Sure Orson Scott Card, the author of Ender’s Game, has been shooting his mouth off like a fool lately. But Ender’s Game is one of the most beloved novels in sci-fi, and fans have been salivating for the movie adaptation for years.
Yet Variety tells us the tracking for the film isn’t huge, which we at TGD are surprised to read. From what we’ve been able to gather, there are many fans who have been dying to see this movie finally reach the big screen. According to the tracking reports, however, Ender’s Game could make “a so-so” debut of $27 million opening weekend, which by today’s standards is chump change.
One unnamed executive even told the industry trade that it may not even have “franchise capability.” This is definitely not a good prediction, because there are twelve Ender’s Game books, but the good news is Ender’s Game is starting off early in November before Thor comes out on the 8th, and before The Hunger Games comes out on November 22.
These days, Hollywood treats box office tracking like a science, and once they powers that be are convinced a movie could bomb, they can lose enthusiasm for it. We at TGD have been of the belief that Ender’s Game could be a big movie, and if today’s generation isn’t familiar with the book, perhaps word of mouth could help it grow. There’s certainly a nice sized built-in audience of fans of the book, and we’ll be watching to see how it could grow from there.
