“The Hottie And The Nottie” Isn’t Doing Well On Box Office

Despite being the third most popular and talked about movie of the week at the moment, on the famous Yahoo! Movies website, “the Hottie and the Nottie” didn’t attract a lot of people this weekend.

A few weeks ago, on the forum, I posted an article titled “Should We Be Worried About ‘Hottie’?” and warned that the movie may be heading towards disaster.

I know why that is happening now. It has nothing to do with Paris Hilton’s acting stills or her work, but probably everything to do with her public image and the ever rude public, itself. Even though the Hottie and the Nottie was savagely attacked by those so-called movie critics, we were expecting it to do OK, but you know, Paris was all alone in promoting it. The biggest mistake that most movie (and music) studios make is think that Paris’ fame is enough to make people want to see her movie.

It doesn’t work that way all the time (from past experience we already know), mainly because Paris always gets special treatment. 90% of the population still don’t have a neutral opinion about her, and the “mild” fans are never reliable. So nothing really has changed with the public.

Paris says she wants to ignore haters, but you can see the result. She just needs to do something to win over the soft haters (kinda like Angelina Jolie) and then, maybe people will be far less bias. It’s sort of a big challenge I guess.

Domestic total as of Feb. 10, 2008 is estimated to be at $25,000. A website reported that the Hottie and the Nottie is currently at #45 on Box Office (official results tomorrow). That means every theater earned $225. 111 theaters are playing the movie. In comparison, some movie named “Fool’s Gold” made $22 010 000 with 3 125 theaters.

So normally, the Hottie and the Nottie should’ve made: 22 010 000 * 111 / 3 125 = 781795.2$

The amount of promotion they did wasn’t even huge, compared to Fool’s Gold, I suppose. The interviews were good, but they weren’t all done by major studios, except David Letterman and Ellen’s show. But I knew all along that all these little promotions weren’t generating enough interest. I just had to look at the stats.

However, even though it’s doing bad so far, we still must recognize Paris’ efforts and the amount of time she put to work on her acting skills with her coach. Her efforts in acting and music should not be ignored, even though they’re no longer her #1 priorities. And make no mistake about it, she knows good music and is a good enough actress to watch! I think most of us agree on that.

Maybe, with the upcoming Valentine’s Day, the movie may start doing a bit better. I probably have a lot more to say about this topic, but I’d like to know how you interpret those results, and let me know what went wrong.

Box Office Mojo

From: Sabrinia
Time: February 10, 2008, 8:50 pm

I think one of the biggest problems is that it’s a limited release instead of being released everywhere. I live in Kentucky and I know the Hottie and the Nottie website doesn’t list it as being played in ANY theaters in Kentucky, Ohio or West Virginia. And Ohio particularly has 3 major cities in it (Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati). So you can’t compare Hottie’s sales to the sales of a movie that was released on a much bigger and national release b/c there’s no way Hottie could do better than a movie that’s playing in more cities, states, and theaters. It’s a HUGE mistake them doing it on a limited release and it’s going to lead to the movie flopping which is sad b/c I’d go out and support Paris if it were released here.

From: juju
Time: February 11, 2008, 12:03 am

agree with all. it’s not in my town or i would go see it. limited release can really hurt a film and keep it from generating enough buzz, unless it is a huge indee favorite coming out of a festival release, which is usually a more thought provoking subject or script than a hollywood rom-com.

also, i agree with admin’s comments. Most people don’t take Paris seriously as an actress, so for her to carry a film at this point is impossible, especially for a formula rom-com, even if it’s every bit as good as most films in this genre. at this point, people will still bash her before they even see it.

I think Repo will do better, because she is part of an ensemble cast and is not the lead or biggest name in the film. but again, ONLY so long as it is promoted based on the story and unique script and not as a Paris vehicle. If the genral public sees it as only a paris effort, they won’t go see it. period.

In fact, I’d rather see it promoted by other cast memebers and the director without highlighting paris. That way you can at least get people into the theatre to see it. if paris does well, people may be more inclined to admit that she isn’t so bad and start to giver her some credit for her work. I don’t think paris should do any independant promotion of the film. Just the main cast. The goal being to get people into the theatre, which is better than people thinking it’s a paris film. If the advance promotion is left to paris or she is made out to have too large a role in the movie, then people won’t go see it.

if she continues with supporting roles in better movies and can develop her acting skills, then she can build her credibility if she does well. I think that is a better route to take to win over critics.

it’s hard for anyone to cross over into acting and paris has a huge credibility problem with the general public. it doesn’t matter that it isn’t her fault. It is what it is and if you are a producer or director of a movie she is in, then you have to deal with that reality and be very smart about how you promote the film.

