2009 at the Box Office - Page 29

The top 10 hits from every summer since 1980.

1980
#1 "The Empire Strikes Back"
#2 "Airplane!"
#3 "Smokey & the Bandit II"
#4 "The Blue Lagoon"
#5 "The Blues Brothers"
#6 "Urban Cowboy"
#7 "The Shining"
#8 "Cheech & Chong's Next Movie"
#9 "Caddyshack"
#10 "Friday the 13th

1981
#1 "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
#2 "Superman II"
#3 "Arthur"
#4 "Stripes"
#5 "The Cannonball Run"
#6 "For Your Eyes Only"
#7 "The Four Seasons"
#8 "Clash of the Titans"
#9 "The Fox & the Hound"
#10 "Tarzan, the Ape Man"

1982
#1 "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"
#2 "An Officer and a Gentleman"
#3 "Rocky III"
#4 "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
#5 "Poltergeist"
#6 "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"
#7 "Annie"
#8 "Firefox"
#9 "Conan the Barbarian"
#10 "Friday the 13th Part III"

1983
#1 "Return of the Jedi"
#2 "Trading Places"
#3 "WarGames"
#4 "Octopussy"
#5 "Staying Alive"
#6 "Mr. Mom"
#7 "Risky Business"
#8 "National Lampoon's Vacation"
#9 "Superman III"
#10 "Jaws 3D"

1984
#1 "Ghostbusters"
#2 "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
#3 "Gremlins"
#4 "The Karate Kid"
#5 "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"
#6 "Purple Rain"
#7 "Tightrope"
#8 "The Natural"
#9 "Revenge of the Nerds"
#10 "Breakin'"

1985
#1 "Back to the Future"
#2 "Rambo: First Blood Part II"
#3 "Cocoon"
#4 "The Goonies"
#5 "Fletch"
#6 "A View to a Kill"
#7 "European Vacation"
#8 "Pale Rider"
#9 "Pee Wee's Big Adventure"
#10 "Brewster's Millions"

1986
#1 "Top Gun"
#2 "The Karate Kid Part II"
#3 "Back to School"
#4 "Aliens"
#5 "Ruthless People"
#6 "Ferris Beuller's Day Off"
#7 "Stand by Me"
#8 "Legal Eagles"
#9 "Cobra"
#10 "Poltergeist II: The Other Side"

1987
#1 "Beverly Hills Cop II"
#2 "The Untouchables"
#3 "Stakeout"
#4 "The Witches of Eastwick"
#5 "Dirty Dancing"
#6 "Predator"
#7 "Dragnet"
#8 "La Bamba"
#9 "RoboCop"
#10 "The Living Daylights"

1988
#1 "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
#2 "Coming to America"
#3 "Big"
#4 "Crocodile Dundee II"
#5 "Die Hard"
#6 "Cocktail"
#7 "A Fish Called Wanda"
#8 "Willow"
#9 "Rambo III"
#10 "Bull Durham"

1989
#1 "Batman"
#2 "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
#3 "Lethal Weapon 2"
#4 "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
#5 "Ghostbusters II"
#6 "Parenthood"
#7 "Dead Poets Society"
#8 "When Harry Met Sally..."
#9 "Turner & Hooch"
#10 "Uncle Buck"

1990
#1 "Ghost"
#2 "Total Recall"
#3 "Die Hard 2: Die Harder"
#4 "Dick Tracy"
#5 "Back the Future Part III"
#6 "Presumed Innocent"
#7 "Days of Thunder"
#8 "Another 48 Hrs."
#9 "Bird on a Wire"
#10 "Flatliners"

1991
#1 "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"
#2 "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
#3 "City Slickers"
#4 "Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear"
#5 "Backdraft"
#6 "Hot Shots!"
#7 "What About Bob?"
#8 "101 Dalmatians" (Re-issue)
#9 "Boyz N the Hood"
#10 "Doc Hollywood"

1992
#1 "Batman Returns"
#2 "Lethal Weapon 3"
#3 "Sister Act"
#4 "A League of Their Own"
#5 "Unforgiven"
#6 "Patriot Games"
#7 "Boomerang"
#8 "Far and Away"
#9 "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid"
#10 "Housesitter"

1993
#1 "Jurassic Park"
#2 "The Fugitive"
#3 "The Firm"
#4 "Sleepless in Seattle"
#5 "In the Line of Fire"
#6 "Cliffhanger"
#7 "Free Willy"
#8 "Dave"
#9 "Rising Sun"
#10 "Rookie of the Year"

1994
#1 "Forrest Gump"
#2 "The Lion King"
#3 "True Lies"
#4 "The Flinstones"
#5 "Clear and Present Danger"
#6 "Speed"
#7 "The Mask"
#8 "Maverick"
#9 "The Client"
#10 "Wolf"

1995
#1 "Batman Forever"
#2 "Apollo 13"
#3 "Pocahontas"
#4 "Casper"
#5 "Die Hard with a Vengeance"
#6 "Crimson Tide"
#7 "Waterworld"
#8 "Dangerous Minds"
#9 "Congo"
#10 "Braveheart"

