Scott wrote:My biggest fear about the film came to bear. I never liked the idea of bumping up the release date to June in the middle of the summer movie season. As much as I wanted to see Land, I felt that Universal didn't give Romero's new film enough time for marketing and promotion. The result? The film has barely broke even at the box office and dropped a staggering 73% in just its second week. This will make Day of the Dead seem like a box office smash in comparison. Also, I think it's possible that LOTD dismal performance could mark the end of Romero's zombie movies.
Whether or not Romero starts another DEAD film remains to be seen. But really--don't feel too bad about the box office. We're in an all-time slump, and we're up against WAR OF THE WORLDS, BATMAN BEGINS, MR. AND MRS. SMITH, EPISODE 3, etc.
For all that, LAND OF THE DEAD broke the top five and can be assured of turning at least a modest profit. And let's not forget the good reviews practically across the board. And the unrated DVD that's due to hit in October. Universal won't give up on the film--for God's sake, they even gave SEED OF CHUCKY the deluxe treatment, no?
This will go down in history as a GOOD film and as a WORTHWHILE film. Romero was up against the toughest competition imaginable--and when you scale things appropriately, he has every right to hold his head up high.
I said it before and I'll say it again--this film was worth waiting twenty years for, and its reputation will only continue to grow over the years.
And even if (heavy sigh) Romero retires after this one, I say he's got one hell of a cinematic epitaph.
I consider this release a SUCCESS.
My dog's breath smells like peanut butter...
...and I don't even have a dog!
It kinda looked more like when he was a vampire.
