Given accolades and big back slaps by movie industry websites, bloggers, and critics - with statements like "completely shatters box office" - the Lion King 3D (Disney), a 1994 re-release up scaled to 3D, motored to the number one box office spot with a $30 million weekend take.
I took a different view. To me the Lion's kitty like triumph demonstrated what a pathetic state the U.S. mainstream box office is in. The new releases were all dismal earners. Drive (Film District) grossed $11 million (cost $38 million), Straw Dogs pulled in a measly $5 million (cost $47 million), and I Don't Know How She Does It (Weinstein) - which should have been titled I Don't Know Why They Made This - grossed $4.7 million (cost not reported).
In fact the weekend was so bad the top ten movies could only muster a frigid $80 million total gross, and the top 25 less than $125 million ! September has been a month of movie no-shows.
The folks are just not interested in viewing the "re's" - re-runs, re-releases, re-makes. One movie website stated, "new releases take hit" from Lion King 3D. Come on. The Lion King demo is not even remotely related to the demo that Drive, Straw Dogs, or the chick flix with the long title would draw.
Year-to-date the U.S. cinema's gross is down a tad over 4% or about $330 million, but this performance is built upon an average admission price that has increased over 5% since 2010.
We say once again, to get volume the movie exhibition industry must adopt a tiered pricing regime. Not all movies should carry the same price tag - it's a 70+ year old marketing policy that needs to be upgraded not re-released.
International Box Office the Real Roarer !
The Smurfs continued to rule most overseas markets and was the box office topper again. The Smurfs has now earned over $321 million overseas and $457 worldwide.
It is interesting to watch the polarization between the U.S. vs. rest of world box office. The international box office could very will top 70% of the total, with the U.S., for the first time, garnering less than 30%.
Other News
Look for the September 25th premier of "The Cinema 2015" - a special Cinema Mucho Gusto series on the future of the cinema industry.
Best and Happy Movie Going !
Jim Lavorato
No comments:
Post a Comment