5 Reasons Why Salt Will Be Bigger Than Inception
Can you feel the excitement? In a mere four days, Inception will hit theaters, melt your face and take its rightful place as the biggest non-animated film of the summer. At least until Salt comes out next week and blows Inception out of the water. Wait, what? Ahead, Movieline dissects why Angelina Jolie's summer action spectacle is poised to win the box office war with Christopher Nolan's pedigreed mind-bender.
· Angelina Jolie
While Leonardo DiCaprio is forced to share the Inception marketing campaign with a cadre of character actors -- he didn't even get Russell Hammond status in the movie poster! -- Angelina Jolie is the marketing campaign for Salt. And you know why? She's the biggest actress in the world and probably behind only Will Smith and Johnny Depp on the worldwide-fame scale. People love Jolie; they like Leonardo DiCaprio. Don't believe me? DiCaprio only has one $40-plus million opener on his resume (Shutter Island), Jolie has three.
· The release date
After Salt gets released on July 23, the summer might as well be over from a four-quadrant standpoint. To wit: The remaining releases are niche films with specific target audiences like Eat, Pray, Love, The Other Guys and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It just feels like Salt could be the one film that not only has legs, but will appeal to a wide variety of demographics. Inception probably will too -- if only it didn't slam into Salt seven days after its release.
· Running time
As Salt Fan Club president Jeffrey Wells revealed, Salt runs 95 minutes without credits; Inception runs for 148 minutes. Based on simple time telling skills, that means theaters will be able to squeeze more showings of Salt into a single day than Nolan's epic. And that means a greater potential for dollars that even Inception's IMAX screens won't make up for.
· Accessibility
Without even seeing Salt, you can describe it to your friends in three words: Jolie as Bourne. Try using three words for Inception: Leo's dream heist? Matrix with dreams? Bond as Matrix? Leo Ocean's Matrix? Critics love it? Um, yeah. Inception might be better than Salt, but it certainly isn't as straightforward.
· Expectations
The killer: With a sprawling cast, the "From the director of The Dark Knight" tag and maximum ubiquity, people are just plain expecting Inception to be the greatest movie of all-time (something critics are stoking with the comparisons to Stanley Kubrick). If/when Inception predictably falls short of all this hype, the backlash will begin fast and hard. Meanwhile, no one is expecting Salt to be anything other than a good-time action film with a major star doing crazy stunts. Advantage: Angelina.
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
May I beg to differ with one of the above verdicts? It's become fashionable to say that the film is a popcorn movie devoid of any insights into the mind or heart. Mr. Rosen deems it a particularly insightful comment, but I'm not sure it stands out as THAT bold or iconoclast. It's a summer blockbuster, and I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. But is its merit principally special effects and close-ups? Is does boast those, but what about narrative complexity and elegance?
http://www.culturesnob.net/2010/07/incepted/
Imagination?
http://tomshone.blogspot.com/2010/07/come-back-blogosphere-all-is-forgiven.html
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/07/19/inception-best-scene/
Most of the ensuing debates on the film consist of more than discussions of how cool the effects were. They're discussions of the mysteries of what happened and how the movie ended. One could argue that they're relatively superficial because they focus on the plot and not themes, but you single out cool sights. The puzzle and brain teaser go beyond "Oh wow, that's so cool!!" shots of close ups and neat special effects.
Moreover, while I wouldn't label the film a masterpiece, I don't think its devoid of valuable insights.
Jonah Weiner wrote a terrific analysis in "Slate" on the film.
