comScore Reports 2016 North American Movie Box Office Hits a New All-Time Record (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

RESTON, Va., Jan. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR), the global standard for box office reporting, today announced the North American box office sets a new record with $11.4 billion through Dec. 31, making 2016 the highest-earning year in movie history. 

A wide assortment of movies on the blockbuster side of the ledger and an auspicious crop of smaller scale films brought enthusiastic patrons to movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada throughout the year, giving the industry its biggest overall revenue in North American box office history.

"Forgetful fish, super-heroes, household pets and space travelers led the charge in a year that was marked by an incredibly diverse selection of films from every genre and of every size and scope from all the studios," comScore's Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. "This sparked an extraordinary level of enthusiasm by patrons who flocked to North America's incredibly well-appointed movie theaters."

Below is a list of the top 10 highest-grossing films in 2016 at the North American box office through Dec. 31:

comScore - Top Grossing Movies of 2016 thru Saturday 12-31 (includes holdovers from 2015)
Rank	Title	Distributor	Release Date	N. Am. Gross
1	Finding Dory	Disney	6/17/16	$486,295,561
2	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	Disney	12/16/16	$408,200,000
3	Captain America: Civil War	Disney	5/6/16	$408,084,349
4	Secret Life Of Pets, The	Universal	7/8/16	$368,384,330
5	Jungle Book, The	Disney	4/15/16	$364,001,123
6	Deadpool	20th Century Fox	2/12/16	$363,070,709
7	Zootopia	Disney	3/4/16	$341,268,248
8	Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice	Warner Bros.	3/25/16	$330,360,194
9	Suicide Squad	Warner Bros.	8/5/16	$325,100,054
10	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Disney	12/18/15	$284,694,956

About comScore Box Office Essentials®
comScore Box Office Essentials® is the movie industry's census-based currency, collecting, processing and reporting on how many people go to the movies and how much they spend in virtually every theater in North America. Every major studio, mini-major and prominent independent film distributor in the industry uses comScore's real-time and geographic-specific box office information that provides users with instant analysis of nearly the entire domestic box office landscape. Primarily collected through an electronic connection with thousands of theater box offices, comScore's box office intelligence is accessible via online reports from anywhere around the world, allowing users to literally watch the virtual minute-by-minute sale of tickets.

 

[Patrick Sun]

So 4 comic book films, 2 Star Wars films, and 4 animated/children films... Not really all that diverse.

 

[TravisR]

So 4 comic book films, 2 Star Wars films, and 4 animated/children films... Not really all that diverse.

They're the only things that people see anymore.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I realize I probably live in the most expensive market in the country - $16 for 2D, $20 for regular 3D, $26 for IMAX 3D - but prices in general seem to be up everywhere, while presentation standards in non-premium theaters are down. Meanwhile home entertainment looks better than ever and is cheaper than ever. I don't know that these are the only movies people are interested in, but I think it shows in part at least is that for what it costs to go to the movies these days, people want to see something that feels worth seeing on the biggest screens and that they feel pretty confident that they'll enjoy. When going to the movies becomes a major purchase instead of something to do on a whim, you don't want to spend that much unless you know you'll like it.

(I notice something similar happening on Broadway. With ticket prices routinely $100 or more, people only want to spend that if they know in advance that they'll like it, so productions of familiar material with familiar stars sell, and original material is having a tougher time.)

More so than the number of movies by genre, I think it's telling that eight of the ten movies on the list are installments in existing properties.

 

[Edwin-S]

All it tells me is that people, right now, want to go and see films that are escapist and entertaining. The world is getting to be a meaner and shittier place than ever. Maybe people just want to see something positive, funny or where the villains still manage to lose, unlike the real world.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Yeah, at $13 a ticket around these parts, prices have gone up much faster than inflation. It'd be interesting to see how actual attendance compares to past years. Even on the truly monster movies like Rogue One, I haven't seen the kind of opening weekend crowds I did five or 10 years ago.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Adam, I've noticed something similar as well - the high prices somewhat mask that attendance isn't as strong as it once might have been.

Whenever i see a comparison of a modern release to one now, I laugh because there's so much more than just the box office. Lots of outlets were reporting, for example, that Doctor Strange grossed about the same amount as the original Iron Man, and therefore, was as big of a hit. Well, not really. Iron Man opened in 2008 and was only available in standard 2D, which was even less than it is now. Doctor Strange opened up in 2D, but also RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, and IMAX 3D, all of which cost more than 2D. The total gross may be similar, but if you look beyond the box office dollar numbers, it's easy to see more people came out for Iron Man. It's just that the people who saw Doctor Strange paid more for the privilege.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Also, the switch to digital projection makes it easier to adjust the schedule on the fly. When Revenge Of The Sith came out in 2005, that was primarily shown on 35mm prints. Each theater got a set number of prints and that was that. I all the shows sold out, that was that - they couldn't make a new print materialize out of thin air. With digital today, the IMAX, Dolby Cinema and 4DX showings may sell out, but they can add as many 2D and RealD 3D showings as they have screens. So if Rogue One is selling out, they can cancel a showing of Rules Don't Apply and all another Rogue One. That means that regular, non-premium showings may not be full in the way they were ten years ago.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Also, the switch to digital projection makes it easier to adjust the schedule on the fly. When Revenge Of The Sith came out in 2005, that was primarily shown on 35mm prints. Each theater got a set number of prints and that was that. I all the shows sold out, that was that - they couldn't make a new print materialize out of thin air. With digital today, the IMAX, Dolby Cinema and 4DX showings may sell out, but they can add as many 2D and RealD 3D showings as they have screens. So if Rogue One is selling out, they can cancel a showing of Rules Don't Apply and all another Rogue One. That means that regular, non-premium showings may not be full in the way they were ten years ago.

I suspect most of us remember the days of our yoot when you'd have to line up around the block to see a hot new movie. Those days are toast since there are now so many more screens in existence.

I can remember when a two-screen "complex" was a big deal - and four screens was stunning!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I remember growing up that our local theater had six screens. #5 was the biggest of the six, and when DTS came out, that was the only screen there that had it. I remember riding my bicycle over a mile to the theater to see summer blockbusters when I didn't want to wait for family movie night later in the week, and calling ahead to find out which movie and what times were scheduled for theater #5.

I also remember the first giant multiplex I ever went to - a Regal in Delray Beach, Florida where my grandparents had a winter home. My dad would take my brothers and I down there on February break from school, and my grandparents had a one bedroom place so it got a little cramped - going to the movies made for a good daily trip, and with I think 19 screens there, we never ran out of things to see or showtimes to pick. That was always a highlight of those trips.