I KNEW the movie would flop

[Tackhisis]

Why do you care so much that a movie based on a franchise that you seem to have liked at least at one point be shown to have failed?

Probably because it prevents us from ever seeing the real Warcraft movie, for which we had been dreaming all those years. The Warcraft universe deserved better.

[clevin]

Probably because it prevents us from ever seeing the real Warcraft movie, for which we had been dreaming all those years. The Warcraft universe deserved better.

Sigh. I thought so. No reason at all. Your 'real Warcraft' wouldn't line up with others' But you won't admit that, you'll whine on and on. Sad, really.

[Relapses]

Probably because it prevents us from ever seeing the real Warcraft movie, for which we had been dreaming all those years. The Warcraft universe deserved better.

That's one of many reasons. Some people just have a fascination with being right so they've dragged this thread for page after page of redundant argumentation. Others believe it helps fit the narrative that Blizzard cannot do anything right with the Warcraft IP so they use the movie's shortcomings to facilitate a cynical portrayal of the company. Some people are just assholes.

Personally, I simply dislike people misconstruing information to fit an improper predetermination of a sequel. As I've said throughout this thread, I didn't hate the movie and I'd be positively delighted were it to get sequels; but at the same time, I'm also fully aware of the fact that there is a lot of information pointing to a franchise likelihood being less-than-certain so I try to caution against other fans having unrealistically high aspirations since it'll lessen the blow if or when the prospect of a sequel fizzles out.

[Tackhisis]

That Warcraft movie insults me as much as DoAT and D&D probably did with fans of the corresponding universe. A huge mismanaged budget that lead to cynically bad result.

[Plehnard]

4m difference in total is not a big gap.

When compared 20 to 24 it is, that's 20% more and that's only the "total" of the second weekend where you claimed Warcraft did worse than FF4, yet it didn't.

That Warcraft movie insults me as much as DoAT and D&D probably did with fans of the corresponding universe. A huge mismanaged budget that lead to cynically bad result.

Have you really seen those movies? Sorry but you're talking out of your arse there, compared to those movies Warcraft was a flawless masterpiece that will be sung about for centuries to come.

[Daffan]

The movie was average, some parts were actually horrendous like the ending.

[Relapses]

Have you really seen those movies? Sorry but you're talking out of your arse there, compared to those movies Warcraft was a flawless masterpiece that will be sung about for centuries to come.

That's a purely subjective observation. While I agree that the movies in question are remarkably shitty, I can see how somebody who has a fond disposition for Warcraft's lore would feel insulted by the direction the movie took. Regardless, you can't really say one is unequivocally better than the other since that's largely based entirely on your opinion.

[Plehnard]

Regardless, you can't really say one is unequivocally better than the other since that's largely based entirely on your opinion.

Well, even the critics agree with me on that.
D&D has on Tomatoes 10% average rating of 3.1, audiences 19% there, Metacritic 14%, IMDB 3.7.
Everyone hated this movie, not only top critics like it was mostly the case with Warcraft. That film was a real shit show and is on many "worst movie"-lists for a reason.

[Relapses]

Well, even the critics agree with me on that.
D&D has on Tomatoes 10% average rating of 3.1, audiences 19% there, Metacritic 14%, IMDB 3.7.
Everyone hated this movie, not only top critics like it was mostly the case with Warcraft. That film was a real shit show and is on many "worst movie"-lists for a reason.

Warcraft's audience reviews are generally more positive than the movies in question but you're still comparing broad generalizations with somebody's personal opinion. While definitely not a majority opinion, it's still possible for somebody to feel just as disheartened by Warcraft as fans of the other IPs felt about their respective silver screen outings.

Mind you, I don't entirely disagree with what you're saying, I'm just adding that there's a bit more to it than a simple comparison.

[Tackhisis]

Of course a 160M movie will be better than a $45 one. But the fact is that they both are not adequate for their franchises.

[Deleted]

For a video game based movie it wasn't half as bad.... Enjoyed myself and that's what all that matters to me. Putting Moroes into the movie was a neat idea

Looking forward to a sequel

[uxzuigal]

Right now, sitting at a disastrous score in RT. It begs the question to what Blizzard was thinking with this shit again.

What was the point?

I think you should apply for a job at Blizzard, might save them some millions. Not.

