Work on the Sequels Stopped?

[Paranoid Android]

Not just on this site. Most of the polls on other fansites ive seen were pretty positive as well. Also the reviews were generally positive. Just because it didnt do great at the box office doesnt mean its a bad film, by that reasoning a lot of great films would be considered bad. Its been a tough year at the box office for a lot of films, good and bad. Also people of a negative opinion on anything are generally much more vocal, makes it seem like the film is more hated when its not.

I think you missed my point about the poll. It's not about which site do you check the polls for, it's about checking polls of fan sites to begin with. Most of the fans of any movie don't even bother with fan sites. People that join fan sites are usually a vocal minority that doesn't settle with simply liking a film - they want to discuss it with others.

As for it being a tough year at the box office, which good films based on recognizable brands didn't do well at the box office this year?

People pointed out that Alien:Covenant didn't do well because it's a quality film, and quality films don't sell well (apparently). Well, let's pit the smart sfi-fi that is Alien:Covenant vs another smart sci-fi film such as Arrival:
Arrival had a good up and coming director in the form of Denis Villeneuve (who I would've personally liked to see behind the next Alien film), but, while impressive, he's not at Ridley Scott status yet; Arrival was made on half of Covenant's budget, so visuals should favor Covenant; Arrival has no brand recognition and as a result has no fan base to push it forward at the box office. Covenant had more marketing working behind it. One film performs well, the other doesn't.

[Jonesy1974]

The majority of fans on this site. It does not equal the majority of fans. If the majority of fans liked the film (which, let's face it, consist of the majority of people who saw it on opening week), it would've got good word of mouth. It got bad word of mouth, dropped like a rock on its second week and pretty much vanished from theaters within a month.

Not just on this site. Most of the polls on other fansites ive seen were pretty positive as well. Also the reviews were generally positive. Just because it didnt do great at the box office doesnt mean its a bad film, by that reasoning a lot of great films would be considered bad. Its been a tough year at the box office for a lot of films, good and bad. Also people of a negative opinion on anything are generally much more vocal, makes it seem like the film is more hated when its not.

Edit- just as an example the poll at Xenopedia is overwhelming positive.

Plus the fans on here are a representation of fans across the board. I would have thought the same percentages would be reflected on most fan sites. Not everyone likes it and that's fine but it can't just be ignored that many do.

As much as I loved Arrival, it only made 203 mil at the BO. It was hardly a huge success.

BO numbers on the whole are dropping off

[Paranoid Android]

BO numbers on the whole are dropping off

That's not true, box office numbers as a whole are consistently on the rise:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/

[Highland]

There's almost too many movies come out now. There's a big ticket item every couple of months and older folk generally don't go to the movies that often. $250-300 mil is probably realistic. Prometheus had a lot more going for it.

[Jonesy1974]

There's almost too many movies come out now. There's a big ticket item every couple of months and older folk generally don't go to the movies that often. $250-300 mil is probably realistic. Prometheus had a lot more going for it.

This is it, especially with super hero movies dominating. These are regarded as must see movies when people need to pick and choose.

Obviously better reviews and word of mouth would have increased covenants return but not hugely I would have thought.

[AVP-CAPCOM]

Maybe a smaller budget is the way to go.

They made an ALIEN movie in Ghana Africa if Neil Blomkamp isn't available anymore.

The "ALIEN" appears at the 1.00 mark if you are impatient.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUV1IbA0i54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxwPTuh3QEM

[Paranoid Android]

Word of mouth goes a long way. Wonder Woman, while being a comic book film, was originally seen as a film with a high probability to fail simply because it was a DC movie. Due to word of mouth of it actually being a good film (and it was), it dominated the box office for months and beat the box office numbers of Batman vs Superman (which received bad word of mouth) - clearly much bigger brands.

[Mr. Xenomorph]

Wonder Woman is a different kettle of fish altogether. Look at the publicity they got when insiders were coming out saying it was a total disaster-in-the-making. Then, lo and behold, it was actually a good movie as well as being Wondy's first solo outing, and the public patronized. And look where Covenant was. Sandwiched in between two tent poles.

