Your WALL•E Predictions

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#1

Before the WALL•E wave hits, try and guess how successful the movie will be, and then after it’s all said and done you can come back and see if you guessed correctly. For me it was easier to break up my predictions into categories, but you can do what you want.

Financially: Well, it doesn’t really matter to me if Pixar films make 1 dollar or 1 billion dollars, but we all know that Pixar needs to be profitable in order to keep making movies, so I do want Pixar to be successful in that way, sure. My prediction is so: in short, this is going to make BIG bucks. It won’t be a slow and steady earner like Ratatouille - it will come out of the gates running, and continue to earn well. I think it may even break Pixar’s previous opening weekend records. Its domestic gross will be about $350 million, and its worldwide gross would be over $900 million (hey, I have high expectations for it!), but I’d be happy with $600 million. (If you guys need a reference for Pixar’s other films’ grosses, here’s a page at Box Office Mojo.)

Merchandise: I don’t think the merchandise will be as successful and as solid as with Cars, but it will sell more merchandise than Ratatouille, for sure. There will be a stronger relationship with adult collectors, especially robot and sci-fi enthusiasts. I think the moving and talking version of WALL•E will sell out after the movie opens, and the plushes and general action figures will be snapped up by kids and adults alike. (I don’t see the Captain figure selling that much, though. Heh.) Yep, I think the merch will sell pretty well, overall.

Critically: Ok, I admit that I have heard good things from the test screening so I already have an idea, but I think WALL•E will be on par with Finding Nemo and Ratatouille, in terms of quality and reception. I see it settling with at least a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes by film critics, a top ten movie of the year with Metacritic, and it winning the Oscar next year for Best Feature Animation, as well as being nominated for several other categories. WALL•E is going to break new ground and change people’s ideas of what an “animated film” can achieve. It’s going to be a bit darker, but the environmental message is going to be delivered at the perfect time and it will be welcomed, which will make the film more poignant and memorable. I think this will be another notch in Pixar’s almost perfect record, and it will further strengthen the public’s and critics’ faith in the studio to deliver quality, and thought-provoking entertainment. So, much the same from Pixar, basically… :wink:

Personally: It’s hard to compare one Pixar film to another because they are all striving for different things, but I think WALL•E will become one of my favourites. I’m not saying that it will be my absolute favourite, because I have several favourites for several reasons - it’s like trying to choose a favourite child, it just can’t be done. But you never know! Either way, I think I’ll enjoy it a lot, and I’m hoping that I will love it.

So now it’s your turn to predict. (If you think I’ve missed a category, let me know)

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#2

Domestic gross: $290 million
Foreign gross: $450 million
Worldwide gross: $740 million

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Completely agree on the merchandise!

#3

Good question! I love following these things, with all kinds of films, especially Pixar ones.

Financially: By the time Wall-E comes out, people will have already seen Iron Man, Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones, and there doesn’t seem to be much competition after that except for Kung Fu Panda. I’d say it’d make somewhere between Cars’ gross and The Incredibles’ gross, roughly between $245 and $265 million. It won’t be as low as Ratatouille’s $206.4 million, nor will it be as high as Finding Nemo’s whopping $339.7 million. Ratatouille suffered from the summer of sequels, yet I don’t think Wall-E has that big of competition.

EDIT: After further analysis of Pixar’s box office, I predict this film will gross more than The Incredibles but less than Finding Nemo, hopefully reaching close to $300 million. Why? For one thing, it has so much hype from this amazingly huge marketing campaign, they’ve promoted WALL-E like no other. For another, it appeals to a wider audience than talking Cars or talking rats. For another, it has a lot less competition in the box office than last summer.

Merchandise: Well, my hopes is that Wall-E doesn’t sell that much merchandise. Why? Wall-E has a strong message of anti-consumerism. Buying Wall-E products like crazy will only increase consumption. I guess a Wall-E toy is better than any other toy, as it is a symbol of anti-consumerism, but that’s just my hopes. No matter what I think, though, Wall-E will still sell big.

Critically: There’s no question that Pixar is extremely confident in the quality of their films, especially for Wall-E. They wouldn’t have released so much hype about Wall-E if they weren’t confident it would be well received. Critically, I think it should do what most Pixar films have gotten on Rotten Tomatoes, at least a 95% fresh, if not 100% fresh! I guarantee that most critics will give highest praise for Wall-E. Those critics who give Wall-E a bad review obviously don’t know what a good film is.

Personally: I’ve already decided that no film can top The Incredibles as my favorite film of all time. I’m already in love and my hopes are very high with Wall-E, and I doubt Pixar will let me down with the film. I LOVE WALL-E!!!