From: James
Time: February 11, 2008, 12:52 am

I agree with everything everyone has said so far. Especially with the part about it not being played in enough theaters. I live in Santa Monica and it wasn’t being played in any theaters here. I didn’t have time to get to Hollywood or Beverly Hills this weekend where it was being played. I will find a time to get out there some time this week, but the general public won’t go out of their way to see this film. Maybe if it were being played in more theaters, people might just decide to see it because it’s not out of their way and they just wanna see a movie. so that would help.

Also they didn’t have any commercials on tv to promote the movie, so while many people might have heard of it, they didn’t know anything about it, so if they’re not interested in Paris they have no reason to see it, cuz it’s just like a lot of other movies people have already seen.

And of course there are all the haters who wouldn’t see anyway, but the main problem to me is that people aren’t interested enough to see it, especially cuz it’s not even being played in a theater near them.

From: david
Time: February 11, 2008, 8:48 am

She did what she could with a not so great project. It was good to see her promote it so hard. It sucks that it didn’t do well commercially.

Also, the problem isn’t necessarily the overall number of theaters or the box office revenue. First, they’re going to have a hard time even breaking even on dvd sales after it bombed this badly. (I thought that it would at least make $100k-$250k) Second, if you break out the numbers, it works out to about 30 people per theater. It ran for three days. Averaging that out, that’s only TEN people per theater per day. If it showed five times a day, then that averages out to TWO people per showing. (One couple per showing for a date movie) Obviously, that’s not the way it worked, so there were many showings where NO ONE showed up at all. Limited release or not, that’s rough. Third, she may not see many more scripts with her as the lead. Supposedly, according to an article from E, Hottie was possibly going to become some sort of tv show. I doubt that Hottie is going to become a reality show after this performance and almost certainly won’t be a scripted comedy with Paris as the lead.

I wrote this before when someone complained about the Repo producers continuing to justify Paris’ inclusion in the movie. Perhaps, I stated it too harshly, but the point holds, whoever produces an entertainment project with Paris in it, particularly, starring in it, MUST justify to the public why Paris is in it, if they want it to be successful commercially. Unfortunately, the public simply views her as the sex tape, reality star, party girl. It’s going to take time to transform that image. For Repo, they can state that she auditioned, was good, earned the part, and held her own with the likes of Paul Sorvino, etc.

I think that Juju is definitely right about taking ensemble parts, etc. and proving that she has skills and improving those skills at the same time. I think that Paris is starting to do this. The L-word will help.

In the future, she has two audiences to win over, the industry insiders and the public. She probably has to shed the party girl image if she wants to win over either or both. That may be unfair, but the “party girls” Paris, Jessica Simpson (last movies and album bombed) Lindsay Lohan (numerous string of failed movies) Britney Spears (album bombed and has had repeatedly declining sales for years), are simply not selling in the entertainment field. I think that not only the studios, but the media as well, Entertainment tonight, E, People, etc, mistake paparazzi attention/tabloid sales for the ability to carry entertainment ventures. These women then wind up trying to carry projects that MAYBE weren’t right for them. I think that Paris has the talent, but needs to work on her image.

For Paris, since at least November she’s kind of reverted back to the party girl, if she ever really stopped. She’s been pic’d swinging from ceiling pipes, hooking up with people in the middle of parties/bars, drinking (other things???) falling over couches/out of SUV’s, “eat it, lick it, snort it” etc. There’s nothing particularly wrong with these things, but, especially with her image and history, it doesn’t help her credibility. At Sundance, she and Leto were way too public and she allegedly was pretty tipsy. Katzenberg allegedly whipping out his package probably didn’t help (party guilt by asssociation,) Most of the press she received from Sundance was of “the Hilton’s are ruining Sundance” variety. Unfair, but those were the reports. Now, Reese Witherspoon could’ve hooked up with the Dallas Cowboys in the middle of the street and openly done drugs at an after party, but she has an established track record and an Oscar. So, it might not be fair, but if Paris is going to win over industry insiders, then at events like Sundance, she literally just has to do the press junkets, a little bit of networking (during the day) and avoid the parties/bars at night. I’m only talking about industry type events like Sundance. It’s only a couple of days. However, it could be seen as “she’s actually serious, she’s not here for the parties” etc. It would take time, but it could be done.