1996
#1 "Independence Day"
#2 "Twister"
#3 "Mission: Impossible"
#4 "The Rock"
#5 "The Nutty Professor"
#6 "A Time to Kill"
#7 "Phenomenon"
#8 "Eraser"
#9 "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
#10 "The Cable Guy"

1997
#1 "Men in Black"
#2 "The Lost World: Jurassic Park"
#3 "Air Force One"
#4 "My Best Friend's Wedding"
#5 "Face/Off"
#6 "Batman & Robin"
#7 "George of the Jungle"
#8 "Con Air"
#9 "Contact"
#10 "Hercules"

1998
#1 "Saving Private Ryan"
#2 "Armageddon"
#3 "There's Something About Mary"
#4 "Dr. Dolittle"
#5 "Deep Impact"
#6 "Godzilla"
#7 "Lethal Weapon 4"
#8 "The Truman Show"
#9 "Mulan"
#10 "The Mask of Zorro"

1999
#1 "Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace"
#2 "The Sixth Sense"
#3 "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"
#4 "Tarzan"
#5 "Big Daddy"
#6 "The Mummy"
#7 "Runaway Bride"
#8 "The Blair Witch Project"
#9 "Notting Hill"
#10 "Wild Wild West"

2000
#1 "Mission: Impossible 2"
#2 "Gladiator"
#3 "The Perfect Storm"
#4 "X-Men"
#5 "Scary Movie"
#6 "What Lies Beneath"
#7 "Dinosaur"
#8 "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"
#9 "Big Momma's House"
#10 "The Patriot"

2001
#1 "Shrek"
#2 "Rush Hour 2"
#3 "The Mummy Returns"
#4 "Pearl Harbor"
#5 "Jurassic Park III"
#6 "Planet of the Apes"
#7 "American Pie 2"
#8 "The Fast & the Furious"
#9 "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"
#10 "Dr. Dolittle 2"

2002
#1 "Spider-Man"
#2 "Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones"
#3 "Signs"
#4 "Austin Powers in Goldmember"
#5 "Men in Black II"
#6 "Scooby Doo"
#7 "Lilo & Stitch"
#8 "XXX"
#9 "Minority Report"
#10 "Mr. Deeds"

2003
#1 "Finding Nemo"
#2 "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
#3 "The Matrix Reloaded"
#4 "Bruce Almighty"
#5 "X2: X-Men United"
#6 "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"
#7 "Bad Boys II"
#8 "Hulk"
#9 "2 Fast 2 Furious"
#10 "Seabiscuit"

2004
#1 "Shrek 2"
#2 "Spider-Man 2"
#3 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
#4 "The Day After Tomorrow"
#5 "The Bourne Supremacy"
#6 "I, Robot"
#7 "Troy"
#8 "Van Helsing"
#9 "Fahrenheit 9/11"
#10 "DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story"

2005
#1 "Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith"
#2 "War of the Worlds"
#3 "Wedding Crashers"
#4 "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory"
#5 "Batman Begins"
#6 "Madagascar"
#7 "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
#8 "The Longest Yard"
#9 "Fantastic Four"
#10 "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"

2006
#1 "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
#2 "Cars"
#3 "X-Men: the Last Stand"
#4 "The Da Vinci Code"
#5 "Superman Returns"
#6 "Over the Hedge"
#7 "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby"
#8 "Click"
#9 "Mission: Impossible III"
#10 "The Devil Wears Prada"

2007
#1 "Spider-Man 3"
#2 "Shrek the Third"
#3 "Transformers"
#4 "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
#5 "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
#6 "The Bourne Ultimatum"
#7 "Ratatouille"
#8 "The Simpsons Movie"
#9 "Knocked Up"
#10 "Rush Hour 3"

2008
#1 "The Dark Knight"
#2 "Iron Man"
#3 "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
#4 "Hancock"
#5 "Wall-E"
#6 "Kung Fu Panda"
#7 "Sex & the City"
#8 "Mama Mia!"
#9 "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"
#10 "The Incredible Hulk"

Weekend Estimates

#1 "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" $42.5 million ($67.5 million)
#2 "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" $42.5 million ($293.5 million) -61%
#3 "Public Enemies" $26.2 million ($41.0 million)
#4 "The Proposal" $12.8 million ($94.3 million) -31%
#5 "The Hangover" $10.4 million ($204.2 million) -39%
#6 "Up" $6.6 million ($264.9 million) -50%
#7 "My Sister's Keeper" $5.3 million ($26.0 million) -58%
#8 "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" $2.5 million ($58.5 million) -54%
#9 "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" $2.1 million ($167.8 million) -42%
#10 "Year One" $2.1 million ($38.1 million) -65%
#11 "Star Trek" $1.8 million ($249.8 million) -51%
#12 "Away We Go" $1.1 million ($6.1 million) -36%

Earning the fourth biggest opening July weekend mark in history, the industry enjoyed brisk business at the box office this holiday session as nearly $156 million was spent on the top 12 films.  Business was up about 2% compared to last year, but off about 5% compared to this frame in '07.  Overall, 2009's massive year-to-date domestic tally now stands at $5.477 billion, representing an 11% jump over last year ($4.916 billion), up 13% compared to '07 ($4.854 billion), 18% stronger than '06 ($4.636 billion), and 23% more potent than '05 ($4.452 billion). 

Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and DreamWorks/Paramount's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" looked to have tied for the top spot this weekend as both films pulled in $42.5 million.  'Ice Age' has so far tallied $67.5 million since opening on Wednesday.  The $42.5 million debut ranks as the lowest of the franchise thus far ("Ice Age" opened with $46.2 million in '02 and "Ice Age: The Meltdown" debut with $68.0 million in '06).  The animated sequel had a stellar average of $10,368 from its 4,099 theaters, which was the best of the top 12.  With a budget of $90 million, Fox expects this one to end up having a very healthy run in theaters.

'Revenge of the Fallen' took a 61% hit in business this weekend and has now earned a whopping $293.5 million.  DreamWorks and Paramount are now speculating that the movie will end up fliring with a final domestic haul in the neighborhood of $400 million.  Worldwide, the movie has earned close to $600 million already and will very likely end its run with a global haul north of the $900 million mark.

Universal's "Public Enemies" performed to expectations this weekend as it earned more than $26 million, it has tallied $41 million since opening on Wednesday.  The movie's per-theater average of $7,850 from its 3,334 locations, which was the third best of the top 12.  With a budget of about $100 million, this one will need to show strong legs in the coming weeks if the studio is to see any sort of return on their investment.

Disney's "The Proposal" is about a week away from passing the century mark.  WB's "The Hangover" continues to show very sturdy legs as it passed the double-century mark this weekend.  The comedy now looks poised to become the biggest R rated comedy hit in history, "Beverly Hills Cop" ($234.8 million) currently holds that title.  Pixar/Disney's "Up" has now earned just under $265 million.  WB's "My Sister's Keeper" took a steep 58% hit and is fading fast.  Sony's "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" is nearing the $60 million.  Fox's 'Night at the Museum' sequel and Sony's "Year One" both took in $2.1 million this weekend.  'Museum' has tallied close to $168 million, while "Year One" was off a disastrous 65%.  Paramount's "Star Trek" is days away from topping the $250 million plateau.  Focus Features' "Away We Go" rounds out the top 12 as it has now pulled in $6 million.

Next weekend will see the releases of Universal's "Bruno" and Fox's "I Love You Beth Cooper".  "Bruno" is expected to take the top spot next weekend, while 'Beth Cooper' should see decent results.

Greg, the early tracking has "Inglorious Bastards" opening in the area of $25 million.  Out of the six films that Quentin Tarantino has helmed, two of them were able to open north of the $20 million mark, "Kill Bill: Volume One" ($22.1 million) and "Kill Bill: Volume Two" ($25.1 million).  'Bastards' is (so far) expected to launch in the same neighborhood of those two movies.  The Weinstein Co. is banking on Brad Pitt's immense star power to turn Tarantino's $70 million budgeted flick into a big hit.

No problem.

As for 'Transformers', audiences pretty much knew what they were getting.  And yes, they essentially wanted to turn their brains off and enjoy the FX, because at the end of the day, the real star of the movie is ILM.  A 61% decline is steep, but as Adam pointed out the movie's first five days in theaters all but guaranteed a final domestic haul of $350-$400 million. 

In terms of being the biggest hit of the year, the only thing I can see challenging 'Transformers' is Jim Cameron's upcoming "Avatar".  He'll be facing a great deal more pressure than Bay faced because much more is expected of Cameron given his track-record, as well as being an Oscar-winning director.  Bay stuck to his strengths and delivered a loud, mindless, popcorn flick that is making an absolute killing at the box office.  Anything short of "Avatar" being a visually stunning cinematic masterpiece and some will see it as a disappointment.

The latest Harry Potter flick will more than likely end up as the overseas box office champ this year, especially considering that the last two movies both ended up topping the $600 million mark internationally.  'The Prisoner of Azkaban' remains the only Potter flick that didn't earn at least $600 million overseas, it "only" brought in $546 mil.  With early buzz on the latest Potter flick being very high, look for a final global haul of no less than $875 million.


Edited by TerryRL - 7/6/2009 at 02:30 am GMT

Second weekend drops for $100 million-plus opening films...

#1 "The Dark Knight" -52%
#2 "Spider-Man 3" -62%
#3 "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" -54%
#4 "Shrek the Third" -56%
#5 "Spider-Man" -38%
#6 "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" -62%
#7 "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" -61%
#8 "Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith" -49%
#9 "Shrek 2" -33%
#10 "X-Men: The Last Stand" -67%
#11 "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" -47%
#12 "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" -55%

Of the 12 films to open with more than $100 million domestically, only "Shrek 2", Spider-Man", 'Goblet of Fire', and Episode III avoided having second weekend declines of more than 50%.  The 'Transformers' sequel, Spidey 3, Pirates 2, and X3 are the only $100 million-plus openers to suffer sophomore falls of more than 60%.  The remaining third of the movies all had 50-56% dips.