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2010 at the Box Office - Page 12

post #331 of 1041
1/26/10 at 8:14pm

Actually, Titanic was touted by many critics as a must see event in the days leading up to its release. They called it a modern epic in the vein of classic Hollywood films such as "Ben-Hur", "Gone With the Wind," and "Lawrence of Arabia." I worked at a cinema at the time and the major reason I wanted to see it was because the reviews were saying that it was a must-see event, the epic of our times. The film did respectable business at our theatre for the first weekend, but starting week #2 it really started to take off...the film was a smash well before January, 1998. And the crowds continued to come. 10:30 and 11:00 pm shows were sold out every weekend. Early matinees starting at 10am were sold-out every week day. The crowds ranged from 4-84 and everything in between. The film lasted in the sell-out mode for months on end. So those saying that it was considered a bloated potential bomb are considering what was being thought when the original release date was pushed back...not in the weeks and days leading up to the actual release.

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post #332 of 1041
1/26/10 at 10:40pm
Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time
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post #333 of 1041
1/27/10 at 12:32am
So I wonder if James Cameron emailed himself to congratulate this feat? 



Also: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8456463.stm
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post #334 of 1041
1/27/10 at 4:46am
Add me to the list of being surprised that Avatar has become the #1 BO King.  The inevitable 3peat speculation for Cameron will start soon, if it has not already.   The movie is proof that these types of occurrences are spontaneous and cannot be calculated and delivered on an assembly line.

Simply amazing no matter what analysises or rationalizations are being postulated to account and/or detract from this achievement.
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post #335 of 1041
1/27/10 at 6:31am
It was all because of teenage boys that bought all the tickets for every showing so they could watch it by themself, I'm sure of it.
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post #336 of 1041
1/27/10 at 7:57am
I dunno, some would say it's a chick flick:  http://www.ivillage.com/avatar-chick-flick/1-c-70829


Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve_Tk View Post

It was all because of teenage boys that bought all the tickets for every showing so they could watch it by themself, I'm sure of it.
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post #337 of 1041
1/28/10 at 8:13am

List of top ticket selling movies (not gross money making movies)

I'm sure most people have heard that Avatar has now become the top gossing movie of all time. I have always found statements like this to be disengenious. Mainly because how much money a movie makes depends more on how much the tickets prices are rather than how many people actually went to see it. Even so when asked what the best movies of all time are most people will use a top grossing list as a point of reference when making that judgement. But really, is Avatar a better movie than Gone with the Wind or the Sound of Music or Jaws or even Star Wars? I found that hard to believe so I did a little googling (i love Goggle) and found a great web site that lists the top 100 movies of all time adjusted for inflation.

Not only does this site adjust for inflation. You can set it to adjust for any years ticket prices dating all the way back to 1910. You can even switch it show an estimate number of ticket sales instead of money made. Using this list I found that Avatar is 26th on the list. Just behind Grease and just ahead of Thunderball. When you think about it, given the flaws Avatar has, that is pretty much where I would expect that film to be.

boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm
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post #338 of 1041
1/28/10 at 9:52am
This belongs in the 2010 Box Office Thread.  Oh wait, it already is there, in post 264.  As is a discussion relating to this very issue.

Amazing.  Anyways, the statement is definitively NOT disingenuous.  Top-grossing = makes most money.  Avatar has made more money than any other film wrt Box Office, so the statement that Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time is a statement of fact. 

Beyond that, you seem to equate box office with quality or reception, which is flawed to begin with, regardless of the direction you are headed.  If you'd like to discuss the merits of the film, devoid of box office concerns, might I direct you here.
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post #339 of 1041
1/28/10 at 10:23am
Adjusting for inflation or counting ticket sales rather than dollars does seem to be a fairer way of measuring a film's success, but it's really impossible to directly compare the popularity of a new film with its predecessors.

