"New Year's Eve"

I liked Valentine's Day. It was a fun, wholesome experience that will make you feel good. Is it deep? No. Is it particularly interesting? Not really. But I found it funny, and it accomplished what it wanted to do: Make me laugh and make me feel good. It also made a ton of money because audiences, not critics, felt the same way I did (or at least some of them did).

Because it made money, a pseudo-sequel, New Year's Eve, was created. It was originally planned to be a real sequel, but for whatever reason, that idea was dropped. It's finally out, and once again, critics are hating it. Audiences aren't as negative, but according to Rotten Tomatoes, it's sitting at a 64% approval rating. (To contrast, Valentine's Day is currently at 54%, despite the fact that it made $200+ million at the box office.)

I don't understand the strategy behind New Year's Eve. Firstly, more cast members were added. What was already a crowded film became even more crowded. No doubt, stories are going to be even shorter and get even less development. Next, the running time was cut by somewhere around 10-15 minutes. This further hampers those stories. Finally, Valentine's Day was actually released really close to Valentine's Day. This is why it made money. Guys took their dates to see it because, well, who can resists a film called "Valentine's Day"?

New Year's Eve, on the other hand, was released on December 9th, weeks before the actual event. The novelty of going to see it won't be present, and I predict that it won't make anywhere near as much money as its predecessor. Oh, I have no doubt it'll make back budget, but with the lambasting that it's taking by critics and the three factors I already mentioned, I don't see it being anywhere near as successful as Valentine's Day.