The Time Machine
Release Date:
March 8, 2002
This is a remake of the 1960 film based on the writings of H. G. Wells. Note that it is *not* a remake of the 1979 film Time After Time, so we will not see Jack the Ripper. Guy Pearce follows up his exquisite work in Memento with this film that has one unique twist to the usual remake: The director is, in fact, the great-grandson of Herbert George Wells, so he will have a bit more of a vested interest in this one than most. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the shoot due to exhaustion, so Gore Verbinski, recently of The Mexican fame, completed the last two weeks of filming in his absence. That alone is a danger sign, but the remake itself could be a good one.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this classic tale, a Victorian-era inventor creates a time travel machine that sends him 800,000 years into the future. In this advanced world, society has been broken down into two different evolved human species, the Morlocks and the Eloi. The former group is nocturnal and predatory in nature and feeds off of the latter group. The time traveler interacts with both species, and discovers that the cannibal group has stolen his time machine, so he must go underground to their cavernous realm and attempt to get back to it in order to go home.
This is a classic sci-fi tale that will make for just as interesting a remake a century from now as it does in 2001, because the look of the future in 800,000 years will always allow for interpretation. If we combine that knowledge with the continuous improvement of special effects in movie-making, The Time Machine will always offer a chance at a great sci-fi update, with an ability to comment on current sociopolitical concerns.
With regard to box office, the teaser is, *ahem*, vague, so we're still flying blind. It's a special-effects film opening on Christmas Day, so people will have ample opportunity to see it that week if there is demand for it. Since the director is unproven and Jeremy Irons is the only other famous co-star, analysis of business is premature, but attached are some comparison films for your perusal. Contact is the only one I think has any real use as a data point. (David Mumpower/BOP)
September 17, 2001
DreamWorks has pushed The Time Machine back to February 8, 2002. The schedule change was actually made on September 10th, the day before the terrorist attacks, and the decision was made to do so because December was so crowded with releases. Apparently the ending of the film will be reshot, though, as its original ending featured pieces of the moon falling on New York City.
October 13, 2001
In a second release date push, DreamWorks shifted The Time Machine's opening bow to early March. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Comparison films for The Time Machine |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
| Matrix Reloaded, The |
5/16/03 | 91.77 |
91.77 |
3603 |
25471.00 |
25471.0 |
281.91 |
281.91 |
2.61 |
| Star Trek: First Contact |
11/22/96 | 30.72 |
41.91 |
2812 |
10925.00 |
14336.0 |
91.98 |
125.48 |
2.99 |
| Matrix, The |
4/2/99 | 27.78 |
33.10 |
2849 |
9751.00 |
11133.0 |
171.38 |
204.23 |
5.82 |
| Hollow Man |
8/4/00 | 26.41 |
29.54 |
2956 |
8934.00 |
9613.6 |
73.21 |
81.90 |
2.77 |
| Starship Troopers |
11/7/97 | 22.06 |
28.98 |
2971 |
7425.00 |
9382.4 |
54.72 |
71.88 |
2.48 |
| Contact |
7/11/97 | 20.58 |
27.03 |
1923 |
10702.00 |
13523.2 |
100.92 |
132.57 |
4.90 |
| Dungeons and Dragons |
12/8/00 | 7.24 |
8.09 |
2078 |
3484.00 |
3749.0 |
15.19 |
16.99 |
2.10 |
| Galaxy Quest ^ |
12/25/99 | 7.01 |
8.35 |
2412 |
2906.00 |
3317.9 |
70.26 |
83.72 |
10.02 |
| Dracula 2000 |
12/22/00 | 6.23 |
6.96 |
2204 |
2827.00 |
3042.0 |
33.00 |
36.91 |
3.82 |
| Thirteenth Floor, The |
5/28/99 | 3.33 |
3.96 |
1815 |
1835.00 |
2095.1 |
11.80 |
14.06 |
2.76 |
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