That's why Rudy and The Blind Side were successful." To make it on the screen, a sports story needs a human element that goes beyond sports so it can appeal to a wider range of people. Movie lovers would rather watch real movies. "Sports fans would rather watch real games. "It is really difficult for Hollywood to top great sports reality with fictionalized sports movies," he says. "Sports have their own dramas, heroes, great plays and crazy endings," says Jeffrey McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University in Indiana. Still, sports are too ingrained in American culture to disappear from the landscape, experts say. The typical Hollywood release does two-thirds of its business internationally. Despite being an Oscar winner and starring an international celebrity in Brad Pitt, 2011's Moneyball took in a paltry $35 million in ticket sales outside the USA, or less than a third of its overall gross. Selling the movies overseas, where American sports mean little, is even tougher. By comparison, the average animated movie earns $58 million. Sports comedies fare slightly better, averaging $30 million. The average sports drama earns $27 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Indeed, most sports films have become long shots at the box office. Over the past decade, the highest-grossing baseball movies are 42 ($95 million) and Moneyball ($76 million). "Baseball movies can be a tough sell, though," he says. "The movie looks like a mix of Moneyball, Slumdog Millionaire and The Blind Side, and early word is strong. "Disney seems bullish on Million Dollar Arm," says Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo. 21 for McFarland, the story of a small-town California track coach who turns his team into championship contenders. When the Game Stands Tall, with Jim Caviezel starring as real-life De La Salle High School football coach Bob Ladouceur, hits screens Aug. Still, movies are itching to take the field. After swinging and missing with Draft Day last month, Hollywood returns to the playing field Friday with Million Dollar Arm, based on the true story of a sports agent who recruits Indian cricket players to Major League Baseball.Įarly reviews and box office projections have been strong for the drama starring Jon Hamm - a welcome sign for the sports-film genre, which has been a decades-long staple of the film industry but has struggled of late.ĭraft Day collected a middling $28 million, despite starring Kevin Costner, opening in the midst of the NFL draft and eerily paralleling the Cleveland Browns' drafting of college star Johnny Manziel.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |