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2005 at the Box Office (1 Viewer)

Tino

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Regarding Titanic, a member posted this breakdown in a boxoffice thread a few years ago that I remembered and disagreed with.


$1.8 billion worldwide and only a $320 million profit? Terry, what do you think?
 

Tom J. Davis

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I really thought that Phantom Menace would give it a serious run for it's money, but since it didn't I don't think anything else for a long time has a chance.
 

DavidPla

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What was the time difference between "E.T" and "Titanic"? About 15 years? I'm banking on 2012 just for the fact of how different cinemas will probably be by then with the advent of this new 3D technology.
 

Dustin Elmore

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E.T. was beat out as the top box office grosser by Jurassic Park I believe. If you were refering to the legs of E.T., you can't really compare the two, as E.T. came out when home video was just starting, and wasn't released on VHS for quite some time. That would have a profound effect on the length of its theatrical run.
 

TerryRL

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Actually 'E.T.' was #1 domestically until the 1997 Special Edition of "Star Wars" moved past it. "Jurassic Park" was the top grossing worldwide hit (earning over $900 mil compared to the $701 mil 'E.T.' had earned at that time), but its $357 million domestic mark was second to the $399 million 'E.T.' had earned until then.

Tino, "Titanic" cost $240 million total (at least according to the accountants at Fox and Paramount). That mark includes everything that was spent on the movie including prints, marketing, etc.

And the studios earn much more than 40% of a film's theatrical run. The split is actually supposed to round out to being 50/50, but the studios take as much as 70% of a film's theatrical run.

Of the $1.2 billion international tally "Titanic" earned, Fox pocketed over $800 million of that. Paramount pocketed $350 million of the $600 million domestic total. This doesn't even factor in how much both studios earned from the film's massive sales on home video.

Despite being one of the most expensive movies ever made, "Titanic" also owns the distinction of being one of the most profitable as well.
 

Malcolm R

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No, "E.T." was topped by the re-release of "Star Wars 4," then "Titanic." "Jurassic Park" was merely a runner-up to "E.T." for a few years.

"E.T.," "Star Wars 4," and a number of older films for that matter, also benefitted from multiple theatrical re-releases before home video.
 

TerryRL

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Domestic Top Ten Lists thru the last 35 years

(at the end of the 1970s)
#1 "Star Wars" $307.2 million
#2 "Jaws" $260.0 million
#3 "The Exorcist" $193.0 million
#4 "Gone with the Wind" $189.5 million
#5 "Grease" $159.9 million
#6 "The Sound of Music" $158.6 million
#7 "The Sting" $156.0 million
#8 "National Lampoon's Animal House" $141.6 million
#9 "Superman: The Movie" $134.2 million
#10 "The Godfather" $133.6 million

(at the end of the 1980s)
#1 "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" $399.8 million
#2 "Star Wars" $322.7 million
#3 "Return of the Jedi" $263.8 million
#4 "Jaws" $260.0 million
#5 "Batman" $251.1 million
#6 "Raiders of the Lost Ark" $242.3 million
#7 "Ghostbusters" $238.6 million
#8 "Beverly Hills Cop" $234.7 million
#9 "The Empire Strikes Back" $222.6 million
#10 "Back to the Future" $210.6 million

(at the end of the 1990s)
#1 "Titanic" $600.7 million
#2 "Star Wars" $460.9 million
#3 "Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace" $431.0 million
#4 "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" $399.8 million
#5 "Jurassic Park" $357.0 million
#6 "Forrest Gump" $329.6 million
#7 "The Lion King" $312.8 million
#8 "Return of the Jedi" $309.3 million
#9 "Independence Day" $306.1 million
#10 "The Sixth Sense" $293.5 million

(at present)
#1 "Titanic" $600.7 million
#2 "Star Wars" $460.9 million
#3 "Shrek 2" $441.2 million
#4 "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" $435.1 million
#5 "Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace" $431.0 million
#6 "Spider-Man" $403.7 million
#7 "Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith" $377.3 million
#8 "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" $377.0 million
#9 "Spider-Man 2" $373.5 million
#10 "The Passion of the Christ" $370.7 million
 

MikeRS

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When Titanic overtook Star Wars, Lucas placed this ad in Variety...