#4

Hmm, predictions! It will be interesting to see how close we are when Wall-E actually comes out.

Financially- I’m really not sure. I think it will do better than Ratatouille, but at the same time, I don’t feel that it’s going to make more than, say, Finding Nemo. Anywhere between the two, really.

Merchandise- I think Wall-E should do pretty well. It’ll probably sell a lot more merchandise than Ratatouille, and I can see the whole Robot theme really appealing to boys and men of all ages.

Critically- Wall-E will do very, very well critically, not only because nearly all other Pixar films, but because it’s innovative in its presentation, it’s more likely to score highly in regards to critics and audiences alike. Ratatouille was extremely critically acclaimed, but there’s always a chance that Wall-E can match Ratatouille, or even recieve higher praise.

Personally- In my eyes, nothing will ever beat Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. because they feel like such Pixar classics, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Wall-E gets the third place slot in my own Pixar rankings.

#5

Financially: I can’t really predict this one, not much of a money person. I do know that it will probably make as much as Ratatouille (in it’s first opening ) simply because folks might get spooked by the “silent” aspect of the film, or the “message”, however, it will probably do good as far as word of mouth, and it will probably sell HUGE when the DVD’s come out.

Merchandise: Despite the anti-consumerist nature of the movie, I think the Wall-E toys are going to sell like hot-cakes. I mean… their so cute… though do agree, no one’s going to want a captain plush. The sales might not be as high as Cars or Nemo, but I’m sure a lot of si-fi kids (and adults) will want to get their hands on those cute little robot cake molds.

Critically: This is pretty much a no brainer… it’s going to please critics, most defenently, and it’ll probably brake new ground as far as animated movies are concerned. The only negative reaction I can see is that it might be to confusing or scary for very small kids, but I’m sure older children (eight and up) will love this movie. Of course, adults will be entertained as well.

Personally: ever since I heard that Pixar was doing a si-fi movie, I was excited, but when I saw it’s presentation at comicon, … well… I just know for sure, this will be my favorite Pixar movie, next to the Incredibles and Monsters Inc. :slight_smile:

#6

Everyone seems to have sum up what i would’ve liked to say, so I’ll make my response short:
Financially: It will definitelly be a blockbuster. I predict it grossing $250-300 million domesticaly and 700-800 internationally.
Merchandise: It will be up there with Cars and Nemo for a while, but will simmer down to The Incredibles or Toy Story level. It’ll be a huge change from what we saw with Ratatouille.
Critically: I’m sure critics will love it, and audiences will learn to love it. It will open new doors in the animation industry.
Rotten Tomatoes: approx. 95% Fresh
Personally: I already love it, and when I see it I just know I’ll love it even more. I predicts it will be in my 2-4 spot in my favorite Pixar films “list”.
So basically, i hope my predictions come true, all the best goes out to Pixar!

#7

Between he fact hat sci-fi is in, this is a PIXAR film, and the lack of other good animated features this year, I’m betting it’s gonna gross REALLY well.

#8

I also think it will get about an 8.2/10 on IMDb (it’s pretty hard to get a 9).

Sometimes critics will purposely give a film a negative review so that it will be interpreted as a “do not recommend” by Rotten Tomatoes, so they can be the first to break the 100% winning streak, and also get attention for themselves. It happened with Ratatouille (even though one of people who did so wasn’t even a real reviewer, they just had a popular blog), and it stopped Ratatouille from getting a higher score. I can see how someone may not love a Pixar film, but to say that they wouldn’t even recommend anyone else to see it, is very unbelievable.

#9

Financially: domestically (North America) Wall-E will be at a disadvantage because it has only a few days to itself before an expected-to-be-huge blockbuster comes out (Will Smith’s “Hancock”). I’d be willing to bet “Hancock” will rake in money similar to “Indiana Jones,” so this isn’t great news for Wall-E… but I think the movie will still do quite well – and will have legs to last throughout the summer. Worldwide, should do very well also.

Merchandise: the least appealing part of a movie for me (has nothing to do with the movie), so I’ll pass on this one.

Critically: Listen to Ego’s speech about critics at the end of Ratatouille :sunglasses:

Personally: it’s hard for me to be unbiased since I worked on the thing, but I definitely liked what I saw, and am waiting to see it completed in a theatre. Rachel made a good point about not comparing one Pixar film to another too much, because each are different in tone, and striving for different things.

My suggestion: don’t think about this stuff too much. The movie’s finished. It won’t matter how many Wall-E bed quilts are sold. Go see the movie, and enjoy it. It’s good. :smiley:

#10

hanock looks like not much more than a rip off of The Incredibles. Will Smith has jumped the shark.