The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[Barbossa]

Saw it this evening. I thought it was very good. I wasn't sold at first when I saw the first trailer and the thought of Disney pulling out, but it turned out to be very good (I was a bit skeptical after Fox screwed-up The Dark Is Rising movie). Very good effects. It's too bad we won't see a boxed-set of all the movies on DVD or Blu (because of the different distributors) if they make all seven into movies. One of these days I have to re-read the books. I actually only ever read the first three.

[SmartAleck25]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling really bummed that Voyage is bombing so badly. It really is a wonderful film, and it's not getting all of the recognition it deserves. Heck, it's even losing to the Golden Compass, and that bombed anyway. AND it has 3D ticket price inflation. I really hope this comes out all right in the end; I mean, I'm happy that Tangled and Tron: Legacy are doing better than expected, but I really want to see this franchise through to the end. Oh, and I'll post my big long post once I get all my thoughts together (despite it being a week).

[Disneykid]

Well, Narnia has one advantage over Golden Compass: foreign gross. The Golden Compass bombed domestically but did great internationally. The problem, though, was that New Line sold the foreign distribution rights in order to finish the film after it went way over budget. So they didn't see a dime from the film's success overseas. Fox is distributing Narnia worldwide, so if the film proves to be successful internationally, Fox will reap the benefits.

The question is how successful does this film need to be for Fox to greenlight The Silver Chair? They say just to break even, a film needs to make back double its budget. That means Prince Caspian (with a $225 million budget and $419 million worldwide take) came up slightly short of breaking even. Even so, Fox didn't think it to be a bomb the way Disney did and thought it was good enough to pick up Dawn Treader.

Will the same happen now? If so, Dawn Treader (with a $155 million budget) will need to make $310 million worldwide to break even. It has a good chance of getting there (it's made 117 so far and hasn't opened in Japan or in parts of Europe), but whether breaking even is fine for Fox remains to be seen. It wasn't good enough for Percy Jackson, apparently, since that film only cost $95 million and took in $226 million. Will Walden try to take Silver Chair to another studio? Possibly since the Narnia films are their bread and butter. But I'm not sure any distributor will want to touch this series save for perhaps Universal. They picked up Hellboy despite the fact that the first didn't even break even.

Only time will tell, I guess. I figured maybe we'd hear something from Fox about it next month, but now I'm wondering if they'll pull a Disney and wait till Easter when Dawn Treader's on DVD and BD to make an announcement. That's all we need. A Christmas present from Disney in 2008 saying they've dropped Narnia, and then an Easter present in 2011 from Fox saying the same thing.

[SmartAleck25]

I checked Box Office Mojo, and the standings as of now are:

TRON: Legacy:
Domestic: $43,600,000 65.5%
+ Foreign: $23,000,000 34.5%
= Worldwide: $66,600,000

Opening Day: $18,000,000
Opening Weekend: $43,600,000

Tangled:
Domestic: $127,819,000 56.7%
+ Foreign: $97,800,000 43.3%
= Worldwide: $225,619,000

Opening Day: $11,869,194
Opening Weekend: $48,767,052

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Domestic: $42,764,000 25.7%
+ Foreign: $123,656,000 74.3%
= Worldwide: $166,420,000

Opening Day: $8,255,202
Opening Weekend: $24,005,069


The Golden Compass:
Domestic: $70,107,728 18.8%
+ Foreign: $302,127,136 81.2%
= Worldwide: $372,234,864

Opening Day: $8,723,000
Opening Weekend: $25,783,232

[milojthatch]

Note to SpringheelJerk:

dvdjunkie, you know this is crossing the line. A refresher should be unnecessary for someone who's been a part of this forum for so long, bute here's a reminder nonetheless: personal attacks are not permitted on this forum.

Forgive me for getting involved, but in dvdjunkie's defense, I didn't see any personal attack. Frankly I've seen a lot worse on this forum then anything is his last post. But maybe I missed something?

Anyway, I'm in high hopes that Narnia picks up in the US this next week. It was a much stronger film then it is preforming at the North American box office right now, and I hope it ends up like the first "Pirates" did, a film that started off slow but picked up after good word of mouth.

The theater I went to see it at was packed for the midnight show, so the news of it's weak preference caught me off guard. I only hope Fox sees things different then Disney. As I've said before, it would sadden me that a World that sees all the "Twilight" books turn into film can't do the same for "Narnia?" There really is no justice in the world, seriously!

[DancingCrab]

The personal attack was that dvdjunkie changed the spelling of his name from SpringHeelJack to SpringHeelJerk, which was indeed a pretty nasty personal attack.

[AwallaceUNC]

Forgive me for getting involved, but in dvdjunkie's defense, I didn't see any personal attack. Frankly I've seen a lot worse on this forum then anything is his last post. But maybe I missed something?

As DancingCrab pointed out above, I was referencing the alteration made in the [ quote= ] tag, not anything in the substance of that post.

As I've said before, it would sadden me that a World that sees all the "Twilight" books turn into film can't do the same for "Narnia?" There really is no justice in the world, seriously!

Amen!

