Summit Entertainment's estimates of how many filmgoers outside North America saw "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" was low. Way low.
As more exact information continues to roll in from overseas markets, the independent studio updated its estimate of ticket sales in the 24 countries where its blockbuster vampire movie played over the weekend.
Its new total, $132.1 million, is a full $14 million, or 12%, higher than its estimate Sunday morning of $118.1 million. Combined with the newly updated domestic total of $142.8 million, $2.1 million higher than Summit's Sunday morning estimate, it now turns out that "New Moon" opened to $274.9 million, the sixth highest worldwide bow of all time.
Because Summit doesn't have its own foreign distribution operation, it works with a variety of distributors in different countries and thus international grosses are coming in much slower than at major studios. Further updates are yet to come, just in case anyone is worried that "New Moon" didn't make enough money this weekend.
"The Princess and the Frog," Disney's first hand-drawn animated feature in five years, isn't only a throwback in style.
When it opens Wednesday, it also will be the first Disney animated film since 2003's "Brother Bear" to start in limited release in New York and Los Angeles. Like that movie and many other of its traditional cartoons, including "The Lion King" and "Hercules," the studio is pairing the two initial runs of "Princess" with an "experience" that includes games, actresses dressed as Disney princesses, props, costumes and other activities that give kids fun time beyond the film. [Updated 3:05 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that "Brother Bear" was Disney's last hand-drawn animated film. It was 2004's "Home on the Range."]
All those extras mean ticket prices will be substantially higher than for a normal picture. Disney is charging $30 for general admission tickets, $50 for the best seats and $20 per person for groups at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City and on the studio lot in Burbank. (Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, its traditional spot for high-profile L.A. runs, is currently using its 3-D projection system to play "A Christmas Carol.")
The "ultimate Disney event," as the studio's website calls it, will play until Sunday, Dec. 13, the first weekend that "The Princess and the Frog" plays nationwide. Disney already has racked up more than $3.2 million in pre-sales. In Burbank, all but one show from Wednesday through Sunday is sold out, while the larger Ziegfeld in New York has fully booked half of its screenings over the holiday weekend.
In the meantime, high demand and inflated ticket prices -- more than six times the U.S. average at the top end -- means "Princess" should see huge grosses for a two-theater run. It's no accident that the top seven per-theater averages of all time on Box Office Mojo are all Disney animated runs, and it's very likely that "The Princess and the Frog" will join them this weekend, particularly with Friday being a holiday.
-- Ben Fritz
Photo: A scene from "The Princess and the Frog." Credit: Walt Disney Studios
Summit Entertainment had the kind of opening studio executives dream about this weekend, but it's hard to find anyone in the movie business who's not smiling.
Although Summit's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" opened to a massive $140.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates, it wasn't the only film to perform well. "The Blind Side," which Warner Bros. distributed for financier Alcon Entertainment, opened to $34.5 million, very strong for a modestly budgeted drama. Festival and critics' favorite "Precious" more than tripled its theater count and kept up its winning ways, grossing $11 million at 629 locations.
With one huge hit, numerous strong performers and no real flops, total box-office receipts expanded to nearly $260 million, according to several studio executives and Hollywood.com. That's the second-biggest nonholiday weekend ever, behind only the one in July 2008 when "The Dark Knight" launched and movie theaters collected just over $260 million.
"It's a really good sign for the industry," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. "It just goes to show you that good movies can expand the marketplace."
Several movies are well positioned to keep playing strongly throughout the holidays, most notably "The Blind Side," which garnered an average grade of A-plus from moviegoers, according to market research firm CinemaScore. It's only the second film this year to get a perfect grade, along with "Up." It could easily collect more than $150 million by the end of the year, making it very profitable for Alcon and Warner Bros., which receives a distribution fee.
"New Moon" is sure to drop significantly after its massive debut. The first "Twilight" fell 62% from its opening on Thanksgiving weekend and the sequel will probably do the same. Nonetheless, if it follows the path of its predecessor, "New Moon" will end up grossing more than $300 million domestically and the same amount overseas, making it one of the most profitable pictures of the year. Summit spent only $50 million to produce its second teen vampire flick based on the bestselling novels.
