2009 at the Box Office

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

I remember reading tintin as a kid.. its another comic book. I really don;t remember anything from it. I am mildy interested in the movie. I would have to re-read the comics.

Jacob

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

There are two that are piquing my interest right now:Coraline and Franklyn.

Coraline Movie- Enter The World Of Henry Selick's Coraline Movie

YouTube - Franklyn trailer

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

I can't say I'm that intersted in a tintin movie snd although motion capture cgi doesnt really interest me, with such a cast, and Spielberg and Jackson involved, I'd look forward to an adaptation of the phone book.

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Dakota Fanning has two pictures (Coraline and Push) coming out the same day (February 6th). It'll be interesting to see which one comes out on top at the box office. I'm more immediately interested in Push, since word is that it's more than your typical action chase movie, but I definitely want to see both. I enjoyed the Gaiman's book and I like Selick's stop-motion.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

I've seen the trailer for Push. It looked interesting as well; although, the trailer made it look like a typical action film. I don't have any illusions about which one will come out on top in a head to head duel. Push is going to be the winner in that fight, because it looks like it will appeal to the all important teen to late thirties male demographic. I'd like to see Push as well, but out of two I'll go to see Coraline first.

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has January been a record-breaking month? doesn't feel like it when i'm at the cinema.

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A record breaking January isn't a record breaking May or July.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Well, this didn't take long. Looks like Sony is anxious to do a sequel to their surprise hit "Paul Blart: Mall Cop".

'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' was underestimated - Los Angeles Times

And Jedi, yes January has been a record breaking month. In fact, today saw the month passed the $900 million mark domestically in total box office gross. This marks the first time in history that the month of January has earned more than $900 million, easily besting last year's record of $841.1 million. January '09 will also mark only the second time ever that the month has sold more than 130 million admissions. The record belongs to January '98, behind the behemoth we know as "Titanic", which sold just over 143 million tickets.

By the end of this weekend, January '09 will have the biggest total box office gross ever for a January, as well as the second best mark in terms of overall ticket sales.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

thanks, terry that was the question i was asking, lol =P.

i'm surprised, cause i really thought the dark knight re-release might done better =P. speaking of which is that even on any charts?

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TDK was #26 last weekend, taking in a little over $667K from 350 screens. The fact that it was passed over for both Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars may have hurt its chances of doing any better during this reissue.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

I guess it's not gonna overtake "Titanic".

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When the inevitable finally happens, and Titanic loses its spot as #1, do you think that Fox/Paramount will reissue it in an attempt to reclaim the throne? Will James Cameron just take out an ad in variety to congratulate the new king?

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Unless they double or triple ticket prices, James Cameron might not live long enough to see that happen. It took a decade for something to even come close to Titanic (and it's still $70 million shy of it without inflation). The easier it gets for people to steal movies online, the shorter window between theatrical and video releases and the way that very few movies have any staying power since there's a new "You gotta see it" blockbuster every week from May to July, I think it'll be years and years before anything beats Titanic's box office take.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

The very early numbers point to this being a very lucrative Super Bowl weekend at the box office. "Taken" was #1 on Friday with more than $9 million, besting even the most generous predictions from most of the industry. "The Uninvited" got out of the gates with around $4 million, about the same as the two-week old hit 'Paul Blart'. "New in Town" was fourth and the 'Underworld' prequel (down about 65% from last Friday) rounded out the top five, both taking in the neighborhood of $3 million.

This looks to be the fifth consecutive weekend where the top 12 films pulled in more than $100 million, capping off the biggest January period ever for the industry.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Friday Estimates

#1 "Taken" $9.4 million
#2 "The Uninvited" $4.3 million
#3 "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" $4.2 million ($73.5 million) 26% Friday-to-Friday drop
#4 "Gran Torino" $2.6 million ($104.5 million) 39% Friday-to-Friday drop
#5 "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" $2.5 million ($28.1 million) 69% Friday-to-Friday drop
#6 "New in Town" $2.4 million
#7 "Slumdog Millionaire" $2.3 million ($61.9 million) 17% Friday-to-Friday drop
#8 "Hotel for Dogs" $2.0 million ($41.5 million) 21% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "My Bloody Valentine 3D" $1.5 million ($41.8 million) 52% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Bride Wars" $1.2 million ($51.6 million) 44% Friday-to-Friday drop
#11 "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" $1.1 million ($114.0 million) 34% Friday-to-Friday drop
#12 "Inkheart" $1.0 million ($10.1 million) 53% Friday-to-Friday drop

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Nice to see Taken turn in a dime.