[milojthatch]

The personal attack was that dvdjunkie changed the spelling of his name from SpringHeelJack to SpringHeelJerk, which was indeed a pretty nasty personal attack.

Like I said, I guessed I missed it. You would be right, that is kind of mean. I'm kind of sad that he would do that actually.

As I've said before, it would sadden me that a World that sees all the "Twilight" books turn into film can't do the same for "Narnia?" There really is no justice in the world, seriously!

Amen![/quote]

Good to know I'm not alone in that feeling.

I'm still waiting for word from Fox, but in may be sometime yet before that word comes. I just want to know if Narnia is dead or not so I can move on. If it is, then I'd like to mourn the loss of yet another film franchise that I was really behind. But if it is not dead, then I'd like to know that too and get ready for "The Silver Chair!"

[disneyboy20022]

Okay now I just saw Narnia, It's good movie and I loved though my dad pointed out a scene....Think about Edmund thinking about something and regarding oh...choosing your destruction in this scene....of another movie as shown here

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[Prince Edward]

I loved the film, as I love The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Will see it in theater several times and have promoted Narnia on Facebook^^ I really, really hope it makes enough money for The Silver Chair to be made!

What do people think about the rest of the series? If all the books can't become movies, what are the books they should skip? The Horse and His Boy?

[Disney's Divinity]

I hope they, at the very least, get to make The Silver Chair. It’s the only one left that features one of the previous main characters (Eustace). Plus, I always loved Jill and Puddleglum. I could imagine they would cast Tilda Swinton as the Green Lady.

If they couldn’t make both The Magician’s Nephew and The Final Battle, it would probably be best to avoid doing either. They kind of bookend the series and wouldn’t feel right without each other. If they skipped any, The Horse and His Boy would definitely be the best choice. I enjoyed the book, but there’s really only a cameo of the original four children, and I can’t remember how it relates much to the rest of them. I’m sure Disneykid would know better about that.

[Prince Edward]

I hope they, at the very least, get to make The Silver Chair. It’s the only one left that features one of the previous main characters (Eustace). Plus, I always loved Jill and Puddleglum. I could imagine they would cast Tilda Swinton as the Green Lady.

If they couldn’t make both The Magician’s Nephew and The Final Battle, it would probably be best to avoid doing either. They kind of bookend the series and wouldn’t feel right without each other. If they skipped any, The Horse and His Boy would definitely be the best choice. I enjoyed the book, but there’s really only a cameo of the original four children, and I can’t remember how it relates much to the rest of them. I’m sure Disneykid would know better about that.

I think you may have some very valdid points, based on what I have seen several other people write on the same subject. It seems most people agree with your thaughts about it. Let's see if Disneykid may enlighten us^^

An update on the box-office;

“Dawn Treader” Nears $300M Worldwide [*Updated]
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 by Mike
http://www.narniafans.com/archives/11150

"Through Sunday January 2, VDT is estimated to have earned $87.1 million domestically. In international markets, Fox reports via Deadline Hollywood that VDT stands at a cumulative $210 million. VDT stands at $297.1 million worldwide. This total is better than many expected when the film opened poorly in the United States. However, movie attendance will slow down considerably this week as many school vacations are over. On the other hand, VDT has yet to open in Argentina and Venezuela (two small markets) or China or Japan (two larger markets)."

[Disneykid]

You guys called?

The Silver Chair isn't actually the last one in which we get to see a previous main character return. Eustace comes back (along with Jill) in The Last Battle.

As for The Horse and His Boy, you're right. Peter is missing in that installment (though they could always insert him), and the other three adult Pevensies are just cameos. It would be very easy, though, to expand their roles and make them more prominent in the story. It might be confusing for a movie audience, though, to suddenly flashback to the time of the Pevensie's reign. They might need to bookend the story in the real world, perhaps the Pevensies telling Eustace about their adventures.

Like I've said before, while I'm dying to see The Silver Chair get made, if they're going to stop anywhere prematurely in the series, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the way to go. Having a quartet where we get to see the Pevensies in only 3/4 of them would feel unbalanced, and it makes sense that we leave Narnia with the same person who introduced us to it (Lucy).

Everything after VotDT would be difficult to market. You've got a Pevensie-less story (TSC), two flashbacks that involve mostly new characters (THaHB and TMN), and then the always-controversial finale that makes the Christian allegory abundantly clear for those who've missed it so far (TLB). Walden Media and Douglas Gresham are adamant about adapting all seven books, but only time will tell if Fox or some other distributor will be that gutsy. I think Fox is waiting till VotDT is out on DVD and BD before they make an announcement for fear of hurting sales (Disney made their announcement about three weeks after PC was released on DVD and BD).

I suppose if worse comes to worst, books 4-7 could be adapted for television or direct-to-video. Like Milo said, it depresses me that we live in a world where a series like Twilight gets fully and easily adapted into films while Narnia's struggling one at a time (I'm also sore about His Dark Materials, but that's for another thread).

[Prince Edward]

Thank you so much Disneykid, a very thorough reply as always:)

I agree with you, it's all to sad that Narnia are having troubles and that His Dark Materials was cancelled (perhaps someone can pick up His Dark Materials sometime in the future).

