Did the movie really deserve to earn a low profit?

[FirePuppy 735]

By the looks of it, almost EVERY animated movie rated PG in 2017 grossed more than $60 million worldwide, but this movie did not. Moreover, these movies opened in at least 2,800 theaters each, also unlike MLP: The Movie.

In such cases, I really hope the Blu-ray and DVD copies will sell a lot more money than theatrically.

[CypherHoof 26,482]

It was a good movie. While the plot could have been better, the animation was incredible, the characters were presented well (which is important as this is a new market, so you are effectively starting at baseline with some of the potential audience) and we had an relatable villain whose betrayal and redemption were in the classic FiM mold.

Not a great movie - possibly for time of course; Flutters was pretty much reduced to a yay machine (and her snark at pinkie early on was a bit uncharacteristic), the other ponies didn't really see a lot of presentation, and the storm king was a cardboard cutout compared to the prequel material. But certainly better than a lot of movies that went on to blockbuster status, which could indeed be down to the lack of a hype machine pushing them.  But my triple play is already on preorder, and I can see this becoming an instant classic

I think budget is also a consideration. Relative to how much was spent developing and promoting it, MLP:tm did very well indeed.

[Hierok 11,831]

I think because the cinemas suspected no large crowd, so they didn't play them, so it was no big release and less people went to the movie. 

I personnaly think it deserved more, but I can see why it wouldn't be as great as others.

[Uranium-235 19]

I think it took only 5-10m to make. So it dosent seem to to bad

The storm kings character was a joke, tempest was the real threat. Kind of a drakken/shego dynamic

[CypherHoof 26,482]

18 minutes ago, Uranium-235 said:

I think it took only 5-10m to make. So it dosent seem to to bad

Yup. looked at as profit compared to cash invested in the process, it is a roaring success even BEFORE the merch royalties are factored in.

18 minutes ago, Uranium-235 said:

The storm kings character was a joke, tempest was the real threat. Kind of a drakken/shego dynamic

I think the storm king was needed PURELY to betray Tempest, so that her reformation would seem a reasonable step. that he wasn't really a significant part of the movie other than that is fine, he fitted the role that was needed.

[Rikifive 24,139]

I think that's because most of the animated movies are targeted to everybody and there's no shame in watching them. MLP on the other hoof, even if that was designed to be a family show/movie, its environment makes it slightly more awkward to watch for typical audience. For us, it's great; for those who don't watch MLP - it's still MLP so why they'd be watching this? That's a shame either way, because it probably deserves much more than that, that's true.

I haven't watched the movie yet, because I didn't really want to go to the cinema for few reasons. I'd love to get a physical copy. Once I get it, I'll be sure to watch it.  I saw spoilers all over the place, I think I even saw movie itself being uploaded to some services, but meh; I'll be patient. I'll wait for it to either be aired on TV or being released on physical copies.

Edited January 7, 2018 by Rikifive

[kageyuki 59]

2 hours ago, Rikifive said:

I think that's because most of the animated movies are targeted to everybody and there's no shame in watching them. MLP on the other hoof, even if that was designed to be a family show/movie, its environment makes it slightly more awkward to watch for typical audience. For us, it's great; for those who don't watch MLP - it's still MLP so why they'd be watching this? That's a shame either way, because it probably deserves much more than that, that's true.

I haven't watched the movie yet, because I didn't really want to go to the cinema for few reasons. I'd love to get a physical copy. Once I get it, I'll be sure to watch it.  I saw spoilers all over the place, I think I even saw movie itself being uploaded to some services, but meh; I'll be patient. I'll wait for it to either be aired on TV or being released on physical copies.

I think you're right and that it is coz it MLP I don't think it has anything to do with the story or characters it's just that is MLP & it's sad more people won't give it a chance

[Patty Thundersnow 4,163]

 

11 hours ago, kageyuki said:

I think you're right and that it is coz it MLP I don't think it has anything to do with the story or characters it's just that is MLP & it's sad more people won't give it a chance

I agree that it's sad taht more people didn't give the movie a chance. It is a good family movie, and a pretty good one at that. As for the money it made, i'm not concerned. Hasbro knows that they'll make a lot of profit off of the sale of dvd and blu-ray versions of the movie.

[Will Guide 21,360]

12 minutes ago, Penguinbrony2409 said:

 

I agree that it's sad taht more people didn't give the movie a chance. It is a good family movie, and a pretty good one at that. As for the money it made, i'm not concerned. Hasbro knows that they'll make a lot of profit off of the sale of dvd and blu-ray versions of the movie.

Exactly. Just because it "failed" at the box office doesn't mean it won't find its viewers on home media. I heard the original Austin Powers movie didn't do well at the box office, but its rental life on home video was a success! 

Just give MLP:TM a chance on home media. @FirePuppy

Edited January 8, 2018 by WiiGuy2014

[Patty Thundersnow 4,163]

1 minute ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

Exactly. Just because it "failed" at the box office doesn't mean it won't find its viewers on home media. I heard the original Austin Powers movie didn't do well at the box office, but its rental life on home video was a success! 

Just give MLP:TM a chance.

another factor to add to the box office is the prices to go see movies these days. You need like 30 bucks just to go to the movies, get your popcorn, candy, etc. and for admittance, it depends on the place.

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

The movie did well enough to make back its budget along with a slight profit, which Hasbro was quite happy to report to their investors. Just because it didn't hit $60 million like every other animated movie doesn't mean it failed.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

2,500 hundred theaters
Little Marketing
Many bronies are too scared to go to the theater.
leaked in hd a week early.

Yeah this movie was never going to be a big hit. I know I said it could have made 100-300 Million, and I still believe that if it released in China, with a total of 3,500-4000 theaters and had much more marketing, it could have done far better than it did. A damn shame. It's like Lionsgate had no faith.

