Will The Movie Hit Theatres Or Will It Be Straight To DVD?

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Now do people understand why I'm worried? This sort of sounds similar, no? Going completely against the original vision (AKA the switch from Flash to Toonboom.)...

 

I don't think the animation is going to be an issue as Toonboom is seen as a better version of Flash, and the MLP movie is designed to be a blockbuster experience so it makes sense that Hasbro wants to go with a bigger budget than they've done regarding both the show and Equestria Girls.

 

 

Oh lord, that was all sorts of disaster. Why Hasbro went along with that marketing plan still baffles me. Run contests for fans of the original series to provide their own content for the movie? Use unlicensed clips from celebrities talking about the original cartoon series? And then have the movie not actually have much if anything to do with that original series? Good job there.

 

That's why I think Hasbro have learned from their mistakes although now that the 1980s Transformers Movie has been brought several times in this thread, maybe a little concern is in order. They need to remember not to ignore the old cast in favour of the new one otherwise fans won't respond in a positive manner.

[weesh 690]

Actually, although the opening day sales are important, you shouldn't rely completely on those to judge how well it did, movies gain money over time, not everyone can go to see them on opening day, so if the opening weekend ends up unimpressive (which just maybe It'll do fine now that I consider the majority of bronies will see it as well as the original little girls demographic, those two together will add up) the ongoing sales may make up for it.

 

I did not make my point clear.

opening weekend, and first day sales are what the film industry uses to determine success.  

if you want producers to think "wow, that was great, we should fun more movies like this", then you should go opening day.  

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

It's impossible to improve upon the Flash animation; it's Flash. It's pretty limited. Toon Boom is actually theatrical quality.

Here's a list of flash animated films, you look at these and tell me they don't look theatrical.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Flash_animated_films

I don't think the animation is going to be an issue as Toonboom is seen as a better version of Flash, and the MLP movie is designed to be a blockbuster experience so it makes sense that Hasbro wants to go with a bigger budget than they've done regarding both the show and Equestria Girls.

 

 

 

That's why I think Hasbro have learned from their mistakes although now that the 1980s Transformers Movie has been brought several times in this thread, maybe a little concern is in order. They need to remember not to ignore the old cast in favour of the new one otherwise fans won't respond in a positive manner.

A blockbuster experience? Yeah, I don't see this movie competing with the big leagues...

I did not make my point clear.

opening weekend, and first day sales are what the film industry uses to determine success.  

if you want producers to think "wow, that was great, we should fun more movies like this", then you should go opening day.  

Maybe, but money will only get them so far, It'll need to get positive reviews around it first.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

A blockbuster experience? Yeah, I don't see this movie competing with the big leagues...

 

That depends on what big league movies are coming out next October/November.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

That depends on what big league movies are coming out next October/November.

Yeah. Looking on IMDB though I can't seem to find any.

[TheAnimatorOfficial 566]

Here's a list of flash animated films, you look at these and tell me they don't look theatrical.

 

https://en.wikipedia..._animated_films

None of those look theatrical except for maybe Waltz with Bashir. None of them look appealing to a general audience.

 

And then you have films like Top Cat, Aqua Teen, and Drawn Together that look downright hideous.

 

Not to be rude but what do you not get about the difference between TV and cinema?

Edited November 13, 2016 by TheAnimatorOfficial

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

Here's a list of flash animated films, you look at these and tell me they don't look theatrical.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Flash_animated_films

A blockbuster experience? Yeah, I don't see this movie competing with the big leagues...

Maybe, but money will only get them so far, It'll need to get positive reviews around it first.

 

None of those films look theatrical TBH. They all look like TV shows that someone suckered people to walk into a theater for or just look like awful movies in general. Many are foreign films, most are commercial failures. None of them match up to any of the big screen animation being done by the larger companies these days that are trying to make a true animated film experience. Not saying some of them are not good, but they all look like Direct to Video films that someone decided to release in theaters for just a little bit of extra money and it shows. That is why many of them have such limited releases.

 

No one said Flash is useless, as you can see there are several amazing looking films that UTILIZED flash, but were not made using it alone. MLPFiM is going Toonboom, they may still utilize flash for pieces of the film. But honestly I don't think you really care anymore, you are just be difficult because you think we should get a normal 3 or 4 part episode thrown into theaters and not something landmark that will stand out for all the fans everywhere and really make it worth going in the first place. Sure, lets all go to the movies and spend these outrageous prices for tickets, snacks and beverages, while having to put up with crying babies, cell phones ringing, text screens lighting up all over the theater while people text friends, take selfies, screen shots or calls and people continually walk back and forth in front of you because the bathroom can't wait.... just to watch this normal cartoon show we all could have saved our hard earned money for and just stayed the hell home so we could watch it in peace, and it would look EXACTLY the same.