Overseas, "2012" continues to perform extremely well. It grossed $100.5 million overseas, down 37% from its international debut last weekend. That was helped by a huge $7-million launch in Japan, the biggest for any nonlocal movie this year. Domestically, "2012" dropped 59%. The worldwide total gross for Sony's disaster flick from director Roland Emmerich, which cost $200 million to produce, is a very strong $449.8 million.
Two films performed extremely well in limited release in the U.S. and Canada. Sony Pictures Classics opened the Pedro Almodovar picture "Broken Embraces," starring Penelope Cruz, to $107,597 at just two theaters. On its second weekend, Fox's stop-motion animated picture "Fantastic Mr. Fox" collected $199,200 from four theaters, down just 25%. It starts playing nationwide Wednesday.
First Look Pictures opened the new Nicolas Cage crime drama "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," directed by Werner Herzog, to a so-so $257,267 at 27 locations.
Here are the top 10 movies at the domestic box office, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:
"Twilight" No. 2 had the No. 3 opening weekend of all time.
Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sold an astounding $140.7 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, according to studio estimates, blowing away already huge expectations and giving the teen vampire saga the third-biggest domestic debut of all time.
In the 25 foreign countries where "New Moon" launched, it added an extra $118.1 million, giving it a mind-bending worldwide total of $258.8 million. That's the seventh-biggest worldwide launch of all time and is particularly notable given that several international markets where the first "Twilight" performed very well, including Germany, South Korea and Russia, haven't gotten the film yet. [Updated 9:21 a.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that the worldwide ticket sales total was $248.8 million.]
The domestic debut is the biggest, by a margin of $38 million, for a film opening outside of the summer movie season, between May and July, when the biggest tentpoles traditionally launch. The No. 1 opener of all time is "The Dark Knight," which opened to $158.4 million in July 2008, followed by "Spider-Man 3," which started with $151.1 million in May of 2007.
Ticket sales plummeted 41% on Saturday from Friday, the biggest such decline for any picture this year, reflecting the massive pent-up interest among devoted young female fans of the franchise who gave it the most lucrative midnight shows and opening day of all time.
Despite the movie's record-breaking first day, however, the Saturday decline was virtually identical with the first "Twilight," demonstrating that demand to see the movie hasn't shifted up in the schedule, but grown significantly. It appears that more adult women turned out for the sequel, along with the teenage and tween girls who fueled the original.
Assuming it continues to follow the path of the first "Twilight," "New Moon" will likely end up grossing well over $500 million worldwide, representing a windfall for its independent distributor Summit Entertainment. The movie cost just under $50 million to produce, including Canadian tax credits.
The first "Twilight" collected $385 million worldwide.
Despite the dominance of "New Moon," it was a big weekend overall at the box office. Alcon Entertainment's inspirational drama "The Blind Side," starring Sandra Bullock, opened to a much-bigger-than-expected $34.5 million, a very strong launch for a modestly budgeted drama.
"Planet 51," which Sony Pictures distributed for financier and animation studio Ilion Studios, debuted to a so-so $12.3 million.
Lionsgate's well-reviewed festival film"Precious" continues to play very strongly as it expanded to 629 theaters and grossed a healthy $11 million, bringing its total thus far to $21.4 million. The independent studio bought the hard-hitting drama at the Sundance Film Festival for a minimum guarantee of $5.5 million.
Sony's "2012" fell a sizable 59% from its huge opening, taking in $26.5 million in third place this weekend. Disney's "A Christmas Carol" lost a bit of its mojo, dropping 45%, significantly more than the 26% it declined on its second weekend.
--Ben Fritz
Photo: Fans Deeanna Lopez, left, Sabrina Lopez and Ilrimani Cisneros at the opening of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" in Universal City on Friday. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is poised to break its second box office record in a single day.
According to four people who have closely watched ticket sales data today but requested anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information, the teen vampire phenomenon is all but certain to gross more than $67.2 million, the record set by "The Dark Knight" last year for the biggest single-day take at the box office.
By 5 p.m., the movie had already sold more than $50 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada. When evening shows are included, the total will likely be more than $70 million, the people said.
Given the huge amount of pent-up interest among fans, who are rushing out to theaters on opening day, ticket sales are expected to drop significantly on Saturday and Sunday. Nonetheless, a total weekend gross of more than $110 million is all but certain and more than $120 million is very possible. That would give "New Moon" the biggest weekend gross for any movie this year and make it one of the top five pictures of all time at the domestic box office, not accounting for ticket price inflation.
