08-08-2013, 10:49 AM
(08-08-2013, 07:35 AM)Lou Wrote: Firefly has already been made into a movie. It didn't make enough money. From what i understand there was two more scripts and some commitments made by the cast - but it had to make 100 million and it only made 40 - or something like that. All the fans are terrific - without even a whole season to watch - I don't think there are that many new fans. Of course I would wait in line for that movie.
Serenity, the Firefly Movie, made about $26 million domestically and about about $39 million worldwide. When the budget is $39 million, that's not good. I'm guessing, after licensing fees and DVD/Blu Ray sales, Serenity may have broken even (though, with distribution costs, probably not).
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=serenity.htm
The lesson of Serenity is that "popularity" on the Internet is very poor fan sampling. Given that Veronica Mars has less fan support than Firefly did, I doubt that movie will make even $10 million in theaters. Is that really a problem, though? Not necessarily. As long as the Veronica Mars Movie budget doesn't break $5 million on the actual production, it'll probably make money at some point (but it may not go to theaters or will only get limited release). After Serenity, niche television shows aren't getting Hollywood budgets anytime soon.
In the case of another Buffy movie, it's likely the same situation as Veronica Mars. If Gellar wants to make the movie on a shoe-string budget, it could easily get made. However, with a show like Buffy, if you're not going get a Hollywood budget, is there really any point to making it? It'll simply be a really long stand-alone episode about "where are they now." For hardcore fans, that may be fine, but casual fans (and people who have never been fans) will be disappointed. Hell, the original Buffy movie only made $16 million in the United States, and that would likely have been an easier sell to casual fans than a movie based on the television show.