BO numbers on the whole are dropping off

That's not true, box office numbers as a whole are consistently on the rise:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/

So are ticket prices. Plus, all of those movies I see on there from the last few years except American Sniper have either been superhero movies or Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast or juggernauts like Star Wars.

[Paranoid Android]

Wonder Woman is a different kettle of fish altogether. Look at the publicity they got when insiders were coming out saying it was a total disaster-in-the-making. Then, lo and behold, it was actually a good movie as well as being Wondy's first solo outing, and the public patronized. And look where Covenant was. Sandwiched in between two tent poles.

The news about it being a disaster-in-the-making came out a good couple of months before the film's release. By the release date, the wind shifted drastically. Covenant was actually in a good spot with its release date because its demographic is not the same as the people who would go to see Wonder Woman. It offered a good alternative.

BO numbers on the whole are dropping off

That's not true, box office numbers as a whole are consistently on the rise:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/

So are ticket prices. Plus, all of those movies I see on there from the last few years except American Sniper have either been superhero movies or Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast or juggernauts like Star Wars.

That's not the point; The point is you can't argue for box office numbers to go down when they go up. And again, while Alien: Covenant is no Star Wars, let's not pretend like it isn't in itself a big brand that wasn't on everybody's most anticipated lists at the beginning of the year.

[Mr. Xenomorph]

So? It was still before the movie came out.

[Paranoid Android]

It was before the movie was done. When the movie was done, people were praising it.

[Jonesy1974]

The news about it being a disaster-in-the-making came out a good couple of months before the film's release. By the release date, the wind shifted drastically. Covenant was actually in a good spot with its release date because its demographic is not the same as the people who would go to see Wonder Woman. It offered a good alternative.

I think it was a terrible time to release it. Friends of mine didn't get to see it because they had to shell out to take the kids to see other films and couldn't afford to see Covenant too. It's £50 easy to take the kids to the cinema.

[Mr. Xenomorph]

The news about it being a disaster-in-the-making came out a good couple of months before the film's release. By the release date, the wind shifted drastically. Covenant was actually in a good spot with its release date because its demographic is not the same as the people who would go to see Wonder Woman. It offered a good alternative.

I think it was a terrible time to release it. Friends of mine didn't get to see it because they had to shell out to take the kids to see other films and couldn't afford to see Covenant too. It's £50 easy to take the kids to the cinema.

It was a horrible time. They should have released it in October closer to Halloween. Maybe they were trying to avoid Blade Runner?

[Jonesy1974]

The news about it being a disaster-in-the-making came out a good couple of months before the film's release. By the release date, the wind shifted drastically. Covenant was actually in a good spot with its release date because its demographic is not the same as the people who would go to see Wonder Woman. It offered a good alternative.

I think it was a terrible time to release it. Friends of mine didn't get to see it because they had to shell out to take the kids to see other films and couldn't afford to see Covenant too. It's £50 easy to take the kids to the cinema.

It was a horrible time. They should have released it in October closer to Halloween. Maybe they were trying to avoid Blade Runner?

Definitely would have been better. You could be right about blade runner though

[Paranoid Android]

I think it was a terrible time to release it. Friends of mine didn't get to see it because they had to shell out to take the kids to see other films and couldn't afford to see Covenant too. It's £50 easy to take the kids to the cinema.

I'm sure that's an issue, but this sort of thing is an issue all year round. You have good movies coming out practically every month. Summertime is when movies draw the biggest crowd though, so it's the best time to maximize your profits. Covenant was a highly anticipated film that, had it been good, would've provided a good alternative for people who were looking for something other than a dumb comic book movie. I don't think it would've done well in October because that's the start of Oscar season, meaning your film has to compete with other films that are aimed at the same demographic (people looking for a smart films). Had it been released in October, I think it would've done even worse.