Spielberg started this tradition since Jaws was originally beaten in 1977. He took out a full page ad showing R2-D2 on the back of a boat (The Orca?) with a fishing pole, reeling in a very big shark. Lucas then returned the congrats a few years later when ET shattered STAR WARS records. His ad showed R2 placing a crown on ET's head. Finally, in 1997 when STAR WARS was re-released and added to it's total gross, Spielberg's response was a long line of cartoon caricatures led by ET -- with R2 zipping past them all to the head of the line.

I'd love to find those old Variety ads online, but no such luck.

Perhaps Terry can help us out. ;) :D
 

TerryRL

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I remember seeing the 1982 press clipping of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo with E.T. hoisted on their shoulders as some of the other SW characters celebrated when 'E.T.' overtook "Star Wars" as the domestic rentals champ. I don't know who drew it and I haven't ever seen it online anywhere.

It is on the bonus material DVD of the Ultimate Gift Set though. Its among the many marketing stills.
 

Tino

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Here is another Titanic article which examines it's profitability.


The Most Successful Movie
Of All Time?


A Titanic Balance Sheet

Here is a look at Titanic's profit and loss sheet, according to the Wall Street Journal and other sources. All figures are approximate and are provided to give you an idea of the once-in-a-century money Titanic is making. When you factor in the undeniable truth that in the arts, failure is the rule, the success of Titanic is that much more amazing.

Revenues

Domestic Theatrical $600,000,000
Foreign Theatrical $1,200,000,000
Domestic Video $360,000,000
Foreign Video $216,600,000
Domestic Network And Pay TV $60,000,000
Foreign TV $65,000,000
Total
$2,501,000,000


Costs

Production And Interest $235,000,000
Cost Of Prints $27,000,000
Worldwide Marketing Costs $115,000,000
Video Marketing And Prod. Costs $242,000,000
Residuals And Participation $52,000,000
Studio Interest And Dist. Cost $105,000,000
Total
$776,000,000


Projected Worldwide Net Profit

$1,725,000,000
 

Tino

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Titanic's soundtrack by James Horner IS the #1 best selling orchestral score soundtrack of all time, with over 11 million copies sold.
 

Jose Martinez

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Top Ten Worldwide Grosses so far this year:

1 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith $812.0
2 War of the Worlds $537.4
3 Madagascar $408.7
4 Hitch $367.2
5 Mr. and Mrs. Smith $357.4
6 Batman Begins $355.3
7 Fantastic Four $253.3
8 Robots $246.7
9 Howl's Moving Castle $231.5
10 Constantine $229.6
 

TerryRL

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Weekend Estimates

#1 "The Dukes of Hazzard" $30.5 million
#2 "Wedding Crashers" $16.5 million ($144.0 million) -17%
#3 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" $10.5 million ($169.0 million) -35%
#4 "Sky High" $9.0 million ($32.0 million) -38%
#5 "Must Love Dogs" $7.4 million ($26.2 million) -42%
#6 "March of the Penguins" $7.1 million ($26.4 million) +77%
#7 "Stealth" $5.8 million ($24.4 million) -56%
#8 "Fantastic Four" $4.0 million ($143.7 million) -41%
#9 "War of the Worlds" $3.5 million ($224.6 million) -35%
#10 "The Island" $3.1 million ($30.9 million) -48%

Time Warner scored the top three films in the land this weekend (overall they took five out of the top ten slots) as the top ten saw a 4% gain in business compared to this same point last year when "Collateral" debuted in theaters.

Opening at #1 this weekend was "The Dukes of Hazzard". The remake of the popular television series from the late '70s earned $30.5 million in its debut. Despite the solid opening, WB has to be concerned with the film's 20% fall in business from Friday to Saturday, indicating that the critically mauled film is likely going to suffer a steep percentage hit next weekend. Do not expect this one to hit the century mark and WB's dreams of a lucrative franchise are probably not going to come true.