 

Thanks no. You want to leave a lackluster impression in the minds of fans.. go that route. Or you could, I dunno... step up your game and try to make something fans and casuals will both enjoy and be happy they got to experience in the theater before commercial breaks, limited screen sizes and image quality rear their ugly heads and suck away part of the experience.

 

As for blockbuster. Yes it can compete. No one expects it to be another Frozen or the latest Pixar, but it can easily make a very large profit at the box office and showcase what the future can potentially hold not just for MLP, but for any licensed property. Every fan of any licensed property ever should want this film to do well, since a failure for MLP is not just a failure for MLP by itself, it is a message to the minds of company executives and shareholders that no one will ever want to see another large scale animated Transformers film, Thundercats, He-Man or whatever franchise you may love. They don't look at Transformers the Movie and say "Boy, we made some bad decisions in that film! No wonder it did not do what we hoped" they say "No one apparently likes animated Transformers in theaters, let's not do that anymore." and the ripple effect hits many other franchises owned by that company and companies with similar properties. But on the bright side, if it does do poorly we can always give the license to Micheal Bay and his FX and maybe he can rebuild it right?

 

It also does not need positive reviews these days to do well, even bad films with horrible reviews can easily get people in the door and make a large profit with merchandising and advertising, which MLP will most certainly get.

[Megas 27,061]

Yup. And there's reasons for that. The G1 MLP and Transformers movies together lost so much money it almost tanked Hasbro as a company. That's supposedly why EqG had that strange limited release. Hasbro didn't want to make *that* mistake again, even though it was decades ago

Kinda funny in hindsight considering how popular the latter is nowadays, especially on the internet, and gradually became a success. But here's hoping MLP FiM is successful right off the bat

Edited November 13, 2016 by Megas

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,269]

The amount of sheer doubt for the movie is lately is getting kinda annoying. The movie is a little less than a year away. Why not wait a bit before we worry about the world ending? We don't even have a proper trailer yet I don't think. Sheesh.

 

With MLP being their biggest property now, they are going to market the hell out of this movie and it will be a full theatrical release. I don't think we have anything worry about at this point.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

None of those look theatrical except for maybe Waltz with Bashir. None of them look appealing to a general audience.

 

And then you have films like Top Cat, Aqua Teen, and Drawn Together that look downright hideous.

 

Not to be rude but what do you not get about the difference between TV and cinema?

Yeah, I know, It's pretty obvious that TV and cinema are on two very different wavelengths, I'm not saying the show and movie need to be the same, but... Oh, to hell with it! OK, I admit it, you're right! I don't actually disagree with you OK, I just didn't want to admit I'm wrong...

None of those films look theatrical TBH. They all look like TV shows that someone suckered people to walk into a theater for or just look like awful movies in general. Many are foreign films, most are commercial failures. None of them match up to any of the big screen animation being done by the larger companies these days that are trying to make a true animated film experience. Not saying some of them are not good, but they all look like Direct to Video films that someone decided to release in theaters for just a little bit of extra money and it shows. That is why many of them have such limited releases.

 

No one said Flash is useless, as you can see there are several amazing looking films that UTILIZED flash, but were not made using it alone. MLPFiM is going Toonboom, they may still utilize flash for pieces of the film. But honestly I don't think you really care anymore, you are just be difficult because you think we should get a normal 3 or 4 part episode thrown into theaters and not something landmark that will stand out for all the fans everywhere and really make it worth going in the first place. Sure, lets all go to the movies and spend these outrageous prices for tickets, snacks and beverages, while having to put up with crying babies, cell phones ringing, text screens lighting up all over the theater while people text friends, take selfies, screen shots or calls and people continually walk back and forth in front of you because the bathroom can't wait.... just to watch this normal cartoon show we all could have saved our hard earned money for and just stayed the hell home so we could watch it in peace, and it would look EXACTLY the same.

 

Thanks no. You want to leave a lackluster impression in the minds of fans.. go that route. Or you could, I dunno... step up your game and try to make something fans and casuals will both enjoy and be happy they got to experience in the theater before commercial breaks, limited screen sizes and image quality rear their ugly heads and suck away part of the experience.

