MORE FILMS TO DEBUT OVERSEAS BEFORE NORTH AMERICA

With overseas grosses often accounting for as much as 80 percent of a film’s worldwide gross, movies, especially the big blockbusters, will increasingly make their debuts abroad before hitting the domestic market, a reversal of traditional distribution, CBS News observed on Monday. Some box office observers claim that an overseas launch ahead of North America […]

THE LAST TWILIGHT IS GLEAMING

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 did not, as many box-office pundits had predicted, set a new record for an opening weekend. It did not even set a new record for the Twilight franchise. (That’s held by 2009’s New Moon with $142.8 million.) But the $141.1 million that it earned nevertheless represents the […]

NO ESTIMATES FOR ANY FILM THIS WEEKEND

All major and independent studios have joined Warner Bros. in withholding weekend estimates in what they said was an effort to focus attention on the Aurora, CO shootings that occurred during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises early Friday. Veteran box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com said it was “the right way to […]

THEATER OWNERS: WHERE DID ALL THE PEOPLE GO?

There was a lot of room to spread out at many theaters over the weekend as the box office plunged by a third from the comparable weekend a year ago. According to box-office tracker Paul Dergarabedian, the top 12 films earned just $97.08 million versus $144.92 million a year ago. Not a single film cracked […]

HUNGER GAMES RAKES IN $68.3 MIL IN DEBUT (Update)

The Hunger Games earned $68.3 million on Friday, Lionsgate said Saturday. The figure topped the loftiest expectations. Daily Variety said that it is now on track to earn more than $140 million for the weekend. (Earlier) Lions Gate Entertainment investors, who have seen their shares in the studio soar in recent weeks on expectations that […]

ANOTHER JUMP IN BOX-OFFICE BUCKS FOR JUMP STREET

The debut of Sony’s R-rated 21 Jump Street actually performed better than the studio’s already outstanding estimates had indicated on Sunday. Final figures released on Monday disclosed that the movie starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum brought in $36.30 million over the weekend — $1.3 million more than the studio’s estimate. Veteran box office analyst […]

THE LORAX IS GREEN IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

Final box-office figures on Monday confirmed that Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax did indeed sell more tickets than any other movie this year. Although its actual take was about a half-million dollars less than estimates, the movie wound up with $70.22 million. That was significantly higher than the $50 million that most experts had predicted […]

PARAMOUNT AT BOX-OFFICE PEAK

For the first time in more than a decade, Paramount Pictures is ending the year as the box office champion. The strong showing of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which took in $46.2 million over the Christmas holiday pushed Paramount’s receipts over the top to $1.86 billion for the year (as of Dec. 25). That put […]

TRANSFORMERS TRANSCENDS FORECASTS

Never underestimate a Transformer. That was the lesson box office forecasters learned over the weekend as Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon amassed an estimated $47 million in ticket sales — well above the $40 million or so that most analysts had predicted. In fact, in its second week, Transformers took in only slightly less […]

HANGOVER II: CURE FOR INDUSTRY’S HEADACHE?

The principal complaint from many critics about The Hangover II was that it lacked the surprise element of the first film and amounted basically to a copy of the original. But the actual surprise came at the box office over the weekend as the movie set an all-time record for a comedy. As reported by […]

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