the-numbers.com

Four Christmases (2008) - Financial Information

The Golden Compass opened, in which case it was nearly 12% higher. Either is acceptable. As for the year-to-date numbers, 2008 extended its lead over 2007 to 1.4% at $8.96 billion to $8.84 billion. It appears that 2008's lead is safe this late in the year, at least in terms of raw dollars. Ticket sales, on the other hand, will decline. More...

International Details - International Releases are Enthralling

December 14th, 2008

There were nine international releases making their debuts on the charts this week, as well as several holdovers. The best of these films was Forever Enthralled, as the Chinese film took first place in its native market and sixth place internationally with $6.15 million on 1375 screens. More...

Weekend Estimates: Down to Earth

December 14th, 2008

The Day the Earth Stood Still topped the weekend chart with $31 million, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. That's a strong start, helped in particular by $3.8 million on 123 IMAX screens, and gives Fox a nice lead-in to the holidays, with no competitive film coming out until Christmas Day. However, weak reviews and tepid word of mouth will not help it, and a $100 million run is far from assured at this stage. Four Christmases had an impressive week-to-week drop of just 20% to earn an estimated $13 million and finish second. Its success probably dampened the opening weekend for Nothing Like the Holidays, which pulled in $3.5 million from 1,671 theaters. More...

Earth Looks to Open Big

December 12th, 2008

There are three wide releases this week, including the only action film in the month of December, The Day the Earth Stood Still. There's no doubt it will be the biggest hit of the week. The only real question is if it can open better than I Am Legend did this week last year and help 2008 keep pace with 2007. More...

Holiday Guests Hang Around Another Week

December 9th, 2008

The results at the box office were mixed over the weekend with a couple of films topping expectations while a few others failed at that task. Overall, box office receipts were $82 million, which was 50% lower than last weekend; however, it was Thanksgiving long weekend last weekend so a sharp drop-off was expected. Compared to the same weekend last year, 2008 was better, but by only 0.5%. Year-to-date, 2008's lead on 2007 is now 0.5% at $8.72 billion to $8.68 billion. More...

International Details - Bolting to the Top

December 7th, 2008

Bolt started its run on the international charts in sixth place with $7.90 million on 1417 screens in 4 markets. This includes a second place, $4.30 million opening on 570 screens in Russia, while it Italy it also placed second with $2.19 million on 467 screens. Meanwhile in Poland, it topped the charts with $855,000 on 120 screens, but this is par for the course as films of this nature tend to do very well in Poland. More...

Weekend Estimates: Four Christmases Stays Top

December 7th, 2008

Four Christmases held on at the top of the chart for a second weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. The comedy fell only 41%, the best hold in the top ten, and easily topped the chart ahead of Twilight, which had a better third week, down around 50% to $13 million. The wide openers were generally weak. Punisher: War Zone only managed $4 million in 2,508 theaters. Cadillac Records did much better on a per theater basis, averaging over $5,000 per location, but limited release in 686 theaters meant it was only able to land in 9th place with $3.5 million. More...

Holdovers to Punish New Releases

December 4th, 2008

There are three wide releases this week, if you have a more forgiving definition of the term, "wide." Of these three films, none have a shot at first place, while two of them might not reach the top ten. Additionally, the holdovers will take a tumble as this is a post-holiday weekend. The only bright news is this weekend last year was even worse. More...

Contest - Holidays Collide - Winning Announcement

December 4th, 2008

The winners of our Holidays Collide contest were determined and they are... More...

Christmas Surprise over Thanksgiving

December 2nd, 2008

Tryptophan overload wasn't enough to slow do the box office as every film matched or exceeded Thursday's predictions (or came within a rounding error of doing so). This helped the overall box office pull in $164 million over the three-day weekend and an amazing $234 million over five. Over the three-day weekend the box office was down by less than 1% from last weekend, but it was up by just under 2% over last year and nearly 3% over the five day period. (Strangely, it is $10 million behind the record, which was set in 2000. Ticket price inflation alone should have resulted in that record going down by now.) Year-to-date 2008 has now brought in $8.60 billion compared to $8.57 billion over the same period on 2007. More...

Thanksgiving Estimates: Four Christmases, Family Films Big Winners

November 30th, 2008

Thanksgiving weekend produced three big winners, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. At the top, Four Christmases scored an excellent $31.7 million Friday-Sunday and $46.7 million over the five-day weekend, and is the third best Thanksgiving opening ever, just behind Enchanted's opening last year. Second place, Friday-Sunday, was taken by Bolt, which scored $26.6 million, and, very unusually these days, earned more in its second weekend than it did in its first. In sixth place, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa also benefited from the holiday, dropping just 7% from last weekend to earn another $14.5 million. More...

Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of November 28, 2008

November 30th, 2008

Only half-a-dozen movie sites on this week's list, which is very slow. However, we had a couple of strong sites with The Secrets' Official Site coming away with the Weekly Website Award and Australia's Official Site coming in a close second. More...

Leftovers for Thanksgiving

November 27th, 2008

The Thanksgiving long weekend has started, but none of the new releases look like they have what it takes to capture top spot. Compared to last year, there are not as many new releases this time around, nor are there any that look as strong as Enchanted was. That said, the holdovers look strong enough to compensate for this weakness. More...

Contest - Holidays Collide

November 21st, 2008

Next weekend is Thanksgiving long weekend, which can only mean one thing: It's Christmas time! Specifically, it's time for the first major Christmas movie of the year, Four Christmases. Not only is that film the first major Christmas movie of the year, it is also this week's target film. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of Four Christmases. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a T-shirt and DVD from Garden Party, as well as Mitzi Gaynor - Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years on DVD Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win Mitzi Gaynor - Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years on DVD, as well as The Longshots on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! And remember, while it is a long weekend and Four Christmases starts on Wednesday, we are only interested in the three-day, Friday-to-Sunday portion of its opening weekend. More...

2008 Preview: November

November 1st, 2008

October was weaker than expected with only a few films living up to expectations, and none earning $100 million at the box office. (And only one even came relatively close.) This month, there are three films that should hit $100 million for sure this month, and all three have at least a shot at $200 million. That's good news because 2008 will to close strong to keep its lead over 2007. Top of the list for anticipated films is Quantum of Solace, but there are two kids movies, Bolt and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, that are also worth paying attention to. Additionally, Awards season is starting to heat up, so look for limited releases that could earn Oscar Buzz and become breakout hits. More...