Paul (2011)

Paul poster
Theatrical Performance
Domestic Box Office $37,412,945Details
International Box Office $63,749,161Details
Worldwide Box Office $101,162,106
Home Market Performance
Est. Domestic DVD Sales $10,689,972 Details
Est. Domestic Blu-ray Sales $6,399,860 Details
Total Est. Domestic Video Sales $17,089,832
Further financial details...

Synopsis

Two sci-fi geeks take a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town - a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings. Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$13,043,310 (34.9% of total gross)
Legs:2.87 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:37.0% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Production Budget:$40,000,000 (worldwide box office is 2.5 times production budget)
Theater counts:2,802 opening theaters/2,806 max. theaters, 4.0 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $50,858,962

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists


Watch Now On

Amazon VOD:Amazon
iTunes:iTunes, iTunes
Google Play:Google Play, Google Play
Vudu:Vudu

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: March 18th, 2011 (Wide) by Universal
Video Release: August 9th, 2011 by Universal Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R for language including sexual references, and some drug use.
(Rating bulletin 2146, 11/10/2010)
Running Time: 105 minutes
Comparisons: vs. Ghostbusters
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Non-Chronological, Epilogue, Fugitive / On the Run, Escape, Religious, Road Trip, Conspiracy Theory, Friendly Alien on Earth, Motion Capture Performance, Surprise Twist, Action Comedy, Death of a Pet
Source:Original Screenplay
Genre:Comedy
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Science Fiction
Production/Financing Companies: Relativity Media, Working Title Films, Big Talk Pictures
Production Countries: United Kingdom, United States
Languages: English, English

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 18, 2011 5 $13,043,310   2,802 $4,655   $13,043,310 1
Mar 25, 2011 6 $7,856,800 -40% 2,806 $2,800   $24,960,970 2
Apr 1, 2011 9 $4,245,560 -46% 2,550 $1,665   $31,844,445 3
Apr 8, 2011 13 $1,742,340 -59% 1,667 $1,045   $35,078,290 4
Apr 15, 2011 21 $485,080 -72% 536 $905   $36,104,500 5
Apr 22, 2011 26 $242,535 -50% 245 $990   $36,553,395 6
Apr 29, 2011 25 $299,040 +23% 224 $1,335   $36,943,010 7
May 6, 2011 30 $201,960 -32% 204 $990   $37,214,385 8
May 13, 2011 42 $104,980 -48% 181 $580   $37,371,385 9

