View Full Version : "Memoirs of a Geisha" a flop?


Steve M.
01-14-2006, 05:14 PM
How could the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" be consdieered a flop, even though it took in $30 million in a month. Because "The Dukes of Hazzard" took in that much in a week? How much did "Geisha" cost to make? Looks like it's not in the theaters anymore; pity, I wanted to see it.

But then again, maybe it's better I see it in the privacy of my own home on video. There's something about geisha girls - probably wanting to know what they look like without their makeup - that get me, uh, excited, and maybe I'd rather not get excited in a public theater. :eek:

Karen*
01-15-2006, 06:23 AM
It's still playing in my theater! Come on over to California!! :D Hopefully, I'll get to watch it either on Sunday or on MLK Day.

Yeah, it's a shame that it didn't do so well in the box office. I believe it only peaked at number five. I think the main reason was that it was up against some other big guns, namely King Kong. :lookaroun

Most people I knew who saw the movie said it was really good and some of the actresses in the film are said to be in the running for the Best Actress Oscar this year. A lot of critics seemed to dig it. I don't know...I stand by my "big guns" box office theory.

I think that's what happened to Rent in the box office as well, but do not even get me started on that! ohno:

BTW Steve, lol at your last comment! :lol:

TJL
01-15-2006, 09:50 AM
According to the IMDB, the budget for "Geisha" was an estimated 85 million dollars. Sine the film currently has made about 39 million in the USA (they didn't have any worldwide grosses) it can be considered a flop.

Heck, King Kong is being considered a flop by a lot of industry people, since the film (which cost over 200 million to make) didn't break every box office record the first five minutes it was out in the theaters.

Steve M.
01-15-2006, 03:44 PM
BTW Steve, lol at your last comment! :lol:


Thanks! :lol:

$85 million, eh? No wonder it's considered a failure. . . . :( Maybe it'll recoup some of its budget when it gets released on video.

Brian Damage
01-15-2006, 10:04 PM
Maybe it'll recoup some of its budget when it gets released on video.


Believe it or not, that's where the studios bank on making there money nowadays. If it gets some Oscar noms, I suspect it will be rereleased in theaters.

Courtnee
01-16-2006, 01:48 PM
i thought it was great. It's still playing here to if ya wanna come to the base movie theater. :lol:

lockdown06
01-16-2006, 02:32 PM
I dont even think it looked good....not my type of movie at all.

Karen*
01-19-2006, 11:01 PM
I just got back from watching this movie. I missed the beginning cuz I was deciding if I should either watch that or The Producers. pissed:

My two cents: It was pretty good, but from reading the book a couple of years ago, I expected better. The ending sucked...it was like you knew there was much, much more to the story, but you're left to fend for yourselves. I mean, that can sometimes be good, but it left me with a sort of negative feeling. I also wish that tiny details from the book were kept.

POSSIBLE SPOILER: The addition of Americans in the movie was, for better or worse, interesting. They didn't have any Americans in the book. I even kind of liked how one of the main Japanese characters was "Americanized" because it demonstrated character development.

A plus side to this film was the visuals. The cinematography was AMAZING. The scenery shots were nice and the way the filmmakers captured all the emotions of the characters through closeups and such...WOW. It'd be nice if Memoirs could be nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar this year. Oh yeah, and I'd like to say the actresses looked absolutely gorgeous as well! :D

All in all, even though Memoirs of a Geisha did not quite live up to my expectations, it was still a good movie. I don't recommend RUNNING to the movie theater to catch it, but I'd say it's worth it. Definitely read the book though. It's nice to get a little bit of background on the film before you watch. :thumbsup:

swedeace
01-20-2006, 10:20 PM
I decided to watch this movie because of its cultural bio. It sorta reminds me somewhat of a Japanese version of the Chinese "The Joy Luck Club" as far as narrating and some of the more dramatic scenes.

Other than it being a cultural film, I wouldn't have seen it because drama movies aren't my type of movie. I love cultural films. Overall, I liked it. It was very interesting and had very profound scenes in it. I saw it during the week in between Christmas and New Years. I guess that was the first week it was released?