2010 at the Box Office

JANUARY

1^st

-N/A

8^th

-“Daybreakers” (Lionsgate)

-“Youth in Revolt” (Weinstein/Dimention)

15^th

-“The Book of Eli” (WB)

-“Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil” (Weinstein Co.)

-“The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks/Paramount) wide release

-“The Spy Next Door” (Lionsgate)

22^nd

-“Legion” (Sony)

-“The Tooth Fairy” (Fox)

29^th

-“Edge of Darkness” (WB)

-“When in Rome” (Disney)

FEBRUARY

5^th

-“Dear John” (Sony)

-“From Paris with Love” (Lionsgate)

-“I Love You, Phillip Morris” (Freestyle Releasing)

12^th

-“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” (Fox)

-“The Prophet” (SPC)

-“Valentine’s Day” (WB)

-“The Wolfman” (Universal)

19^th

-“Shutter Island” (DreamWorks/Paramount)

26^th

-“Cop Out” (WB)

-“The Crazies” (Overture Films)

-“Takers” (Sony)

MARCH

5th

-“Alice in Wonderland” (Disney)

-“Brooklyn’s Finest” (Overture Films)

12^th

-“The Back-Up Plan” (CBS Films)

-“Green Zone” (Universal)

-“Our Family Wedding” (Fox Searchlight)

-“Remember Me” (Summit Entertainment)

-“She’s Out of My League” (Paramount)

19^th

-“The Bounty Hunter” (Sony)

-“Hot Tub Time Machine” (MGM)

-“Hubble 3D” (WB)

-“Last Night” (Miramax)

-“The Runaways” (Apparition)

-“Season of the Witch” (Lionsgate)

26^th

-“Clash of the Titans” (WB)

-“How to Train Your Dragon” (DreamWorks/Paramount)

APRIL

2^nd

-“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” (Fox)

-“Furry Vengeance” (Summit Entertainment)

-“The Last Song” (Disney)

-“Repo Man” (Universal)

-“Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?” (Lionsgate)

9^th

-“Date Night” (Fox)

-“The Losers” (WB)

16^th

-“Death at a Funeral” (Sony)

-“Kick-Ass” (Lionsgate)

-“MacGruber” (Universal)

-“Piranha 3D” (Dimention/Weinstein Co.)

22^nd (Thursday)

-“Oceans” (Disney)

23^rd

-“Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps” (Fox)

30^th

-“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (New Line/WB)

MAY

7^th

-“Iron Man 2” (Marvel/Paramount)

14^th

-“Letters to Juliet” (Summit Entertainment)

-“Robin Hood” (Universal)

21^st

-“Shrek Forever After” (DreamWorks/Paramount)

28^th

-“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (Disney)

-“Sex & the City 2” (New Line/WB)

JUNE

4^th

-“Killers” (Lionsgate)

-“Marmaduke” (Fox)

11^th

-“The A-Team” (Fox)

-“Get Him to the Greek” (Universal)

-“Karate Kid” (Sony)

18^th

-“Footloose” (Paramount)

-“Jonah Hex” (WB)

-“Toy Story 3” (Pixar/Disney)

25^th

-“Grown Ups” (Sony)

30^th (Wednesday)

-“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” (Summit Entertainment)

JULY

2^nd

-“Knight & Day” (Fox)

-“The Last Airbender” (Paramount)

9^th

-“Despicaple Me” (Universal)

-“Predators” (Fox)

16^th

-“Inception” (WB)

-“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (Disney)

23^rd

-“Dinner for Schmucks” (DreamWorks/Paramount)

-“Salt” (Sony)

30^th

-“Beastly” (CBS Films)

-“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” (WB)

-“Little Fockers” (Universal)

-“Morning Glory” (Paramount)

AUGUST

6^th

-“The Other Guys” (Sony)

-“Step Up 3D” (Disney)

13^th

-“The Expendables” (Lionsgate)

-“Ramona and Beezus” (Fox)

20^th

-N/A

27^th

-“Lottery Ticket” (WB)

-“Priest” (Sony)

SEPTEMBER

3^rd

-N/A

10^th

-“The Town” (WB)

17^th

-“Flipped” (WB)

-“The Roommate” (Sony)

-“Warrior” (Lionsgate)

24^th

-“Guardians of Ga’Hole 3D” (WB)

-“You Again” (Disney)

OCTOBER

1^st

-“Alpha & Omega” (Lionsgate)

-“Your Highness” (Universal)

8^th

-“Going the Distance” (WB)

-“Secretariat” (Disney)

-“The Zookeeper” (MGM)

15^th

-“Faster” (CBS Films)

-“The Social Network” (Sony)

22^nd

-“The Prisoners” (WB)

-“Saw VII 3D” (Lionsgate)

29^th

-N/A

NOVEMBER

5^th

-“Due Date” (WB)

12^th

-“Unstoppable” (Fox)

17^th (Wednesday)

-“Oobermind” (DreamWorks/Paramount)

19^th

-“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I” (WB)

24^th (Wednesday)

-“Burlesque” (Sony)

-“Red Dawn” (MGM)

-“Repunzel” (Disney)

DECEMBER

10^th

-“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (Walden Media/Fox)

17^th

-“Tron: Legacy” (Disney)

-“Yogi Bear” (WB)

22^nd (Wednesday)

-“The Green Hornet” (Sony)

-“Gulliver’s Travels” (Fox)

-“Life as We Know It” (WB)

A movie like "Avatar" generates business for other films.  Look at how many successful movies are playing right now.  "Avatar" is that rare juggernaut that "gets people in the habit of going to the movies".  This also happened after the release of "Titanic" as it helped make 1998 the biggest movie-going year (theater admissions wise) of the 1990s.  The movie ran in theaters until September of that year. 

The studios believe that "Avatar" will have the same sort of effect going into this new year.  The January box office could challenge the record haul of last year (topping $1 billion for the first time in history) based almost entirely of '09 holdovers.  I do think that this month will see solid performances in films like "The Book of Eli", "Edge of Darkness", and "The Lovely Bones", but "Avatar", "Sherlock Holmes", the 'Alvin & the Chipmunks' sequel, and a few other '09 films are going to clearly dominate this month of movie-going.

Last year saw a record-breaking January pretty much set the tone for the rest of the year (banking an industry best $10.6 billion domestically for the year) and the studios are optimistic that the same thing can happen this year.