Box Office Guesstimations

Started by Banky, March 25, 2004, 08:36:12 PM

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Myxo

God that means a Grudge 2 is in the works for sure.

:evil:

MacGuffin

'The Incredibles' Soar to $70 Mln at Box Offices

Computer animated movie superheroes "The Incredibles" topped domestic box office charts over the weekend, raking in $70.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

Reigning champion and haunted-house thriller "The Grudge" dropped to No. 3 at $13.5 million, while "Ray," starring Jamie Foxx in the role as the late "Genius of Soul" Ray Charles, maintained its hold on the No. 2 slot with $13.8 million.

Low-budget thriller "Saw" fell from third to fourth with $11.4 million, and debuting "Alfie," a remake of the 1966 film of the same name, took the No. 5 position with $6.5 million at box offices in the United States and Canada.

"Incredibles" is the sixth release from Pixar Animation Studios Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. . The pair have enjoyed huge successes with their computer animated movies going back to 1995's original "Toy Story," and "Incredibles" is started in the same direction.

The most recent Pixar/Disney film was 2003's "Finding Nemo," and it debuted in May to a three-day weekend total of $70.3 million, according to figures from box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Wall Street investors had been anxiously anticipating a strong opening weekend, and had pushed Pixar's stock price to a record high of $84.94 in Nasdaq trading on Friday.

Among other movies, the Jennifer Lopez -Richard Gere romance "Shall We Dance?" fell to the No. 6 position with $5.7 million, followed by another computer animated movie, "Shark Tale," in the seventh spot with $4.6 million.

The cumulative box office for "Shark Tale" now stands at $154.1 million, which should please investors in the newly public company DreamWorks Animation .

Finishing the top 10 in order were football film "Friday Night Lights" with $3 million, firefighter saga "Ladder 49" with $2.6 million, and puppet comedy "Team America: World Police" at $1.9 million.

While "The Incredibles" opened strong, it was not enough to boost the total weekend box office above last year. Overall sales for the top 12 films slipped 5 percent to $136.1 million from $143.7 million last year when the No. 1 film was "The Matrix: Revolutions" according to Exhibitor Relations.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Kal

Amazing 2nd weekend for THE INCREDIBLES... $51 Mil... I think it goes straight to be Pixar's highest grossing film.

I'm surprised people are still interested in seeing Chucky at the theatre? What the hell is that?

1 1 The Incredibles BV $51,049,000 -27.6% 3,933 - $12,979 $144,053,000 $92 / - 2
2 N The Polar Express WB $23,532,000 - 3,650 +3,117 $6,447 $30,836,000 $165 / - 1
3 N After the Sunset NL $11,500,000 - 2,819 +1,819 $4,079 $11,500,000 - / - 1
4 N Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Uni. $8,854,000 - 530 - $16,705 $16,705,000 $70 / - 1
5 N Seed of Chucky Focus $8,767,000 - 2,061 - $4,253 $8,767,000 - / - 1
6 2 Ray Uni. $8,362,000 -38.7% 2,474 +11 $3,379 $52,474,000 $40 / - 3
7 3 The Grudge Sony $7,100,000 -44% 2,816 -520 $2,521 $99,338,000 $10 / - 4
8 4 Saw Lions $6,400,000 -42.3% 2,467 - $2,594 $45,715,000 $1.2 / - 3
9 6 Shall We Dance Mira. $4,082,000 -27.9% 2,065 -477 $1,976 $48,729,000 $50 / - 5
10 5 Alfie Par. $2,775,000 -55.4% 2,215 - $1,252 $11,137,000 $60 / - 2

Sleuth

I like to hug dogs

Jeremy Blackman

Quote from: andykThe Polar Express WB $23,532,000
Still a long way to go... ouch...

Could they possibly have released this movie at a worse time?

Pubrick

Quote from: Jeremy BlackmanCould they possibly have released this movie at a worse time?
i think they were banking on residual election blues.
under the paving stones.

MacGuffin

Moviegoers Dig 'National Treasure'

Oscar award winner Nicolas Cage , who has not had a hit movie in years, ended the two-week reign of "The Incredibles" at the North American box office on Sunday with his new family adventure "National Treasure."

According to studio estimates, "National Treasure" sold $35.3 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada in the three days beginning Friday, enjoying a narrow lead over kids animated TV favorite "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," which opened with $33.5 million.