Ticket sales from the 25 foreign countries where "New Moon" is opening this weekend will almost certainly push the worldwide weekend gross to more than $150 million.
Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the "Twilight" films, will release an official total for Friday ticket sales on Saturday morning.
Update (Nov. 21, 8:50 AM): Summit reports that "New Moon" grossed $72.7 million on Friday, easily breaking the single day sales record set by "The Dark Knight." It will now likely collect more than $120 million through Sunday.
Inspirational drama "The Blind Side," starring Sandra Bullock, sold $10.9 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, setting it up to be no. 2 for the weekend with an impressive $30 million-plus.
Photo: Moviegoers wait to see "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at
the AMC movie theater at the Westfield Century City shopping mall in
Los Angeles Thursday night. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press.
According to four people close to the movie, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sold more than $22.2 million worth of tickets in midnight shows last night, beating a record set this summer by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
Two people close to the picture said the exact gross, which is still being calculated by Summit Entertainment, could be as high as $26 million.
In addition, one person with access to ticket sales data said the original "Twilight," which was re-released in theaters last night, collected $1.2 million from rabid fans who turned out.
Morning ticket sales for "New Moon" are also huge, according to the person, already totaling $13.9 million. That's a clear sign the sequel is on track for a massive Friday at the box office.
Summit is expected to release official estimates soon.
Update (10:45 AM): Summit's official estimate for midnight ticket sales is $26.27 million. Its official estimate for the gross of the original "Twilight" last night is $1.3 million.
Update (7 PM): "New Moon" is poised to have the biggest day ever at the domestic box office. Details here.
-- Ben Fritz and Claudia Eller
Photo: Tickets for the midnight showing of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sold out at a movie theater in Nampa, Idaho. Credit: Mike Vogt / Associated Press
Edward and Bella's latest bite at the box office looks like it will be the second biggest of 2009.
People with access to pre-release audience surveys say "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" will likely sell about $90 million worth of tickets this weekend and could possibly exceed $100 million. That would give it the No. 2 opening weekend of the year behind "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."
The first "Twilight" movie opened to $69.6 million on the same weekend last year. Interest in the series has only grown, however, driven in part by its DVD, the top seller so far this year. Audience surveys have shown that interest among adult women has grown, while teenage and tween girls remain as fanatical as ever. Vampires in general are hot. Witness the success of HBO's "True Blood" and the CW's "The Vampire Diaries."
Combined with receipts from the 25 countries where it is launching simultaneously, including several where the original performed extremely well, such as Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom, "New Moon" will certainly gross significantly more than $100 million worldwide.
Summit Entertainment spent just under $50 million, including Canadian tax credits, to produce the film. Even including marketing costs, "New Moon" is all but certain to be a financial success from theatrical receipts alone, even before revenue from DVD and other ancillary markets.
As with the first "Twilight" movie, early showings are expected to be particularly lucrative, given huge anticipation for the picture among young female fans of the book and first movie who probably can't stay up past their bedtime. Online ticket sellers Fandango and MovieTickets.com both report that
"New Moon" is the No. 1 advance ticket seller of all time, a reflection
not only of overall interest, but of the intense desire of many fans to see
the picture on its opening weekend.
"New Moon" could easily break the $22.2-million record for midnight showings set this summer by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." A total of 3,514 theaters, 87% of the 4,024 total playing it this weekend, have midnight screenings scheduled.
Midnight ticket sales will get a boost from Summit's decision to re-release the original "Twilight" in 2,057 theaters tonight, about half as many as will start showing "New Moon" on Friday. Many locations are expected to create a double-screening event in which fans will come to watch "Twilight" and stay for "New Moon," generating even more money for the franchise in the process (ticket sales for the two pictures will be tallied separately).
The total Friday gross will likely be huge, followed by a big drop on Saturday. The first "Twilight" saw ticket sales decline 41% the day after it launched. It also experienced a substantial 62% drop on its second weekend despite the fact that the Friday after Thanksgiving is a holiday. If the new movie follows the same path as the first, however, it's all but certain to gross more than $200 million in the U.S. and Canada and about the same amount from foreign countries.
While "New Moon" is sure to dominate the box office this weekend, it doesn't appear to be sucking the life out of other movies.
Inspirational football story "The Blind Side," which Warner Bros. is distributing for financier Alcon Entertainment, appears likely to open to a solid $20 million based on interest from adult women.