[Gzo]

When compared 20 to 24 it is, that's 20% more and that's only the "total" of the second weekend where you claimed Warcraft did worse than FF4, yet it didn't.

I didn't say Warcraft did worse than FF4 though. I said if it wasn't for China, Warcraft would have been mega flop like Fantastic Four and it's true. The numbers speak for themselves.

Warcraft costed $40m more for production budget than FF did.
Warcraft's worldwide total without China = $432,165,880 - $220,841,090 = $211,324,790
FF's worldwide total = $167,977,596

$211,324,790 - $167,977,596 = $43,347,194
$43,347,194 - $40,000,000 = $3,347,194

So, Warcraft would have earned just $3,347,194 more than FF if there wasn't China's help
Please, don't distort or cherry pick my words

[rda]

Others believe it helps fit the narrative that Blizzard cannot do anything right with the Warcraft IP so they use the movie's shortcomings to facilitate a cynical portrayal of the company.

The failure of the Warcraft movie does illustrate that Blizzard cannot do anything right with the Warcraft IP and that their storytelling is abysmal and only considered fine by fanboys, the moment Blizzard pretenses at "epic" go into a larger world, they fall flat. (Blizzard had a lot of input into the movie story, eg, they threw away the first scenario and fired the author.)

[Pann]

The failure of the Warcraft movie does illustrate that Blizzard cannot do anything right with the Warcraft IP and that their storytelling is abysmal and only considered fine by fanboys, the moment Blizzard pretenses at "epic" go into a larger world, they fall flat. (Blizzard had a lot of input into the movie story, eg, they threw away the first scenario and fired the author.)

I think it is a little unfair to say that the movie is indicative that they cannot do anything right with the Warcraft IP. The movie had potential to bring in new customers and breathe some much needed life into the franchise unfortunately it fell flat on its face because, as you say, their story telling is not very good.

I think Blizzard made a massive mistake by insisting that story follow the early games' story lines and by trying to portray the orcs as misunderstood. I feel that Blizzard are brilliant at creating fantastic and wonder-filled worlds that you want to be a part of but not so good at filling them with interesting stories (see Thrall) or characters (see Thrall). IMO they should have taken a step back and let a more talented writer create a new and fresh story within the Warcraft universe.

[nVIDIA]

Not Even China Could Save the Warcraft Movie

[Deleted]

Not Even China Could Save the Warcraft Movie

So they reckon the movie fell about $20-30mill short to break even... Blizzard could make that cash up within a couple of days with a store mount... so whats the problem exactly? lol

[Tackhisis]

whats the problem exactly? lol

The problem is that movies are supposed to bring income, not lose money. At the very least they should bring some interest to people who sponsored them.

[Zaqwert]

Very good article explaining the complexities of figuring out how much "profit" a movie made and why most movies don't make nearly as much money as people think they do:

https://stephenfollows.com/how-movie...-blockbusters/

Relevant cliffs:

The production budget is not the only cost that goes into making the movie, there are many other costs that usually exceed the production budget
Studios received an average of 53% of the box office gross domestically and 41% of the international gross.

Essentially that's why a movie needs to make far more than it's stated production cost to see profitability.

[Eats Compost]

The movie spent so long trying to set itself up for a sequel that it forgot to be appealing. That's the epitome of hubris right there.

- - - Updated - - -

I think it is a little unfair to say that the movie is indicative that they cannot do anything right with the Warcraft IP. The movie had potential to bring in new customers and breathe some much needed life into the franchise unfortunately it fell flat on its face because, as you say, their story telling is not very good.

I think Blizzard made a massive mistake by insisting that story follow the early games' story lines and by trying to portray the orcs as misunderstood. I feel that Blizzard are brilliant at creating fantastic and wonder-filled worlds that you want to be a part of but not so good at filling them with interesting stories (see Thrall) or characters (see Thrall). IMO they should have taken a step back and let a more talented writer create a new and fresh story within the Warcraft universe.

The big mistake was trying to make the Orcs sympathetic in that specific moment. They could've easily started off with a post-WC1 story that referenced the dark past of the orcs (and their sincere regret), but instead they tried to focus on some good-dude-Orcs when they were collectively at their worst. I don't think it worked very well, and the scene near the end where they're all getting up in Gul'dan's grill was laughably at odds with the fact that they were hyped on demon juice.