For one thing, prior to about the mid-80s, the only way to see a film was in the theatre. And prior to the advent of television in the 1940s - and really the 1950s, for most people - the only way to even see a moving image was in the theatre. Now you've got blu-ray, DVD, cable channels, pay-per-view etc. And these days people are more likely to see a film at home rather than at the theatre.

Then there are also far more distractions now vieing for people's time and money than there ever were in the past. Hundreds of specialty television channels, video games, the internet, Facebook and so on.

And you have to factor in the fact that the population has roughly doubled compared to what it was in the 1930s, so there's simply a much larger potential audience for Avatar than there was for Gone with the Wind.
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post #340 of 1041
1/28/10 at 11:12am
Thank you for posting this.  I'm now aware that Mary Poppins and Fantasia ARE better than Avatar.  I will not waste any further time enjoying the movie avatar, my time should be better spent with the other 25 movies that are better than it.  I can't understand why people are even seeing this movie, it will never been as good as the others because it can't sell as many tickets!!!!!
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post #341 of 1041
1/29/10 at 5:15pm
After watching Edge of Darkness today, I'm pretty sure bad word of mouth will prevent it from beating Avatar this weekend. 
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post #342 of 1041
1/29/10 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jose Martinez View Post

After watching Edge of Darkness today, I'm pretty sure bad word of mouth will prevent it from beating Avatar this weekend. 
 
I thought "Edge of Darkness" was pretty good.





Crawdaddy
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post #343 of 1041
1/29/10 at 7:40pm

Good or bad, word of mouth probably won't have much effect on Edge Of Darkness until next weekend.

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post #344 of 1041
1/30/10 at 12:25am
Well, it could affect the Friday to Saturday numbers.  Anyway, early estimates have Avatar edging Edge of Darkness $7M to $6M on Friday.  I think it's safe to say it'll be 7 weekends in a row for Avatar.
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post #345 of 1041
1/30/10 at 12:23pm
Looks like next weekend will be the weekend for Avatar to sink Titantic.

It's at $571mm and change after Friday, so it should get to at least $585mm by Sunday.  Give it a conservative $10mm for Mon-Thurs to bring it up to $595mm heading into next weekend.  So Friday, February 5th should be the day it takes the domestic box office crown.
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post #346 of 1041
1/30/10 at 12:44pm
Thread Starter 
Friday Estimates

#1 "Avatar" $7.3 million ($571.8 million) 19% Friday-to-Friday drop
#2 "Edge of Darkness" $5.7 million
#3 "When in Rome" $4.4 million
#4 "The Book of Eli" $2.5 million ($68.1 million) 50% Friday-to-Friday drop
#5 "The Tooth Fairy" $2.3 million ($18.4 million) 36% Friday-to-Friday drop
#6 "Legion" $2.0 million ($23.9 million) 70% Friday-to-Friday drop (Ouch!)
#7 "The Lovely Bones" $1.4 million ($34.6 million) 48% Friday-to-Friday drop
#8 "Sherlock Holmes" $1.2 million ($194.3 million) 38% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "It's Complicated" $1.0 million ($101.3 million) 40% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" $810K ($206.1 million) 42% Friday-to-Friday drop
#11 "The Blind Side" $795K ($235.7 million) 36% Friday-to-Friday drop
#12 "Extraordinary Measures" $760K ($8.6 million) 63% Friday-to-Friday drop

"Avatar" will make it seven-in-a-row at #1 this weekend as it suffered a Friday-to-Friday dip of only 19%.  Today will see the sci-fi epic become the first movie in history to top the $2 billion mark in global box office earnings.  As ToddP pointed out, "Avatar" looks on course to pass the $600.8 million haul of "Titanic" within the next ten days to claim the crown of biggest domestic hit in history. 

"Edge of Darkness" got off to a good start as it should flirt with a $20 million debut this weekend.  "When in Rome" will finish third with an opening tally in the area of $15 million.  By the end of the weekend, the month of January will have earned the biggest numbers ever, while marking the second consecutive year that the session has produced total earnings of more than $1 billion.

