Sparkle starring Whitney Houston and Jordan Sparks came in fifth place at the box office this weekend earning $12 million...
The Expendables 2 starring Sylvester Stallone and Liam Hemsworth snagged the top spot with $28.8 million, followed by The Bourne Legacy with $16 million, animated feature ParaNorman pulled $14 million and The Campaign starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis beat Sparkle to the number four spot with $13.4 million.
71 comments:
Didn’t see but heard it was good. Still tired of Hollyweird doing remakes though. Where’s the creativeness. What’s next? “Lady Sings the Blues”, “Claudine” and “Blacula”. (Although I would like to see Blacula done with Samuel Jackson)
Whitney, Jordin Sparks and Mike Epps can't act. That's why nobody wanted to see it.
Hollywood needs to hire actors and not singers for movies.
BET just showed Sparkle yesterday, so I was able to watch the original again so its fresh in my mind then go see the remake. Still its a sad movie when you think about what Sister went through. =(
The movie was really good. It is a totally different movie than the original. Whitney, Jordin and Mike Epps did a really good job acting. You will leave the theater happy. Just remmeber, this movie is NOT the original, and if you go in with an open mind, you may enjoy it--I did! M only complaint was that the "Sister" character was not fine enough and she looke way too old.
I did not hear any good feedback about this remake. Changed plot lines, character traits, music, etc...not surprised at how poorly it did...
The original was not to be messed with! HMPH!
Sparkle had a budget of $14 million so the fact that the studio will recoup its losses and make a profit in less than a month is nothing to worry about. Of course people will look past this but whatever.
too soon after her death for this to come out....will do better on dvd rentals.
Sparkle - I didn't see it yet.
@10:36 the studio will recoup its "investment." the losses are the difference between investment and revenues, if this is a negative number.
Sparkle had a budget of $14 million so the fact that the studio will recoup its losses and make a profit in less than a month is nothing to worry about. Of course people will look past this but whatever.
10:36 AM
but people had very high expectations 4 it. since whitney died i thought it would at least make 21 million first week!! if she was living it would have totally bombed!! if the studio was smart they would have released it in may.
5th place isn't bad considering it's a remake *shrugs*
but people had very high expectations 4 it. since whitney died i thought it would at least make 21 million first week!! if she was living it would have totally bombed!! if the studio was smart they would have released it in may.
10:50 AM
This wasn't Whitney's film though. Say what you want but at the end of the day she was a supporting character and her main scene didn't even come til the end of the movie.
August is a slow time for movies anyway regardless if Whitney was living or dead. It's not like everything else this weekend was pushing big numbers. Best time to drop a movie is in the beginning/middle of the summer (not the end) or in the holidays/Oscar season. Folks right now are spending all their money on back-to-school shopping.
The movie totally flopped. Hollywood needs to stop remaking classic movies and start making original films with trained actors and actresses.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ALL.OF.THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's not like everything else this weekend was pushing big numbers.
the expendables 2 made 28.8 million!! this movie should have done better. at least 18 million.
Well, I must say I never cared for the original. I watched it when nothing else was on, so I didn't plan on see the remake.
I heard good and bad,but it just doesn't look interesting. To the point that so much was changed from the original, why call it Sparkle then?
I knew it wouldn't be a box office smash because Jordin isn't an actress and does not have raw talent. It was evident that people viewed Whitney as a lost soul crack head that died at the hands of her own doing. So I knew there would no support there.
I do need black folks to just say what it is. The movie wasn't good - say that. It's like blacks put out projects and just bank of our people supporting it all cuz it's us. Nope.
I bought a ticket to see sparkle and the lady gave me a ticket to see expendables 2.... Lol! I didn't realize it till I found myself looking at the ticket tryna find which screening room to walk n and realized I had been sold the wrong ticket..... Funny thing is both movies started at 4:00 Saturday and were playing across from each other so, and I really didn't feel like walkin back to the front to complain anyway so it sorta worked out but truthfully I enjoyed Nike epps role as satin he was funny as hell.... Im tryna figure out who dat albino muthafucka is playing beside him n the flick.... He looked like a dam alien from outer space
The movie was wonderful. I totally loved it and would go see it again. I like the fact that they did not make the movie exactly was the original. I recommend everyone go see this movie.
the expendables 2 made 28.8 million!! this movie should have done better. at least 18 million.
11:21 AM
OK and the first Expendables did $34.4 million...this was a black musical movie that made its budget. Chill.
Imma be honest, I'm not a big Whitney fan, so for the media to push the whole "In her last performance roll" didn't make me put money aside to see it. The Jordin Sparks girl is...ehh. Overall storyline and plot...ehh I've already seen Dreamgirls = / Love me some TIKA SUMPTER...but Im not IN love = / so she wouldn't make me go see it opening weekened...
