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Box office junkies, unite! It’s time to break down the 12 months that become on the films the usage of the factor that we love most — the numbers!
Blockbuster franchise films reigned supreme at the North American container workplace in 2011. Of the 10 highest grossing movies, the top seven — led via Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 with $381 million — are sequels, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (No. 9, $176.7 million) is a prequel, and Thor (No. eight, $181 million) and Captain America: The First Avenger (No. 10, $176.7 million), even as now not sequels, are a part of the bigger Avengers franchise which Marvel will roll out next 12 months.
All advised, theatrical releases sold about $10.2 billion really worth of tickets in 2011 (final numbers not yet to be had) at a mean fee of $7.ninety six. (Ticket charge via the National Association of Theatre Owners. Although, severely, whilst turned into the closing time all people paid so little for a price tag?) That total marked a 3.5 percent drop from 2010, when the box office earned a every year overall of $10.6 billion, and attendance dipped by means of about 5 percentage for the second one 12 months in a row. In reality, with 1.28 billion tickets bought, 2011 turned into the least-attended field workplace yr for the reason that 1995.
What caused the dip? Well, that’s complicated. 2011 sincerely outgrossed 2010 at some point of the spring and summer season, but all through the first region of the 12 months, the same time that Avatar and Alice in Wonderland loved remarkably rewarding field-workplace runs in 2010, sales had been down by means of 22 percentage. And within the fourth area, 2011’s grosses had been down by way of about 8 percentage — however for extra precarious reasons than stiff opposition. There’s lot of info to break down, and in every month, there were highlights and lowlights on the field office. Let’s take a look at the beyond year, month-via-month, followed with some enterprise traits that have become obvious in 2011:
The Green Hornet soar into movement in The Green Hornet
GUY-NAMIC DUO Jay Chou and Seth Rogen bounce into movement in The Green Hornet
2011 commenced unremarkably, which became no surprise within the box-office useless sector of January. The month’s pinnacle release became Sony’s Seth Rogen car The Green Hornet, which mustered up $98.eight million towards its $one hundred twenty million finances, a disappointing result in comparison to other superhero movies. January additionally brought us No Strings Attached, the primary of 2011’s friends-with-blessings comedies. (The other become extra literally titled Friends With Benefits.) Thanks to Natalie Portman’s white-warm status as an Oscar front-runner in Black Swan, Strings, which also starred Ashton Kutcher, managed to drag in $70.6 million. The rest of the month’s releases performed modestly. Despite ample buzz (and controversy), The Dilemma sputtered with handiest $forty eight.8 million total, while Jason Statham persevered his impressively lengthy-strolling unimpressive container office streak, as The Mechanic simplest earned $29.1 million. Also, the Season of the Witch ($24.eight million) happened. Yeesh. Well-reviewed 2010 leftovers like True Grit ($171.1 million), Black Swan ($107 million), and The King’s Speech ($138.eight million) did a lot of the heavy lifting within the early a part of the 12 months ENJOYING SUNSHINE Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler hug it out in Just Go With It
ENJOYING SUNSHINE Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler hug it out in Just Go With It
Adam Sandler logged his 12th $one hundred+ million hit with Just Go With It, which attracted $103 million well worth of visitors and have become the most important hit of February, whilst Disney’s 3-D lively Gnomeo and Juliet also proved a success, incomes $a hundred million way to a dearth of own family competition. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, a 3-D concert movie, pulled in a sturdy $seventy three million — a end result closer to Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour ($sixty five.3 million) than Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience ($19.1 million). Tweens — they may be so fickle! Liam Neeson’s vengeful Unknown managed $63 million, a far cry from the actor’s 2009 comeback Taken ($145 million), while Nicolas Cage’s try at vengeance, Drive Angry ($10.7 million), proved even less famous than his preceding release, Season of the Witch. Disney misfired with YA version I Am Number Four, which simplest attracted $fifty five million, and audiences in large part ignored the Farrelly Brothers’ Hall Pass, which grossed $forty five.1 million, and Martin Lawrence’s today’s fat-fit retread Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son ($37.9 million). Other sad results? The Roommate ($37.3 million), Sanctum ($23.2 million), and The Eagle ($19.five million).
