The Tale of Despereaux (2008) - Financial Information

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.

DVD Sales - Bedtime has Storybook Opening

April 22nd, 2009

There were plenty of new releases to chart this week, including the top two sellers. The new number one was Bedtime Stories 1.46 million units for its first full week of release, while including early sales it has made $28.78 million from 1.68 million in sales. More...

DVD Rentals - Rental Chart Does Not Stand Still

April 22nd, 2009

There were six new releases to chart this week, but three of the top four were holdovers. That one new release was The Day the Earth Stood Still, which earned 50% more than last week's number one film, Marley and Me. More...

DVD Releases for April 7th, 2009 - Part II

April 7th, 2009

The last of the winter releases are trickling on to the home market; however, we are at the tale end of the hits and are getting the near misses now and that leaves a void in major hits at the top. I do like Deadliest Catch - Season 4, but I can't rate a featureless DVD as the DVD Pick of the Week. So that honor goes to Doubt, which is worth buying on DVD or Blu-ray. But I would go with the latter. As has become customary, this week's list has to be split into two, with the first part found here. More...

DVD Releases for April 7th, 2009 - Part I

April 7th, 2009

The last of the winter releases are trickling on to the home market; however, we are at the tale end of the hits and are getting the near misses now, which leaves a void in major hits at the top. I do like Deadliest Catch - Season 4, but I can't rate a featureless DVD as the DVD Pick of the Week. So that honor goes to Doubt, which is worth buying on DVD or Blu-ray. But I would go with the latter. As has become customary, this week's list has to be split into two, with the second part found here. More...

International Details - Day Starts to Set on International Chart

January 11th, 2009

The Day the Earth Stood Still fell out of the top five, as it was down 46% to $10.91 million on 5008 screens in 42 markets for a total of $129.59 million internationally and $204.01 million worldwide. The film's best market was Japan, where it remained in second place with $2.71 million on 642 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.19 million after three. More...

International Details - Bollywood Blockbuster Breaks into Top Five

January 5th, 2009

Ghajini was a surprise entry in the top five as the Indian film earned $12.85 million on 1347 screens in 22 markets, which is more than enough to be considered a monster hit. In fact, it set records in its native market and could break the record set by Dhoom 2 worldwide. More...

Marley a Gift to the Box Office

December 30th, 2008

Not every film lived up to expectations over the weekend, but more than enough did that we can safely say 2008 ended on a high note. Over the past three days, the box office pulled in $201 million, which was more than double last week's haul of $90 million. It was also close to 8% better than the same weekend last year, however, that's not enough for 2008 to recover, and it is still almost 1% behind last year's pace $9.55 billion to $9.63 billion. Ticket sales were off by more than 5%, which is the second worst decline in more than a decade. That said, nearly $10 billion in ticket sales is still huge, and as long as production budgets don't get out of hand, the industry is healthy. More...

International Details - The One tops $10 Million

December 28th, 2008

It turns out studio estimates were highly accurate, and the only real change from Wednesday's column involves a surprise $10 million film. If You Are The One opened in first place in China and fourth place internationally with $11.68 million on 1010 screens. More...

Holiday Estimates: Marley and Me Draws Family Audiences

December 28th, 2008

Fox emerged from the Christmas holiday weekend victorious thanks to an impressive opening by Marley & Me, which opened with an estimated $14.675 million on Christmas Day (an all-time record Christmas Day opening) and finished the weekend with $51.675 million, including $37 million over the three-day weekend Friday-Sunday. Studio estimates gave second and third places to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Bedtime Stories, which both also broke the previous record for biggest Christmas Day opening. Bedtime Stories finished the weekend with $38.6 million in total earnings and Button finished with $39 million. The two movies traded second and third spots through the long weekend, and we'll only know which movie finished top once we have final numbers on Monday. More...

Blizzard of New Releases for Christmas

December 24th, 2008

There are five films opening wide tomorrow, as well as a limited release expanding into more than 1000 theaters, which could be enough to propel it into the top ten. Given the weak new releases for the past few weeks, there is a chance all five wide releases will place in the top five, while it is unlikely any will bomb completely (even the two saddled with negative buzz). Compared to last Christmas, the box office could see some growth, which will help the year end on a positive note. More...

Contest - Desperate Tales - Winning Announcement

December 23rd, 2008

The winners of our Desperate Tales contest were determined and they are... More...

Moviegoers Say No to New Releases

December 23rd, 2008

For the second weekend in a row, all three wide releases missed expectations, and unlike last week, the holdovers were not able to compensate. This caused the overall box office to slip to just $89 million; that's down 3% from last weekend, and more troubling, 44% from the same weekend last year. This two-week slump has been so bad that 2008 has lost its lead vs. 2007 and is now behind $9.25 billion to $9.23 billion. Unacceptable. If the Christmas releases are not stellar, we will see a decline in the yearly number for the first time in three years, while we are nearly guaranteed to see a drop in ticket sales for the fifth time in six years. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jim Carrey Wins Battle of Titans

December 21st, 2008

Jim Carrey and Will Smith last squared off in movie theaters back in 2001. Back then, Smith scored the knockout blow as Ali opened with $14.7 million, while The Majestic could only manage an anemic $4.9 million. This time around, Carrey looks like the victor, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Sony reports a $16 million opening for Seven Pounds -- a decent, but hardly impressive debut -- while Warner Bros. picked up a $18.16 million opening weekend for Yes Man. Neither result is particularly inspiring, however, and both movies missed our Friday predictions. More...

Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of December 19, 2008

December 20th, 2008

Just six sites on this week's list, and only one of them can be rated as anything more than average. However, The Tale of Despereaux's Official Site isn't just above average, it is the winner of the Weekly Website Award. More...

Battle of the Box Office Titans

December 19th, 2008

There week there are three wide releases, including the latest from Jim Carrey and the new film with Will Smith. Will Yes Man help Jim Carrey regain his box office crown, or will Seven Pounds help Will Smith tie the record for most $100 million movies in a row? Or will both come true and while helping 2008 maintain its lead over 2007? More...

Contest - Desperate Tales

December 12th, 2008

The number of truly wide releases is starting to get crowded with three opening next Friday. This includes The Tale of Despereaux, which we have prizes for, and therefore will be this week's target film. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of The Tale of Despereaux. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a The Tale of Despereaux prize pack, which includes poster, bookmark, Croc shoe decoration, clothing, and more. It's massive. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a T-shirt from The Longshots, as well as a Lobster Tale DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

2008 Preview: December

December 1st, 2008

We end the year with a winning streak, one that will hopefully continue right through the New Year holiday. It seems nearly every film released this month is either an Oscar contender or a potential $100 million hit. Sometimes both. If all six films with box office potentials of $100 million or more reach that milestone, and Bolt and Four Christmases have the legs to make it there as well, we could set the record for most $100 million released in a single year. (It is currently at 29 films set in 2003.) More...

Cast Updates - July 5, 2008

July 5th, 2008

This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Appaloosa, Bad Lieutenant, Night at the Museum 2, and more! More...

New Movie US Release Dates - May 13, 2007

May 13th, 2007

This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for 1408, Illegal Tender, Mr. Woodcock and more. More...