Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure
Rate Movie[Total: 32 Average: 1.5]
- Directed By: Matthew Diamond
- Written By: Scott Stabile
- Release Date: August 29, 2012
- Domestic Distributor: Kenn Viselman Presents
- Cast: Christopher Lloyd, Jaime Pressly, Cary Elwes
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $20 million | Financed by: Kenn Viselman |
|---|---|
| Domestic Box Office: $1,065,907 | Overseas Box Office: $0 |
Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure was financed and self distributed by producer Kenn Viselman who poured $55 million ($20M budget) into producing and marketing this epic financial disaster. Production completed in late 2009 and originally a 2011 release was planned, but eventually a Labor Day August 29, 2012 date was set.
Kenn Viselamn was a marketing executive on Teletubbies and Thomas the Tank Engine who hired Robert Schwartz, a vet from Orion Pictures, to lead the expensive distribution and marketing campaign. This was to kickstart a new franchise and Viselamn planned on releasing theatrical sequels every 12 – 16 months.
Despite looking horrific, the fatal blow to Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure was that an eight-figure TV ad spend began just one week before it opened — as Viselman thought children don’t make up their minds to see a movie weeks in advance. In addition to the marketing blitz, $3 million was allotted to an ad campaign promoting a toy line and other merchandise. Despite pre-release tracking that was predicting doom for the children’s film, they barreled ahead throwing money at an out of control ad spend in hopes to raise enough awareness to launch this franchise and create a new brand in the vein of Teletubbies.
Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure was booked into 2,160 theaters and film was the most aggressively self distributed children’s movie ever. Viselman was quoted by Variety saying, “If you’re a mother and don’t know about my movie, then I’ve really screwed up.” Mothers kept their children far away from Oogieloves and it opened to an amazingly atrocious $443,901 opening weekend with a $206 per screen average — placing #26 for the weekend. Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure set the record for the worst opening ever in over 2,000 theaters. Theaters dropped the film from all but 281 locations in its second weekend, where it made $43,854 and was pulled from release after just three weeks with $1,065,907. Being self distributed would leave Viselamn with a small percentage of the gross (Regal Cinema pays only 34% to independent distributors, for example), losing almost the entire investment for a kiddie pic that should have premiered on TV or on video.
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