To put it mildly, the studios are ecstatic at how the year has started, regardless that mostly '09 holdovers are the cause.  "The Book of Eli" will finish as the month's biggest hit as it should end its run with just over $100 million.
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post #347 of 1041
1/30/10 at 1:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford View Post

I thought "Edge of Darkness" was pretty good.

 


Me too. It wasn't amazing or anything but it's worth watching.
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post #348 of 1041
1/30/10 at 9:09pm
If Avatar has a good Saturday, the domestic record might go down next Wednesday.
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post #349 of 1041
1/31/10 at 9:04am
From what I read, Avatar is estimated to have dropped only 14% from last weekend!  Gulp!  Maybe by Tuesday it'll sink Titanic!
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post #350 of 1041
1/31/10 at 9:42am
I suspect the actuals will be a few million short of estimates this weekend, but if the record falls on Tuesday, all the better.  People are continuing to show up for the 3D screenings of Avatar on the weekends in droves.  Avatar might be able to squeak out another win next weekend against "From Paris with Love" (and its R rating), but I think the Wolfman will finally nab the #1 weekend box office from Avatar in 2 weekends if it can muster $25 million or more.
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post #351 of 1041
1/31/10 at 11:48am
Thread Starter 
Weekend Estimates

#1 "Avatar" $30.0 million ($594.5 million) -14%
#2 "Edge of Darkness" $17.1 million
#3 "When in Rome" $12.1 million
#4 "The Tooth Fairy" $10.0 million ($26.1 million) -29%
#5 "The Book of Eli" $8.8 million ($74.4 million) -44%
#6 "Legion" $6.8 million ($28.6 million) -61%
#7 "The Lovely Bones" $4.7 million ($38.0 million) -44%
#8 "Sherlock Holmes" $4.5 million ($197.6 million) -32%
#9 "Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" $4.0 million ($209.3 million) -38%
#10 "It's Complicated" $3.7 million ($104.0 million) -36%
#11 "The Blind Side" $3.0 million ($237.9 million) -28%
#12 "Up in the Air" $2.7 million ($73.2 million) -31%

Moviegoers spent more than $107 million on the top 12 films this weekend, marking a 6% improvement over this point last year, as well as being 7% stronger than this frame in '08.  January '10 earned the biggest box office marks ever for the month as $1.053 billion was spent during the month, representing a 4% bump over last year's total of $1.014 billion.  An estimated 143.2 million tickets were sold during the month, which is up from the 138 million mark achieved last January.

Ho-hum, another week and more box office records fall at the feet of Jim Cameron.  This weekend saw Fox's "Avatar" topped the box office for the seventh time as it pulled in an estimated $30 million.  The movie has so far tallied just under $595 million domestically (it will pass the $600.8 million haul of "Titanic" sometime during the week) and a monstrous $2.039 billion worldwide, making it the biggest global hit in the history of the movies.  There is little doubt that the movie will make it eight-in-a-row at the top spot next week.

WB's "Edge of Darkness" got off to a good start as it debuted with just over $17 million.  The movie earned a solid average of $5,584 from its 3,066 theaters, which was the second best of the top 12 behind "Avatar" ($9,759 from 3,074 locations).  Disney's "When in Rome" also had a decent opening as it pulled in $12 million, giving it a per-theater average of $4,912 from 2,456 locales.  Judging by the exit polling, both films should have decent legs in the coming weeks.

