WWE Films

marky96

Active Member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:WWE_Films

Seems like everybody is getting in on the act.

Trouble is with the WWE behind them, the films that these guys make are almost guaranteed to go into cinemas like The Rundown (2003) and Walking Tall (2004), starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. These guys could well be the action heroes of tomorrow and are going to pose a serious threat to Seagal. Potentialy it could be worse if these films go straight to video, because then they will be in direct competition with whatever low budget poor quality film Seagal has to offer. And given that he is already struggling against Norris, Van Damme and Lundgren, at the moment I don't think he will be able to handle that kind of competition.

The IMDb links for the new films:

The Condemned (2006): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443473/
Jornada del Muerte (2007): http://tinyurl.com/g6u5r
The Marine (2006): http://tinyurl.com/kh573
See No Evil (2006): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437179/
 

DRAGONKING

DRAGONKING
I`m a big fan of WWE wrestling, but wrestlers starring in films is a big risk. They probably will end up DTV, or most of them anyway. Unless theyre bloody good films, they would probably only appeal to wrestling fans, wouldn`t they? Hang on a minute, I`m a wrestling fan................

D`King

"I missed...I never miss...they must`ve been smaller than I thought!"
 

marky96

Active Member
I agree with your point but look at The Rock. Somehow he has managed to make that transition from WWE superstar to credible box office action hero (worldwide box office for The Scorpion King (2002) was $164,996,077 for example). He is now touted as the next big action hero, especially given Vin Diesel's current career slump. These wrestlers might well find a gap in the market where people want old style action heroes who shoot now and ask questions later like Schwarzenegger and Stallone used to.
 
I would like it for hollywood action cinema to go back to it's roots, where you just sit back and watch a tough guy kick some butt while there's all kinds of explosions going on, I think it's sad movie goers feel they're above action movies now, what with horror dominating the box office right now. Will these films bring back the glory days of action? they could very well do that.

The Rock is enjoying a deserved career in action cinema, hell anyone who gets to work with Andy Cheng and Johnny Knoxville is a good guy in my book. He was a charismatic ring performer and it makes sense he would step into movies

It is a shame Seagal has more to compete with in the form of the WWE boys but you never know this may give him the long over due boost he needs to make his movies more worthwhile for his audiences.
 

marky96

Active Member
I would like to hope so but somehow I doubt it. For five years he has been making DTV films, while competitors like Van Damme and Lundgren have slowly begun rebuilding their shattered careers. Yet the quality of Seagal DTV films has fell markedly.
 
Hm, yes, I must admit he does pump out a lot of product for someone working in the DTV market, personally I feel he should slow down, he hasn't had a theatrical release in the UK since Half Past Dead. Then again his quick releases do mean he can get one up on the competition, the last movie Van Damme had was Wake Of Death, though that has received rave reviews while the movies Seagal brought out during that time got rather luke warm reception. Is it really too late for Steve?

But to get back on topic here, I don't think these movies will be that great, I think the one Triple H is attached might be watchable as he put in a nice turn in Blade Trinity but the others, well, I guess I'll have to wait til the movies released till I can fully pass judgement.
 

marky96

Active Member
Update

Here is an update on the WWE films:-

See No Evil (2006)
Starring Kane, this horror film was released into cinemas on the 19th May 2006. It was directed by former porn director Gregory Dark and had a budget of $8m. Despite generally bad reviews the film opened with $4.35m and has since grossed over $15m worldwide. Kane has since been signed for a sequel. The film will be released in the UK straight to DVD on 1st January 2007.

The Marine (2006)
This action thriller starring John Cena and Robert Patrick was released in the US on 13th October 2006. The film had a budget of $15m and was filmed in Queensland, Australia in 2004. Though advanced previews were positive, the film performed worse than See No Evil at the box office.

The Condemned (2007)
This action thriller will star Stone Cold Steve Austin in the first of three films for WWE. It will also star Vinnie Jones, who starred with Seagal in Submerged (2005), and William B. Davis of The X-Files (1993) fame. It has been budgeted at $20m and is currently in post-production, having been shot in Canada and Australia this year. It is due in theatres on 27th April 2007.

