Speed Racer Post Mortem: Demand, or No Demand?
By Reg Seeton

Since Speed Racer crashed and burned at the box-office, it got me thinking about something as the movie heads into its second week. Was there really enough demand out there for this to succeed? Since most of us here at The Deadbolt were fans of the original cartoon, we were curious to see what the Wachowskis would do withSpeed Racer. Although the project raised our eyebrows, one question kept popping up in our daily movie banter meetings - "Aside from its niche fan base, how many people are really crying out for a Speed Racer movie?"

Sure it’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback after the fact. That’s a given. It’s not like we didn’t want Speed Racer to succeed. It did make $20 million in its first week. It’s hard to discount the "Iron" clad competition, and it’s even harder not to factor in the movie itself, but some of us are now thinking that Speed Racer might not have been a huge blockbuster hit anyway. What led us to that line of thought, aside from the fact that it was beat out by a romantic comedy, is that so many websites gave Speed Racer a huge push leading up to release and it still failed. That’s not to mention the Speed Racer promo on hundreds upon hundreds of city busses, magazines, and airtime within many mainstream markets. No one can ever say the movie wasn’t marketed. Hell, it was even marketed to a young, family demographic that gave it a good shot at success beyond the competition. The fact that more people beyond Iron Man went to see Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz in Vegas almost ends the debate right here.

I’m not saying Speed Racer didn’t fall victim to the success of Iron Man, Mother’s Day, and other factors (including itself), but I do wonder how much demand there was for the project to begin with. And enough of it to even be a legit contender! Also, a week later, I question who, and where, the fan base was. Speed Racer was a cartoon from the ‘60s, which periodically popped up with new incarnations over the years and ran in re-runs across a slew networks. Let’s be honest here - most fans of the original series, ones who still have a deep connection to the show, are now middle aged men, geeks or not. I’m willing to bet the farm that they’ve got a lot more important things to think about these days (like trying to save their home, handing their paychecks over to the gas station, and figuring out how they’re going to pay for a $100 bag of rice). AND... given the many new, much cooler, much smarter, modern animated shows on the airwaves today, did today’s younger fans even care, or did they just go, "Meh!" and move on? I’m still not sure.

From announcement to release, there wasn’t one person I came across, young or old, who was over-the-top excited to see it. Curious and interested? Sure. Crazy insane? No. In a cinematic age where remakes are king, is it reasonable to question whether there’s enough demand for other projects that already have an established niche fan base? More importantly, will some of the many upcoming movies appeal to a wider, mainstream audience beyond that niche base? Perhaps even more critical to the debate is the question of whether some already established entities SHOULD be remade. Not from a creative standpoint, but from demand potential and ultimately profit. All you need to do is look at the horror genre for a few recent examples. No, When a Stranger Calls didn’t need to be remade. No, The Hills Have Eyes didn’t need to be remade. I'm on the side of the fence with those who believe there wasn’t demand for these beyond a few hundred people that post on the internet, the same ones who probably said Speed Racer will make tons of money and didn’t go see it.

But...

I can’t help but think there’s more of this to come. I mean, not every animated character, super hero or comic book legend will be popular on the big screen. Sure everyone has their favorites. Hell, I’m still waiting for a Jonah Hex movie, but I’m not kidding myself to think it’ll break the bank at the box-office if it ever gets made. It wasn’t as popular a comic book series as the many super hero properties. That’s just grounded reality. Just because they ARE comic book characters and superheroes that CAN BE translated to the screen doesn’t guarantee money in the bank. Also, in terms of previous films and TV shows, there’s just not enough demand to remake every project that was once popular in a different era. When shows go off the air before their peak while still garnering huge ratings, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out shows like that have more big screen potential than moderately popular shows. Also, some are more nostalgic on a mainstream level than others. If I’d had to bet, I’d lay money down on Get Smart as the classic TV show remake this year that has the most potential at the box-office.

In terms of demand, it’s not hard to see which properties are better investments. What has more box-office potential, an eventual Sopranos movie or a Speed Racer remake? For crying out loud, Full House was one of the most popular shows on TV in its day, but you don’t see anyone demanding a movie.... and for obvious reasons. That’s because there is no demand. With a budget upwards of $100 million, we’re not really sure if Speed Racer could have made money from the get-go. It’ll eventually see the light of black in DVD sales, but was it really that popular enough to warrant a movie at a price tag of $100 million? Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m way off base here and Speed Racer was so poplar that it should have already made $100 million alongside Iron Man.

Now that it’s heading into its second week of release, the popularity of Speed Racer looks a lot more like it was curious hype than reality right up until the week before its release. Two months ago, it was one of THE movies to see. Hell, even two weeks ago it was. If the demand was so high and it had such a strong fan base to begin with, why did they defect to Iron Man after years of waiting for their favorite cartoon? If Speed Racer was truly a passion project and guilty, geeky pleasure for the Wachowskis, I don’t fault them at all for making it. In a lot of ways, they earned it. If I were in their shoes, I’d be remaking Buck Rogers at this very moment. But I’m not, and who knows if people still care about an ‘80s TV series that I haven’t heard anyone talk about for at least 15 years beyond a few message boards on the internet. You know what I mean?