MovieChat Forums > Dredd (2012) Discussion > Why this failed

Why this failed

posted 9 years ago by cobra1313
76 replies | jump to latest

I saw this in the theaters and I loved it, but I will tell you why I think it failed. The marketing. It was advertised as "Dredd 3D" which comes across as very gimmicky, especially with the excessive use of slow-mo in the trailer. Not to mention the line "I am the law". This movie should have tried to distance itself from the Sylvester Stallone abomination, not repeat it's most famous line.

I told everyone I knew to go see this and they all said "the Stallone movie? I am the law? Looks stupid". It was only after it came out on DVD that they gave it a chance and realized how badass it is. Unfortunately this did so poorly opening weekend that it wasn't even given a chance at word of mouth to help it before it was out of theaters. Probably from my above mentioned points.

Idk, I'm watching it now for literally the 6th time and it's frustrating that a quality action flick like this will not get a sequel.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (55817158) 9 years ago

The original Dredd with Stallone, while unique at the time, honestly wasn't as popular or as good as a lot of people hoped it would be (I think it gets a 5.4/10 on IMDb) and probably didn't inspire a lot of faith in the new Dredd film. Also, while I think he's great, Karl Urban is not exactly the most bankable star to have in a lead role (especially not when Dredd came out, he's done a few more things now - still not a household name) and a lot of people see movies with their favourite stars in them. The R-rating may have hurt a bit but if the other elements are right, R-rated films can be VERY successful (case in point: Deadpool), so I don't believe the rating was largely to blame.

[–] rpcarnell 8 years ago

It wasn't that big of a flop. Check the worldwide revenue.

[–] major_lazer 8 years ago

Neither film made any money at all:

Dredd 2012

Production Budget: $50 million
Domestic: $13,414,714
+ Foreign: $22,211,811
= Worldwide: $35,626,525

Judge Dredd 1995

Production Budget: $90 million
Domestic: $34,693,481
+ Foreign: $78,800,000
= Worldwide: $113,493,481

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dredd.htm

http://youtu.be/OI3shBXlqsw

[–] mubhceeb 8 years ago

This site has a different set of figures for Dredd, not sure who's is more reliable.

Fairly healthy sales figures in the U.S too, but nothing to do cartwheels over.

http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dredd#tab=summary

Bring Back Dredd sequel Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BringBackDredd/

[–] major_lazer 8 years ago

Come on, man - you know how this works. Two times production budget in cinemas just to break even.

Even if you accept Alex Garland's much smaller production budget estimate (a little over $30 million) and lump in home video sales, the film barely broke even.

http://youtu.be/OI3shBXlqsw

[–] mubhceeb 8 years ago

Never said the film was an unqualified success major and it's only through speculation, supposition and extrapolation that one can deduce that the film was otherwise.

The film deserved to be far more successful than it was without doubt, as it was a high quality production.
And I agree that a film's success is always gauged on it's U.S box-office takings, of which Dredd's were disappointingly poor.
But my assertion is with nearly $20M of sales in the U.S alone, extrapolate that figure to include world wide sales, ancillary profit from downloads and Netflix/TV revenue, the film must of broken even at least.

Not a success in anyone's book, but not an unmitigated disaster either.

The bottom line is that the film should of been more successful and wasn't and no amount of creative accounting on my part can alter that.

Bring Back Dredd sequel Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BringBackDredd/

[–] major_lazer 8 years ago

I agree that a film's success is always gauged on it's U.S box-office takings

The figures I posted were worldwide. Both films performed appallingly everywhere:

Dredd 2012

Production Budget: $50 million
Worldwide takings: $35 million

Judge Dredd 1995

Production Budget: $90 million
Worldwide takings: $113 million

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dredd.htm

http://youtu.be/OI3shBXlqsw

[–] mubhceeb 8 years ago

It did relatively well in the U.K and Russia though, didn't it?

It was never going to do Marvel numbers anyway, the film was not aimed at the demographic.

The film should of performed better and I've never claimed otherwise.

As a side note, I watched Sicario on Netflix last night, a fantastically gripping and taught action/thriller and was surprised how poorly that film performed at the box office, significantly better than Dredd, but still.

Bring Back Dredd sequel Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BringBackDredd/

[–] major_lazer 8 years ago

Yeah, Sicario is great. Those Google Earth tracking shots, the infra red/night vision sneaking/shooting scene, and the tense border crossing are about as good as cinema got last year.

Not sure about Villeneuve's new one, though:

https://youtu.be/m4Q4kXw2M1Y

Sicario made almost three times its production budget in cinemas, which is (technically) sequel territory, if Blunt fancies making that character her Ripley.

If either Judge Dredd film had earned that kind of multiple, we'd now be talking about the 2000ad Cinematic Universe and TV spin-offs in the same way as Marvel and DC fans.

http://youtu.be/OI3shBXlqsw

[–] mubhceeb 8 years ago

Yeah, caught that trailer for Arrival.

The trailer's got me intrigued, hoping it's a more esoteric take on the first contact theme and avoids The Day The Earth Stood Still remake territory!

You're right major, those ariel shots in Sicario were amazing and gave the landscapes a really alien appearance, especially coupled with the eerie score!

DOP Roger Deakins is pearless in his shot choices and their collaboration on the Blade Runner sequel is why I'm most optimistic about its outcome.

Bring Back Dredd sequel Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BringBackDredd/

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Aylmer 8 years ago

I personally sat this one out because I saw the mention of 3D and immediately assumed it was some more soulless gimmicky rehashing along the lines of the CLASH OF THE TITANS remake a couple years before. The only reason I watched it was the good word of mouth coupled with not seeing anything else interesting on Netflix.

Boy was I shocked at just how good this movie was! I think it certainly would have done better had it been marketed differently and dropped the 3D.

[–] kaneda92 8 years ago

I saw the mention of 3D and immediately assumed it was some more soulless gimmicky rehashing along the lines of the CLASH OF THE TITANS remake a couple years before.

And that's a damn shame because unlike that turd remake, Dredd to this day has some of the best 3D I've ever seen in the theater definitely top 3.

[–] flyingbuttbiter 8 years ago

That is a strech.

If you had said that Dredd was a great movie brought to you by Donald Trump I would've thought you were nuts.
Apparently President Trump was an early investor in this movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxXfHxceMg4

[–] Kowalski (77085) 5 months ago

GREAT NAME...EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS.

[–] TMC-4 (20304) a year ago

Why Karl Urban's Judge Dredd Movie Bombed At The Box Office (Despite Being Way Better Than Sly Stallone's)

https://screenrant.com/dredd-movies-stallone-urban-box-office-bombs-reasons/

Sylvester Stallone and Karl Urban both played Judge Dredd in wildly different movies, but one thing they had in common was their box office failure.

[–] Joogle83 (4521) a year ago

Blade Runner(1982) & Blade Runner 2049 both flopped as well

[–] Joogle83 (4521) a year ago

Marketing seems to be bane of films these days

[–] SickSpazmoid (851) a year ago

Don't dwell on it. This is how cult movies are born.

[–] [deleted] 5 months ago

It was a British/Indian/South African co-production so didn't have the money to market it in the same way a big Hollywood studio does.

A lot of people probably still remembered the poor Stallone version.

It's a comic book film that's aimed at adults and is quite grim and brutal.

Those are the reasons I think it failed. It's a shame. I would've loved a sequel. At least this has grown a cult following now though.