Jornada del Muerte (2007)
This modern day western will star Triple H and will be directed by John Milius, the director of Conan the Barbarian (1982).
 

marky96

Active Member
Update

Here is an update on the WWE films:-

See No Evil (2006)
Starring Kane, this horror film was released into cinemas on the 19th May 2006. It was directed by former porn director Gregory Dark and had a budget of $8m, and filmed in Australia. The film opened with $4.4m and has since grossed over $18.4m worldwide. A further $16.5m was bought in by DVD sales.

The Marine (2006)
This action thriller starring John Cena and Robert Patrick was released in the US on 13th October 2006. The film had a budget of $20m and was filmed in Australia and California in 2004. The film opened with $7.1m and went on to gross $22.2m worldwide. A further $30.5m came from DVD sales.

The Condemned (2007)
This action thriller stars 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones, who starred with Seagal in Submerged (2005). It was budgeted at $37m and shot in Australia. It was released theatres on 27th April 2007 and opened with $3.8m, going on to gross over $8.6m worldwide, with a further $22.3m generated from DVD sales.

12 Rounds (2009)
This action thriller was the second to star John Cena and had a budget of $20m, and was filmed in New Orleans in early 2008. It was directed by action legend Renny Harlin. It opened in March 2009 with $5.3m, going on to gross over $14.7m worldwide, with a further $6.8m in DVD sales.

Behind Enenmy Lines: Colombia (2009)
This co-production with 20th Century Fox was the third film in this highly successful franchise, following Behind Enemy Lines (2001) and Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil (2006). This film stars Mr Kennedy alongside Keith David, who starred with Seagal in Marked for Death in 1990. It was filmed in Puerto Rico in early 2008 and released straight to DVD early in 2009, earning $4.4m in sales.
 

Administrator

Administrator
Staff member
Have only seen two of the above movies. The Marine was dreadful. One of the worst movies i have ever seen. The Condemned was pretty good. Some cheesy acting, but some decent action.
 

SimonLustenberger

Well-Known Member
Pics from 12 rounds

First pics from John Cenas new movie "12 Rounds"
 

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mikek7316

Engorged Member
The Kane movie was awesome! However Steven Seagal would murder Kane or any other WWE guy in a legit fight.
 

halkush

Member
That's it!!
why do we keep watching Steven Seagal movies even though some of them are really going downhill? it's because we know that Steven Seagal could whip the butts and kick a***s off the pants of any other action actor in real life!!!!
He has the realistic style of an authentic action hero.
time he did all his stunts himself in film.
Halkush
 

marky96

Active Member
Still in production

It seems like this is proving to be quite a successful venture for WWE, and they are still producing new films. Whether in theaters or straight to DVD, these films and their stars are some serious competition for Seagal. Let's just hope his new DTV releases, alongside his role in Machete (2010) will keep his profile high and keep the fans coming back and the dollars coming in.

The Marine 2 (2009)
This latest action thriller from WWE Studios will star Ted DiBiase Jr. and is a sequel to 2006's The Marine which starred John Cena and was one of WWE Studios most successful films. It will be directed by Roel Reiné, director of one of Seagal's better DTV releases, Pistol Whipped (2008). It was filmed late last year and will be released straight to video on 29th December.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwB-Ss-R9Oc
 

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marky96

Active Member
Since the release of The Marine 2 back in 2009, WWE Films has mainly branched out into genres besides action with a number of joint productions with other film companies. This has met with some success, in particular The Call starring Oscar winner Halle Berry and Morris Chestnut alongside wrestler David Otunga, which recently became a box office hit making over $46m from just a $13m budget. The success of that film and the rise of WWE Films is discussed in this article:

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/the-call-dials-up-wwes-film-biz-1200333952/

WWE have not forgotten there DTV routes though and this year will see the release of The Marine 3: Homefront, this time starring wrestler The Miz and 12 Rounds: Reloaded starring Randy Orton and directed by Roel Reine. DTV releases like these, with the finances and advertising of the WWE and directors like Reine are tough competition for Seagal and Voltage pictures to compete with. It also goes to show how far Seagal has fallen, even in DTV production when someone like Roel Reine would rather work with wrestlers than with Seagal.
 
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DiDa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Cool, curious about the trailer. I really like this franchise. William Kaufman directed part 4
 
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