Did anyone not go and see it out of protest? I heard about some people doing that (on blogs and in real life)..
I swear you just can't please black folks at all! Y'all acting like the original Sparkle had Oscar-winning actors giving top performances...them niggas was new to the game, too, so don't use the "they need better actors" excuse.
We get a decent movie that didn't have Tyler Perry in a dress, didn't have niggas shooting each other up in the hood, didn't have men vs. women bashing each other, didn't have Eddie Murphy coonin' for the white folks or Steve Harvey giving relationship "advice" and y'all still want to complain.
I thought the movie was good and that Whitney played her role to a tee! I felt like she was speaking from her own life experience. Mike Epps was a pleasant surprise. Looking forward to seeing more of him in the future.
@11:02, Whitney Houston was EXECUTIVE PRODUCER of this film.
If Beyonce was in the movie,it would've been #1.Even the movie poster looks like Bey.
#justSaying
I heard good reviews about the film.
The plot is slightly different from the original but still very entertaining.
I also hear Whitney fans will be pleased. Her performance is a great high note for us to remember her by.
Anyhoo, the studio will recoup their budget by next weekend and the rest will be gravy.
Good job, folks!
-- dee truth
I shoulda waited til Netflix got it. It was tired,they changed the whole movie...sister dosent die,she ends up in jail.....Whitney/her girls are semi-rich. Whitney walks around like she owns a department store. Which is BS because if you lived in those days,early sixties....your additude with whiteman could get you killed. Iam verry very disappointed. Nice movie,but it was too Tyler Perry for me. If I wanted Tyler Perry,Id go see him. Save your money,wait til it comes out on vid or PPV.
Which judging by those in the threatre with me....should be by christmas.Thumbs down.
@11:44a
I was getting tired of Gin Rummy (Boondocks cartoon)not saying anything and hoping Sam Jackson's voice would come out of him.
Thanks @12:17. I was debating whether or not to see it. I planned to watch it Friday or Saturday, but ended up watching "Expendables 2" instead.
@rnb blacula is my movie its more funny then anything but you are right these remakes are getting out of "total recall"?!
won't go see it, the original was stupid. the oly whitney movie, i loved was the bodyguard. if whitney would have stuckc with that formula with her career, she would have been remembered like mj.
OK and the first Expendables did $34.4 million...this was a black musical movie that made its budget. Chill
THATS TRUE BUT DREAMGIRLS MADE 103 million domestically. and thats a black musical. [waiting 4 next excuse]
Sparkle has to make three times as much to break even ($32 million).
I'm with 12:17. This was good if you didn't see or didn't like the original. Acting was not good, but this was probably Whitney's best performance. She couldn't act so that's not saying much. Plot changes, song changes, etc. Should have called it Glimmer, Shimmer or Sprinkle cuz it wasn't Sparkle.
12:09 Sure, like Obsessed?
What blew this remake to the masses was that there were no white actors or actresses who could bring in e white$$$$.
Look at Battleship. It sucked, but with the young white faces it also had RiRi and a few other black faces that drew us in.
RiRi said two lines but the preview played it up like she was a major player.
Hollywood bullshit at its very finest.
What blew this remake to the masses was that there were no white actors or actresses who could bring in e white$$$$.
wrong!! plenty movies have made bank with a mostly black cast.
barbershop
madea goes to jail
madea's family reunion
think like a man
takers
why did i get married?
red tails
drumline
friday
precious
ray
dreamgirls
boomerang
waiting to exhale
Went to see it and didn't see the point in them calling the movie "Sparkle" since everything was just about changed. Should've just said the darn thing was inspired by the movie Sparkle and left it at that.
^ ditto
THATS TRUE BUT DREAMGIRLS MADE 103 million domestically. and thats a black musical. [waiting 4 next excuse]
12:55 PM
Actually you can't really put Dreamgirls in the same category.
Like someone said, if you want bank on a film, drop it during Christmas which is when Dreamgirls came out. It was also heavily hyped to win Oscars, and Oscar films play well with both white and black audiences (see also: Precious).
Dreamgirls also had some guaranteed audiences just because of who was involved. Jamie Foxx was just coming off an Oscar for Ray, Beyonce was at the top of her game (relatively speaking) and, at the time, it was supposed to be a serious comeback for Eddie Murphy.
Nobody from the original Sparkle had bad things to say about the remake. Jennifer Holliday was left and right in the media hollering about how she never got a second chance. And everybody wanted to see if J.Hud was going to step to the plate.
The whole cast was on Oprah and Oprah gave it her personal co-sign after seeing J.Hud's performance. You didn't really start hearing about Sparkle in the media until last week (except for when Whitney died).