Daily Box Office Performance

DateRankGross%YD%LWTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossDays
Mar 18, 2011 3 $4,469,190     2,802 $1,595   $4,469,190 1
Mar 19, 2011 5 $5,113,650 +14%   2,801 $1,826   $9,582,840 2
Mar 20, 2011 5 $3,460,470 -32%   2,801 $1,235   $13,043,310 3
Mar 21, 2011 5 $1,078,770 -69%   2,801 $385   $14,122,080 4
Mar 22, 2011 4 $1,134,305 +5%   2,801 $405   $15,256,385 5
Mar 23, 2011 5 $910,335 -20%   2,801 $325   $16,166,720 6
Mar 24, 2011 5 $937,450 +3%   2,801 $335   $17,104,170 7
Mar 25, 2011 6 $2,272,860 +142% -49% 2,806 $810   $19,377,030 8
Mar 26, 2011 6 $3,395,260 +49% -34% 2,806 $1,210   $22,772,290 9
Mar 27, 2011 6 $2,188,680 -36% -37% 2,806 $780   $24,960,970 10
Mar 28, 2011 6 $673,440 -69% -38% 2,806 $240   $25,634,410 11
Mar 29, 2011 6 $729,560 +8% -36% 2,806 $260   $26,363,970 12
Mar 30, 2011 6 $603,565 -17% -34% 2,806 $215   $26,967,535 13
Mar 31, 2011 6 $631,350 +5% -33% 2,806 $225   $27,598,885 14
Apr 1, 2011 8 $1,287,430 +104% -43% 2,550 $505   $28,886,315 15
Apr 2, 2011 9 $1,823,355 +42% -46% 2,543 $717   $30,709,670 16
Apr 3, 2011 9 $1,134,775 -38% -48% 2,543 $446   $31,844,445 17
Apr 4, 2011 8 $356,835 -69% -47% 2,543 $140   $32,201,280 18
Apr 5, 2011 8 $433,525 +21% -41% 2,543 $170   $32,634,805 19
Apr 6, 2011 9 $344,250 -21% -43% 2,543 $135   $32,979,055 20
Apr 7, 2011 9 $356,895 +4% -43% 2,543 $140   $33,335,950 21
Apr 8, 2011 13 $525,335 +47% -59% 1,667 $315   $33,861,285 22
Apr 9, 2011 13 $775,205 +48% -57% 1,667 $465   $34,636,490 23
Apr 10, 2011 13 $441,800 -43% -61% 1,667 $265   $35,078,290 24
Apr 11, 2011 12 $133,035 -70% -63% 1,667 $80   $35,211,325 25
Apr 12, 2011 12 $150,125 +13% -65% 1,667 $90   $35,361,450 26
Apr 13, 2011 13 $124,985 -17% -64% 1,667 $75   $35,486,435 27
Apr 14, 2011 12 $132,985 +6% -63% 1,667 $80   $35,619,420 28
Apr 15, 2011 - $139,360 +5% -73% 536 $260   $35,758,780 29
Apr 16, 2011 - $222,440 +60% -71% 536 $415   $35,981,220 30
Apr 17, 2011 - $123,280 -45% -72% 536 $230   $36,104,500 31
Apr 18, 2011 - $45,560 -63% -66% 536 $85   $36,150,060 32
Apr 19, 2011 - $50,920 +12% -66% 536 $95   $36,200,980 33
Apr 20, 2011 - $45,560 -11% -64% 536 $85   $36,246,540 34
Apr 21, 2011 - $64,320 +41% -52% 536 $120   $36,310,860 35
Apr 22, 2011 - $88,185 +37% -37% 245 $360   $36,399,045 36
Apr 23, 2011 - $93,100 +6% -58% 245 $380   $36,492,145 37
Apr 24, 2011 - $61,250 -34% -50% 245 $250   $36,553,395 38
Apr 25, 2011 - $31,850 -48% -30% 245 $130   $36,585,245 39
Apr 26, 2011 - $22,050 -31% -57% 245 $90   $36,607,295 40
Apr 27, 2011 - $19,525 -11% -57% 245 $80   $36,626,820 41
Apr 28, 2011 - $17,150 -12% -73% 245 $70   $36,643,970 42
Apr 29, 2011 - $109,760 +540% +24% 224 $490   $36,753,730 43
Apr 30, 2011 - $131,040 +19% +41% 224 $585   $36,884,770 44
May 1, 2011 - $58,240 -56% -5% 224 $260   $36,943,010 45
May 2, 2011 - $16,775 -71% -47% 224 $75   $36,959,785 46
May 3, 2011 - $20,160 +20% -9% 224 $90   $36,979,945 47
May 4, 2011 - $16,800 -17% -14% 224 $75   $36,996,745 48
May 5, 2011 - $15,680 -7% -9% 224 $70   $37,012,425 49
May 6, 2011 - $67,320 +329% -39% 204 $330   $37,079,745 50
May 7, 2011 - $90,780 +35% -31% 204 $445   $37,170,525 51
May 8, 2011 - $43,860 -52% -25% 204 $215   $37,214,385 52
May 9, 2011 - $12,240 -72% -27% 204 $60   $37,226,625 53
May 10, 2011 - $14,280 +17% -29% 204 $70   $37,240,905 54
May 11, 2011 - $12,240 -14% -27% 204 $60   $37,253,145 55
May 12, 2011 - $13,260 +8% -15% 204 $65   $37,266,405 56
May 13, 2011 - $30,770 +132% -54% 181 $170   $37,297,175 57
May 14, 2011 - $47,060 +53% -48% 181 $260   $37,344,235 58
May 15, 2011 - $27,150 -42% -38% 181 $150   $37,371,385 59
May 16, 2011 - $9,955 -63% -19% 181 $55   $37,381,340 60
May 17, 2011 - $11,765 +18% -18% 181 $65   $37,393,105 61
May 18, 2011 - $9,935 -16% -19% 181 $55   $37,403,040 62
May 19, 2011 - $9,905 n/c -25% 181 $55   $37,412,945 63

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 18, 2011 5 $17,104,170   2,802 $6,104   $17,104,170 1
Mar 25, 2011 6 $10,494,715 -39% 2,806 $3,740   $27,598,885 2
Apr 1, 2011 9 $5,737,065 -45% 2,550 $2,250   $33,335,950 3
Apr 8, 2011 13 $2,283,470 -60% 1,667 $1,370   $35,619,420 4
Apr 15, 2011 21 $691,440 -70% 536 $1,290   $36,310,860 5
Apr 22, 2011 26 $333,110 -52% 245 $1,360   $36,643,970 6
Apr 29, 2011 26 $368,455 +11% 224 $1,645   $37,012,425 7
May 6, 2011 32 $253,980 -31% 204 $1,245   $37,266,405 8
May 13, 2011 40 $146,540 -42% 181 $810   $37,412,945 9