 

As for blockbuster. Yes it can compete. No one expects it to be another Frozen or the latest Pixar, but it can easily make a very large profit at the box office and showcase what the future can potentially hold not just for MLP, but for any licensed property. Every fan of any licensed property ever should want this film to do well, since a failure for MLP is not just a failure for MLP by itself, it is a message to the minds of company executives and shareholders that no one will ever want to see another large scale animated Transformers film, Thundercats, He-Man or whatever franchise you may love. They don't look at Transformers the Movie and say "Boy, we made some bad decisions in that film! No wonder it did not do what we hoped" they say "No one apparently likes animated Transformers in theaters, let's not do that anymore." and the ripple effect hits many other franchises owned by that company and companies with similar properties. But on the bright side, if it does do poorly we can always give the license to Micheal Bay and his FX and maybe he can rebuild it right?

 

It also does not need positive reviews these days to do well, even bad films with horrible reviews can easily get people in the door and make a large profit with merchandising and advertising, which MLP will most certainly get.

That sounds like you're saying that movies are always better than TV shows, since you seem to be implying that because it looks like a TV show It's not worth going into a theatre for, so I can't really agree with that at all. For example, I think the Dragonball Z anime is great, but the live action movie they made of it was garbage. Granted the movie wasn't animated, but I couldn't really think of a better example.

 

I'm not being difficult, this is just a discussion. And no, I don't want a movie that's just like 4 episodes stitched together, I hate movies that do that, and it shows, some movies literally are just a bunch of episodes stitched together, like that one Family Guy movie, which came off terrible because it was disjointed and had no real sense of build up or character development. Judging them as segmented episodes I can respect them, but it was released as a movie, so I'll judge it as a movie. Forgettable and standard is the LAST thing I want the MLP movie to be like.

 

I won't comment on the rest because honestly everything else you're saying seems sound to me.

Edited November 13, 2016 by OmegaBeamOfficial

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

That sounds like you're saying that movies are always better than TV shows, since you seem to be implying that because it looks like a TV show It's not worth going into a theatre for, so I can't really agree with that at all.

 

Not at all. But the expectation and hope is that it will be bigger and better than its basic source material. No one goes through all of those hoops I stated just to see the exact same thing they can see on television or online at home any day of the week. A few shows have tried that, and as far as i know, they have all been colossal failures. Usually shows that do that sort of thing just go Direct to Video or do a made for TV format... just to avoid the backlash of a disappointed public.

[weesh 690]

Maybe, but money will only get them so far, It'll need to get positive reviews around it first.

 

I'm 100% positive that opening weekend ticket sales are critical to a movie's perceived success.

 

I don't actually know if positive reviews have a major impact on that or not.  

It seems like it might, but I've never seen data on that.  

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

I'm 100% positive that opening weekend ticket sales are critical to a movie's perceived success.

 

I don't actually know if positive reviews have a major impact on that or not.  

It seems like it might, but I've never seen data on that.  

I'm not referring specifically to data, I mean that sure, the movie might make a lot of money when it starts, but then reviews will come out. If reviews call out the movie for being bad, people tend to stay away from it and then the sales will go down. So I'd say reviews and ratings have as much of an impact on the success of the movie as money does, I mean what's having a lot of cash from opening day worth if you don't have the trust of most people if you decide to make a sequel.

[ChB 18,532]

Anypony know why MLP doesn't appear in Fandango's list of upcoming movies? Could it be that the release date is not finalized, or something else?

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

Anypony know why MLP doesn't appear in Fandango's list of upcoming movies? Could it be that the release date is not finalized, or something else?

Fandango is probably either not aware of the movie, or they don't consider 2017 close enough to be upcoming.

[TheAnimatorOfficial 566]

Fandango is probably either not aware of the movie, or they don't consider 2017 close enough to be upcoming.

It's the latter most likely.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Anypony know why MLP doesn't appear in Fandango's list of upcoming movies? Could it be that the release date is not finalized, or something else?

 

The movie is supposedly slated to release in October, but I honestly don't know how firm that really is. I'm not seeing any animated films on that list going that far forward. There's *always* animated stuff hitting theatres in October-December so the fact nothing is listed there for that time slot seems odd. However, I'm under the impression animated films tend to be a bit more... slippy on release dates than regular movies, so Fandango might just not bother listing any yet for that slot.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

It's the latter most likely.

OK, I get it, I've been a dumbass. No need to rub it in...

The movie is supposedly slated to release in October, but I honestly don't know how firm that really is. I'm not seeing any animated films on that list going that far forward. There's *always* animated stuff hitting theatres in October-December so the fact nothing is listed there for that time slot seems odd. However, I'm under the impression animated films tend to be a bit more... slippy on release dates than regular movies, so Fandango might just not bother listing any yet for that slot.

Probably because of how far away October 2017 is, most people don't announce their movies as early as Hasbro has.