Dreamgirls also had a major co-sign from the gays because the director was gay and the movie was getting a lot of play in the gay media.
And after the movie came out and word of mouth started spreading about J.Hud's performance, more and more people started taking notice. Plus remember back then, people were trying to set up the Bey vs. J.Hud rivalry, which gave it some extra buzz.
I saw it this weekend with my sis. I thought it was good, and thought Whitney and Mike Sops did well. Loved Gila Sumpter's character. But the movie was not in a lot of theatres, so that could have been part of the issue. But I was worried about how much it was going to make, I will be honest. Oh, and even though I have not seen the original I do not think it matters. This was a good movie.
@11:02, Whitney Houston was EXECUTIVE PRODUCER of this film.
11:56 AM
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OK but she wasn't a main character...The Princess Diaries was executive produced by Whitney too, but y'all ain't going to see a movie 'cause Whitney put her name on it.
"Sparkle" and "Dreamgirls" are in two different lanes as far as making movies go. "Dreamgirls" had a bigger budget, a bigger cast, high-profile stars and was made in Hollywood. Of course "Dreamgirls" was going to make more money back because the studios invested more money into making it.
They made "Sparkle" during a free weekend in Detroit...not even Atlanta!...with some no-names so I'm not sure why folks were looking for some Avatar/Twilight/Transformers numbers. It is what it is.
They made "Sparkle" during a free weekend in Detroit...not even Atlanta!...with some no-names so I'm not sure why folks were looking for some Avatar/Twilight/Transformers numbers.
omg yall come up with the lamest excuses. smh. whitney houston one of the biggest stars on the planet was starring in it. not a cameo but STARRING in it. and she is dead. and it was marketed as her final movie. which it is. this movie should have brought BIG numbers. i dont know why u think it matters that it was released in august. seriously?!
3:37 [continued]
i wasnt expecting big numbers like transformers/avatar but it should have at least made 20 million first weekend.
omg yall come up with the lamest excuses. smh. whitney houston one of the biggest stars on the planet was starring in it. not a cameo but STARRING in it. and she is dead. and it was marketed as her final movie. which it is. this movie should have brought BIG numbers. i dont know why u think it matters that it was released in august. seriously?!
3:37 PM
You just said it right there...Whitney Houston WAS one of the biggest stars on the planet.
Whitney ain't made a movie or a decent album in years. She had a supporting role at the end of the day. The movie was called Sparkle...not Sparkle's Mama.
If this was '93 after the Bodyguard came out then you could say this movie flopped.
No use in arguing with someone who refuses to see the logistics.
3:29, Why would "Sparkle" have been filmed in Atlanta? Everyone knows Detroit was THE place to be during the "Motown" era, so you sound incredibly dumb for that comment.
You just said it right there...Whitney Houston WAS one of the biggest stars on the planet.
Whitney ain't made a movie or a decent album in years. She had a supporting role at the end of the day. The movie was called Sparkle...not Sparkle's Mama.
If this was '93 after the Bodyguard came out then you could say this movie flopped.
No use in arguing with someone who refuses to see the logistics.
3:42 PM
Agreed
I think everybody's forgetting that unlike Whitney's old movies, she didn't really have a "song" to go with it.
Bodyguard had I Will Always Love You and I Have Nothing
Waiting to Exhale had Shoop Shoop and a banging soundtrack
Preacher's Wife had a bunch of songs
Sparkle only had one Whitney song and her voice wasn't in top form, so yeah...
3:29, Why would "Sparkle" have been filmed in Atlanta? Everyone knows Detroit was THE place to be during the "Motown" era, so you sound incredibly dumb for that comment.
3:44 PM
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"Dreamgirls" was set in Detroit but wasn't filmed in Detroit, so you can keep your dumb comment. Everything is filmed in Atlanta these days, especially black movies. I only mentioned the fact that it was made there to illustrate the point that this movie had an extremely low budget and therefore didn't need to pull in some Transformers numbers to be a success. As long as the studio breaks even, then it's all good.
You just said it right there...Whitney Houston WAS one of the biggest stars on the planet.
Whitney ain't made a movie or a decent album in years. She had a supporting role at the end of the day. The movie was called Sparkle...not Sparkle's Mama.
If this was '93 after the Bodyguard came out then you could say this movie flopped.
No use in arguing with someone who refuses to see the logistics.
well i never said the movie flopped. we will see how it stands up next weekend. but it did underperform. im just confused at why it did. it was sufficiently promoted and whitney's role was magnified in the trailers so i dont get it.
well i never said the movie flopped. we will see how it stands up next weekend. but it did underperform. im just confused at why it did. it was sufficiently promoted and whitney's role was magnified in the trailers so i dont get it.