International Cumulative Box Office Records


Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records


Weekly US DVD Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Aug 14, 20113172,906 172,906$2,991,274$2,991,2741
Aug 21, 2011764,019-63% 236,925$1,183,711$4,174,9852
Aug 28, 2011939,365-39% 276,290$727,859$4,902,8443
Sep 4, 20111626,322-33% 302,612$479,060$5,381,9044
Sep 11, 20112419,784-25% 322,396$336,130$5,718,0345
Sep 18, 20112414,733-26% 337,129$234,549$5,952,5836
Oct 27, 20191116,841 829,524$84,205$9,982,715429
Nov 3, 2019724,302+44% 853,826$96,965$10,079,680430

Weekly US Blu-ray Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Aug 14, 20112143,979 143,979$2,973,175$2,973,1751
Aug 21, 2011540,836-72% 184,815$843,261$3,816,4362
Aug 28, 2011529,522-28% 214,337$610,506$4,426,9423
Sep 4, 2011915,338-48% 229,675$329,911$4,756,8534
Sep 11, 20111110,763-30% 240,438$215,146$4,971,9995
Sep 25, 2011174,347 249,369$86,903$5,150,5327

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.

Leading Cast

Simon Pegg    Graeme Willy
Nick Frost    Clive Gollings
Seth Rogen    Paul

Supporting Cast

Jason Bateman    Agent Zoil
Kristen Wiig    Ruth Buggs
Sigourney Weaver    The Big Guy
Mia Stallard    Young Tara
Jeremy Owen    Sword Vender
Jeffrey Tambor    Adam Shadowchild
David House    Security Guard
Jennifer Granger    Adam Shadowchild Fan
Nelson Ascencio    Jorge
Jane Lynch    Pat Stevens
David Koechner    Gus
Jesse Plemons    Jake
Bill Hader    Haggard
Joe Lo Truglio    O'Reilly
Mark Sivertsen    State Trooper
Joe Berryman    Gas Station Attendant
John Carroll Lynch    Moses Buggs
Syd Masters    Band Member #1
Gary Roller    Band Member #2
Oliver O'Shea    Band Member #3
Lonnie Otha-Mayer    Band Member #4
Will Veitch    Band Member #5
Michael Miller    Police Officer
Lori Dillen    Robed Woman
J. Todd Anderson    Comic Store Clerk
Brett Michael Jones    Keith Nash
Diego Deane    Fireworks Store Clerk
Blythe Danner    Tara Walton

Cameos

Steven Spielberg    Himself

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Greg Mottola    Director
Simon Pegg    Screenwriter
Nick Frost    Screenwriter
Nira Park    Producer
Tim Bevan    Producer
Eric Fellner    Producer
Liza Chasin    Executive Producer
Debra Hayward    Executive Producer
Natascha Wharton    Executive Producer
Robert Graf    Executive Producer

Blu-ray Sales: Rio Returns to the Top

September 7th, 2011

As bad as it was on the DVD sales chart this week, it was worse on the Blu-ray sales chart. The best new release was a catalog title for a direct-to-DVD sequel, which is a terrible sign. As for the only bit of bright news on the chart, Rio returned to first place with 69,000 units / $1.48 million for the week and 1.51 million units / $33.23 million after four. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Priest Pulls out the Win

September 1st, 2011

Despite only managing fourth place on the DVD sales chart this week, Priest opened on top of the Blu-ray sales chart with 187,000 units / $4.24 million. Its opening Blu-ray ratio was 49% and this is great news for upcoming summer blockbusters, as it suggests they could break 50%. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Parrots Hold Off Alien Invasion

August 24th, 2011

Despite six new releases in the top ten on the Blu-ray sales chart this past week, Rio was able to remain on top with 261,000 units / $7.30 million over the week and 1.29 million units / $28.67 million after two. More...

DVD Sales: Rio Remains Perched on Top

August 24th, 2011

New releases were particularly weak this past week, and none of them were able to unseat Rio on the DVD sales chart. It sold an additional 636,000 units and generated $9.53 million more dollars in sales, pushing its running tallies to 2.27 million units and $34.01 million. It is already in six place for 2011 (fifth place if you don't count Despicable Me, which was released in 2010). More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for August 9th, 2011

August 9th, 2011

This week's list is highly frustrating for two reasons. Firstly, while there's a pretty big list of first-run releases, many of which had some pre-release buzz, almost none of them matched expectations. Secondly, my internet access kept cutting out, so it took till 4:30 a.m. to get this done, and by the end I was swearing nearly constantly. (Even 15 minutes of the Smooth Jazz Nyan Cat wasn't enough to calm my nerves.) Moving on... There were two main contenders for Pick of the Week, Paul on Blu-ray and Stargate: Atlantis: Complete Series Megaset on Blu-ray. In the end I went with the latter, partially because the screener for the former hasn't shown up yet. More...