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The fact that Gran Torino is still in the top four.. Jeez. That's some great legs.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Weekend Estimates

#1 "Taken" $24.6 million
#2 "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" $14.0 million ($83.4 million) -35%
#3 "The Uninvited" $10.5 million
#4 "Hotel for Dogs" $8.7 million ($48.2 million) -32%
#5 "Gran Torino" $8.6 million ($110.5 million) -47%
#6 "Slumdog Millionaire" $7.7 million ($67.2 million) -28%
#7 "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" $7.2 million ($32.8 million) -65%
#8 "New in Town" $6.8 million
#9 "My Bloody Valentine 3D" $4.3 million ($44.6 million) -58%
#10 "Inkheart" $3.7 million ($12.8 million) -51%
#11 "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" $$3.61 million ($116.5 million) -41%
#12 "Bride Wars" $3.60 million ($53.9 million) -48%

For the first time in history, the month of January pulled in more than $1 billion domestically at the box office. The industry has been absolutely on cloud nine due to the overwhelming success of the month. This marks the first time ever that a month other than June or July has earned north of the $1 billion plateau. January '09 pulled in an estimated $1.012 billion, which translates to about 140 million theater admissions being sold during the month. That number ranks as the second best ever for January, following the 143.1 million tickets sold in January '98 (behind the massive success of "Titanic"). I just can't say how impressive it is that a non-summer month like January can earn more than $1 billion. Incredible.

This weekend marked the fifth consecutive $100 million-plus top 12 performance. Business was up about 1% compared to last year, as well as a whopping 45% increase over this frame from '07. 2009 passed the billion-dollar mark faster than any year in history as the year-to-date mark stands at a towering $1.035 billion. That represents an 18% bump over last year ($880.8 million), up a staggering 41% over '07 ($736.0 million), 32% stronger than '06 ($784.8 million), and a 36% improvement over '05 ($762.9 million).

Much to the surprise of many, Fox's "Taken" got off to a fantastic start as it snatched the #1 crown from two-week old champ 'Paul Blart'. The movie earned nearly $25 million, which is about $11 million stronger than many of the most optimistic predictions. "Taken" also earned the second best opening mark ever for a Super Bowl weekend, coming in behind the 'Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus' concert movie ($31.1 million) from last year.

"Taken" pulled in a top 12 best $7,736 per-theater average from its 3,183 locations. The movie marks the best opening ever for producer Luc Besson, as well as the best for star Liam Neeson as the sole above-the-title attraction. The movie earned a very impressive 25% Friday-to-Saturday bump in business ($9.4 million to $11.6 million) and the studio is expecting this one to have a very solid run in the coming weeks.

Sony's big hit, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", fell to second place this weekend as it took a very modest 35% dip in business. The comedy has so far tallied $83.4 million and is well on its way to topping the century mark. Much to the surprise of no one, Sony is talking about doing a sequel.

DreamWorks/Paramount's "The Uninvited" got off to a so-so start as it pulled in more than $10 million. The movie earned an average of $4,485 from its 2,344 theaters. This one isn't expected to have the strongest of legs in the coming weeks.

DreamWorks/Paramount's "Hotel for Dogs" is currently sitting on a domestic haul of $48.2 million. WB's "Gran Torino" continues to impress as it has now tallied $110.5 million. Fresh off of winning the DGA honor for director Danny Boyle last night, Fox Searchlight's Oscar front-runner "Slumdog Millionaire" has now pulled in $67.2 million. Sony's "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" took a steep 65% hit this week and has so far earned just under $33 million. A final mark in the neighborhood of $50 million is now expected.

Lionsgate's "New in Town" failed to ignite much interest as it debuted with about $6.8 million. The romantic/comedy, which stars Oscar-winner Renee Zellweger, only managed a per-theater average of $3,478 from its 1,941 locations.

Lionsgate's "My Bloody Valentine 3D" has so far tallied $44.6 million. New Line/WB's "Inkheart" has only earned just under $13 million thus far. Paramount/WB's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has now earned $116.5 million. Fox's "Bride Wars" rounds out the top 12 as it is now sitting on a domestic haul of close to $54 million.

Next weekend marks the first frame for the month of February as the industry hopes that January's massive success is a sign of things to come for the rest of the year. It'll be interesting to see if February can hold the momentum. Next week will see four new releases hit theaters as Sony's "The Pink Panther 2", New Line/WB's "He's Just Not That Into You", Summit Entertainment's "Push", and Focus Features' "Coraline" all hit theaters.

Right now, "The Pink Panther 2" looks like the safe bet to top the box office next weekend, but given how surprising the box office has performed thus far, any one of the four new releases can end up being #1. We'll see what happens.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Terry, i was wondering if there's any correlation between box office returns and the economy? unlike home video which also has to take hardware sales and generation switches into consideration, the playing field for cinema is pretty consistent.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Historically, in times of economic distress movie-going and alcohol sales tend to see significant increases.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

I just recently turned into an alcoholic myself!