3:52 PM
Don't forget that DVD sales and movie rentals also play a part in a movie's long-term success, and we still don't know if Whitney may get some awards out of this. She might get a Golden Globe nomination at least.
3:51, So every "Black movie" has to be filmed in Atlanta? Your point is non-existent.
3:51, So every "Black movie" has to be filmed in Atlanta? Your point is non-existent.
4:12 PM
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Not every black movie HAS to be, but LATELY the majority of them are. White films, too. Georgia has generous tax credits for filmmakers. Just facts. Calm down and after your blood pressure goes down, look up your use of prefixes. "Non-existent" doesn't have a hyphen, honey boo boo.
Fuck Atlanta and this stupid ass remake.
The movie was NOT really good. It was aiight. The premise of the movie was the same as the 1976 version but some of the drama was not.
1976: Satin was a drug dealer and Levi worked for him.
2012: Satin was a coonish like comedian who told jokes to the white folks about black folks. He clowned Levi and Levi couldnt stand him.
1976: Sister died of an OD.
2012: Satin died because the darkskinned sister, Delores killed his as with a fire poker. Sister tells Sparkle and Delores to leave and she takes the blame for it and gets sent to prison.
1976: The character "Stix" was played by a handsome, young Phillip Michael Thomas whose acting was great in the movie!
2012: Derek Fluke played Stix. He's not attractive and his acting is ehhh...so/so.
1976: They grew up poor and Sister wasn't damn near 30 in the movie.
2012: The family was affluent and Sister was an old maid.
See, differences. The older version was better, IMO. More meaty and hungry.
I didn't see it this weekend because I was not emotionally up to seeing Whitney concerning how she died. But I definitely would have seen it if they had Idris Elba in it. I do plan on seeing it soon. Can anyone who has actually seen the movie comment on the singing performances of all involved?
@2:32 PM-you forgot Soul Food-YT loved that movie!
They market the hell out of this movie even if they paid 12 million to make it 11 million is not good. I would agree they need 3 times the production cost due to marketing cost I am sure is in the millions.
5:07 they couldn't hold a note compared to all the previous women that ever performed the original soundtrack songs! They were better off lip singing, although Jordin performed her solo quite well!
Well oan, I can't wait to see DJengo!
I saw it. It was bland and boring. Jordin Sparks was annoying as a woman in her 20s acting like a very young girl. The chick that played sister had nothing on Lonette Mckee.
I will give the props for trying to change up the story a little, but the movie still sucked.
I really wanted to like this movie a lot more than I did. Truth be told, it was obvious that it was done on a shoestring budget. I LOVED the original Sparkle, so I was really looking forward to this one, but it just wasn't as good. I'm not surprised at all that it only did 12 million. And I'm not just knocking it because I'm being hard on black films and actors/actresses. I recently saw the Total Recall remake, and it wasn't that good either. The original was a million times better. I don't think it's the actors/actresses...I just don't think today's writers are very good. They can't come up with original concepts, so they try to re-do old ones and change them. Most of the time, that recipe doesn't turn out well.
The Bootleg of Sparkle came out yesterday. Now there is money to be made only to the ones that sells the disk
The best thing about the original Sparkle was the sound track written by Curtis Mayfield. The actors in the original movie were all professional actors, stage, TV and movies as well as singers.
Good movie! Go See!
@4:50pm
You're right Derek Luke is one ugly MOFO. I think they should have cast someone else.
Considering that at most theatres Sparkle played in one auditorium wherein Expendable played in multiple, it's about even.
@4:50pm Thanks for pointing out those differences, I saw the movie this past weekend and noticed the variations & didn't really thrill me.
Did you notice that Whitney's character actually "Died" at the end? and it seems the producers cut out that scene. Also, it seems 'Sisters' scenes were edited as well, cause it seem like she was going to kill herself in prison. The writers left the ending open to a possible plot for a sequel.
Overall, the movie sucked, except for Jordin's "Alicia-Keys-like-performance" . ( Did Alicia Keys write that song she was singing near the end of the movie? )
Yeah, I remember Sparkle and her sisters being poor. Also, the mom in the original was a fantastic actress.
^^^^ and also, during the scene Whitney was singing in church, it appeared that she was singing at her daughter, 'Sister' funeral, but for some reason, I read that scene was edited. And there were photos of Whitney in the movie in a casket at her own funeral, but that scene was cut to along with more scenes of Whitney drinking while the girls were sneaking out. Also, their childhood scenes were cut too.
This movie was chopped up so bad. Even the intro scene was a little thrown, never really showed the girls from their first performance as in the original movie.
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