Finally, she could continue to work her businessess and let people know how hard she works. I think that people would truly accept her if they knew that she was a great business woman who also had the talent to do entertainment projects. I think that’s a good image for her. A smart, fun business woman who also loves to entertain. She also probably needs to do (and be seen doing it) some charity work. Some things are simple, such as when she launced her clothing line, she had kids from the Children’s Hospital there. Other things may require more effort, whether it’s a halfway house or not. (Paris Hilton Foundation would be great, if it materializes)

She doesn’t HAVE to do these things or anything like them. Obviously, it is just my opinion. Also, as it’s been pointed out numerous times before, she doesn’t owe anybody anything. And, no, she didn’t sign a contract to do anything. But, IF she wants to be a viable entertainer, then she has to repair her image and doing some of these things might help.

From: Dawn
Time: February 11, 2008, 10:16 am

The movie itself is cute and there is nothing wrong with Paris’s acting either. Clearly, the posters who condemn the movie on tmz etc haven’t even seen it.

We’ll just have to wait and see how the movie does internationally and on dvd. I don’t think it will be a financial loss per se, simply because they did not have much overhead.

However, Paris might want to rethink doing projects that are directly depending on the goodwill of the lower-income classes in America. Those people are the most jealous and virulent in their hatred.

One movie is not the end of the world, of course. It’s happened to Angelina, Tom Cruise, and Johnnie Depp’s recent movie.

Paris does no really need a singing or acting career, so why put herself through this.
She can do her businesses and the commercials for them, with a little acting and singing thrown in, rather than trying to carry a full movie.

Sales are down all over, especially in CD sales, according to a recent report by RIAA. (sp?)

Anyway, life goes on and not everything always works out all the time as hoped. There will be other projects and better things ahead for Paris.

From: david
Time: February 11, 2008, 10:56 am

The lower income classes are the ones who buy her perfumes and clothes etc. She keeps saying that she wants to make it affordable. Also, wine in a can is not geared toward an upscale market.

The biggest haters are hollywood types. Brad Pitt, Studio execs, etc. She’s simply not accepted there. Admin posts the quotes here all the time. It was Grammy weekend in LA this week and how many recognizable people showed up for her party. Some will probably show up in Vegas, but she’s simply not taken seriously by the Hollywood crowd. It’s her choice if she wants to be taken seriously or not. I think that you’re right that she doesn’t need acting or singing, but it seems like she wants to do it. If she stopped doing it, her stuff may sell fewer items and her picture may be taken a bit less, but she’s also said that she didn’t want to be in the spotlight forever. So, who knows, but her best fans are typically lower-middle income Americans. It’s probably best not to knock them.

From: Dawn
Time: February 11, 2008, 11:33 am

The people who buy her colognes etc are middle class or upper middle class.

Those are generally the people who have reasonable incomes themselves and don’t mind someone else doing well.

Same goes for the Las Vegas crowd that frequents the high-end clubs Paris is in.

Also, those would be the people who have their own big screen TVs/ home theaters in their houses and will rent or buy a dvd rather than go to the movies.

Be that as it may,though, if Paris wants to prodce movies she might try doing them for TV. There, she would find a larger, more guaranteed audience.

Paris has multiple venues to succeed in, one movie does not make or break her. Especially not this movie, which is actually quite good.

From: david
Time: February 11, 2008, 11:41 am

So, the middle class doesn’t post on TMZ??? It’s only low income people that post there? Didn’t know that.

Like most other consumer goods, the plasma tvs etc only begin to seel when the price point can reach low enough for the masses to buy.

I agree that Paris can find some entertainment projects to succeed in, if she wants to. She just has to find the right ones and make certain that they’re budgeted, accordingly.

From: Dawn
Time: February 11, 2008, 11:41 am

About Prosecco’s champagne in a can. This is an upscale product and it is seen and marketed as such in Europe.

The is nothing magical about a product that comes in a bottle.
Look at beer, which was inititally sold only in bottles but now is sucessfull sold in cans.
The key is convenience and perception. Prosecco is an upscale party product.

From: Dawn
Time: February 11, 2008, 12:02 pm

Websites like TMZ run on negativity and appeal to a certain type person. Harvey Levin once said so himself on a Larry King show.

I don’t think too many reasonably well educated or well to do people bother to waste their time and post on TMZ.. They usually have better things to do with their lives.

From: James
Time: February 11, 2008, 12:12 pm

This post doesn’t really have to to with why the movie didn’t do better.

