Night of the Living Dead (1990) - Out of Print

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by mayorofsmpleton

You can't compare box office numbers at this point when deciding popularity. There's an entire generation of people who've likely seen this film over the years on cable, VHS rentals, DVD, etc. Fright Night as well. Once a film is on the open market it can become very popular -- both of these films have large cult followings but it's impossible to compare those numbers. All it means is that X amount of people paid to see each film "blind" in 1985 and in 1990.

Since then we've had home video rentals, netflix, instant downloads, etc. The audience that likely bought tickets for BOTH of these films at the time of release is 27 and 22 years older respectively. That's a whole crop of people who have sampled these films over the years. As many have stated, AGAIG made serious bank in theaters and can't sell units. The demographic for this film is unlikely the TT market. NOTLD'90 has the benefit of sharing the name as the original film, getting increased awareness from Zombie fans, Romero fans, etc.

Fright Night was released, made some money and faded fairly quickly into cult-status. I think it's safe to argue that fewer people know about it than do the NIGHT remake.

Donnie Darko? Nobody saw it in theaters. It grew popular on video. Night'90 had a similar success in that regard.

Agreed mayorofsmpleton.

My personal fave examples of this phenomenon were three of the most expensive belly-flops from the summer of '82: Blade Runner, TRON, and The Thing. All were greeted with mixed-to-poor reviews, and woefully underperformed at the B.O. relative to their costs. Yet all had a robust second life on home video to the point where they are now not only regarded as classic movies, but also evergreen cash cows for their studios...Blade Runner especially. Initially they were "cult"; now they are "mainstream".

Before home video, movies which underperformed theatrically pretty much just went back into the studio vault and were mostly forgotten, reappearing only for occasional panned-and-scanned TV broadcasts. But now, many of these disappointments in their day can find a second or even third life on home video. My sense is that Romero and Savini's Night of the Living Dead '90 has developed a similar kind of cult following over the years, just on a smaller scale.

[ucfmatt]

Originally Posted by Seymour

I don't really agree with this.

One thing that I like to do, to gauge the popularity of a film, is to check the number of votes on IMDb (this works better for older films, say pre-1995). Fright Night has about 23,000 votes, compared to about 17,000 for Night of the Living Dead '90. Obviously, it's not the end all and the be all--but it is a neat and generally accurate way to gauge popularity for certain films. And in this case, I agree with the numbers--Fright Night is a more popular film than Night of the Living Dead '90.

Also, factor in the overall user rating, if the numbers seem deceiving. Look at Troll 2--it has 16,000 votes, but its user rating is 2.5 vs 6.7 for NOTLD '90.

Troll 2 is not really a great example though. At one point in time it was #1 on the lowest rated movies list. People were purposely giving it a 1 to support that status. Troll 2 has a massive cult following and would sell out screenings just about anywhere.

As for Fright Night vs. NOLD remake, I'd probably give the slight edge to Fright Night in terms of just awareness that it exists.

[mayorofsmpleton]

Originally Posted by Seymour

I don't really agree with this.

One thing that I like to do, to gauge the popularity of a film, is to check the number of votes on IMDb (this works better for older films, say pre-1995). Fright Night has about 23,000 votes, compared to about 17,000 for Night of the Living Dead '90. Obviously, it's not the end all and the be all--but it is a neat and generally accurate way to gauge popularity for certain films. And in this case, I agree with the numbers--Fright Night is a more popular film than Night of the Living Dead '90.

Also, factor in the overall user rating, if the numbers seem deceiving. Look at Troll 2--it has 16,000 votes, but its user rating is 2.5 vs 6.7 for NOTLD '90.

I'd say 5,000 more votes on IMDB.com is realistic being the film recently had a big screen remake in the last year.

Either way these films appeal to a specific demographic of horror fans, many younger males (or males 18-49). Obviously many fall out of the demographic but that's a lot of 'em. It's also a demographic that is big on buying BD, limited edition collectibles, etc. These are the releases that SELL. Also, as mentioned, The Walking Dead is returning, Zombies are 'in' right now in pop-culture so more people are discovering the classics (and in turn the remakes of the classics).

