I pretty much think all movies are examples of rolling the dice, which is one reason filmmakers tend to try and keep the price as low as possible. LMI had a budget around $20 million which for a major motion picture is quite low indeed. As things stand now, it looks to eventually make a profit vis-a-vis DVD sales and the like. But the truth is, some very strange films have become hits--like Silence of the Lambs and The Usual Suspects as well as Beetlejuice. At the same time, flicks that should be hits sometimes have folks staying away in droves.Which is why I found it really weird that they decided to remake LTROI...its essentially an Art House film that they tried to sell as being something they wanted to introduce to a wider audience...I mean I love LTROI, but in terms of it selling to a widespread mainstream audience...well I just never saw it happening. Even if the story is relatable. Its why I found the choice of LMI sticking so closely to the structure of LTROI as being a weird f******...especially coming from the book. We're gonna remake this Art House film to appeal to a Wider Audience...yeah doesn't quite compute.
But sometimes movies get made for more reasons than immediate profit. Studios like to develop talent, with thoughts that down the line they'll have multiple successful movies. Then again, they also like sometimes to do films for prestige, because that helps attract higher caliber talent and eventually attracts a certain type of audience. So even if they have three or four flops in a row, Tim Burton and Woody Allen can always make another flick.
I suspect something like that went into making LMI. Yes, it had the potential to be a hit, depending upon the audience's mood. More, Matt Reeves as well as the young leads are all up-and-coming talent. Hammer Studios wanted to come back to making horror movies with a bang, and actually did quite well with this in re-establishing themselves as willing to do something innovative and high quality in the horror genre.
