Annihilation (4K+2D Blu-ray SteelBook) (Zavvi Exclusive) [UK]

Space Cadet

[Far above the moon]
Premium Supporter
Nov 26, 2017
8,100
Finland
Release date: April 1, 2019
Purchase link: Zavvi (Pre-order January 12 around 6 PM UK time)
Price: £24.99

12014002-1084654055379813.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't see what that's got to do with anything? :confused:

I agree that the reviews of this are massively overrated. (Regardless of theatrical release or budget/etc.......)
I think we just differ in our definitions. When someone drops a phrase like 'massively overrated' and doesnt proceed to present their opinion on why it is massively overrated, their opinion sounds invalid or may be they misunderstood the movie. None of it was clear. As fan of the movie, I was also interested in their opposite viewpoint. When you say 'overrated' it does not only encompass the reviews/ratings of critics & fans but also the overall popularity of the film aka the 'general view' of the film. And that stems from how well the film did in theatres and how well known it is to the general public. People here know about this movie (aka somewhat popular) because this is a movie collecting forum, and outside of such sites and circles, not many people are aware of this film. So yes, how many theatres it was released to and and how much money it made does actualy play a part of it being "overrated" to the public eye. Also, the reviews and ratings of someone or a critic is purely subjective. The popularity is not. This movie is not a popular film to the public; there is no denying that. So if you are gonna say this is the best movie you ever seen or massively overrated, you should at least mention why. Don't you agree? :)

I was talking about the reviews for it and a lot of fans of the books were going OTT as well.
In that case, tell us why you think is massively overrated. It is certainly not a popular film to the general public. I dont like using aggregator sites nor do I care about their ratings but let's use them for this discussion's sake. RT has 89%, IMDB has 6.9, and Metacritic has 79%. If those are massively overrated ratings then I would guess you would rate it somewhere along 30-40%? But you also liked the film. Could someone like a film and still rate it that low? Some would say yes and some would argue no. Perhaps, the majority of the fans you encountered were not open to the fact that there were people that didnt like the film? I agree that mostly, fans of any book tend to be OTT and mostly argue the their "vision" was better, and i think rightfully so. But their opinion does not play a part in the public view/rating of the film, nor does it play a part in the critic's review/ratings of the film.

A movie that doesn’t make its money back has nothing to do with being overrated.
Not solely, but partly, yes. Again, I think we also differ in our definitions. Read my reply to BluSteel above :)

Why would movie has to make budget back domestically ? They are made for both domestic and international release. IMO very stupid argument. It's like movie goers outside US does not count. And I have opinion of US movie goers but hold my tongue ...
No one ever said a movie has to make it's budget back domestically. I wasnt even alluding to that. I was trying to be precise in my facts. Because this movie didnt make it's budget back domestically but it did internationally.

Also, an argument is never stupid. It's an opinion based on your knowledge and experience. An argument can be wrong, but not stupid. :) For example, your opinion that arguments are stupid is wrong, not stupid.

I haven't seen this, it'll be a blind buy for me. What are peoples thoughts of this movie?
Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Life, The Girl with All the Gifts.
If you liked one or more of the films above, there is a higher chance that you will like this movie. If you didnt like one or more or thought they were just average, chances are you will probably think the same for this.

I will try to not spoil much but I do think this is somewhat of a spoiler. So dont read it if you have already decided to watch the film. Watch it first and come back and reply to me. But if you are still on the fence then may be this can help. The movie leaves you with a question (among others); some things for you to think about. And I will try to relate it to something in our reality and not spill directly what's in the movie
Can you blame or hold a lion responsible for hunting/eating a deer? Is it the lion's fault for what we consider 'evil'?
Another quote comes to mind actually, I cant remember where I read it. It goes "What's dinner for a spider is chaos and life threatning for the fly". Or something along those lines.
 
I still don't understand what that's got to do with anything?

Netflix has a worldwide platform. Over 45 million have viewed Bird Box on it already. Does that make it a failure because it wasn't released in theatres?
Why would movie has to make budget back domestically ? They are made for both domestic and international release. IMO very stupid argument. It's like movie goers outside US does not count. And I have opinion of US movie goers but hold my tongue ...
Why would movie has to make budget back domestically ? They are made for both domestic and international release. IMO very stupid argument. It's like movie goers outside US does not count. And I have opinion of US movie goers but hold my tongue ...


