It’s about time, really.
I originally wrote this entry about a week ago, and saved it for later posting. We saw Serenity again last Friday night at a second run theater, and while the experience was not as good as the first time around (especially since they had mucked up the surround sound and dimmed their projection bulb, grrr!!) it was still a great movie. So here are my comments on the original experience:
I went to the theater on September 30th with my wife and my brother and my other brother and his wife and we all saw Serenity together. It was one of those film experiences that I know full well I will never forget… in many ways on par with the first time I saw Casablanca, or The Apartment. It wasn’t a movie as important as either of those two, and I don’t expect it will be known as a masterpiece. It was an incredibly visceral experience, though, and most of the credit for that ought to go to Joss Whedon.
I was never a fan of Buffy or Angel, so when my brother Jon told me I should borrow his Firefly DVDs and watch them I didn’t expect much. Erica and I were completely blown away. We became instant fans and we’ve watched the 14 episodes 3 times through in the ensuing year or so. That’s a major feat when you consider our work schedules and the time required by parenting. Needless to say we had lived in great anticipation for the 6 months or so before the film version was released.
I admired the audacity of the studio in allowing so many preview screenings, and I was impressed at the enthusiastic nature of the reviews that people gave after seeing the film in various stages of completeness at those screenings. The thing that most impressed me, though, was the lack of spoilers. I never once got a whiff of any of the surprises that lay in store. That’s some serious dedication. It’s hard to keep a secret off the Internet for 4 or 5 months, especially with such an active and vociferous fanbase.
The film was a critical success but did not produce the box office numbers that fans hoped for. The first weekend was a “measly” $10 million. Unfortunately, it seems that after that first weekend Universal more or less decided to cut the film loose. I didn’t see a single television ad after that first weekend, and there had been a paltry few in the weeks leading up to the release. Of course from that point on the money rolled in more and more slowly. Currently, boxofficemojo.com lists the domestic take as just over $25 million, which is pretty pitiful. It has made another $10 million or so overseas. I haven’t seen any discussion over what happened to the box office receipts from the preview screenings. Were they included in that first weekend, or at all?
Fans are hoping for strong DVD sales, and if the sales ranks at Amazon are any indication they’ll get what they wished for with the slightly pre-Christmas release. It has been ranked in the top 20 every time I have looked over the past week or two and you can’t stay in the top 20 on Amazon without moving a few units. The Firefly DVDs have also sold very well. Of course the ultimate reward for the minds behind that Firefly universe would be the opportunity to produce a movie sequel, or better yet a revival of the series. That all remains to be seen, but what I can say now without a doubt is that what has been done so far is, in my mind at least, a huge success.
Why didn’t Serenity do better at the box office? It occurs to me that it is yet another example of a piece of art that doesn’t fit neatly into any of the pre-defined pigeon holes of modern entertainment. It’s a science-fiction western after all. If I didn’t know the history behind it, I don’t imagine I would have gone to see the movie after seeing the trailers that were in the theaters and on TV. It got the standard b-movie treatment: show a few actions clips, tell a joke. Try to appeal to people. Unfortunately in this case what came across looked more like an episode of Star Trek then a real motion picture experience. As a fan it’s easy to lay blame and feel bitter, but I’ve got plenty of experience dealing with unfulfilled or at best partially fulfilled potential when it comes to entertainment. Sports Night, Ed and Keen Eddie all come to mind. Oh well. Sometimes it is best not to cast your pearls before the swine.
And so, gentle reader, if you haven’t yet had occasion to see Serenity, please endeavour to do so. You don’t have to have seen Firefly, though I think it’ll heighten the experience for you if you have, and if you haven’t, you’ll probably come out of the theater wanting to go pick up the Firfely DVDs, so be warned.
