Piranha 3D, the upcoming epic thriller/horror movie, is due to hit theaters in August this year. The flick, filmed on location on Lake Havasu, features people getting eaten alive by thousands of deadly piranha fish.
Originally the film’s release date was to be June 2010, near the beginning of the annual tourist season here on the river. However, the release has been pushed back to August 27th, nearer to the end of the summer water season. Some area businesses would be forgiven for having a sense of relief now that these potent images of horror on the waters will not be seen by their potential customers until after most of the year’s business has been done, but the larger question remains: will the film affect tourism at all?
Will anyone be frightened off by the movie’s scenes of guys in shorts on waverunners and women in bikinis on boats being eaten alive by fictional fish in graphic 3D detail? Or are people capable of distinguishing fact from fiction?
Following the release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws in 1975, beach towns from coast to coast reported a downturn in tourism. Even today, nervous references to the infamous shark movie can be overheard at many beaches. On the other hand, sharks really do inhabit the oceans (though do not present the kind of threat depicted in Jaws). Piranha fish, however frightening they may appear in the movie, do not inhabit the Colorado River system (which is among the safest and cleanest waterways in the world).
If could be that any negative effect on tourism caused by the panic of nervous moviegoers will be compensated by the positive effect of people seeing a movie set here in the area; after all, many times when big films are set in specific locations, those locations see an increase in visitor interest.
Local businesses that can market to the movie’s audience may be the smartest. Maybe it will be the ‘Piranha Special’ that wins in the end?
Parker
46°
16 comments ↓
1 Keith Moses // Feb 10, 2010 at 10:38 am
there was no this is the dumbest question i have ever heard button????
2 Graham C // Feb 10, 2010 at 11:15 am
Well if this turns out to be a really big movie and people know it’s lake Havasu even though it says lake Victoria, I could see it causeing a reaction of some sort… I remember when tourism declined at beaches after jaws….
3 John Wright // Feb 10, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Well I voted “No effect at all…” for the record. I think what we’ll see is some freaked-out ladies staying on the boat more than swimming in the river for a while after the movie comes out (these are very primal fears, bred into us for millions of years), but no effect on tourism (perhaps any “A effect” at all will be mitigated by the “B effect”).
Fun topic though.
4 Katie Turnbow // Feb 10, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Keith: LOL
John: I might stay on the boat a little longer if the movie was about mutated giant man (or woman) eating carp but piranhas? Now if I ever go to the amazon (where I presume piranhas live)… you can bet I am not setting a toe in the water.
5 Keith Moses // Feb 11, 2010 at 10:36 am
If this is going to be a big movie??????
This is a B movie at best i wouldn’t worry about any hysteria being caused by this movie.
Jaws was a different time and different world. No internet then!!
6 Graham C // Feb 11, 2010 at 11:47 am
John said on hhe radio the other day he thinks the movie will be #1 or #2. Sounds like a bet to me!
7 John Wright // Feb 11, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Well, they’re already running trailers in February for a movie not screening until August. That tells me they’re banking on it being a summer blockbuster.
8 Keith Moses // Feb 15, 2010 at 10:22 am
John in my list of what i consider summer blockbusters im sorry its not even in the running.
but im glad you have a fan who considers your every word to be true…….lol
9 John Wright // Feb 15, 2010 at 11:29 am
Please!… a GI Joe remake made the blockbuster list last year; you don’t think a Piranha remake can do it? I’m not saying it’ll be a good movie – that’s a different question – but I do predict it’ll be pretty popular, at least on the weekend it’s released.
We shall see, Mr. Moses!
10 R.R. // Feb 15, 2010 at 12:51 pm
It’s not the piranha you have to worry about. It’s the sharks and alligators! Or the caiman lizards rumored to live in the refuge. I can confirm the rumor to be true as I am posting this from my iphone in the belly of one!
11 Robb // Feb 16, 2010 at 5:21 am
John… normally when a movie is being advertised this far out, they know it won’t be a big movie. The big movies are the ones that are advertised 2-4 weeks out. This movie will not be even big for a “B” movie.
12 John Wright // Feb 16, 2010 at 6:37 am
The bets are on.
13 Keith Moses // Feb 17, 2010 at 10:11 am
john save your money for the real blockbusters of the summer.
14 Rude Boy // Feb 17, 2010 at 12:11 pm
The fact that Re-makes have become very popular among american film makers these days doesn’t surprise me that this film would be a huge hit especially considering it was filmed in our neck of the woods and every californian and college kid loves to vacation in our little patch of paradise… the way i see it it will probably boost tourism… but if not maybe we’ll have our river all to our selves this summer? that’d be a plus….
15 John Wright // Feb 17, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Well I never said it wasn’t a B-movie, it certainly is, but B-movies have often been surprisingly popular at the Box Office. It’s not the kind of film I’d normally go to, but since it’s filmed locally….
16 Rog // Feb 28, 2010 at 8:56 pm
Affect tourism??? Oh, please. I watched some of this being filmed. It’s gonna be really cheesy and will disappear quickly. Also –Havasu is NEVER mentioned in the movie. It’s called Lake Victoria. There will be no changes in tourism because of this shlocky picture, believe me. I just feel sorry for Elisabeth Shue, who starred in it. Her career deserves better than this. Dreyfuss gave all of his salary to his charity foundation and played a small role as a favor to Harvey Weinstein, whose company produced it.
Leave a Comment