Rango providing the voice of Johnny Depp
SWASHBUCKLING HERO Rango providing the voice of Johnny Depp
The inventively lively Rango rangoed up $123.3 million to come to be March’s pinnacle performer. Unfortunately for Paramount, the ‘toon value $135 million to supply. After Rango, a quartet of thrillers geared to men all became in reasonably first rate numbers. Battle: Los Angeles invaded wallets to the music of $83.6 million, Bradley Cooper’s megastar-solidifying Limitless drew $79.2 million, Matt Damon’s long-on-the-shelf The Adjustment Bureau observed $62.5 million, and Matthew McConaughey’s flip in The Lincoln Lawyer earned the movie $58 million. Ah, March, a time when sensibly budgeted thrillers that aren’t a part of blockbuster franchises have a shot! Wait a sec — speaking of franchises, sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules earned a pleasant $52.7 million, however trailed its predecessor, which determined $sixty four million. Over in misfire territory, Red Riding Hood, regardless of having Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke on board, got eaten by way of the box office wolf and grossed a majorly disappointing $37.6 million. Hey, at the least it did better than Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, which fee greater ($82 million vs. $42 million) and earned a worse $36.4 million. Beastly‘s ugly $27.9 million cume placed it in the identical YA-failure camp as Red Riding Hood and I Am Number Four, however The Hunger Games gained’t likely come upon comparable issues in 2012. March’s worst performer became ’80s comedy Take Me Home Tonight ($6.9 million), which was outshone with the aid of successful constrained releases Jane Eyre ($11.2 million) and Win Win ($10.2 million).
The first real blockbuster of 2011 arrived on April 29 whilst Fast Five raced to an $86 million beginning weekend on its manner to $209.8 million. Looks like the “summer season movie season,” which already begins early in May, will now include past due April as well. The month’s other fulfillment tales were both aimed at kids. Rio soared to $143.6 million general, even as Hop hopped to $108.1 million, thanks to its proximity to Easter. Water for Elephants earned a modest $fifty eight.7 million, a piece underwhelming thinking about the popularity of the book. Insidious completed near behind with $fifty four million, but with a tiny $1.5 million finances, the horror flick changed into one of the maximum successful films of the yr, and it outperformed Scream 4, which did not revive the ghostface franchise with $38.2 million. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family made a Madea-esque $53.3 million, which turned into better than the medieval James Franco comedy Your Highness ($21.6 million). April had outright bombs: Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, the first of many underperforming lively sequels, and Disney’s Prom — each films earned $10.1 million. Oh, and to be completely subjective for one second, the absolutely underrated Hanna made a simply-k $40.3 million. That is a total disgrace!
Thor kicked off the May box office with a $65.7 million establishing at the way to a $181 million overall — the great overall of this year’s superhero films — however it was The Hangover Part II that easily crowned the month with a whopping $254 million. Audiences weren’t totally enamored with Part II, and the sequel fell brief of the $277.three million that the unique Hangover earned in 2009. Another sequel that couldn’t match its predecessors become Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which earned a franchise-low (but nevertheless large) $241.1 million. Fortunately for Disney, Pirates played a lot higher overseas and in the long run earned $1.04 billion worldwide. Bridesmaids didn’t want any franchise support to attain $169.1 million. After opening with $26.2 million, the marriage comedy in no way noticed a weekend drop above 30 percent for its first months in release. Kung Fu Panda 2 wasn’t as lucky. It’s $a hundred sixty five.2 million was properly beneath Kung Fu Panda‘s $215 million haul. The actual wonder May release changed into Woody Allen’s pleasant hit Midnight in Paris, which ambled its manner to $fifty six million this yr in a in most cases limited launch. Indeed, it’s a more accessible film than Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, which earned just $13.3 million.
Credit: ILM/DreamWorks/Paramount
