Attack On Titan: The Movie

For the discussion of Toho produced and distributed films or shows released from 1999 to 2015.
Post Reply
User avatar
Pkmatrix
Futurian
Posts: 3480
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 12:19 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Pkmatrix »

Tohosaurus wrote:The question is how big a potential theatrical release should be. Godzilla 2000 had over 2100 theaters at its peak, which may have been too much. However, too few theaters and you lose sales too. I'm gonna say something like 1000-1300. Plus they should stagger the release of the second one so that they can make more off of that IF the first one is adequately successful.
I think you're still thinking too big.

More likely, IMO, is something comparable to Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods: 600 to 800 theaters, absolute max. A small limited release with minimal advertising, marketed toward anime fans and Japanese film fans.

Hell, even 600 theaters seems a bit high - I'm honestly surprised DBZ managed nearly 700.

User avatar
Tohosaurus
E.S.P.Spy
Posts: 4978
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:35 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tohosaurus »

Pkmatrix wrote:
Tohosaurus wrote:The question is how big a potential theatrical release should be. Godzilla 2000 had over 2100 theaters at its peak, which may have been too much. However, too few theaters and you lose sales too. I'm gonna say something like 1000-1300. Plus they should stagger the release of the second one so that they can make more off of that IF the first one is adequately successful.
I think you're still thinking too big.

More likely, IMO, is something comparable to Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods: 600 to 800 theaters, absolute max. A small limited release with minimal advertising, marketed toward anime fans and Japanese film fans.

Hell, even 600 theaters seems a bit high - I'm honestly surprised DBZ managed nearly 700.
I could be, of course. :shock: I mean, The Weinstein Company released The Grandmaster to a peak of over 800 theaters and still made almost $6.6M (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id ... asters.htm), and that's an action film based on Ip Man's life - couldn't possibly be as "big" a niche (pardon the oxymoron) as AoT.
고질라

한국, 일본: 친교

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. -Ian Maclaren

User avatar
Pkmatrix
Futurian
Posts: 3480
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 12:19 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Pkmatrix »

Tohosaurus wrote:I could be, of course. :shock: I mean, The Weinstein Company released The Grandmaster to a peak of over 800 theaters and still made almost $6.6M (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id ... asters.htm), and that's an action film based on Ip Man's life - couldn't possibly be as "big" a niche (pardon the oxymoron) as AoT.
Ooh! I loved The Grandmaster! ^_^

But, yeah, I think Toho has a good shot making some decent cash with just a 600 to 800 theater release if they go for it. I'll be very interested to see what actually happens! I really do hope they have an American release, I'd be kinda disappointed if we didn't get one.

User avatar
Tyrant_Lizard_King
Sazer
Posts: 12849
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:57 am
Location: The Planet Trade HQ
Contact:

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

Funimation just revealed they have gained the rights to theatrical release. The premiere will supposedly take place in Hollywood as well.

http://comicbook.com/2015/06/29/attack- ... n-release/
Rocker, paleo buff, cryptid enthusiast, Dragonball fanatic, and lover of comic book, video game, manga, & anime babes!
Follow me on Twitter, if you dare! https://twitter.com/TLK_1983
Image

20th Century Boy
Futurian
Posts: 3615
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:39 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by 20th Century Boy »

*Crosses fingers*

Please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck.

User avatar
Tyrant_Lizard_King
Sazer
Posts: 12849
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:57 am
Location: The Planet Trade HQ
Contact:

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

The world premiere is going on right now in Hollywood. Never watched the anime but am curious to see the film. See what Higuchi may be bringing to the new Toho Godzilla.
Rocker, paleo buff, cryptid enthusiast, Dragonball fanatic, and lover of comic book, video game, manga, & anime babes!
Follow me on Twitter, if you dare! https://twitter.com/TLK_1983
Image

godzillalives88
Interpol Agent
Posts: 514
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 2:49 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by godzillalives88 »

Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:The world premiere is going on right now in Hollywood. Never watched the anime but am curious to see the film. See what Higuchi may be bringing to the new Toho Godzilla.
I'm curious as well, hopefully some reviews trickle in tomorrow.

User avatar
Tyrant_Lizard_King
Sazer
Posts: 12849
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:57 am
Location: The Planet Trade HQ
Contact:

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

Premiere tweets are kicking in. Film received a standing ovation too.

Some fan tweets from after the premiere.
Image
Rocker, paleo buff, cryptid enthusiast, Dragonball fanatic, and lover of comic book, video game, manga, & anime babes!
Follow me on Twitter, if you dare! https://twitter.com/TLK_1983
Image

godzillalives88
Interpol Agent
Posts: 514
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 2:49 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by godzillalives88 »

Sounds like a well-made film. I'd heard mixed things about Higuchi's direction of human drama in previous films, but it sounds like he pulls it off here. Also, interesting that this is more of a horror film than the anime.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ ... vie/.90469

Review:


There's a colossal problem in the way for any live-action version of a larger-than-life comic book. What works as a drawing doesn't always work in the flesh, and few premises make a better posterboy for this problem than Attack on Titan. How can a movie without a sky-high effects budget even approach the material? How do you make the lovable pseudo-zombies called Titans threatening enough to carry the adventure? How do you even make a dent in all the world-building and character development from the source narrative in just two feature films? Well, director Shinji Higuchi and his team came up with a terrific solution to this problem. With the blessing of Titan's original author to do whatever they wanted, TOHO threw all expectations out the window and just made their own movie.

This is not the Attack on Titan you saw on the comic book page. This is not the Attack on Titan you saw animated on television. This movie is its own monster, and it's like nothing you've ever seen before. This is not a heroic fantasy with gore, grit, and gristle around the edges like the manga. This is not high-octane action peppered with shocking twists like the anime series. This movie's mission is to plunge you into a unique heightened reality filled with nauseating nightmares and disturbingly human cruelty. This version of Attack on Titan is pure horror movie, a one-of-a-kind experiment in atmospheric terror you may never forget.

Right from the start, the movie divorces itself from the source material's theme and tone as hard as it possibly can. It takes place in the future of our world, with remnants of warplanes and weaponry peppered across the countryside. Its great walls were built by human hands, and even though they live in repurposed ruins, the people seem very happy. (The manga most often refers to its world as a crowded cistern, but this movie contains the line: "Even paradise seems like a prison when you can see its walls.") Most importantly, our story's hero dreams of taking back the outside world in a completely different way. Instead of warning people against complacency and chomping at the bit to fight an enemy like in the comics, this Eren kicks at dead shells of old warheads while denying that Titans even exist, except as a fairytale made to keep people away from the world they deserve. The original version of Eren was brave and prescient, but immature in his ambitions. This movie's Eren is a starry-eyed fool dying to throw open the lid to Pandora's box. It's that subtle difference between the lead in a fantasy movie and the lead in a horror film. Of course, it's only once the Titans bust into town that the movie delivers on its genre shift with jaw-dropping results.

True to its roots, TOHO has re-imagined Attack on Titan as a kaiju film, with actors in makeup portraying the Titans rather than full CG, but in the process, this movie has also expanded on what kaiju films can be. The aesthetic here is not Godzilla, but Silent Hill, as human actors are blended with a hybrid of makeup and CG to create perfect uncanny night terrors. Against all odds, this movie is even gorier than the original comics and it somehow forces you to take the Titans very seriously. Unlike the more PG-13 anime, it is in no way comical when the Titans' repulsive mouths consume screaming actors in excruciating closeup. Blood and viscera rain down on panicked crowds as they claw over each other in packed alleyways and crush each other up against barred doors. It's an extremely tangible R-rated experience where everything "feels real," even the conservative sets and slightly crude compositing. (The musical score does verge on cliché sometimes, but it's still not enough to tarnish the experience.) All the movie's so-called limitations manage to blossom into a cohesive nightmare world thanks to the expert technique and direction of Shinji Higuchi, who is not only a kaiju effects veteran, but also knows a thing or two about the psychology of fear as evidenced by his extensive work on Evangelion. Instead of being campy fun, it's tone-perfect terrifying.