Lionsgate is expanding "Precious" once again, this time to about 600 theaters, which would put the critical favorite in nearly every major market around the country, although it's not yet in many suburbs or small towns. The hard but uplifting film, which Lionsgate acquired at the Sundance Film Festival for $5.5 million, has already collected $9.6 million in its first 13 days. It will likely gross an additional $6 million to $9 million this weekend.
Sony Pictures will open the family-friendly animated picture "Planet 51," which it is distributing for Spanish production studio Ilion Animation. It will likely gross between $12 million and $15 million. The movie was originally set to be distributed by New Line Cinema before the Time Warner division was folded into Warner Bros.
Sony's successful disaster flick "2012" will likely take a big drop from its $65.2-million opening and gross between $20 million and $30 million this weekend. Disney's "A Christmas Carol," which dropped only 26% on its second weekend, should decline very modestly again and collect more than $15 million.
Update (3:45 PM): Early returns from foreign countries where "New Moon" opened yesterday are phenomenal, already totaling $10.9 million. According to Summit, opening day grosses in France were $4.4 million, almost four times as much as the debut of "Twilight." In Italy and Spain it had the third highest Wednesday opening ever, collecting $2.7 million and $2.2 million, respectively. Midnight screenings in Australia grossed $1.6 million, a new record for the country.
Update (Nov. 20., 10 AM): "New Moon" broke the midnight ticket sales record set by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Details here.
--Ben Fritz
Top photo: Stephanie Alex, 20, holds a large sign of two of her
favorite "New Moon" actors as she waits for the premiere in Westwood. Credit: Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times.
Bottom photo: Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side." Credit: Warner Bros.
In a culture that has become obsessed intrigued by movies' openings at the box office, it's no surprise that other products, particularly in the world of entertainment, want to compare their launches to those of the biggest films.
There's a danger, however, in comparing apples to kumquats.
Today Activision Blizzard Inc. revealed that its hugely anticipated video game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, generated $550 million in worldwide sales during its first five days. As the publisher trumpeted in a press release, that's substantially higher than the biggest five-day worldwide box office launch, a record held by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." That's correct.
But that doesn't mean Modern Warfare 2 has been enjoyed by as many people or that it will be as profitable. The video game costs $60 to buy, after all ($150 for the "prestige edition," which includes an art book and night vision goggles), whereas movie tickets cost less than $10 on average (shocking as that may be to Los Angeles residents). More important, movies make the majority of their revenue when they're done playing in theaters, from DVD, pay television and other markets. Video games make virtually all of their money from retail sales. With the exception of the relatively tiny market for add-on digital content, they're done once they leave stores.
We're not saying the launch of Modern Warfare 2 isn't impressive. As a story in today's Times explains, it's a new record, a much-needed shot in the arm for the industry, and a reflection of careful planning and a massive $200-million investment by Activision Blizzard.
Just don't believe the hype that video games are now bigger than movies. Hollywood can rest easy. For now, anyway.
-- Ben Fritz
Photo: A scene from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Credit: Activision Blizzard Inc.
When "A Christmas Carol" opened to $30 million domestically on its opening weekend -- well below what prerelease research had suggested and historically very weak for a movie that cost nearly $200 million to produce -- Walt Disney Studios' president of domestic distribution, Chuck Viane, counseled patience.
"Christmas-themed movies opening in early November tend to have a much greater multiple than others and we know [director] Bob Zemeckis always tends to over-deliver on his multiple," Viane said, pointing to Zemeckis' last 3-D, motion-capture animated Christmas movie, "The Polar Express," which ultimately collected more than seven times its opening weekend take.
As it turns out, Viane was wrong. "A Christmas Carol" isn't holding as well as "The Polar Express." It's holding even better.
U.S. and Canadian ticket sales for "A Christmas Carol" fell just 25.8% this weekend, the third smallest drop for any movie in wide release so far this year. That's substantially less than the second weekend drop for "The Polar Express" in 2004, which was 32.8%.
With its extremely strong second weekend and its healthy weekday performances, particularly last Wednesday, which was Veterans Day, "A Christmas Carol" has grossed $63.3 million. That's $11.8 million more than "The Polar Express" at the end of its second weekend, even though the 2004 movie opened on a Wednesday, giving it two extra days in theaters.