http://www.slate.com/id/2261245/pagenum/all/#p2
"Possessed of unbridled creative power and a multi-dimensional blank canvas, these expert dream-weavers didn't construct some fantastical, physics-defying wonderland full of milkshake waterfalls and basketball-playing dogs, but rather a claustrophobic, overwhelmingly gray metropolis full of identical Brutalist architecture that repeats itself obsessively, hewing to a cramped grid....There is a certain claustrophobia to this vision, too—a sense that there's nothing new under the sun, even in dreams, and that mass culture has co-opted our inner projectors. In a way, Inception is something like an elaborated version of the iconic sequence in Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr., when Keaton's hero falls asleep and, in his dream, climbs up into a movie screen and is transported from one film to the next. Is the character surfing the montage, or is he trapped within it? "
Many commentators have noted the state of Hollywood and mainstream moviemaking today. In particular, studios depend a lot on sequels and adaptations. Both "Best Picture" nominees and Box Office successes were overwhelmingly adaptations in the past decade.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/11/16/only-two-of-the-top-30-grossing-films-of-this-decade-are-original/
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/11/17/only-seven-of-this-decades-best-picture-nominees-are-original/
The film isn't a profound treatise, but I find Jonah's interpretation revealing and the film insightful on these scores. I also took something away from the movie and this essay: There were many times over the past few months I passed by a movie theater, and felt frustrated because there was nothing at all I wanted to see. I felt a lot of scorn about the sequels and the "zillionth time" adaptations. I feel a little more hopeful because the makers of films are still empowered and there are worse places to be than the purgatories of cinema. One could argue that's obvious, but the tones of many commentaries AND the way the movie draws from other films rub it in well. I've gotten more out of other movies, but I get much less from most commercial movies out there.
I think one can justifiably call the film a "popcorn" movie, but simply ascribing it that label and calling some responses misguided may risk missing some thoughtful and valuable ideas. I'm not arguing that it's a landmark work of art, but I see ideas and I think they shouldn't be glossed over in response to over the top declarations.
This commentary is funny-
no one remembers salt-
and inception did turn out to be the best movie
You were wrong, because Nolan's Inception packs something that Salt doesn't have: pretentiousness. People are DYING for a psuedo-intellectual, bombastic movie that appeals to retarded nilistic teenagers, a market that hasn't been satisfied since Watchmen.
chris your biggest mistake is that you grossly UNDERSTIMATED the mind of christopher nolan...
I had a feeling Inception would be bigger than predicted, audiences wanted something new and thought-provoking. That being said, Salt is great in it's genre and Jolie is stellar. I think Salt is a victim of bad timing, and it is a damn shame it is getting shaken in it's second week by the likes of Schmucks, whatever St. Cloud, etc... If there had been no Inception, Salt would have opened with 50+. i think they will both kill it internationally.
I agree Salt is somewhat a victim of bad timing, had it opened a week or two before Inception it would have been a blockbuster. Loved both Inception and Salt for obviously different reasons. International numbers will be big for both, though domestically Inception greatly outperforms Salt. big WOM and a pit of pressure, IMO, to see Inception, so you have something to talk about to all of the legions who have seen it and must talk about it incessantly.
OMG SALT was horrible. So boring and to make matters worse I have heard people say that they hate Jolie and that she is a pig and a homewrecker.I have to admit that she has gone downhill in the last few years.Her rival Anniston has held her age much better.Hopefully Brad Pitt will be able to pay all the bills in the years to come. Cause you a big loser now Angie and you is ugly!
do you get in trouble for being extremely wrong?
Nope!
Salt didn't even come close
I saw both movies. I saw inception then Salt. I'm VERY disappointed with salt after all the hype it got.
SALT is an action movie..we've had hundreds of those. INCEPTION is something else, which is good. Concept is like the matrix but the whole movie to me is better.
I agree with u 100%
Inception will get more word-of-mouth than salt.
Which will drive more friends of friend to the theater to see it
As of AUG 17, 2010
SALT - $105,075,611
INCEPTION -$251,543,257
I hope you didn't bet the farm Chris,
Holy Fail Chris. Next time think before you make stupid articals such as this. In what universe could Salt ever have beaten Inception. I would have bet, even had Salt opened earlier/later, it still would have failed in comparison to Inception. A product of bad timing, or just a bad product?
You were off by about 500 million... i can't believe you thought salt was gonna blow inception out of the water... how pretentious can you get.
How does inception appeal to retarded teenagers when its an original story that actually makes you think where as most movies are mindless and un original.... stop being a hater.
How wrong you were Inception has made 800mil while Salt 200. Do some proper research next time.
This is my first time pay a visit at here and i am truly pleassant to read all
at single place.
« Previous