BURT WONDERSTONE's box office isn't INCREDIBLE

For decades, people have complained that Hollywood lacks originality. This complaint goes at least as far back at the 1970s. In 1975, Jaws introduced Hollywood to the concept of  "tent pole" filmmaking where studios produce a few big budget, epic-style films each year. These tent pole films are expected to pull in massive revenues and thereby prop up the studios in the event that their other films flop at the box office.

The tent pole strategy usually works pretty well for studios...witness last year's Marvel Avengers for example or Avatar. If a tent pole film hits with audiences, the studio can afford a few flops throughout the year. It is when a tent pole fails that the studio is in serious trouble...like last year's John Carter that cost Disney $250 million to make and only pulled in $73 million at the domestic box office. Fortunately, Disney also generated revenue from the overseas markets, DVD, pay-per-view, etc. so they were able to off-set some of those expenses. But John Carter did his damage to The House of Mouse and I'm sure someone somewhere lost their job over it.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone was never intended to be a tent pole film. It's budget was only around $30 million, a figure that is generally considered low budget by Hollywood standards. It has some big stars, Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey, but it was released in March, a typically slower time at the box office. Tent poles are almost always released in the summer and at Christmastime. So does this mean that Hollywood wasn't expecting much from Burt Wonderstone?

No.

I think they were expecting a great deal from this film about magicians. The marketing campaign for the movie was impressive and expensive, which shows that the studio had faith in the film. And it had what people often complain is lacking in Hollywood...originality. Very few films have been made about magicians, especially in recent years. When you add to that the fact that it's a comedy, you should have something truly original on your hands.

As of today (Sunday 3/17/13), Burt Wonderstone generated $10.3 million since it hit the theaters on Friday March 15. Expectations were for it to make more than $15 million. Because it only made two-thirds of what it was expected to make, the press is already labeling it a failure. Since studios are deathly afraid of flops and the media is already panning Burt Wonderstone, we should expect that the film will probably disappear from theaters within two to three weeks.

I, for one, think that's sad because Burt Wonderstone may not be a roll-on-the-floor, clutch-your-sides hilarity, but it was fun, light-hearted and, above all, original. I wish Hollywood would take more risks with material like this, but entertainment is a business and the purpose of a business is to make money. If audiences won't pay to see original product, Hollywood will give them what they will pay for...overdone formula flicks, sequels or remakes.

So when it comes to Hollywood, it really is a case of...YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.