"The Incredibles," a cartoon revolving around a family of superheroes, slipped to No. 3 with $26.8 million, taking its total to $177.8 million after three weekends.

"The Polar Express," a holiday fable featuring a computer-animated Tom Hanks as the train conductor, fell two places to No. 4 with $15.2 million, taking its total to $51 million after 12 days. The film cost a reported $270 million to make and market, prompting much speculation about its chances of turning a profit.

"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," starring Renee Zellweger as a hapless "singleton," held steady at No. 5 with $10.1 million after expanding nationally in its second weekend. The film's total stands at $21.6 million.

"National Treasure," from prolific Jerry Bruckheimer, revolves around a treasure-seeker hunting for a secret war chest hidden by the Founding Fathers after the Revolutionary War. It was released through Walt Disney Co.'s family-oriented Walt Disney Pictures label, which also released the Pixar Animation Studios Inc. -produced "The Incredibles."

The opening marks the best score for a Cage-Bruckheimer collaboration, beating the $25.3 million start for "Gone in Sixty Seconds" in 2000. Since then, Cage, who won an Oscar in 1996 for "Leaving Las Vegas," has worked in such under-performers as "Windtalkers" and "Captain Corelli's Mandolin."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Cage Film Tops Box Office for 3rd Weekend

Nicolas Cage logged a third weekend atop the North American box office on Sunday with his action-adventure "National Treasure," but overall ticket sales slid as movies competed for attention with shopping in the post-Thanksgiving holiday period.

One of the hardest-hit films was director Oliver Stone's "Alexander," which earned an estimated $4.7 million in the three days beginning Friday, losing about two-thirds of its opening-weekend tally as it dropped one place to No. 7.

The $150 million swords-and-sandals epic, starring Colin Farrell as the youthful Macedonian warrior, has pulled in $29.7 million after 12 days, and should finish with about $40 million, said a spokesman for Warner Bros. Pictures. The studio paid $35 million for North American rights from producer Intermedia Films, a unit of Munich-based IM Internationalmedia AG . Intermedia has said it expects the film to do much better internationally, just as "Troy" did recently.

"National Treasure" dug up an estimated $17.1 million, taking its total to $110.3 million. The Walt Disney Co. picture is on track to surpass 1996's "The Rock" ($134 million) as Cage's biggest movie.

The only new entry in the top 10 was director Mike Nichols' potty-mouthed adultery drama "Closer," which opened at No. 6 with $7.7 million, a hefty number for a limited release.

Columbia Pictures' London-set drama, an adaptation of a play by British playwright Patrick Marber, stars Julia Roberts as a photographer who beds both Jude Law's journalist character and Clive Owen's dermatologist. Natalie Portman plays a stripper who also gets sack time with both men.

While all the movies in the top five played in more than 3,100 theaters each, "Closer" was launched in just 476 to "give it some time to mature," said Rory Bruer, president of domestic theatrical distribution at the Sony Corp . -owned studio. "It's daring, it's provocative, people are going to talk about it."

The studio will add 150 runs next weekend, and hopes the film's momentum will be boosted as critics' groups start naming their top picks of the year.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Banky

i cant beleive that this thread is still going

how have you been macguffin?

Jeremy Blackman

On The Media this week has a great piece on the history and meaning of blockbusters.

There are two other film related pieces this week...

http://www.onthemedia.org/

MacGuffin

'Lemony Snicket' Tops Box Office in Debut

"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" brought in $30.2 million of good fortune to debut in first place at the weekend box office.

The film based on the first three children's books by Lemony Snicket, who is actually author Daniel Handler, knocked the star-driven sequel "Ocean's Twelve" to second place, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

"Spanglish," a new Sony film starring Tea Leoni, Adam Sandler and Spanish actress Paz Vega, made its debut at third with an estimated weekend haul of $9 million.

Final figures were to be released Monday.

"Lemony Snicket" tells the story of a trio of orphans who try to defend themselves from greedy Count Olaf, played by Jim Carrey, who pursues the children by concealing himself as a variety of thinly veiled characters.

Playing in wide release at 3,620 theaters, "Lemony Snicket" averaged $8,343 a cinema.

"Jim Carrey and the books are really the primary driving forces behind it and the marketing seems to have worked very well," said Wayne Lewellen, president of distribution for Paramount.

"The Aviator" starring Leonardo DiCaprio as eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, opened in 40 theaters in New York, Los Angeles and "resort towns" near ski resorts and in Hawaii and Palm Springs in an attempt to catch vacationing Academy Awards voters, said Mike Rudnitsky, head of domestic distribution at Miramax.