I want all the books as movies, but I really want them to at least make The Silver Chair before quiting.

I guess they could skip The Horse and His Boy if they have to, but The Magician's Nephew would be great for the backstory of Narnia and The Last Battle would be great for giving "closure" to the series. Anyway, I will contine to support this series by buying cinema tickets and Blu-rays and promoting it among friends as long as they are releasing films...

[milojthatch]

You guys called?

The Silver Chair isn't actually the last one in which we get to see a previous main character return. Eustace comes back (along with Jill) in The Last Battle.

Don't forget that Peter, Edmund and Lucy come back in "The Last Battle" as well as Professor Kirk. So, for that matter, does Mr. Tumnus, Reepicheep and basically every other character found in the first six stories. Prof. Kirk of course (although as a boy) is the main character in "The Magicians Nephew."

I think you may be right though, we won't know if "The Silver Chair" will happen till after DVD/ Blu Ray sales, which I'd think we should hear something about that much soon. The total sum I'd like to believe that it has made should lead to the next one, but who can say? It will clearly make back what it cost and that much more.

[Disneykid]

Specs classified by the BBFC are out:

* Audio Commentary with Director Michael Apted

* Deleted Scenes
- "The Kids in Narnian Clothes" (0:28 )
- "Eustace is Ill" (0:37)
- "Mutiny" (2:12)
- "Caspian Doubt" (0:47)

* Evergreen with Bug (?) (9:05)
* Direct Effect - Michael Apted Director (6:21)
* In Character with Liam Neeson as Aslan (5:00)
* In Character with Georgie Henley and Will Poulter as Lucy Pevensie and * Eustace Scrubb (5:14)
* The Secret Islands: Untold Adventures of the Dawn Treader (6:57)
* VFX Progression with Optional Commentary (12:26)

* Location Pods
- The Lone Islands (0:35)
- Magician's Island (0:35)
- Goldwater Island (0:43)
- Dark Island (0:49)
- Ramandu's Island (0:51)

We also have cover art here. No release date, yet, but mid-to-late April is what they're apparently aiming for so that they could do an Easter tie-in.

I'm disappointed at the deleted scenes. This film apparently had a good deal of footage cut out, probably a good 15-20 minutes. Pretty much every scene had lines and shots trimmed off, and you can tell by the way the final cut's paced. I was hoping for an extended cut since Fox loves those, but it doesn't seem we're getting one.

In other news, the film is the first Fox film since Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel back in December of 2009 to break the $100 million mark domestically. It's right now at $366 million worldwide. With Venezuela and Japan the only countries left for the film to debut in, $400 million is definitely a lock. That's less than Prince Caspian overall (that one made $419), but Dawn Treader is actually going to do better internationally ($278 for PC, $265 and counting for VotDT).

Let's see how Fox takes in all of this.

[disneyboy20022]

Specs classified by the BBFC are out:

* Audio Commentary with Director Michael Apted

* Deleted Scenes
- "The Kids in Narnian Clothes" (0:28 )
- "Eustace is Ill" (0:37)
- "Mutiny" (2:12)
- "Caspian Doubt" (0:47)

* Evergreen with Bug (?) (9:05)
* Direct Effect - Michael Apted Director (6:21)
* In Character with Liam Neeson as Aslan (5:00)
* In Character with Georgie Henley and Will Poulter as Lucy Pevensie and * Eustace Scrubb (5:14)
* The Secret Islands: Untold Adventures of the Dawn Treader (6:57)
* VFX Progression with Optional Commentary (12:26)

* Location Pods
- The Lone Islands (0:35)
- Magician's Island (0:35)
- Goldwater Island (0:43)
- Dark Island (0:49)
- Ramandu's Island (0:51)

We also have cover art here. No release date, yet, but mid-to-late April is what they're apparently aiming for so that they could do an Easter tie-in.

I'm disappointed at the deleted scenes. This film apparently had a good deal of footage cut out, probably a good 15-20 minutes. Pretty much every scene had lines and shots trimmed off, and you can tell by the way the final cut's paced. I was hoping for an extended cut since Fox loves those, but it doesn't seem we're getting one.

In other news, the film is the first Fox film since Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel back in December of 2009 to break the $100 million mark domestically. It's right now at $366 million worldwide. With Venezuela and Japan the only countries left for the film to debut in, $400 million is definitely a lock. That's less than Prince Caspian overall (that one made $419), but Dawn Treader is actually going to do better internationally ($278 for PC, $265 and counting for VotDT).

Let's see how Fox takes in all of this.

I love that cover art

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... eimprovemz

[Barbossa]

I love that cover art

+1

I like that Fox stuck to the same cover style as Caspian. Wardrobe was slightly different in style.

[SmartAleck25]

I LOVE it! The purple gives it a nice royal feel. I agree with you Disneykid, I would like to see all the deleted scenes to make the film feel less rushed with the islands. I thought maybe Fox would fix Disney's general (to me) fear of deleted scenes, but I guess not.

[AladdinFan]

Love the cover art. Definitely going to buy it on Blu-ray.

http://www.narniafans.com/wp-content/up ... -cover.jpg