If the current trend continues, "A Christmas Carol" should be at more than $80 million by next Sunday. Thanksgiving weekend should be particularly strong for the movie, given its holiday theme and family appeal. "The Polar Express" saw its grosses rise 23.8% on Thanksgiving weekend and "A Christmas Carol" could easily do even better.
The next major release that will compete directly for the family audience of "A Christmas Carol" is Disney's "The Princess and the Frog," which starts playing nationwide Dec. 11. The following Friday, "Avatar" opens and will take virtually all of the digital 3-D screens currently playing "Christmas Carol," on which it is doing the majority of its business. That should essentially end the movie's domestic run.
Disney opened "A Christmas Carol" in early November, well before the holiday, in order to play on 3-D screens for as long as possible before "Avatar."
By the time James Cameron's hugely anticipated and costly picture debuts, "A Christmas Carol" could end up with a domestic gross of around $200 million. That would make it something of a financial success, particularly if the movie ends up doing well overseas. So far, after launching in 21 international territories, it has grossed $34.6 million overseas.
Disney probably will also be well-positioned to reopen "A Christmas Carol" in 3-D theaters for several Christmases to come, as Warner Bros. did with "The Polar Express."
In more good box-office news today, Sony reported that "2012" collected $5 million more overseas than it estimated yesterday, giving the disaster flick a final worldwide weekend gross of $230.4 million.
-- Ben Fritz
Photo: A scene from "A Christmas Carol." Credit: ImageMovers Digital
Apparently Sony Pictures -- and quite handsomely too.
The 162-minute disaster epic, which got a love-hate reaction from critics (loved the special effects, hated the script), blew away the competition and took in $65 million in North America in its opening weekend and $160 million worldwide. All totaled, the Roland Emmerich movie, which cost $200 million to make (and tens of millions more to market) grossed $225 million.
"It's going to be a very big success for our studio," said Rory Bruer, president Sony Pictures Worldwide Distribution. Most industry observers thought "2012" would easily surpass the $50-million mark domestically, but ending up north of $60 million here and over $150 million abroad is stronger than even the optimists at Sony thought the movie would deliver.
For Emmerich, "2012" is his second-biggest domestic opening ever, behind his 2004 disaster flick (we're still waiting for that romantic comedy, Roland), "The Day After Tomorrow," which opened to almost $70 million. However, that end-of-the-world of the movie opened on a three-day holiday weekend, so it is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Emmerich's films are never known for their deep plots, and clearly his audiences like what they're getting. It's not as if they're not warned before going in that cheesy dialogue from Emmerich and co-writer Harald Kloser is the price one pays for the spectacular effects. (Even the PG-13 rating notice warns: "Intense disaster sequences and some language.")
Walt Disney Co.'s "A Christmas Carol," which did not have the best of starts last weekend, made $22.3 million at the box office, a decline of only 26%. So far, it's made $63.3 million, and the drop of less than 35% from Week 1 to Week 2 means the 3-D holiday remake should have a lifespan longer than 12 days.
"It absolutely played the way we thought it would," said Chuck Viane, president of domestic distribution for Walt Disney Studios. Though last week's $31-million opening was by no means small, the general consensus was that it should have opened bigger and that perhaps it premiered too long before Christmas. Viane said the studio wanted to get six weeks on 3-D screens before 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" premiered.
The indie movie "Precious," which Lionsgate bought at Sundance, took in about $6.1 million in just 174 theaters in nine cities. That's an impressive $35,000 per-screen average. The dark drama about a young girl trying to overcome her cruel family will extend to 600 theaters in 100 markets next weekend. It finished fourth, just behind George Clooney's "The Men Who Stare at Goats," which took in $6.2 million, but is playing everywhere.
"The exit polls from last weekend indicated strong word-of-mouth," said David Spitz, Lionsgate's executive vice president who oversees distribution.
Also having a strong opening in very limited release was 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which made its debut at four theaters in New York and Los Angeles and took in $260,000, for a $65,000 per-screen average. It will open wide on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
For Sony, next weekend, it will hope for a drop of less than 50% in box office for "2012." "People are digging the movie," Bruer said. "It should be good for many weeks to come."
If there is one downside to Emmerich's movies, it's that there is never a sequel because he blows everything up.
-- Joe Flint
Photo: "2012" stars John Cusack and Woody Harrelson. Credit: Columbia Pictures.
