Johnson’s Will Sawyer is a highly trained Marine and FBI agent who’s in charge of a hostage negotiation that goes horribly wrong (another instance of placing characters in the midst of jarring, over-the-top violence). It’s the connective tissue between the daring stunts that’s flimsy.īut first: a flashback to 10 years ago. You’re here to have fun, and “Skyscraper” does indeed provide that in its many dizzying and death-defying action sequences. Having them burst into people’s offices and obliterate them entirely-while the camera steers away from the bloodshed, per MPAA guidelines-feels gratuitous. Many, many people die needlessly in this PG-13 spectacle in the name of thrills, maybe? Character development? The international cadre of criminals who take over a Hong Kong high-rise – the tallest structure in the world, three times the size of the Empire State Building – are clearly, singularly bad. We aren't anywhere near the point where we are no longer atop the global box office heap but as films continue to reap 60%-75% of their box office totals from countries not named the US or Canada look for Hollywood to tailor more films, especially action titles and sequels, to foreign markets as Universal did with Skyscraper.Īs that happens, watch for Hollywood to concentrate even more on Shanghai, Seoul and Sao Paulo than they do San Francisco, Seattle and Saskatoon.But writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber has attempted the problematic combination of making you feel good about bravery and resilience while also making you feel nothing about the countless bodies that get blown to bits in a hail of automatic gunfire. Domestic opening weekends now only tell a part of the tale. As difficult as it is for some long-time Hollywood pundits to accept, it's the new reality. Those watching Hollywood need to understand that North America is no longer the box office make-or-break it once was. If the film had opened to $75 million in North America it would have been heralded as an unadulterated success. Overall, the film amassed $75 million overseas this past weekend and its global total stands at $182 million, 74% of which has come from international territories. Skyscraper opened to a hefty $48 million in China this past weekend and was one of the few Hollywood titles ever to play during the country's annual black-out period of July and August. But those who follow Hollywood have to remember that in many instances we are but one of many worldwide territories. Yes, Skyscraper will only end up around $65 million in North America and at a reported budget of $125 million that would generally be considered a failure. North American moviegoers may be getting tired of seeing Johnny Depp dressing up like Keith Richards but that isn't the case overseas. Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst for comScore, notes, "This year even an undisputed mega-hit like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has earned more than double its North American gross in the international territories and that enabled the film to push past the elusive $1 billion dollar mark worldwide."įurthermore, 2017 films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Transformers: The Last Knight, The Fate of the Furious, and Ghost in the Shell all saw their international box office take account for greater than 75% of their respective worldwide grosses. Still, to this day, headlines proclaim success or failure of a film after the domestic opening weekend, somehow ignoring the international market and its 55%-65% or more of total worldwide gross. Once upon a time in Hollywood, the ultimate success of a film depended solely on the domestic market and the international territories were almost an afterthought. It should be noted that Skyscraper continues a trend toward an ever-increasing percentage of worldwide box office coming from overseas territories. While its $100 million domestic gross was considered acceptable, its $326 million foreign take turned it into a moneymaker, even at a reported budget of $125 million, which incidentally is the same as Skyscraper's. Seventy-six percent of that film's worldwide box office gross came from the international market. Johnson's last film, Rampage, is a good comparison. As mentioned, the film is set in Asia with names recognizable in those territories, but less so here. and head east, it's clear where the ultimate success or failure of Skyscraper lies.
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