Cheers,

Jason

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Is this the worst the Oscar noms have ever done? I went to watch LAST CHANCE HARVEY yesterday and was talking to a manager since he was shocked that I was watching that film (the only one). He mentioned that FROST/NIXON made less than $200 its first week at the theater so they cut it down to three showings on the second week but they've only had two people watch it since Friday. He also mentioned that they canceled REVOLUTIONARY ROAD because of "lack of interest" and said that MILK was bombing at this theater for its first week. THE READER was another that he said they weren't going to show.

I can't help but think this is bad for films like this due to the economy. Redford has been talking about how hard it it to get films like this made right now and with them bombing at the box office you can't help but wonder if studios will put their money into known gold like remakes and so on.

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Definitely. I would honestly rather watch Mall Cop instead of any of those in these times, because it might actually make me laugh.

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Same here. I'd rather pay to see Liam Neeson kick ass than watch a movie about a shoddy president being interviewed. Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, none of these movies interest me one bit.

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yup, Taken, Mall Cop are the typical Joe Six Pack movie.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

Yeah, I don't want ALL dumb, teenage movies to go away because the market does need them just as much as someone needs serious entertainment. People always complain when PROM NIGHT opens to $30 million but that's what teens want. You can't really expect them to want to see FROST/NIXON or to know who they are for that matter.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

You're in the happy majority. Escapism should do well.

As much as I enjoy Liam Neeson, Taken looks like a by the numbers actioner to me, which interests me not in the least. And you'd have to PAY me to go see Mall Cop. AND give me free popcorn. Just cuz I want to be entertained, I don't suddenly want to see dumb movies. This puts me in the minority of moviegoers.

Frost/Nixon is an excellent film, poorly marketed. Rather than bank on the slow roll-out and GG/Oscar noms, the studio should have had this picture in theaters in the waning days of the Bush admin in late December and early JA, when political debate on the outgoing administration was high, and parallels were there to be drawn between Nixon and Bush - the "if the president does it, it's legal" question. That window of interest passed, and when it was at its height, Frost/Nixon was on very few screens. The ads were running on T, but audiences couldn't see it in theaters. Dumb. In fact, F/N is very entertaining, it's just not escapism. I don't think anyone ever envisioned it as a blockbuster, but it surely should have done better.

BTW, Shawn, F/N is not about a "shoddy" president being interviewed. Don't confuse plot with story. But what's the point...I doubt you'd find the verbal dueling and behind the scenes maneuvering interesting if you like mostly action flicks. I was alive to se the original interviews, and I had the pleasure of voting against Nixon in my very first election ballot. Nixon created the first constitutional crisis in my lifetime, subverted justice, would have been impeached had he not resigned, opened the way to trade and relations with china, was a flawed and fascinating president...he was a hugely divisive and despised president who tried to rehabilitate his legacy after leaving office. But if that sort of grand drama doesn't interest you, it just doesn't.

The fact that Gran Torino is doing so well, as well as Slumdog Millionaire, prove that there is an audience for classy, quality films that please. Milk is one the best American films I've seen this year, with outstanding performances from Penn (his best ever IMO). It's terrifically entertaining, but again, it's not likely to be (nor intended to be) a blockbuster.

Revolutionary Road is a dour, cliched bore, a waste of the talents of its fine cast and filmmakers. The Reader contains a brilliant performance from Winslet and little else of interest. The story is interesting but the execution poor, it is totally missable.

This is one of those years where Oscar seems especially irrelevant. So I suspect there will be little bounce for nominated movies except Slumdog will get a bump and revolutionary Road will last in theaters far more than it should have.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

"don't interest me" may have been a bit harsh, but I guess more my moneys worth. Like Taken, it is a by the numbers dad saves daughter movie, but Neeson is what makes it a bit interesting. Like Gran Torino. I loved the movie, but if someone other than Eastwood was in it, I prolly would not have liked it as much.

Frost/Nixon seemed like a movie that was made to win awards, and while it may be good, its not what I would pay to see. Cable maybe

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Hmmm...am I in my own category here? I want to see Mall Cop but haven't had a chance, and I have ZERO interest in Taken. I still need to see The Reader, and have already seen Frost/Nixon.

Re: 2009 at the Box Office

It's really too bad that 'Frost/Nixon' is tanking at the box office. The film is really good and quite entertaining, but Universal did a horrific job handling the movie. They released it in 200 or so theaters in early December and just left it there until the Oscar nominations, which is what, almost two months? It should have been on at least 500-600 theaters during Christmas week. And the only place I saw TV ads for the film were on CNN. A big network, sure, but that isn't enough to get people in seats. Oh well, I guess Blu-ray and DVD will be the place this film *might* reach an audience.