'Precious' and its box-office crash: Is it failing to cross over?

Tags: Golden Globe Awards, Lee Daniels, Oscars, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

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Close to a year ago, on a cold gray snowy evening, I walked out of the world’s very first showing of Precious: Based on the Read the full post.

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Chip H
Sat 01/02/10 7:21 PM

I can’t speak for everyone, but I hardly think I’m alone in my feelings that if a film doesn’t offer me something on the big screen that I can’t get from watching it on DVD or PayPerView four months down the road, it’s going to be a tough act to get me into the theater to watch. Add to that the bleak subject matter and, for better or worse, the racial aspects of the subject matter and the country we live in, and how does anyone expect the movie to have legs past the first few weeks? This is a drama with niche appeal competing in a marketplace where people can go see something like Avatar that provides an amusement park like excitement, or they can go and see something like Precious and be “challenged”. When it comes to movies, people vote with their wallets, and most aren’t going to go to the expense and trouble of searching out a movie like Precious. It’s not, and has not to my knowledge, been showing anywhere near me and I live outside of a reasonably large city and state capital, but even if it had, there is literally nothing about the film that would have motivated me to either go see it alone or paying a baby sitter so me and my wife could spend a rare moment by ourselves being depressed. It may arguably be a great movie, but that doesn’t make it a great theater experience.

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Isabeau
Sun 01/03/10 2:03 PM

The Shield. Gone Baby Gone. Hostel. Saw I-?? Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. About Schmidt. There Will Be Blood. The Road. Road to Perdition. No Country for Old Men. The Wire. 3:10 to Yuma. Damages. The Departed. The Last King of Scotland.
………. I’m sick of death, violence, torture, grit, grime, ugliness, vengence, depression, moral relativism and painful dramas masquerading as comedies. … Whatever happened to joy, love, compassion, understanding, learning, growth, spirituality, nobility, courage and good? Our family watched “The Sound of Music” over the holidays. That was a true story too, but it was also beautiful, inspiring and encouraging. I really wish we made them like that again.

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cuan
Fri 03/05/10 4:55 AM

It amazing how many people got the cinema to feel hope and that touchy good feeling, but when somethign real hits them in the face it becomes, to much to bear and you want to walk out.

It goes to show that while you may want to walk out of the cinema, there are poeple who cant just get up and walk out of their situation.

Forgive my Generalization and stereotyping pls when i say that ‘some’ americans just dont see life the harsh way, it appalls me to think that you still believe that because your life is relatively ok that you dont need to feel emotion about the crazy in this world.

Lastly if you emotionally check out, try put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see if they have the luxury of checking out.

For those wondering, im South African, white and proud to be…

ps: did not mean to offend anyone

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Mike
Mon 03/08/10 9:38 PM

I saw Precious. I am a 58 year old white man and saw it with a 58 year woman. We both loved the movie. I think it did not catch on because of the relatively unknow actors. I would not have gone to see the film were it not for Monique. When I saw the previews at the theater, I could tell then that it would be a break out performance and that Monique had the ability to become a character. Watching her in the film was like watching her channel and inhabit another person’s body. Suddenly Precious was on screen and there was no Monique. Simply brilliant.

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