As a horror movie, it's a one-of-a-kind experience, but as a horror movie, it must also dispense with a lot of elements that no longer fit into the story's new focus. For instance, horror movies are not known for their characterization, and even psychological horror movies like this one tend to be concerned with the mind of only one character. In this case, that's Eren Jaeger, so everyone around him has been altered to serve as an element inside his waking nightmare. Since the story has an archetypal cast to begin with, this mostly works out fine. Sasha is still Sasha, Jean is still Jean, and Hans (Hanji) remains the closest of all to her comic-book self. Armin is simplified to expositional best friend status, but isn't too much worse for wear. No, it's Mikasa who suffers a character assassination so unfortunate that it forms the weakest part of the movie and will probably disappoint her devotees. This Mikasa is absolutely nothing like her wise warrior origin. She's a horror-fueled symbol of a happy and pure girl who is broken, corrupted, and "taken" from Eren. Her actions create an effective turning point in his arc, but it's for deeply uncomfortable reasons steeped in psychosexual horror tradition, which makes her a tragic object for new viewers to shrug at and old fans to feel betrayed by.

Mikasa's devolution aside, Attack on Titan hasn't lost any intelligence in its translation to horror film. There are no jump scares or fakeouts here, and the movie never tries to hide its monsters from you, but invites you to face the shock and discomfort of its imagery instead. It's an impressive feat not often seen outside of legendary exceptions like Silent Hill 2 or End of Evangelion, neither of which are live-action. Without ever resorting to clunky dialogue or bogging down the action, Attack on Titan throws complex ideas and double-edged convictions into the script with class. Eren's dream of freedom sees a pitch-black reflection in one of the movie's original characters, and the film seems eager to test audience's expectations about what that word really means in its radically different take on this universe.

We won't know the full extent of the film's message until Part 2 is released in Japan later this year, but the fact that it has its own message at all is an exciting surprise. So if you're a prior fan of the manga or anime eager to see your favorite characters kicking butt in feature form, you may be better served by the animated compilation movies. Approach this film with an open mind, a clean slate, and a strong stomach, and you may find something completely new to love, with a much darker part of your heart.

Grade:

Production Info:

Overall (sub) : A-
Story : B+
Art : A
Music : B-

+ Outstanding and immersive aesthetic unlike any other horror movie, swiftly paced and gripping start to finish, sharp script with heavy thematic undertones, holds up completely as its own work of art divorced from the source material

− Mikasa's character suffers most from the stark shift in genre, not at all faithful in adaptation if that's what you're looking for

User avatar
GalacticPetey
Gotengo Officer
Posts: 1691
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:25 am

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by GalacticPetey »

How much does this movie cover? Is it Season 1 of the anime or just half of it?
I can't believe that Godzilla was the only surviving member of its species, but if we continue conducting nuclear tests, it's possible that another Godzilla might appear somewhere in the world again.

User avatar
Pkmatrix
Futurian
Posts: 3480
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 12:19 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Pkmatrix »

GalacticPetey wrote:How much does this movie cover? Is it Season 1 of the anime or just half of it?
I believe it's the first half of Season 1, the second film will cover the second half of Season 1.

User avatar
Lain Of The Wired
Terminated
Terminated
Posts: 11515
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:31 pm
Location: the Wired

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Lain Of The Wired »

Hmmm... wonder how badass the Rogue Titan fights are?
Last edited by Lain Of The Wired on Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
Never forget tadpole :godzilla:

User avatar
Tohosaurus
E.S.P.Spy
Posts: 4978
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:35 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tohosaurus »

Has anyone found any info yet on how AoT's opening weekend went?
고질라

한국, 일본: 친교

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. -Ian Maclaren

godzillalives88
Interpol Agent
Posts: 514
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 2:49 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by godzillalives88 »

Tohosaurus wrote:Has anyone found any info yet on how AoT's opening weekend went?

