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.
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Comments
Valhalla Rising FTW! That will open to at least, um, $7,000. But viva Refn!
other than seeing some shots of leo with some young ladies, i haven't even heard of inception and know nothing about it. (like many americans, i don't have time to keep up with all this stuff.) salt is everywhere, and i have a good grasp on what i'd be getting for my money. says it all...
I get the COTW already. Daddy needs work.
I already get COTW. Daddy needs work.
Heheheh. At least it could try for best per screen average? Okay maybe not even that. Either way, I can't wait to see it!
So does the Winchester. I want in on this. Salt: $150, Inception $185
I can't wait for you to be wrong Chris. You are obviously just trying to come up with an article that tries to piss off people rather than have legitimate content. How could Salt beat Inception? How the hell did you manage to pull that one out of your ass? Salt will stay in the $100 million range over box office time and Inception could be anywhere from $200, $300, $400 range very easy! This is from the director that made The Dark Knight, The third biggest moneymaker of all time! Avatar was 3 hours and it became the biggest movie of all time. So the running time isn't a very good argument. Think before you write an article. Plus movies that don't run at least 120 minutes scream of not having a good enough story. In other words, the only reason Salt was made was for you to waste $10, not because the story needed to be told. Inception has a unique story that will help give it great word of mouth, while Salt will fizzle after it's first two weeks. Inception will have legs, trust me!
Overall, Salt is so clique and so predictable from it's trailers that I refuse to see such a shitty movie. Plus Leo is a much greater actor than Angelina. Overtime Leo will be remembered for his acting and Angelina for her lips, face, ass, and tits.
Sorry I agree somewhat with Rosen,
Having screened both movies, Inception is an excellent movie, very well written but it also requires thought and a lot of it. The general plot of the movie is actually well played and if not for the "thinking" and puzzle piecing, Inception would appeal to a larger group of people. Most summer movie goers (Teens, young adults, and 20 something (don’t care to "think" too much when they're at the movies. They are adrenaline seekers. I personally enjoyed it because I like 'thinking man' movies. I will tell friends I know are "thinkers" to go and see this movie. Because I know they will enjoy it.
Now there's Salt, a movie that was nonstop action...no long periods of blank dialogue that need to be referenced later in the movie. Salt moves fast, loud and hard. Jolie is credible and has viewers almost fantasizing about being a CIA agent. The story twists up enough to catch even a die-hard espionage lover. I will tell my friends in general to see SALT because the thinkers as well as the adrenaline junkies will both enjoy it. That is the beauty behind SALT; not necessarily a better written movie but a movie that has serious MASS appeal.
Now about that finish line, I have doubt that in the end SALT will cross that line ahead of Inception. Will Inception gross more here in the states? Perhaps, but keep in mind that while Inception is on IMAX, it will share that IMAX screen with Twighlight's Eclipse for the next 3 weeks or so (I know this because I work in finance and forecasting in the theatre industry) as long as Twighlight's Eclipse makes money it will stay in IMAX meaning Inception will have to share as most theatres only carry 1 IMAX auditorium. After their domestic runs there is the International run and as was pointed out Jolie is a much bigger star, especially overseas. WW gross- Dicaprio's latest movies have not crossed $300 mil (Inception, I believe will)while Wanted Jolie's last action film crossed and hit $341 mil and that was a movie in which she spent 30 mns on camera and had less than 25 lines. Domestically I give SALT $150-$160 mil. Internationally I will give SALT at $230-$270 mil and Inception $155-$170 mil domestic and $150 - $190 mil
SALT - $380 - $430+ mil
Inception - $305 - $360 mil
sorry I meant 'have no doubt that in the end SALT will cross that line ahead of Inception'
Our debate is on domestic take, so by your numbers you back up my case.
I'd also value your theatre expertise as bit more if you hadn't consistently mispelled Twilight.
Inception looks very...cerebral for a summer movie. Salt looks like it may have a twist or two, but can be summed up as Jolie on the run kicking ass.
Yes! Editable comments! Time to start a revolution!
"How could Salt beat Inception?"
See above.
