The End of Dredd - And Violent Movies?
Inevitably, this is all very bad news for DNA Films and Lionsgate (to say nothing of Reliance Entertainment, whod coughed up most of the films finance). Looking beyond Dredd, does this spell bad news for the future of all action movies? Some say the failure of Dredd at the box office is a damning indicator of the publics lack of appetite for violent adult content that there's only a small audience for that kind of thing; the message seems to be that the public generally prefers their action without impact wounds and collateral damage. Studios will argue that its far better to hit the wider market, even if that means toning down the intensity. Whatever the reasons, Dredd became another of this years disappointments - if only from a fiscal viewpoint. Perhaps it was always going to be that way. The simple view is that, when it came down to it, nobody much cared for a Dredd film in the first place. With that in mind, those Dredd fans glum because of the terrible box office should maybe rejoice that the film exists at all. What we're left with is a brilliantly bold and ambitious film that will without doubt become the cult classic it set out to be. Time will be kind to Dredd. And despite the current total showing on box office registers, we may yet see a return for Mega-City One's toughest lawman. It just might take the long walk to get there.