Trojan Completes a Bomb — Highly-decorated u$c film school graduate Jon Chu delivers the biggest box office flop in the history of Universal Pictures, as his live-action movie version of the beloved 80’s cartoon Jem & the Holograms gets “Universally” panned by critics and fans, and finishes FIFTEENTH on its opening weekend, making only $1.32 million, an average of a disastrous $547 per theater, while the GEMS of the UCLA Spirit Squad continue to be blockbuster hits
Huge disclaimer: I personally, actually LIKED the movie! However… My guest (a hardcore fan of the original series who has been eagerly awaiting this movie for years) and I were literally the ONLY PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE THEATER, on opening day. We both enjoyed the film. It had heart, humor, and for its low, $5 million budget, it actually looked like a well-lit, regular studio film. I had seen a couple of episodes of the original show, while my guest owns every episode from the 3-year run, and knows all the lyrics from all the songs by heart. Our expectations were not too high, due to the bad buzz the film had been receiving, and due to the lackluster response to the trailer — and our expectations were exceeded. But… were we the only people who didn’t hate it?
The unpopular trailer, the lack of marketing and advertising, the scathing reviews, and the anger of hardcore fans who felt the film did not capture the spirit of the cartoon, destroyed any chance this film had of recouping its cost. Again, I think it was fine for what it was. It had a couple of minor plot flaws, but the acting was fine, and the pacing was good. Despite our opinion, critics have been unrelenting in their attacks, calling it a big mass of cliches, and worse.
The numbers that came out last night make this Universal’s WORST-EVER FLOP, for any movie that opened on over 2000 screens. This does not bode well for Jon M. Chu, who won multiple awards as a film student at u$c, because he was the Director and Producer. Chu also Directed one of the G.I. Joe sequels, two “Step Up” sequels, and the Justin Bieber movie, as well as the upcoming “Now You See Me” sequel. But guess what — Don’t hold your breath for a Jem sequel, as Chu has just run that franchise into oblivion.
One franchise that will never die is the UCLA Spirit Squad. Here are another 43 photos from the Cal game… But first — There was a fight in the stands of the u$c-Utah game, and it was between Real Housewives of Orange County. Two women who are both married to trojans, and were both involved in a nasty CHEATING scandal (infidelity, not the Pete Carroll kind of cheating), got into a shouting match in the middle of the trojan stands at the Coliseum. A reader emailed me yesterday, suggesting I share this link with you all:
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/rhoc-star-shannon-beador-screaming-194400898.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma
And now, beautiful girls WITHOUT THE DRAMA — GEMS THAT ARE NOT HOLOGRAMS…