The film earned $831,124 with a per screen average of $20,778.

"The Aviator," which also features Cate Blanchett as Hughes' legendary love Katharine Hepburn, will expand to about 1,750 screens on Christmas Day.

Other films in limited release that have been receiving Oscar buzz include Bill Murray's quirky oceanography tale "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," and "Million Dollar Baby," with Hilary Swank portraying a woman who tries to improve her life of hard knocks by training as a boxer.

In its second week, "Life Aquatic" played on two screens in New York and Los Angeles and brought in $100,595, a drop of only 11 percent from its debut weekend. "Million Dollar Baby" has brought in $233,230 since its opening Wednesday with a per screen average of $29,153.

The success of "Lemony Snickets" continues a trend that has seen family oriented films scoring well at the box office, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"It just seems the family market is insatiable in their need for new entertainment options," Dergarabedian said.

"The Polar Express," in particular, has continued to draw in family audiences, earning $8.6 million to bring its cumulative total over six weeks to $123.6 million. "Polar Express" saw only an 11 percent drop in its audience from the week before, while other top films had steeper falls, including "Ocean's Twelve," which lost 53 percent, and "Blade: Trinity," which lost 59 percent and dropped from second to fifth.

Revenues from the top 12 movies were down 25 percent compared to last year, but the numbers were skewed because "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" made $72.6 million during its 2003 debut, Dergarabedian said.

1. "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," $30.2 million
2. "Ocean's Twelve," $18.3 million.
3. "Spanglish," $9 million
4. "The Polar Express," $8.6 million.
5. "Blade: Trinity," $6.6 million.
6. "National Treasure," $6.1 million.
7. "Christmas With the Kranks," $5.7 million.
8. "The Flight of the Phoenix" $5.1 million.
9. "Closer," $3.5 million.
10. "The Incredibles," $3.3 million.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

'Fockers' Sets Christmas Day Record

Millions of Americans went shopping for comedy this weekend, giving the star-studded "Meet the Fockers" the record for the best single Christmas Day box office take. The sequel, reuniting Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro and adding Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand as Stiller's parents, earned $44.7 million over the holiday weekend according to studio estimates.

While not a weekend record, the film did set a record for Christmas Day, earning $19.1 million. The previous record was set last year when "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" earned $14 million on Christmas Day.

Still, the performance of "Meet the Fockers" was impressive when measured against the overall weekend box office, which was down 26.5 percent from last year.

"When Christmas falls on a weekend, it's bad for business," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

This weekend's top 12 films grossed an estimated $121.9 million, compared to last year's $165.8 million when Christmas fell on a Thursday. Last year's figure was skewed a bit by the third "Lord of the Rings" movie, which earned $50.6 million in its second weekend.

"Meet the Fockers" knocked last week's top film "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" to third place, with $12.5 million. Second place was taken by the live-action version of "Fat Albert," which debuted Saturday with a two-day total of $12.7 million, according to studio estimates. Final figures were to be released Monday.

"Meet the Fockers" succeeded in part because of an aggressive ad campaign, including the release of the DVD of the original "Meet the Parents" as well as the return of Streisand to the big screen after an eight-year absence.

It also captured the clash between families, which resonates at the holidays.

"It's a clash of cultures," said Marc Shmuger, vice chairman of Universal Pictures. "It's about the coming together of completely different families, but that's exactly what the world is going through right now."

"Meet the Fockers" opened Wednesday, bringing its five-day total to $68.5 million.

"The Aviator" the epic tale of billionaire Howard Hughes, did well enough in limited release to take fourth place with $9.4 million. The movie, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, expanded from 40 theaters to 1,796 on Christmas Day.

The small budget horror flick "Darkness" went against the slew of family films on the market now and attracted $6.4 million in its opening weekend. The movie opened Saturday.

The lavish Andrew Lloyd Weber musical "The Phantom of the Opera" also debuted in limited release, bringing in $4.2 million from 622 theaters. It debuted Wednesday, bringing its five-day total to $6.5 million.