My understanding is that director Alex Garland fell out with one of the producers who insisted the film be recut to make the ending less ambiguous.
Garland refused and as a result only the U.S received a cinema release with the rest of the world rights being sold to Netflix.
 
This film only got a cinema release in USA/Canada/China
Box office USA/Canada $32.7 million and $10.3 million in China
Worldwide Total $43 million

There was no international cinema release

The film was released digitally in other markets using Netflix on March 12 2018

Netflix has over 150 million subscribers worldwide and daily getting new customers subscribing to their service
UK as of december 2018 has 9.78m UK subscribers to Netflix and is now integrated into Sky Q
The total number of UK subscribers to the three most popular online streaming services in the UK – Netflix, Prime Video and Sky’s Now TV – hit 15.4 million at the end of the first quarter of 2018.



A lot of films releases the box office it's international that makes up most of the revenue for a film cinema release and as this did not get a cinema release international it's not a good guide if this is a success or not by looking at box office US results.

Streaming market and home media physical market is more a guide to see if this is a film that is liked

There has been a lot of films that bombed at the cinema release but later due to home media and streaming became popular and due to this became financial success

Blade Runner 1982 and shawshank redemption are perfect examples
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: Nathan Bateman
Yeah but in a similar boat, Netflix paid $50m for exclusive streaming rights to Cloverfield Paradox, which is probably more than the movie would've made in theaters.

I imagine they similarly paid at least a couple tens of millions to premier Annihilation in most countries worldwide.

Box office doesn't matter though, Blade Runner 2049 didn't turn a profit for Alcon (and they're just now even suing Peugeot because they didn't do their supposed $30m worth of cross-promotional advertising) yet it's still a master-class. Annihilation is less so, but still worth at least seeing once if not for the "bad bear" scene alone.

Funny story, my two year old niece came over when I was in the middle of watching this one night and that scene had just started and she wouldn't stop grabbing any of the adults and saying "bad bear" for the rest of the night.
 
Funny story, my two year old niece came over when I was in the middle of watching this one night and that scene had just started and she wouldn't stop grabbing any of the adults and saying "bad bear" for the rest of the night.
You could have just turned it off. Not really appropriate for a two year old.

Will come back to haunt you in counselling fees when she's older!! :p
 
  • Haha
Reactions: paulboland
Oh I did turn it off, just as the bad bear was making an entrance and before anything actually happened. Still, the bad bear looked mighty scary just standing there.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: BluSteel2012
Yeah but in a similar boat, Netflix paid $50m for exclusive streaming rights to Cloverfield Paradox, which is probably more than the movie would've made in theaters.

I imagine they similarly paid at least a couple tens of millions to premier Annihilation in most countries worldwide.

Box office doesn't matter though, Blade Runner 2049 didn't turn a profit for Alcon (and they're just now even suing Peugeot because they didn't do their supposed $30m worth of cross-promotional advertising) yet it's still a master-class. Annihilation is less so, but still worth at least seeing once if not for the "bad bear" scene alone.

Funny story, my two year old niece came over when I was in the middle of watching this one night and that scene had just started and she wouldn't stop grabbing any of the adults and saying "bad bear" for the rest of the night.
Funny, I personally put Annihilation above Blade Runner 2049. Compared to Annihilation I found Blade Runner 2049 boring.
 
Ok so I watched this again and I admit it was better than i remembered. More violent than I remember too.
Ive put a order in for now
Same thing here.

I turned it off about half way through first time. But watched it again a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it more. (Wanted to see this bear everyone was talking about! :p )

You really have to watch through to the end for the 'pay off'.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: Flloydo
Same thing here.

I turned it off about half way through first time. But watched it again a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it more. (Wanted to see this bear everyone was talking about! :p )

You really have to watch through to the end for the 'pay off'.
And turn up the volume at the end!
 
Same thing here.

I turned it off about half way through first time. But watched it again a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it more. (Wanted to see this bear everyone was talking about! :p )

You really have to watch through to the end for the 'pay off'.

I have to say, watching it the second time I was confused why i originally didn’Like it. It’s very me.
And that music at the end when she can see the trippy cell. That bass. Wow