Next weekend will see Lionsgate release "From Paris with Love" and Sony launch "Dear John".  Both films should have solid openings, but "Avatar" is expected to have little difficulty remaining the #1 movie in the land.
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post #352 of 1041
1/31/10 at 8:12pm
For all that Hollywood despises him thanks to his harsh and paranoid drunken tirade, Edge of Darkness proves that he's one of the few real stars left. According to the New York Times,  full "69 percent of the audience" in exit polling "listed Mr. Gibson’s presence as the primary reason for attending." That's huge for him if he plans to continue as an actor going forward.
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post #353 of 1041
2/1/10 at 3:08am
Looking ahead to week ten for Avatar, it looks to be the fourth film in history to make more than ten million in ten different weekends.  The other three, are Home Alone, E.T. and Titanic.
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post #354 of 1041
2/1/10 at 12:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Sun View Post

I suspect the actuals will be a few million short of estimates this weekend, but if the record falls on Tuesday, all the better.  People are continuing to show up for the 3D screenings of Avatar on the weekends in droves.  Avatar might be able to squeak out another win next weekend against "From Paris with Love" (and its R rating), but I think the Wolfman will finally nab the #1 weekend box office from Avatar in 2 weekends if it can muster $25 million or more.
 
Actuals are in and AVATAR came in ahead of estimates by over a million dollars.

from www.boxofficemojo.com

<<Last Weekend <Last Year View Index  
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Avatar Fox $31,280,029 -10.5% 3,074 -67 $10,176 $595,752,416 - 7

Looks like it may pass Titanic on Tuesday. Amazing.
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post #355 of 1041
2/1/10 at 12:38pm
Good grief, if it keeps a stranglehold on the 3D screenings at a modest -12% clip, Avatar could sustain $20+ million weekends 3 more times (10 weekends in a row), and get near $700 million by the March 5th weekend when it will lose 3D screens to Alice.  Whoa!
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post #356 of 1041
2/1/10 at 3:32pm
So the big question becomes: will "Avatar" hit $700 million US?  Looking like a "yes" there, isn't it?
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post #357 of 1041
2/2/10 at 7:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin Jacobson View Post

So the big question becomes: will "Avatar" hit $700 million US?  Looking like a "yes" there, isn't it?
 

Yeah, $700 million is looking like a "when" not "if" question.  The "if" may be if it can reach $750 million and claim the #11 spot on the adjusted for inflation list.  Reaching #10 is looking unlikely, as it would need to hit $814 million, and even I have a hard time believing it will do that.
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post #358 of 1041
2/2/10 at 8:32am
i dont think alice in wonderland will all a sudden displace avatar (except the IMAX screens). the cinemas that are around my house have multiple 3-D auditorium. they can show BOTH alice and avatar in 3-D at the same time.

i wouldn't be surprised if cinemas continue to order and implement and install 3-D projectors at a picked up pace because of the # of 3-D films being rolled out. they definitely want to capitalize on it, especially since avatar. in another few years, i think every single auditorium might be 3-D, even if it would be showing a 2-D movie, it would sitll have the technical capability to show 3-D. then they can schedule any movie to any auditorium like they do currently.
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post #359 of 1041
2/2/10 at 8:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JediFonger View Post

i dont think alice in wonderland will all a sudden displace avatar (except the IMAX screens). the cinemas that are around my house have multiple 3-D auditorium. they can show BOTH alice and avatar in 3-D at the same time.

I believe the cinemas are contractually obligated to show Alice on a wide number of screens, which would essentially displace Avatar since there are a limited number of 3D screens right now.  There is no way now to show multiple (or even two) 2500+ screen releases simultaneously because there aren't enough 3D screens to support it, which is actually a big problem since there are so many 3D blockbusters in the pipe.
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post #360 of 1041
2/2/10 at 9:02am
Yep, what'll most likely happen is that the bulk of the 3D screens will be playing Alice starting with the March 5th weekend, but they'll play Avatar at later hours of the evening (perhaps 10 p.m and later showings) just to keep it on the marquee for a few more weekends, unless Alice flops, and then they'll add more Avatar showing back for their 3D theaters.  It'll be interesting to see if there will still be the interest for 3D Avatar showings in March, though the Oscars results on March 7th may boost interest (or not).
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