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RockRaven

(18,920 posts)

5. "for a documentary" doing heroic heavy lifting there...

Reply to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Mon Feb 2, 2026, 12:10 AM

Monday

"Well, it's a flop by those budget standards, but great revenue for a documentary" -- DOCUMENTARIES NEVER COST THIS MUCH, so measure it by the budget not the film category.

To give a sense of the aberrant scale of cost difference we're talking about:
James Cameron's documentary about the Titanic, Ghosts of the Abyss, using cutting-edge custom-built submersibles/ROVs to film the actual wreckage at the bottom of the ocean... Budget $13M.
March of the Penguins, a film shot in Antarctica which means hostile conditions and hellacious logistics... Budget $8M.
Free Solo, an Oscar winning documentary in the late 2010s about free climber Alex Honnold doing the first ever free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite... Budget $2M.

But, yeah, $7M, this country has a hell of a lot of fart-sniffing worms in it.

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Highlight:

'Melania,' panned by some film critics, opens with strong ticket sales for a documentary [View all] Omaha Steve Sunday OP

and how many actual butts in seats nt msongs Sunday #1

correct. we've been down this road before Javaman Monday #14

So..... they expected no one FoxNewsSucks Sunday #2

pretty much panned by ALL critics. NewHendoLib Monday #3

If it's a documentary, why are they renting raincoats at the front door? usonian Monday #4

"for a documentary" doing heroic heavy lifting there... RockRaven Monday #5

Did Tr**p Get His Rich Friends To Stack The Deck?..... global1 Monday #6

How many tickets did guys like musk buy? Klarkashton Monday #7

All of them. Ray Bruns Monday #12

A lot of those sales were to journalists and movie critics, since no free screenings were given to the press. SunSeeker Monday #8

Only $215 million more BeyondGeography Monday #9

Dollars to donuts those ticket-sale numbers Seinan Sensei Monday #10

I'd like to see vending sales. Better measure of attendance (and is where theaters make their margins) n/t Cheezoholic Monday #11

What a load of horseshit. Ray Bruns Monday #13

Melania is getting $75 million out of the deal PCB66 Monday #15

That's the $35 million for shilling speaking... Hugin Monday #16

They are going for the Oscar. delisen Monday #17

Put in perspective: onenote Monday #18

Return to the Blue Lagoon! got a big fat Zero from Critics. (1992) chouchou Monday #19

OMG! Was just reading a critic's "Take" on Melania. Rather Funny. chouchou Monday #20

I heard it was so bad, D. Spaulding Monday #21

Pretty Rebl2 Monday #22

Not much compared to what Amazon spent on it. iemanja Monday #23

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»'Melania,' panned by some...»Reply #5