Green Hornet Is On Course To Be A Big Hit

Despite being trapped in a January release date that has seen many a movie crumble to dust on the multiplex altars of America, all indications are that Green Hornet is to be a big hit when launched in a couple-few weeks. Despite a lot of early bad buzz on the webz, seemingly based on a ill feeling towards the combination of Seth Rogen and the character of The Green Hornet, and stoked by a series of delays, recastings and director changes, the signs today are that tracking on the film – the market research indication of how anticipated a film is, and how well it is likely to do – is coming along very likely.

According to “Sony insiders”, leaking to the trades and to industry friends of Bleeding Cool, the film is now tracking in a way that is directly comparable to a successful Summer blockbuster. Amongst teenage boys, the film ranks as the top choice to see 23% of the time; this only dropped to 19% with young males. High scores, especially when tested in the thick of the Christmas blockbusters – so this is the core demographic nicely taken care of.

And apparently, female audiences are responding favourably too, which suggests a real potential for a January smash. Beyond this, the film is also performing a touch beyond expectation with older audiences too. What I want to know is – where are these good vibes coming from? Are we just in the mood for another masked hero about now? Is it affection for the character? Or for Seth Rogen?

What I’ve been told today is that Green Hornet will skip over its (estimated) $85 million budget and additional marketing costs quite cleanly, likely by day 20 of release, possibly earlier. Good for Seth Rogen, good for Evan Goldberg, good for Michel Gondry – and possibly great for Jay Chou, who stands to be the picture’s breakout star in the key role of Kato.

Messrs. Rogen and Goldberg, if you haven’t already, perhaps now is the time to start spitballing sequel ideas.