1. "Meet the Fockers," $44.7 million
2. "Fat Albert," 12.7 million.
3. "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," $12.5 million
4. "The Aviator," $9.4 million.
5. "Ocean's Twelve," $8.6 million.
6. "Darkness," $6.4 million.
7. "The Polar Express," $6.3 million.
8. "Spanglish," $5 million
9. "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," $4.8 million.
10. "Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera," $4.2 million.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

'Fockers' Retains Crown at U.S. Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Meet the Fockers" was the most popular movie in North America for a second weekend, and has now earned almost as much as its 2000 predecessor, "Meet the Parents," did in its entire run, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

The broad family comedy, starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller and Dustin Hoffman, sold $42.8 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning Friday. Its total after 12 days rose to $163.4 million. "Meet the Parents," by contrast, ended its run with $166 million.

"Fockers" set two records over the weekend. Its Friday haul of $12.2 million was the best for New Year's Eve, beating "Castaway's" four-year-old record of $8.5 million. It continued its winning ways the next day with sales of $18 million, surpassing the New Year's Day record of $12.8 million set last year by "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

As is the case for this time of the year, there were no new releases in the top 10, and the rankings were little changed. The children's comedy "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" held steady at a distant No. 2 with $14.7 million, followed by the Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator," which rose one place to No. 3 with $11.2 million.

The TV cartoon adaptation "Fat Albert" fell one to No. 4 with $10.7 million, and the all-star crime caper "Ocean's Twelve" was stable at No. 5 with $9.2 million.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Myxo

God, I guess this means we can expect a Meet the Parents 3.

:yabbse-undecided:

MacGuffin

"Shrek 2" Rules Record '04

It was a monster year for Tinseltown.

DreamWorks' Shrek 2 not only gobbled up plenty of green--$436 million in ticket sales on its way to being crowned the top-grossing film of 2004--but the ogre-iffic sequel also finished its run as the third biggest film of all time at the North American box office.

Overall, according to figures released Monday by box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, domestic movie receipts totaled $9.4 billion for 2004, an increase of 1.4 percent over 2003 and surpassing 2002's record tally of $9.3 billion.

Swinging into second place behind the mean green money machine was Sony's Spider-Man 2, which nabbed $373.4 million. That was followed by Mel Gibson's Jesus epic, The Passion of the Christ, which redeemed $370.3 million.

Rounding out the top five were Pixar's The Incredibles, with an incredible $251.7 million in receipts, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which conjured up $249.4 million.

Despite the record haul for '04, attendance actually declined for the second year in a row by 1.7 percent. Exhibitor Relations reports 1.6 billion movie tickets were sold in 2002, 1.53 billion in 2003 and 1.51 billion last year.

"It's a record-breaking box office year. That's the good news. The bad news is attendance is down for the second straight year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, noting that audiences may have been distracted by stiff competition from videogames and DVDs and the fact that it was an election year.

With fewer people spinning turnstiles at the local megaplex, higher prices accounted for the uptick in box-office revenue. The average ticket cost was up 3.1 percent to $6.22. By comparison, 2002's average movie cost was $5.80.

"Whenever we break a record it's almost always because of higher ticket prices," said Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com. "The higher ticket prices are what Hollywood should give thanks to for these new records. It's not really people going to more movies."

There's also the Rings factor. "One of the reasons for the drop [in attendance] was because for the first time in three years we did not have a Lord of the Rings movie to give us that big year-end surge," said Pandya. "Meet the Fockers stepped up to the plate and was a heavy hitter but did not compare to Hobbits and wizards."

But Hollywood definitely got more bang for its buck in 2004. While the studios didn't have nearly as many flicks crossing the coveted $100 million mark--only 22 by Pandya's count compared to the 30 hit films that had done so in 2003--this year's batch accounted for a bigger slice of the gross.

"All three of [the top] films, Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2 and The Passion were bigger [hits] than the previous years," said Pandya.

Here's a rundown of the top 20 films of 2004, according to Exhibitor Relations.


1. Shrek 2, $436 million
2. Spider-Man 2, $373 million
3. The Passion of the Christ, $370 million
4. The Incredibles, $251 million
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, $249 million
6. The Day After Tomorrow, $186 million
7. The Bourne Supremacy, $176 million
8. Meet the Fockers, $163.4 million
9. Shark Tale, $159 million
10. The Polar Express, $155 million
11. National Treasure, $154 million
12. I Robot, $144 million
13. Troy, $133 million
14. 50 First Dates, $120 million
15. Van Helsing, $120 million
16. Fahrenheit 9/11, $115 million
17. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, $114 million
18. The Village, $114 million
19. The Grudge, $110 million
20. Ocean's Twelve, $110 million
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks