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Mars Needs Moms: "The $175m flop so bad it could end the 3D boom"

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"At cinemas in Hollywood and beyond, children have been watching a big-budget 3D animated feature called Mars Needs Moms. Most will have been happy enough with the film, produced by Robert Zemeckis (who ranks as a pioneer of digital 3D film-making along with James Cameron).

Wearing their "RealD" spectacles, viewers munch popcorn as they watch a far-fetched yarn about Milo, a nine-year-old who doesn't eat his broccoli and whose mother ends up being kidnapped by Martians. What these children don't realise is that the film is at the centre of a ferocious debate about 3D ticket pricing that threatens to derail 3D film-making altogether.

To put it bluntly, Mars Needs Moms has been a mega-flop. The film cost about $175m (£110m) to make and market – yet grossed less than $7m on its opening weekend in the US..."

From http://www.independent.co.uk


Read the complete article here
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Comments

  1. Molly30 March 2011 at 22:42

    Ouch! :S

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bluejetdude30 March 2011 at 22:56

    I know I'm working on a 3D project, but I'm kinda bored with 3D now. Hopefully this will teach Hollywood not to slap 3D onto every thing!

    Now back to making my '3Ding' my animation...

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  3. Jordan Buckner30 March 2011 at 23:16

    The sooner the 3d stuff dies the better in my opinion. It leads to bad decisions and is too often used to cover up shoddy film making. Hollywood really needs to listen to creatives more often...directors like Chistopher Nolan push other technology that genuinely affects the final experience (his use ofIMAX being the perfect example.)

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  4. Bob Sparks31 March 2011 at 00:00

    Uncanny valley anyone? hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sam Hayes31 March 2011 at 03:54

    The last Animated movie that Robert Zemeckis produced was Beowulf, wasn't it? I thought that had some great CG, and if it had been in 3D I think it would've ruined it. He probably should have stuck to 2D for this and it would be received better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ed Taylor20 March 2012 at 21:41

      It was in 3D. That's how I saw it.

      Delete
  6. Alan Postings31 March 2011 at 17:24

    Rules at the box office...

    In 2004 Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that drawn animation was dead and CG 3D will take over after 'Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron' bombed.

    In 2007/8 Disney / Pixar announce that 2D hand drawn animation will still be made at Disney after DVD sales of classic titles increased.

    In 2011 the media report that 3D (Stereo) could be dead because 'Mars Needs Moms' bombed.

    If you notice all of the statements above are based upon the 'perceived' audience trends / box office takings. It's a reactive stance by the film industry to profit and loss. In the case of 'Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron' and 'Mars Needs Moms' (which aren't exactly the most enticing of film titles) the technique (2D/3D Stereo) have been blamed? You have to wonder ‘Why is it that the technique becomes the focus?’ Is it because that's all the project had going for it in the first place perhaps?

    There is a place for all of these techniques in the film world (and others), they just don't need to be included in EVERY film. They certainly shouldn’t be the reason for making it. What audiences want is what they have always wanted - a great idea and story. Unfortunately the studio mentality is to chase its own tail and the result is a saturate the market with ‘band-wagon’ film making.

    There is only one rule: TELL A GREAT STORY!

    Rant over!

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  7. tutorphil31 March 2011 at 17:52

    Go, Alan!

    ReplyDelete

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