As people look for less expensive forms of entertainment, the movie theater has become a big hit again, as viewers are coming out in droves so far this summer as the price of gasoline and some food items continue to rise.
This weekend was no different, as the family-friendly film Wall-E led the strong box office with a good $62.5 million in its debut. As usual, Pixar has their act together, as the meticulous attention to detail and telling great stories continues to be a recipe for success.
It's amazing to me that Hollywood doesn't take more notice of the Pixar success and begin to emulate them more. The key to their success is the development of the story above all else. Animation is simply the means of telling the story, not the reason it's so successful. This is why so many special effect movies are duds. Just because their are "cool" effects in a movie doesn't guarantee people will want to view it. That new has already worn off, and it's back to good storytelling.
Finishing in a solid second this weekend was the R-rated, vulgar and violent "Wanted," which starred Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. It actually performed better per venue than Wall-E, as it averaged $16,100, while Wall-E averaged $15,656.
I think this was a frontloaded film, and will suffer a pretty large drop next weekend, based mostly on word of mouth. It's interesting that there were a lot of mixed reviews for the film, and going with the summer tracking misses, performed better than expected. The same goes for Wall-E, which tracked less than expected as well.
The No. 1 film last week, Get Smart, brought up the third spot this weekend, as it garnered a decent $20 million in its second time around; a 48 percent drop. When you consider the performance of the top two finishers, this is actually a pretty good hold for the movie.
After the record-breaking box office last year, I thought this year would be quite a downer. While it remains to be seen whether this year will surpass last year, it has a legitimate shot at it. The two reasons? An increase in box office prices, and the fact that people are staying closer to home for their entertainment choices.
The continuing challenge for Hollywood is the ongoing decline of moviegoers, which even with the top box office summer last year, declined. This year is the same, and it remains to be seen how high the industry can raise prices before it starts to turn even more people away.
Top Ten Weekend Box Office:
| 1 | Wall-E | $62,500,000 |
| 2 | Wanted | $51,118,000 |
| 3 | Get Smart | $20,000,000 |
| 4 | Kung Fu Panda | $11,746,000 |
| 5 | The Incredible Hulk | $9,226,000 |
| 6 | The Love Guru | $5,440,000 |
| 7 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | $5,030,000 |
| 8 | The Happening | $3,850,000 |
| 9 | Sex and the City | $3,770,000 |
| 10 | You Don't Mess with the Zohan | $3,200,000 |
Other Box Office Sites:
Remember to Sign up for my feed
The cinema always was the main entertainment of all (can be and not all but a greater part it is exact) and he remains to them, so it seems to me but race for leadership will soon stop!
Posted by: Bernard Lavilliers | July 1, 2008 10:45 AM | Permalink to Comment