[hamchuck1]

Originally Posted by Captain Mal

Home video is what helped NOTLD 1990. From what I recall, it had a very limited theatrical run. I don't remember even seeing the theatrical trailer back then.

I recorded NOTLD '90 off of HBO in the early 90's and watched it a million times. I only first saw Fright Night a couple of years ago.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by ucfmatt

Troll 2 is not really a great example though. At one point in time it was #1 on the lowest rated movies list. People were purposely giving it a 1 to support that status. Troll 2 has a massive cult following and would sell out screenings just about anywhere.

As for Fright Night vs. NOLD remake, I'd probably give the slight edge to Fright Night in terms of just awareness that it exists.

Yeah, that was what I meant when I mentioned Troll 2. It has almost the same number of votes, but the user rating is way lower. So, it's not as popular as NOTLD '90, it's just a notorious movie. But if you look at all the horror movies from 1980-1994 on IMDb, going by their total number of votes (highest to lowest)--it's usually a very good indicator of popularity.

[thephantomcat]

I think NOTLD is selling out faster because of what happened with Fright Night. It's almost like the boogeyman. "Get your copy now kids or it'll be like Fright Night all over again!" Also, I'm sure scalpers are jumping on this in anticipation of a Fright Night situation. It will be interesting to see how the numbers on Ebay go.

[Blu Titan]

My question for SAE is the following: 3,000 copies for NOTLD and probably 1,500 for EM, all going out during the same time period. Are you getting extra help? Ed is going to receive tons of emails if there's a delay .

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

My question for SAE is the following: 3,000 copies for NOTLD and probably 1,500 for EM, all going out during the same time period. Are you getting extra help? Ed is going to receive tons of emails if there's a delay .

Ed is punching a wall as we speak.

[JoeDeM]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Ed is punching a wall as we speak.

No he's going "beaucoup overtime baby"

[Chris @ SAE]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Ed is punching a wall as we speak.

Hahaha. Well, unfortunately even though we state release dates, often times we receive it early and ship prior to the weekend. But now it's become if we haven't shipped BEFORE THE ACTUAL RELEASE DATE we still get emails inquiring if it's shipped. I blame you guys being crazy

But to answer your question, no extra help. We'll have it in early, prepackage, then come time roll out all the mailing labels and slap them on packages. I'll probably be the one printing out 2,500+ single package mailing labels for an entire day.

p.s. I like all these smiley options!

[mayorofsmpleton]

Originally Posted by Seymour

I don't really agree with this.

One thing that I like to do, to gauge the popularity of a film, is to check the number of votes on IMDb (this works better for older films, say pre-1995). Fright Night has about 23,000 votes, compared to about 17,000 for Night of the Living Dead '90. Obviously, it's not the end all and the be all--but it is a neat and generally accurate way to gauge popularity for certain films. And in this case, I agree with the numbers--Fright Night is a more popular film than Night of the Living Dead '90.

Also, factor in the overall user rating, if the numbers seem deceiving. Look at Troll 2--it has 16,000 votes, but its user rating is 2.5 vs 6.7 for NOTLD '90.

141,031 users rated As Good As It Gets. It averages a 7.8. It remains available and NOT sold out.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by mayorofsmpleton

141,031 users rated As Good As It Gets. It averages a 7.8. It remains available and NOT sold out.

It is a drama appealing to older audiences. In addition, it has been playing on various cable channels for years. Very nice movie but it will not sell very well.

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by Chris @ SAE

But now it's become if we haven't shipped BEFORE THE ACTUAL RELEASE DATE we still get emails inquiring if it's shipped. I blame you guys being crazy

Rest assured, Chris, there are some of us who won't throw the mother of all hissy fits if the disc arrives a week or two later. Continue to do your good work and we'll be happy.

