WITNESSES CRASHES AND BURNS!

[Everybody Wang Chung]

The Witnesses has been very disappointing on many different levels. At the premier, DCP told two of my friends/colleagues that he was anticipating the film would bring in around 4-5 million in box office revenue. As usual, DCP was spectacularly wrong.

What it boils down to is not many people care about watching a subpar piece of propaganda. Hopefully, DCP and the Interpreter can learn some valuable lessons for their next film.

Epic fail for the Interpreter.

[kairos]

Similar to crashing and burning is diving and drowning as this hefty one was attempting to do!
Are you watching Dan? That could be your destiny!

k

[IHAQ]

One of the biggest issues with this movie is that it lacked clear objectives from the outset. Even now the Exec. Co. Prod. cannot really state any clear, tangible, goals or objectives that could have really driven the production and distribution work streams. Was it about making money? Was it about reaching non members? Was it for doubting members? Was it for the CES system? Was it for existing members? etc. Nobody is really sure, and so it falls between all of those things and delivers none of them. Here's the Exec. Co. Prod. recently demonstrating the lack of clarity that I think has doomed this project from the outset.

I’ve said that, for us, it’s not really about the money but, really, about the size of the audience that the film can reach. We want it to have an impact. So we want to get it out there on as many screens as we can for as long as we can, and then we’ll turn our attention to DVDs and streaming. (We’re actually already in discussions, and we’ll soon be in negotiations, in that regard.)

However, money is definitely involved. I doubt that making a feature-length film with absolutely no money is even possible, but we certainly didn’t try to do so with Witnesses. Although I’ve earned nothing from the production of the film, and won’t earn anything, some people have. Filmmaking is their profession.

Do we have financial goals for Witnesses? We’ve never really spoken about the matter. It’s genuinely that far down the list of priorities for us.

But, yes, it would be nice if Witnesses could earn back a significant portion of the money that has been spent on its production. It would be very nice if it could recoup all of its costs. And we would be absolutely delighted if it could earn a little profit. What are its odds of doing these things? I have no idea.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... money.html

When Dan says he has "no idea", I believe him.

If the Exec. Co. Prod. is so wishy washy about the project, how can the people tasked with delivery understand how to tailor what they deliver? He cannot even articulate at this late stage which audience the film was supposed to target, and this is after the film is in the can! Members, Doubting Members, Non Members are all different audiences that require different types of films about the witnesses and different distribution channels. That lack of clarity means this project has missed every audience type and delivered nothing of any material value outside of a small group of people with a personal attachment to it. The money has been wasted because the project wasn't set up properly in the first place. It's an expensive lesson, but at least it's at everyone else's expense...right Interpreter?

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I can’t believe (heh) that the Executive Producer didn’t take the opportunity to set up and create a Mormon Cinematic Universe. He shot his shot waaaaaay too early. This was the perfect opportunity to do Phase I origin stories - Joseph Smith, OC, my wife, and MH. Phase II would’ve been the Book of Mormon, and establishment of the Church. Phase III ‘Witnesses - Civil War’ as apostates and Evangelical threats abound. You have the big Phase IV ‘Witnesses - The Multichurch War’ as the early church schisms, and then you set up Phase 5 & 6 with ‘Witnesses - End Game’ as BY sets out for Mexico.

Way to be inspired DCP. You really had a vision for this franchise. :/

- Doc

[Kishkumen]

I think the movie should have done a lot better, and it would have if not for the pandemic. The lackluster performance of Black Widow at the box office really says something. That film has made up some ground thanks to Disney+ streaming, something Witnesses does not have.

I know we enjoy tweaking DCP, but this was not just *his* movie, and it was not a bad movie either. I enjoyed it, and I could see that a great deal of thought went into its creation. I will see it again, probably when I purchase the DVD because I had to go to Utah to see it in the theater.

[Tom]

The Witnesses has been very disappointing on many different levels. At the premier, DCP told two of my friends/colleagues that he was anticipating the film would bring in around 4-5 million in box office revenue.

$4-5 million? Interesting.

I checked the top-grossing (inflated-adjusted) Purdie-distributed films:

10: Freetown (2015): $431,509 grossed over 128 days (opened in 121 theaters: high: 124; low: 1). Total est. domestic video sales: $111,411.

9. The Forgotten Carols (2020): $502,252 grossed over 56 days (opened in 59 theaters; high: 70; low: 1). No information on video sales.

8. Lamb of God: The Concert Film (2021): $744,513 grossed over 56 days--March 12 through May 6, 2021 (opened in 104 theaters: high: 138; low: 6). No information on video sales.

7. Saturday's Warrior (2016): $787,907 grossed over 203 days (opened in 9 theaters: high: 28; low: 1). No information on video sales.

6. Once I was a Beehive (2015): $794,896 over 109 days (opened in 19 theaters; high: 32; low: 5). No information on video sales.

5. Witnesses (2021): $798,651 over 52 days (opened in 84 theaters; high: 90; low: TBD).

4. The Fighting Preacher (2019): $955,781 over 142 days (opened in 28 theaters; high: 37; low: 1). No information on video sales.

3. The Stray (2017): $1,612,893 over 70 days (opened in 639 theaters; high: 639; low: 6). Total est. domestic video sales: $2,364,180.

2. The Saratov Approach (2013): $2,415,831 over 22 weeks (opened in 23 theaters; high: 43; low: 4). No information on video sales.

1. Meet the Mormons (2014): $6,779,490 over 18 weeks (opened in 317 theaters; high: 333; low: 1). Total est. domestic video sales: $592,033.

Will Witnesses beat The Fighting Preacher's theatrical box office?

For the sake of comparison, inflation-adjusted numbers for Excel Entertainment films can be reviewed here: https://www.the-numbers.com/market/dist ... ertainment.

Halestorm films: https://www.the-numbers.com/market/dist ... ertainment.

[Tom]

The latest numbers:

Monday, July 26

Gross: $2,506
Theaters: 17
Avg. per theater: $147
Total: $801,455
Day: 53

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Gross: $3,196
Theaters: 17
Avg. per theater: $188
Total: $804,651
Day: 54

[Tom]

Witnesses rolls on:

July 28, 2021

Gross: $3,627
Theaters: 17
Avg. per theater: $213
Total: $808,278
Day: 55

July 29, 2021

Gross: $1,806
Theaters: 17
Avg. per theater: $106
Total: $810,084
Day: 56

July 30, 2021

Gross: $2,300
Theaters: 12
Avg. per theater: $192
Total: $812,384
Day: 57

Jul 31, 2021

Gross: $3,248
Theaters: 12
Avg. per theater: $271
Total: $815,632
Day: 58

Aug. 1, 2021

Gross: $239
Theaters: 12
Avg. per theater: $20
Total: $815,871
Day: 59

[drumdude]

Not much financial motivation to finish the documentary about the flop film. I doubt it will ever get made, just like the 2 books Peterson is supposed to be writing

[Philo Sofee]

Hey he can always send Midgley and Kiwi57 to Canada to sell the copyright...