I know! I know, it’s Jim Hill and a lot of us despise the very existence of the guy, but, (and you knew there was going to be a but didn’t you), he does make a good point about why would you pay $50-60 on taking the family to the cinemas when you can rent it or buy it for under $30 and watch it at home a few months later?
Jim’s own synopsis of his article says…
Jim Hill asks: What’s it going to take to make the domestic release of a new Pixar film seem like a special event again? Will live action projects like "John Carter of Mars" & "1906" really be enough to re-energize this animation studio’s U.S. fanbase?
If you are interested, you can read the article here.
Last modified: October 15, 2007
He’s so quick to compare it to Disney’s diminishing grosses after “Lion King.” That’s really out there. TLK made over 300 mill, and the next year “Pocahontas” made less than 150, HoND just a bit over 100, and “Hercules” a bit less. *That’s* a drastic decrease. To match that “The Incredibles” would have had to have made 170 million, “Cars” a little over 110, and “Ratatouille” a bit less. A Pixar movie on the other hand, has not grossed less than 200 million dollars since “A Bug’s Life.” Disney’s only two to make over two hundred have been “Lion King” and “Aladdin.” That’s a poor comparison.
And his worldwide gross is way off. It’s surpassed “Cars” already. “Ratatouille” did outstandingly well for how poorly marketed it was. It looked like just another talking animal movie from the trailers.
So there’s a live action movie they’re thinking about doing? Isn’t that kind of unusual for an animation studio?
he is right about the short distance between the movie and the dvd, but except that…
i’ve found this article DESPERATE, after the news about the european success of Ratatouille, and the imminent DVD&Bluray releases, and the Leslie Iwerks’ book and documentary…
i really can’t imagine what’s the problem with this guy about Pixar… he quoted the interviews where Bird admits the movie hadn’t success at the box-office… what else could he answer to a journalist?
And than this story of the live action, the “brand fatigue problem”… omg… the only problem for Pixar are Jim Hill and his “insiders”…
As usual, Jim Hill doesn’t even attempt to hide his contempt for Pixar. The title of the article floats a conclusion he pulled out of his hiney — namely, that there is a “brand fatigue problem.”
The article consists primarily of taking quotes out of context to support that conclusion. Yes, he’s desperate, and pathetic. It reminds me of all those tech columnists who are waiting for Apple to produce a dud product, so they can triumphantly proclaim, “Apple’s lost its magic — see, I told you it couldn’t last.”
Why does your classy website even bother to read, let alone serve up free publicity, for that craphound? Even a broken watch is right twice a day, so it’s not a ‘stop the presses’ moment when the egomaniac makes a decent point once in a while.
Please, cease and desist already.