes and that was an Oscar winner, technical marvel and a massive hit. I just think you need a star that people want to see stuck in real time in these crazy scenarios that you can root for and Austin Abrams just isnt there yet. Spending $60m on this was probably just too high
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u/Patroulette 5h ago
Tbf Whalefall is also more stressful than even those two. I feel 127 Hours is the closest in the sense that it's more man vs nature-oriented, but where there should be ample time for contemplation is instead condensed down into 1 hour while suffocating/being digested.
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u/TimeTravelingChris 10h ago
I don't want to see it because the premise is ridiculous for a movie taking itself this seriously.
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u/MassiveLie2885 6h ago
That's kinda how I feel watching the Wildwood trailers, which Twitch for some reason feels obligated to force down my throat.
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u/Spaceboomer1 1h ago
The deep ocean is a top fear of mine and I imagine many other people. It is an endless dark void where the closest things on this planet to real life monsters lurk. At any moment one may come out from the gloom and take you into the dark.
I know the point of horror movies is fear but there's a limit I think for general audiences. The premise is just so uncomfortable compared to something like Obsession which feels more... manageable.
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u/OkAd1622 9h ago
I checked out of the movie while he was inside the whale, survival horror is not for me and I was dragged by my husband.
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u/TJ_McWeaksauce 12h ago
I feel like I've been bombarded with the Whalefall trailer over the past 2-3 months. It played constantly while watching Hulu, plus it played before pretty much every movie I saw in theaters. I've probably sat through it dozens of times.
It's a safe bet that this movie isn't doing well not because of a lack of marketing, but because most people aren't interested in watching it in theaters. Maybe it'll do well on streaming, though.
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u/Sovereign_Gaze 12h ago
People no longer want to see survivor movies.
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u/IvnOooze 12h ago
Jeff Probst won't be happy about this.
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u/Muroid 11h ago
Jeff Probst barely tolerates the existence of Survivor podcasts let alone movies. I’m pretty sure he thinks the only Survivor things that should exist are things he hosts, and movies don’t have hosts.
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u/Stalukas 6h ago
He literally cast a Survivor podcaster on the current season. He was all in on the Survivor marketing for Send Help too.
0
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u/indigoza 12h ago
First time I saw the trailer and learned about this movie was yesterday, on the release date.
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u/badbloxpictures Universal 12h ago
Seeing it in 4DX today, hoping to have a fun time.
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u/oochiewallyWallyserb 12h ago
Does it just constantly spray you with water for 100 minutes?
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u/badbloxpictures Universal 6h ago
Got back from it, and yes it did basically just spray me with water for two hours. Also the way the seats were moving makes me think I might have to visit a chiropractor soon.
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u/Tugajohn 11h ago
Another Fox movie mega bombing. It is a shame to see this happening, Disney might only release IP Fox movies in the future if this continues
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u/danieljessekaplan 2h ago
as someone who works for Disney studios, it sometimes seems like we put out bad original titles, so that they flop and the execs then can say "see our only option is to put out devil wears prada 3 and Zootopia 4"
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u/Tugajohn 1h ago
Whalefall is a good movie, it deserves more. Dog Stars was screwed with the reviews it got tho
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u/Dracdamac345 12h ago
Should have done better considering the trailer has been in front of almost every movie I've seen since July
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u/Sorry-Difference-389 12h ago
it's good movie, it's really sad that people don't interest this film, Austin Abrams was so good in this film, but i saw this coming.
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u/Nervous_Most_5585 12h ago
Ngl, to me the trailer seemed stupid. I understand why the interest isn't there.
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u/TimeTravelingChris 10h ago
Someone tried to get me to read the book by telling me "it's The Martian but in a whale."
I was like, can you hear yourself?
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u/Individual_Client175 Warner Bros. Pictures 9h ago
The interest isn't there because this isn't 2010. Most movies like this haven't made money since Covid, but certain executives and filmmakers still think these movies would make money.
I'm gonna check it out thanks to A-List, but I'm not shocked this isn't doing well. So many people in this sub were gassing up Austin Abrams like he was Timothee Chalamet or Austin Butler. He's cool and all, but simply doesn't have the power to bring in enough people to a concept like this.
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u/welltimedappearance 8h ago
I could understand this being OK'd for such an out there concept for like $10-15 million... but $60m?? how did they possibly think they'd make a profit unless everyone thinks they're making the next Obsession with every horror/thriller now
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u/Individual_Client175 Warner Bros. Pictures 6h ago
You can't make this movie for 10-15 million, 60 million is pretty good for this kind of film. The bigger issue is that, original thrillers like these usually need a massive star or director behind them to gain traction
1
u/welltimedappearance 6h ago
$60m is not in fact "pretty good" for this kind of movie and will go a long way towards making sure similar ones don't get made remotely close to this price point
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u/Nervous_Most_5585 6h ago
Well, tbf, I personally wouldn't have been interested in watching this regardless of the actor. Many people may feel similarly.
But perhaps it'll find an audience on streaming for no extra cost.
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u/newjackgmoney21 12h ago
7m weekend and Digger like theater drop on day 14.
Only two movies making double figures this weekend. Whalefall had a perfect release date to breakout but just no interest in the film.
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u/SawyerBlackwood1986 11h ago
Why didn’t he bring Dory with him? She speaks whale. Is Austin Abrams stupid?
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u/nicolasb51942003 Warner Bros. Pictures 12h ago
Could have been pretty big considering the quality trailer and the book following.
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u/dutchposer 12h ago
I thought it was some cash grab public domain Pinocchio when I first saw the trailer.
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u/Sovereign_Gaze 12h ago
People have no taste. They'd rather see the same generic crap but will be overly critical of a movie that offers more substance. Good luck with the same junk.
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u/RealRaifort 12h ago
I haven't seen the movie but the fact this is about the movie about a guy stuck inside a whale is fucking hilarious lmao
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u/popcornmaxhine 8h ago
I saw the movie. Wasn’t bad, but it really is just a guy stuck in a whale. Not exactly reinventing the wheel here
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u/Unver1f1eduser 9h ago
Disney will learn no new lessons from this epic fail. Get it to PVOD by day 17 and to D+ by day 30. They will keep this away from streaming for at least 60 days and lose all momentum from the marketing spend.
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u/danieljessekaplan 2h ago
the streaming and PVOD dates are always locked in ahead of its theatrical release
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u/onehotoneshot 12h ago
Great news for the falling whale community