YA Decline

I'm not getting a strong vibe from 'Divergent'. Trailers don't have a hook, and while I understand the premise I don't feel much dramatic impetus. In fact, I quit watching all things 'Divergent' a few weeks ago (or maybe it was months, I can't remember). Today, though, I happened to check out the trailer below, which left me feeling much the same. The movie doesn't scream 'summer blockbuster', and the March 21 opening date reinforces a plasticky impression.

All this got me wondering where we stand with YA movies so I did some checking. With box office and budget amounts from BoxOfficeMojo, here's a list, in no particular order, of recent young adult movies that didn't do well. I took a (very) conservative guess at the prints and advertising costs (BoxOfficeMojo has nothing to do with that number) which would have to be factored in along with the budget.

1) Beautiful Creatures -- Budget/P&A: $60m/$20m, Domestic/Foreign Box Office: $19m/40m

2) The Last Airbender -- B/P&A: $150m/$50m, D/F BO: $131m/$187m

3) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief -- B/P&A: $95m/$35m, D/F BO: $88m/$137m

4) I Am Number Four -- B/P&A: $60m/$15m, D/F BO: $55m/$94m

5) Ender's Game -- B/P&A: $110m/$35m, D/F BO: $61m/$50m

6) The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones -- B/P&A: $60m/$20m, D/F BO: $31m/$59m

7) Vampire Academy -- B/P&A: ?/?, D/F BO: $8m/$1m

Some of these took in more than their budget and other costs but in most cases that was largely due to overseas box office which studios see little of. You could argue a couple weren't failures...if you wanted. I don't think any of them turned a profit and, if they were successful, where are the sequels. Besides, a couple million over the break even point here and there -- you can't run a studio on that and you certainly wouldn't celebrate such performance.

Everyone wants the next 'Twilight' or 'Hunger Games' but most of these movies are losing money. From the looks of it, 'Divergent' shouldn't be much different. 30k YouTube views in 4 days is perhaps not dismal, but not great.

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