Luckily it should still be a large profit for Hasbro thanks to toy sales and dvd/blu ray sales. 

Of course, it deserved more, I am sorry but when I hear this movie called bad I cringe, the animation is a modern 2d Disney flick, the story is easily comparable to those, and the only real issue is some wonky pacing in the 2nd act.

[Uranium-235 19]

Bronys too scared to go into the theater? 

I went twice, both times, the whole theatre was empty, once with the exception of my mother who I took, why did I just say that 

[Ganondorf8 11,292]

It didn't help that the movie was leaked online in full mere days before it was released in theatres so this most likely affected the overall profit. Me? I only watched the movie once and while it did have a lot of positive things going for it, the negative things ultimately dragged it down thus it was just an okay experience. As far as how much it earned, only Hasbro knows the answer yet they've been pretty tight-lipped about it which makes one wonder why not reveal such information. I know they don't have to but many are curious because it could be an indication as to where the brand stands.

[Karnak 187]

Just now, Ganondorf8 said:

It didn't help that the movie was leaked online in full mere days before it was released in theatres so this most likely affected the overall profit. Me? I only watched the movie once and while it did have a lot of positive things going for it, the negative things ultimately dragged it down thus it was just an okay experience. As far as how much it earned, only Hasbro knows the answer yet they've been pretty tight-lipped about it which makes one wonoder why not reveal such information. I know they don't have to but many are curious because it could be an indication as to where the brand stands.

And let's not forget. Lionsgate is terrible with marking animated films, and they forced that horrible parody of "We got the beat". 

 

It should have been Paramount. At least they have some decent tracking with animated hits like Spongebob and Rango.

[Ganondorf8 11,292]

Just now, Karnak said:

And let's not forget. Lionsgate is terrible with marking animated films, and they forced that horrible parody of "We got the beat". 

 

It should have been Paramount. At least they have some decent tracking with animated hits like Spongebob and Rango.

Considering that commercials for the movie didn't start appearing on television until two weeks before the release with the only advertising being trailers, Lionsgate truly fumbled the proverbial ball here, and I suspect Hasbro might not have been entirely confident with the movie.

[Karnak 187]

Just now, Ganondorf8 said:

Considering that commercials for the movie didn't start appearing on television until two weeks before the release with the only advertising being trailers, Lionsgate truly fumbled the proverbial ball here, and I suspect Hasbro might not have been entirely confident with the movie.

True, and I've got worse news, the recent leaks showed that combined with marketing and budget the movie cost $50,000,000...and they had chart estimates that it would make over $100,000,000 WW. Its no wonder their going with a CGI prequel in 2020 for gen 5.

 

Sad thing is according to the emails...they will release the movie via Paramount.. Oh and Discovery Kids contact expires in 2021, it could be that Hasbro is aiming to release Gen 5 on Nickelodeon, which will allow the higher rating (TV-Y7) 

If only MLP: FIM was on their instead of Discovery kids, they could have done more mature lessons and character development and had better marking for the movie. 

But I'm rambling.. 

[waddleswan 3]

What are ya'll talking about yeah it didn't make as much as a big super hero movies but those have like 5x the budget the MLP movie had. 

And  where the heck is Karnak getting 50 mill or that hasbro expected to get 100 mill because that is NOT anywhere close to what any of the sources I've read have said. 

In fact according to all the sources I've read Hasbro only expected 20 million in box office which was around what  it cost to make, and they got twice that. 

Hopefully I didn't come across as a dick it's just baffles me that Karnak got numbers that are so far removed from the actual budget and expected profit. 

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by waddleswan

[Karnak 187]

46 minutes ago, waddleswan said:

What are ya'll talking about yeah it didn't make as much as a big super hero movies but those have like 5x the budget the MLP movie had. 

And  where the heck is Karnak getting 50 mill or that hasbro expected to get 100 mill because that is NOT anywhere close to what any of the sources I've read have said. 

In fact according to all the sources I've read Hasbro only expected 20 million in box office which was around what  it cost to make, and they got twice that. 

Hopefully I didn't come across as a dick it's just baffles me that Karnak got numbers that are so far removed from the actual budget and expected profit. 

 

Leaked emails, they may have been talking about the CGI movie planned, in which case, phew.

[waddleswan 3]

Wow they're already leaking stuff for g5 . 

But yeah the entire budget including advertising for the g4 mlp movie was only 29 mill.  

I just had to check that leaked financial statement to make sure. 

Which sounds like a lot but is super cheap for a movie,like outside of mlp the only movies with that sort of budget

I can think of are mock-busters and overly pretentious art films. 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by waddleswan

[Ganondorf8 11,292]

13 hours ago, Karnak said:

True, and I've got worse news, the recent leaks showed that combined with marketing and budget the movie cost $50,000,000...and they had chart estimates that it would make over $100,000,000 WW. Its no wonder their going with a CGI prequel in 2020 for gen 5.

It shows that MLP doesn't have the same popularity it had back around 2011 and 2012. I mean, the fandom is still going strong but it's clear that it isn't what it once was. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for as long as fans continue to support it, MLP will practically never die.

[KatonRyu 1,033]

Well, compared to a lot of other animated movies I've seen it just wasn't nearly as good. To be fair, those movies weren't part of a franchise, just stand-alone movies. This movie had no real way of standing on its own, but I feel like they blew all of their money on the animation, and I didn't even like the end result of that all that much because I prefer the show's style. The movie itself had a really weak plot and only the barest hint of character development, so what was supposed to be its strong point? Even as an MLP fan I wasn't impressed, I can imagine anyone 'unaffiliated' to think even less of it. So in the end, I do think its low profits were deserved, yes.