David, I think everything you said makes sense. However, I’m not sure if losing the “party girl ‘image would help Paris as a business woman. She is famous for being “spoiled’, rich, “dumb” (though we fans know she is anything but), sexy, shocking, partying, “screwing up” (jail, catfights, etc.), and the sex tape. Her projects do well because so many people are interested in her image. In order to continue being successful, Paris continues to portray that image. She is a very hard working businesswoman, and she lets the public know, but most of the public chooses not to believe her because they still see that notorious image. And that’s okay because that is how she holds the public’s interest. So while it would have been great for the hottie to do well, imo it has little effect on Paris. Just as long as she did the movie, she will get publicity which will help push her brand. She’s been saying in her interviews that the reason she does acting and music is to push her brand. All Paris needs to do to be successful is continue making headlines and be and international icon. Personally, I feel she does try really hard with everything she does, and she put a lot of effort into this movie, but if she were to lose her image in order to do make more sales, she would sorta be “selling out”, she might be forgotten about and lose her iconic status.

I think she is doing an amazing job with her work and it’s sad that the movie isn’t doing better, but Paris is smart enough to have made sure it wouldn’t have much of a negative effect and she will continue with her brand for years.

From: Django
Time: February 11, 2008, 12:22 pm

I’m disappointed in the news of course and hope my initial prediction about the movie doing better on DVD will prove true.

I feel there’s some unfair generalising here. In some ways I agree with David. A lot of hate comes from the media and jealous Hollywood types and that has a trickle down effect on people. I am a lower income person (in fact I’m unemployed, but in the UK we have a better welfare system) and I support Paris, her projects and products wholeheartedly. There are a lot of middle class hypocrites (yes, I generalise too *g*) who probably think being hypocritical against Paris buys them some class. And there are plenty of middle class people that are arrogant and rude. Expensive education and higher earnings doesn’t equal class or intelligence.

From: david
Time: February 11, 2008, 1:39 pm

The tmz thing is pretty far afield from the original post. But, I’m an atty and work with many others. We all do quite well. No need to say how much. Some of our clients do even better, as in billions. A cross-section of this group does go to TMZ. They find it to be a good distraction for a few minutes at a time at work. Some have never even heard of TMZ and prefer to not even watch television. Some go to the opera. Some prefer sports. It’s hard to generalize about what a certain income group, or any other group like to do. Anyway, I think that Paris has fans and haters across all spectrums.

(Wine in a can is a tough sell. Letterman thought she was joking and then couldn’t stop laughing. Products are often consumed and/or priced according to perception and wine in a can is a tough sell, similar to wine in a box or steak and lobster at mcdonald’s. It could turn out fantastic, but there will be a stigma to it and only some people will even try it no matter the quality or the mktg.)

Anyway, the hottie didn’t work, now she can focus some energy on projects like Repo, which should do well.

From: admin
Time: February 11, 2008, 2:23 pm

I agree with almost everyone. I think Paris wants to be taken seriously, so all that fame boost from “shocking” and “screwing up” stories must end. She needs to be famous for things that are more lasting and productive.

I really wanted “Hottie” to do well, but I guess it just didn’t work. I understand people won’t take a Paris Hilton movie seriously if she’s playing a leading role. It’s too risky right now.

As you guys said, she needs to do movies with other big stars (like House of Wax and Repo!). When the public starts embracing her, then she could start doing movies like “Hottie”.

Repo! better not fail because this movie is far more important than Hottie. Luckily it will most likely be supported by Saw fans (Darren) and Sarah Brightman’s fans among others. If the movie does well, it should “boost” her singing/acting career and her credibility. Darren also wants to do a Repo! 2.

I still think that not a lot of people know about Repo!, so they need to promote it well. They need to play the trailer in theaters and on TV. Paris needs the help of her co-stars and be seen with them, as juju said.

I really enjoy the fact that those who will go and see Repo!, will be forced to see and hear Paris act and singing. That’s just massive promotion for her.

So it’s ok, we should understand what went wrong, but still support Hottie. I still want to see it, but none of the threaters are playing it here!

From: Jen
Time: February 11, 2008, 7:28 pm

With “Hottie” Paris made a movie she can be proud of, in spite of negative comments by people who have never even seen it.
Opinions about the movie may change as it goes to DVD and is shown in different countries.

My Bf liked the movie too and he commented right away that it’s a shame the movie did not get more advertising.

Anyone who has ever been in business knows that some things work out and some don’t, in spite of everyone’s best efforts and planning.

Paris has no doubt moved on already and is exploring other prospects.
As I recall, she said she always concentrates on the positive. That’s a winner’s attitiude and things have a way of working out in the long run.

From: juju
Time: February 12, 2008, 12:08 am

dam it happenmed again…lost a whole post to invalid secuirty code, even thought he one i entered was correct…is there a time out on those thigns?