As for Leo vs. Angelina: One has an Oscar, the other does not. Maybe cut Angie some slack.
Mommy wants to play, too, but with Salt at $170m, Inception at $140m.
I think chris has tested jolie's clit 'Salt'.
I never saw better movie than 'Prestige' and i think 'inception' will be better.
Action is good but cinema has better on offering.
I don't mean to blow your mind, but you aren't representative of America as a whole, so don't say "you are underestimating US". Inception looks like a cerebral, thoughtful heist movie with a beautiful, interesting cast. It's going to do GREAT in places that appreciate that level of craft, but Salt has broader appeal. While I am looking forward to both, my expectation is that Inception will be a psychedelic over blown art house film, while Salt will be an adrenaline rush of mainstream filmmaking.
I think chris has tested jolie's clit 'Salt'.
I never saw better movie than 'Prestige' and i think 'inception' will be better.
Action is good but cinema has better on offering.
Hey Blah: Remember that predicting box office isn't about predicting quality or justifying star power/legacy. Cliche and predictable often "wins" box office over creative/daring/dark/though-provoking. (Welcome to America!)
I think chris has tested jolie's clit 'Salt'.
I never saw better movie than 'Prestige' and i think 'inception' will be better.
Action is good but cinema has better on offering.
You never saw a better movie than The Prestige? Have you only seen two movies?
I think Rosen's analysis is a likelyt scenario. I personally am up for both but truthfully I am more up for catching Salt in the theaters.
I wasn't up at all for Inception until I ran across an explanation of its storyline - something I had NOT really understood from its earlier trailers or TV spots. Interesting special effects I can see in clips on the internet. I'm not sitting through some long ass movie in a theater in summer for just that. The storyline now has me interested but that hasn't really been coming through in the marketing until recently and even now it's still vague. Its marketing is a mess. Most of the public are not frequenter of film sites. WOM will spread through Twitter not film sites.
I read the Salt script ages ago and it was excellent on many levels and made me excited to see it on screen so I don't know that it will be just a generic action flick. That's not what the script is.
Jolie IS the reason people go see certain movies. It's at least what the exit stats showed for Wanted.
""How could Salt beat Inception?""
Of course, the bigger question is, who really cares if one does better than the other? None of us are making any money off this. In fact, we're all losing money if we choose to see them in a theater.
Really, "Whoever wins, we lose" has never been more apt.
Sweetbiscuit, this may have been true for sometime now in Hollywood, but the theory that clique and heartwarming movies will win big box office number is starting to fall in on itself. Just look at this summer. All of the movies have been clique sequels (Ironman 2) or unoriginal and bland non sequels (Robin Hood and Knight and Day). Which Salt will fit very nicely within the bland non sequels. Really the movies that have been successes this summer/ this year have been darker stories (Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland).
And you are forgetting who is directing Inception. Nolan has proven with the Dark Knight and Batman Begins that darker films can be huge blockbusters. Christopher Nolan is becoming a household name, along with Scorcese, Spielberg, and James Cameron. There are people now who will see Nolan films just because it's made by Nolan. Inception has alot of buzz behind it which Salt really doesn't.
But really the Oscars don't mean anything anymore. Blind Side was nominated for Best Picture last year. Nuff said. And Johnny Depp, easily one of the best living actors hasn't won a single award! Are you telling me that Jolie is better than Depp? Just because Angelina won once doesn't really mean much to me. Plus Leo has been more consistent over time than Angelina. She has a lot more horrible movies to good movies ratio than Leo does.
Even if you want to play the Oscars game, Christopher, then I'm willing to bet Inception will be a Best Picture nomination (With the 10 nominations now) and Salt will not. Sorry Chris but word of mouth will win Inception over. People will be talking about it for years to come and Salt...not so much. Your argument in this article is so so poor Chris it is laughable! Mark my words, Inception will win! Trust me Chris, trust me!
Holy crapper! I've NEVER seen so many comments on one Movieline thread!
I hate to say it, but neither seems particularly interesting to me.
Maybe because I thought Shutter Island was tediously predictable from about 10 minutes into it and female action heroes don't do as well as you think they might.
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