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2003-03-11
e to The Numbers website, it was to follow
up and track the box office dollars a particular movie was bringing in.
More to
the point, as an admitted Trekkie, I was praying at my alter of Rodenburry in
hopes that the latest installment of the Trek Franchise, Star Trek: Nemesis
was doing well enough in theaters to warrant yet another sequel. Unfortunately
this was not the case and having only made a measly $43,119,879 to date, my
prayers for a Star Trek: The Search for Data follow up was dashed. I knew
that in today’s production houses, if a film doesn’t net around a $100,000,000
in theaters…then that’s pretty much it for any subsequent incarnations…At
least…that is how it used to be.
Let me throw out a few random box office numbers for you.
| Austin
Powers | US Gross $53,883,989 |
| Jeepers
Creepers
| US Gross $37,903,067 |
|
Shanghai Noon | US Gross $56,932,305 |
| Friday | US Gross $27,391,242 |
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007: License To
Kill | US Gross $34,667,015 |
Now, other then modest box office numbers…what do all of these movies share in
common? These movies all range the gambit of genera’s from comedy, to horror,
to Urban Comedy to Action Adventure. They all were released from various movie
houses and they all were released at different times. However, the most
important thing these films share in common, is the fact that despite their
sorry showings in the theaters, each have spawned sequels…and they aren’t
alone.
It seems
that despite poor box office numbers, certain films can enjoy a second wind
thanks to strong DVD/VHS sales and rental numbers. Often, strong after market
sales can double or even triple a movie's profit margin. A trend enjoyed not
just by a few lucky box office weaklings, but also enjoyed by those certain
movies that already were box office powerhouses, sometimes making more in
opening weekend home video sales and
rentals than they did in opening weekend at the theaters. A very recent example
of this being X-Men
, which brought in over $157 million domestically. Subsequent
video sales netted over $60 million - more then opening weekend in the theaters and enough to even generate a DVD re-release early this year ahead of the sequel.
More
importantly, high volume video rentals and sales for the weaker movies can
create the fan base it couldn’t gather in theaters, sometimes snowballing into
block-busting sequels. Here are the numbers for 2 of the larger-grossing
sequels of the films listed above:
With
figures like those, its no wonder studios are giving a second a look to flicks
that flicker out in theaters, but burn bright on home media.
Pat Moran, an analyst at Alexander and Associates in New
York City states "word of mouth has a stronger presence than it does at
the box office because videos are out longer than films are, typically… If
people praise a movie they saw three months ago on video, their friends can
still go out and rent it."
With videos and DVDs continuingly dropping in price, and home
theaters a growing trend, Moran goes on to say, "Video and DVD rentals and
sales are a deciding factor when it comes to making sequels."
Assuming all factors remain the same, perhaps this Trekkie
will see his Star Trek franchise revisited after all.
Geor
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2003-03-10
ar since Steve Martin’s last movie was released and over three years since he last had a wide release. But it looks like that absence didn’t cause his fans to forget about him. Bringing Down the House brought in $31.1 million this weekend, a opening weekend record for both Steve Martin and his Co-Star Queen Latifah. This was much higher than almost anyone predicted and should lead to an increase in demand for everyone involved, especially Eugene Levy who has four movies being released this year.
The only other movie opening wide this week was Tears of the Sun staring Bruce Willis, which was in second place with a box office of $17 million. With a budget of $75 million (and almost 50% more for advertising) Sony has to be disappointed with this figure.
Still doing well after 3 weeks is Old
School. Just over $9 million this week raises its total past $50 million. Moving up a place to fourth was Chicago, now in its eleventh week. The multiple Oscar nominated film continues its impressive post nomination run adding almost $7 million to its total box office. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is still hanging in the top 5 and should reach $100 million, but probably not before Daredevil does.
Of note, last week’s winner Cradle 2 the Crave fell from first to sixth with an unbelievable 60% drop. We haven’t seen that kind of drop since Star Trek: Nemesis dropped 76%.
Submitted by:
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2003-01-06
finally come to an end? The long-running television series that spawned the long-running movie franchise recently ran out of steam at the box-office. Despite good reviews, Star Trek: Nemesis has grossed just $39 million since its Dec. 13 debut and looks to finish at around $45 million, making Nemesis the worst performing Trek film in the saga. The tagline of “A generation’s final journey” seems to have been right despite plans for another entry in the series.
The first venture, The Motion Picture, was the highest-grossing sci-fi flick of 1979, surpassing even Alien, with a final gross of $82.2 mil. The other Treks have entered our culture in more ways then one, especially the second, The Wrath of Khan, considered by Trekkers to be the definitive Trek experience. Then there’s the “odd numbered” Trek movies, like Search for Spock and Final Frontier, that are supposedly the weaker films in the series. But, for every Final Frontier, there’s a First Contact.
Nemesis’s failure could be from the story’s lack of action. The film contains more human drama and racial elements then most Trek movies, but is far from the melodramatics of Final Frontier, in which a Vulcan hijacks the Enterprise in his quest to find God. It’s just a shame that the Star Trek franchise will sputter instead of going out with a bang, as Nemesis, the movie, does. The last Trek film, Insurrection, grossed $70 mil in December of 1998; 1986’s The Voyage Home still holds the record as the highest-grossing movie in the series, with $110 mil.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
