Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is leading the way in advanced sales over at MovieTickets.com.
But “Inglourious Basterds” isn’t tracking like the blockbuster summer movies before it.
A MovieTickets.com rep says, as of 3 p.m. EST Aug. 19, 19 percent of all current ticket sales are for “Basterds,” which follows a group of Nazi hunting Jews out for revenge in World War II.
Over at Fandango.com, the film accounts for just 12 percent of total movie ticket sales.
Tarantino remains one of a handful of directors nearly every movie fan knows by name, and fans will check out any film he directs, much like an Adam Sandler devotee will see both “Punch Drunk Love” and “The Waterboy,” no questions asked.
But just how many fans will that be?
“Basterds,” inspired by the 1977 World War II actioner “Inglorious Bastards,” isn’t your boilerplate blockbuster. It’s long, chatty and lacks real star power.
Yes, Brad Pitt appears as the head Nazi hunter, but it’s really a supporting role in a film featuring multiple languages.
And Tarantino’s last film, “Death Proof,” flopped as part of the “Grindhouse” double bill.
Here’s predicting word of mouth will be strongly divided on “Basterds” – the WWTW review will be posted on Friday when the film opens nationwide.
(Photo: Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth) in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Photo by: Francois Duhamel/ TWC 2009)
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I try not to post many predictions because then I can be publicly proven wrong, but I’m thinking this one will see a solid yet not stellar return, ala “Kill Bill.” Tarantino carries more cred with the people like us than just your average fellow, and though approximately the same length as monster hits like “The Dark Knight” and “Transformers 2,” it is also going to have a pacing that’s not as sexy to your average moviegoer. Throw an R-rating into the mix, and I think we’ve got something that’ll be lucky to crack $100 mil, but should do well over $50.
OK, now watch me be proven wrong!
After all, for how many decades can killing Nazis continue to be entertaining? I realize Nazis, CEOs and White Supremacists [of which the Nazis are merely a sub-category] are the only PC bad guys left, but…
I’m all for killing as many Nazis as possible.
Maybe wanky revenge fantasies about pretty boy actors killing bad guys who’ve been dead and buried for 60 years aren’t as compelling or heroic as Hollywood thinks.
Ooh, Tom Cruise tried to kill Hitler! Brad Pitt hits Nazis with a bat! How brave…
How about one movie about resistance in the former soviet union? Kill Stalin, maybe? Have zombie Trotsky come back from the grave for revenge?
Goop. maybe even bin Laden…naw, too offensive.
Movies are extremely tired, now. 9/11 proved they can criticize an enemy, even on measured scale where they are still the bad guys and were not as good as we are supposed to be. Damn, are they afraid they are going to get killed like that Dutch film maker. Well, guess what? Show some guts.
What exactly does that mean?
What I MEANT to say is that 9/11 means they CANNOT criticize such an enemy as Al Queda with any real genuine dislike or just all out hatred of them and what they have done. Even if they did a film that dealt with what the United States policies are that supposidly created the environment in which they exist, they could of still screamed at them, like they do us. You can criticize the U.S. government policies, too, but it doesn’t change the fact that Osama was rich and he’s main purpose is going in for the kill.