As far as the level of insanity around here, I have one word for you: "slipcovers".

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by Chris @ SAE

Hahaha. Well, unfortunately even though we state release dates, often times we receive it early and ship prior to the weekend. But now it's become if we haven't shipped BEFORE THE ACTUAL RELEASE DATE we still get emails inquiring if it's shipped. I blame you guys being crazy

But to answer your question, no extra help. We'll have it in early, prepackage, then come time roll out all the mailing labels and slap them on packages. I'll probably be the one printing out 2,500+ single package mailing labels for an entire day.

p.s. I like all these smiley options!

This forum really needs to add the "Thanks" "Like" "Dislike" buttons that newer versions of vbulletin have. Thank you for the heads up and for chiming in here and there, it's refreshing to know that people are watching/listening and can answer some of the smaller nagging questions people have, I know we all appreciate it.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by mayorofsmpleton

141,031 users rated As Good As It Gets. It averages a 7.8. It remains available and NOT sold out.

Yep, it's a bit newer and not a horror film--which is a big key, I think. TT gambled on As Good as It Gets, and it looks like it backfired on them. Horror films in general (sci-fi, too) are probably some of the best and most consistent sellers on BD (in reference to catalog titles).

Also, there's no doubt As Good as It Gets is much more popular than Fright Night and NOTLD '90. I was strictly referring to horror when I mentioned IMDb votes.

[Blu Titan]

There are some genres which will not sell very well in Blu. Musicals first come to mind. No danger of having Cover Girl, High Time, or Bye Bye Birdie selling out before you can buy them .

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by HDMe

IF their titles were just $10 cheaper... $20-$25... I would drop every pricing argument even with the lack of extras and the limited print run. I also bet they would come closer to selling out more titles.

Heck, I'll take another half-step here... IF they went so far as $30 each BUT 2-for-$50... I could live with that.

I have been wishing they would do free shipping on $50 (even $100) orders or something. In today's world, the thought of paying for shipping stings me more than the price of the movies. It would encourage me to buy even more because I have been known to throw stuff I don't really need in just to avoid paying for shipping. I could easily do $100 per TT order, especially since I buy film scores from SAE regularly, too.

[mayorofsmpleton]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

It is a drama appealing to older audiences. In addition, it has been playing on various cable channels for years. Very nice movie but it will not sell very well.

That's my point exactly. That popularity isn't going to necessarily correlate to how well these sell. AGAIG isn't going to appeal to the types of people who'd buy a TT release. It'd sell well as a budget 6.99-12.99 title at walmart/best buy but at $30+ a pop? I got my copy but it doesn't surprise me one bit that it's not sold out.

Many of the consumers who would buy it are completely unaware the TT label exists... and if they knew they'd be unlikely to drop the cash for it.

[mayorofsmpleton]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

There are some genres which will not sell very well in Blu. Musicals first come to mind. No danger of having Cover Girl, High Time, or Bye Bye Birdie selling out before you can buy them .

Bye Bye Birdie is under 1000 units remaining. It was released just a few months ago. I can see that one selling out within the 3 year window.

[mayorofsmpleton]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Yep, it's a bit newer and not a horror film--which is a big key, I think. TT gambled on As Good as It Gets, and it looks like it backfired on them. Horror films in general (sci-fi, too) are probably some of the best and most consistent sellers on BD (in reference to catalog titles).

Also, there's no doubt As Good as It Gets is much more popular than Fright Night and NOTLD '90. I was strictly referring to horror when I mentioned IMDb votes.

If you can't apply it to all films on the site it's hardly accurate enough then. Basically your analysis of the data consists of "Yeah, that seems right. I hear that mentioned in conversation more than that film..." Not trying to be a jerk but I mean, let's just be honest -- there's not really any legitimate way to tell which is more popular a franchise. Even NOTLD selling faster than FN is more likely the result of FN having sold out the year before. As someone mentioned, would it be selling out right now if FN hadn't come out last year and taught us all a lesson?

344...