New Line's "Wedding Crashers" continues to dazzle with its staying power. The movie saw only a 17% slide in business (the smallest decline of the top ten) and has so far tallied $144 million. I still think this one is headed for a final mark of more than $200 million.

Disney's "Sky High" had a solid hold as well, taking a 38% dip this weekend. The $35 million budgeted film has so far tallied a little more than $32 million and should see a final mark in the neighborhood of $60-$65 million.

WB's "Must Love Dogs" took a moderate 42% hit in business and has earned just over $26 million thus far. A final mark in the area of $50 million is now expected for the $30 million budgeted romantic/comedy.

WB's Independent branch saw a stellar 77% spike in business this weekend for the critically lauded "March of the Penguins". The film expanded by more than 1,000 theaters this weekend and has tallied an impressive $26.4 million thus far. The film also became the second most successful documentary release (non-Imax) in history as it passed the $21.5 million haul of "Bowling for Columbine". This one is going to eventually soar past the $50 million mark.

Sony continues to struggle this summer as their latest flick "Stealth" took a steep 56% hit this weekend. The action flick has so far taken in $24.4 million and will be lucky to get to the $40 million mark. The movie cost the studio over $150 million and this summer is definitely turning into one that Sony would love to forget.

On the flip side, Fox is enjoying the best summer run they've ever had. Thanks in part to "Fantastic Four", which took a moderate hit of 41% this weekend. The movie has earned close to $144 million thus far and is still on course for a final mark in the area of $160 million.

The Paramount and (soon to be owned by Universal) DreamWorks collaboration of "War of the Worlds" continues to do stellar business. The film saw only a 35% slide in business this weekend (the second lowest decline of the top ten), as its total neared the $225 million mark.

(Soon to be owned by Universal) DreamWorks' "The Island" took a 47% hit this weekend and has so far tallied just under $31 million. This one is already being dubbed as Michael Bay's "Heaven's Gate". 'Gate' not only sunk Oscar-winner Michael Cimino's career, but it damn near bankrupted United Artists who were saved when MAGMA bought them. While "The Island" won't sink Bay's career (and he will likely never hear his name called at the Oscars), DreamWorks could end up being owned by Universal as a result of its failure at the box office. Ouch.

Next weekend will see four new films enter the marketplace to battle it out for the top slot. Sony is praying for a big performance out of "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo", Paramount will open "Four Brothers", Miramax debuts the war flick "The Great Raid", and Universal unleashes the horror film "The Skeleton Key".
 

Arjan S

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That's one of the things I could never understand, how one film could destroy a large studio. I remember reading, Carolco Pictures Inc. went bankrupt because of Cutthroat Island. But I thought they'd be able to take a hit after all they had made the Rambo and Terminator movies, probably two of the most iconic characters of the 80's after Indy Jones. They also did Total Recall, Cliffhanger, Stargate and Basic Instinct.

I figure the only way one movie could bankrupt this studio
is after each hit movie the owners took out huge salaries or paid out huge dividends leaving the company with litte retained earnings. Or they had 5 or 6 box office failures come out in a row and Cutthroat Island Was the last one and the straw that broke the camels back. But if this is the case it wasn't because of one movie but multiple movies taking the blame, thus poor management.

Same thing with United Artists. I mean they had James Bond and Rocky

And Dreamworks seems the most unbelievable bankrupt candidate. I mean with Shrek, Meet the Parents, Fokkers, War of the Worlds, Madagascar, Shark Tale, The Ring movies, Collateral, Gladiater, Americian Beauty, Saving Private Ryan ,Cast Away and numerous others. And now Micheal Bay's Island has forced this studio to being taken over by Universal.

I just don't believe it. Something' fishy with books, I say. Or the studio's were planning to merge beforehand and now the media is trying blame Micheal Bay because it makes for a better story. It would be interesting to see Dreamworks books, although it would probably take 10 accountants to make sense out of it.
 

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