Apparently it opened with around 4.7 million. For comparison, I believe G '14 opened with around 7 million and ended at about 30. Japanese films have different B.O. multipliers than American films in that they don't necessarily decrease by 55% with each passing weekend.

http://forums.boxofficetheory.com/topic ... s/page-506


01 (--) ¥580,000,000 ($4.68 million), 0, ¥580,000,000 ($4.68 million), Attack on Titan - Part 1 (Toho) NEW
02 (--) ¥550,000,000 ($4.44 million), 0, ¥730,000,000 ($5.89 million), Minions (Toho-Towa) NEW
03 (01) ¥327,000,000 ($2.64 million), -11%, ¥2,650,000,000 ($21.4 million), Hero 2 (Toho) Week 3
04 (03) ¥299,000,000 ($2.42 million), -11%, ¥3,275,000,000 ($26.5 million), The Boy and the Beast (Toho) Week 4
05 (03) ¥268,000,000 ($2.16 million), -12%, ¥2,025,000,000 ($16.4 million), Inside Out (Disney) Week 3
06 (04) ¥165,000,000 ($1.33 million), -20%, ¥2,410,000,000 ($19.5 million), Terminator: Genisys (Paramount) Week 4
07 (05) ¥130,000,000 ($1.05 million), -31%, ¥1,330,000,000 ($10.7 million), Pokemon XY: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages (Toho) Week 3
08 (06) ¥96,000,000 ($775,000), -32%, ¥2,820,000,000 ($22.8 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron (Disney) Week 5
09 (07) ¥90,000,000 ($730,000), -27%, ¥2,205,000,000 ($17.9 million), Love Live! The School Idol Movie (Shochiku) Week 8
10 (10) ¥25,000,000 ($200,000), -20%, ¥450,000,000 ($3.6 million), Shaun the Sheep Movie (Tohokushinsha) Week 5

The race at the top of the box-office is another close one this weekend, but I'm pretty confident in predicting Attack on Titan - Part 1 coming out on top, at least in gross. Admissions, however, are another story... estimates have Minions around 475,000 and Attack on Titan - Part 1 around 460,000.

This opening isn't surprising for Attack on Titan - Part 1, it was expected to see a big start (which is currently very similar debut to the first Gantz and the first-half sequel to Rurouni Kenshin), and become one of the highest-grossing live-action films of 2015.

However, Minions coming is so high is very surprising. Its estimated debut is higher than most Disney/Pixar releases, and by far the biggest for a non-Disney/Pixar imported animated release. There wasn't really anything for parents and children to see this Summer, outside of Inside Out which is skewing a bit older, so Minions is going to take advantage of this in a big way and could have a long-run with Obon Festival approaching.

All the holdovers performed nicely in the face of two big openers, and with the boost from Saturday being the first of the month (discount day):

-Hero 2 is the most impressive, completely turning around the downward spiral the sequel appeared to be in and revives its hopes of reaching the ¥5 billion (~$40 million) blockbuster milestone.

-The Boy and the Beast continues its nice run, and still looks likely to hit ¥6 billion+ ($50 million+), if not ¥7 billion (~$60 million). It's still the film to beat this Summer.

-Inside Out is also performing nicely, though its performance has been a bit overshadowed by continuing to trail The Boy and the Beast, and it'll now be overshadowed by Minions' overperformance, too. I wouldn't rule out it still outgrossing Minions, since it should still exceed ¥4 billion ($30 million+), but they're going to be very close.

-Terminator Genisys is still on track to exceed ¥3 billion ($25 million), and should finish almost on par with its predecessor's ¥3.32 billion finish. It's had a pretty solid performance in Japan compared to the U.S and other territories.

-Avengers: Age of Ultron will soon exceed ¥3 billion ($25 million), too, and still has a shot at hitting ¥3.5 billion (~$30 million), also nearly on par with its predecessor's ¥3.61 billion finish. It'll become the 5th highest-grossing Marvel/DC film ever, behind the original Spider-Man trilogy and its own predecessor.

User avatar
Tohosaurus
E.S.P.Spy
Posts: 4978
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:35 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tohosaurus »

godzillalives88 wrote: Apparently it opened with around 4.7 million. For comparison, I believe G '14 opened with around 7 million and ended at about 30. Japanese films have different B.O. multipliers than American films in that they don't necessarily decrease by 55% with each passing weekend.

http://forums.boxofficetheory.com/topic ... s/page-506
Indeed. Plus Godzilla debuted on a Friday in Japan from what I can see, whereas AoT started on Saturday. So by this point Godzilla had already been in theaters an extra day. So not apples to apples. Though that is down compared to either of the Gantz films or any of the 20th Century Boys trilogy. Not really an issue at this point though.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/japan/opening/
http://www.tohokingdom.com/box_office/2 ... y_boys.htm
http://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/20th_ ... s_2.htm#bo
http://www.tohokingdom.com/box_office/2 ... boys_3.htm

It's far too early to predict total grosses but I am curious. We'll see.
godzillalives88 wrote: -Terminator Genisys is still on track to exceed ¥3 billion ($25 million), and should finish almost on par with its predecessor's ¥3.32 billion finish. It's had a pretty solid performance in Japan compared to the U.S and other territories.
That is surprising. Or not given the success of other Terminator films there.
고질라

한국, 일본: 친교

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. -Ian Maclaren

User avatar
kamilleblu
G-Grasper
Posts: 1383
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 6:46 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by kamilleblu »

According to Variety, Attack on Titans took top spot this weekend with $5.1 million on 467,000 admissions and Minions followed in second place with $4.4 million on 449,000 admissions.

On the critical side of things, Kotaku's review was scathing. They praised the practical effects and criticized the CGI. According to Rocket News 24, there has been some harsh words from the Japanese too and the filmmakers have fired back.

What does this mean for Godzilla? Hopefully Anno's presence will make a positive difference.

User avatar
Tohosaurus
E.S.P.Spy
Posts: 4978
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:35 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Tohosaurus »

fred25_ca wrote:Just saw the live action Attack on titan movie last night at Fantasia festival and it was bad, like, really bad. And I was rooting for Shinji Higuchi so much! But he should stick to special effects because he cannot direct. :(
The characters were godawful, the music was one of the worst movie soundtrack I've heard in the last few years and the green screen and cgi were worse than you can imagine.

Some people will complain it wasn't faithful but really that's the least of the movie's problem.

All of this is really too bad because the Titans were awesome. They were scary and actual actors and the whole thing was super violent, a lot like the manga.

But Shinji Higuchi suffered from the Peter Jackson effect, he tried to cram the movie with way too many special effects. The titans worked and so did the miniatures, which are obviously his strength but all the spider-man swinging scenes were terrible. I know the fans would have been angry but they really should have cut all of that and really just put all of their efforts on the titans.

It's still worth checking out for the titans but all of the terrible directing and awful cgi really scare me for the new Godzilla. I hope Anno can keep Higuchi in check!

This was a sad screening, the whole audience were laughing at how bad the movie was. I was very depressed after since Shinji Higuchi is one of my hero. It was a far cry from Gamera 3. Kaneko he is not.
I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise given Higuchi's films (as in, the ones he directed) have not had particularly great reviews AFAIK. His role in special effects would therefore imply that is his talent compared to directing. And ironically he will apparently be in charge of special effects for Godzilla just as he was for Gamera, but it doesn't look like he had that role for the AoT films. Point being, maybe AoT doesn't totally reflect his work. Anyway, hopefully Anno's co-directing and writing does it well.
고질라

한국, 일본: 친교

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. -Ian Maclaren

User avatar
Kaiser
G-Force Personnel
Posts: 607
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 1:45 pm
Location: Skyrim

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by Kaiser »

I've been hanging around r/ShingekinoKyojin for the most part the past few days were the movie has predictably been bashed. I know general reviews aren't positive, but is it really as bad as people keep saying it is? I'm just glad Anno will be working on the next Godzilla film, Higuchi just doesn't seem to have what it takes to be a good director (although to be fair, the script is pretty awful as well).

User avatar
3000
Futurian
Posts: 3544
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:50 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by 3000 »

Most of the reviews im hearing are pretty negative on this film. Only parts people liked were the suitimation effects and it seemed even those were brought down a couple notches with lackluster CGI effects.

Really wanted to like this but from the time the trailer was released to now; ive been really skeptical and now i guess i know why.


Will still watch for the effects (so i can see what to expect from g16) but from what ive heard it seems like plot, characters, everything else just isnt where it needs to be.
Member of TK Since 2006

User avatar
kamilleblu
G-Grasper
Posts: 1383
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 6:46 pm

Re: Attack On Titan: The Movie

Post by kamilleblu »

Attack on Titan dropped to fifth place for its second weekend. The sequel will have a difficult time getting its foot in the door next month and possibly have trouble recouping its budget unless word of mouth saves it.

Post Reply