[weesh 690]

I'm not referring specifically to data, I mean that sure, the movie might make a lot of money when it starts, but then reviews will come out. If reviews call out the movie for being bad, people tend to stay away from it and then the sales will go down. So I'd say reviews and ratings have as much of an impact on the success of the movie as money does, I mean what's having a lot of cash from opening day worth if you don't have the trust of most people if you decide to make a sequel.

 

Omega, logically, that makes some measure of sense.

But I've never seen data that supports that as a fact. 

Industry insiders don't seem to care about reviews.  And you are far overestimating their impact.  

Obviously you and I care, and if the movie is good or bad will impact whether or not new viewers decide to check out the TV show...

 

But if we want to prove that we care, and want more MLP movies with solid budgets to be widely released in theaters, there are only two things that matter, and they are both numbers followed by dollar signs.  

 

Logic does not rule the industry.  

Did you know that a movie is considered to be a flop if it costs 10 million to make, earns 9.9 million in the theatrical run, and 100 million in DVD sales?  

Edited November 13, 2016 by weesh

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

Omega, logically, that makes some measure of sense.

But I've never seen data that supports that as a fact. 

Industry insiders don't seem to care about reviews.  And you are far overestimating their impact.  

Obviously you and I care, and if the movie is good or bad will impact whether or not new viewers decide to check out the TV show...

 

But if we want to prove that we care, and want more MLP movies with solid budgets to be widely released in theaters, there are only two things that matter, and they are both numbers followed by dollar signs.  

 

Logic does not rule the industry.  

Did you know that a movie is considered to be a flop if it costs 10 million to make, earns 9.9 million in the theatrical run, and 100 million in DVD sales?  

Well, I think that makes sense, if a movie makes less than it costs to make then you could say that it failed It's job and the filmmakers gained little to nothing from it.

 

However, I really can't agree that only money matters in the grand scheme of things.

Edited November 13, 2016 by OmegaBeamOfficial

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Yeah. Looking on IMDB though I can't seem to find any.

 

That might be because movies have tentative releases at first that can be changed depending on whether it was delayed due to complications or pushed forward if progress on it was better than expected. The MLP movie, for example, is slated for release next October/November, but it could be delayed or released earlier depending on factors we can't even see. If neither of these things happen to a movie, it will release on the scheduled day the company has stated.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

That might be because movies have tentative releases at first that can be changed depending on whether it was delayed due to complications or pushed forward if progress on it was better than expected. The MLP movie, for example, is slated for release next October/November, but it could be delayed or released earlier depending on factors we can't even see. If neither of these things happen to a movie, it will release on the scheduled day the company has stated.

Yeah, plus the fact that most companies don't announce their movies nearly as early as Hasbro has.

[weesh 690]

Well, I think that makes sense, if a movie makes less than it costs to make then you could say that it failed It's job and the filmmakers gained little to nothing from it.

 

However, I really can't agree that only money matters in the grand scheme of things.

 

I don't think it makes sense that a movie that makes 100 million dollars is considered a flop, just because it didn't make up the production cost during the theatrical run.

 

Of course money isn't the only thing that matters in the grand scheme of things.  I'm in 100% agreement.

But look at my first quote, where I brought the subject up: "Remember guys, the most important stats for a new movie are opening weekend, and opening day sales."

This is directly referring to convincing producers that MLP is a thing to invest in.  money is THE thing that matters to them.  it is the most financially driven job in an industry that makes a lot of TON of money.  I feel like you are ascribing your completely reasonable values inappropriately onto producers, or maybe I've not been clear that that has been my point all this time?

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Yeah, plus the fact that most companies don't announce their movies nearly as early as Hasbro has.

 

Hasbro probably does it to promote their toy lines given that is the nature of their company. I'm only taking a guess at this because I don't work for the company so I don't have an insight into their business practices.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

I don't think it makes sense that a movie that makes 100 million dollars is considered a flop, just because it didn't make up the production cost during the theatrical run.

 

Of course money isn't the only thing that matters in the grand scheme of things.  I'm in 100% agreement.

But look at my first quote, where I brought the subject up: "Remember guys, the most important stats for a new movie are opening weekend, and opening day sales."

This is directly referring to convincing producers that MLP is a thing to invest in.  money is THE thing that matters to them.  it is the most financially driven job in an industry that makes a lot of TON of money.  I feel like you are ascribing your completely reasonable values inappropriately onto producers, or maybe I've not been clear that that has been my point all this time?

I think you are underestimating the industry a bit, not every company are just people with suits around a table with dollar symbols in their eyes.

Hasbro probably does it to promote their toy lines given that is the nature of their company. I'm only taking a guess at this because I don't work for the company so I don't have an insight into their business practices.

I'd consider the movie and the MLP toy lines two completely separate can of worms, unless they make merch based on the movie of course.