International Box Office: Rio's Reaching for the Top

April 20th, 2011

Rio has become the biggest hit on the international box office so far this year after just two weeks of release. This past weekend it made $56.34 million on 13,754 screens in 63 markets to lift its total to $131.78 million. This is just a couple of million above The Green Hornet, although it is extending that lead very rapidly. The film was aided by a pair of first place openings in major markets, scoring $4.92 million on 667 screens in France and $2.38 million on 626 screens in Italy. It really shone in a number of holdover markets as well, including Brazil, where it was down a mere 14% to $7.22 million on 1,025 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.75 million after two. At this pace, it will top the final box office of Toy Story 3, Harry Potter and Tangled by next weekend. It added $5.70 million on 1,297 screens in Russia to lift its running tally to $18.94 million. It did drop by 39% from its opening weekend, which was higher than in most major markets, but still very strong for Russia. It grew by 33% in Australia to $3.22 million on 467 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.97 million after two. It was up 12% in the U.K. to $2.76 million on 531 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.97 million. Rio doesn't have a lot of markets left to expand into, but even so, at this pace it should hit $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide with relative ease. More...

Wimpy Fights its Way to the Top

March 28th, 2011

Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules opened on the high end of expectations while Sucker Punch opened on the low end of expectations, which meant there wasn't a really tight race for top spot at the box office this weekend. The overall box office was healthy with a total haul of $121 million, which was close to 6% higher than last weekend, but it was also close to 6% lower than the same weekend last year. On the one hand, this is arguably the best performance 2011 has had so far, as the only time we've won on the year-over-year comparison was when 2011 has a holiday that didn't line up with 2010. On the other hand, 2011 is still half a billion dollars behind 2010's pace at $2.18 billion to $2.69 billion. More...

Contest: Ominous Signs: Winning Announcement

March 22nd, 2011

The winners of our Ominous Signs contest were determined and they are... More...

Box Office Watchers Have Limited Reasons to Cheer

March 21st, 2011

It was another poor weekend at the box office and none of the new wide releases were blockbusters, but on the plus side, none were bombs either. The overall box office was down 11% from last weekend to $115 million, which was 9% lower than the same weekend last year. However, that was actually much better than 2011 has managed for most of the year. Year-to-date, 2011 is still off of 2010's pace by 20% at $2.52 billion to $2.02 billion and that likely won't change till Memorial day. Hopefully it won't be too late to turn things around by then. More...

Weekend Estimates: Limitless Wins Five-Way Box Office Battle

March 20th, 2011

The North American box office showed further glimmers of hope this weekend, with no less than five movies vying for top spot on the chart, and Limitless handily beating expectations to finish first. Its $19 million debut is the best so far for Relativity Media's fledgling distribution organization. Overall, however, box office will be down around 10% from last year, continuing a losing streak that will almost certainly extend to cover the entire first quarter. More...

Weekend Preview: Do the New Releases have Limitless Potential?

March 17th, 2011

Three wide releases come out this week, all of which have the potential to reach first place, and there's a slim chance they will finish one-two-three. On the other hand, there are also two holdovers that have a reasonable shot at first place as well, meaning the new releases could be fighting for scraps at the box office. Regardless, there's little hope that the total box office will match last year's pace, as Alice in Wonderland was still dominating the chart. Best case scenario, there's a close race for top spot with a couple of the new releases pulling in $30 million, or close to it. Worst case scenario has no new release earning half that. Unfortunately, the low end seems more likely. More...

Contest: Ominous Signs

March 11th, 2011

Three films open in wide release next weekend, with Paul reportedly opening the widest. I don't think that will be enough to propel the film into first place during its opening (the previous two Pegg and Frost films didn't even open in the top five). But it could be close and we have a prize that also has an alien theme to it, so we going with that one as the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Paul. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or not, will win a copy of Dark Skies: The Complete Series on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

International Box Office: Swan's Song a Three-Part Harmony

March 2nd, 2011

For the third weekend in a row, Black Swan led the way on the international chart, pulling in $17.50 million on 3,950 screens in 45 markets for a total of $123.37 million internationally and $226.95 million worldwide. In Spain it remained in first place with $2.52 million on 319 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.47 million after two. It added $2.81 million on 363 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.74 million after three. It doesn't have many markets left to open in, but the film has already made nearly a quarter billion dollars on a production budget of just $13 million, so it is fantastically profitable. More...

2011 Preview: March

March 1st, 2011

This is going to suck. February wasn't exactly a banner month at the box office and 2011 is already roughly $400 million behind 2010's pace. To make matters worse, last March broke records starting with the release of Alice in Wonderland. There is no movie coming out this month that will come close to Alice in Wonderland's performance; in fact, the number one film this March will likely not do as well as the second best film from last March. The best case scenario has the month producing three $100 million movies, plus a number of midlevel hits, while still failing to match last year's pace by about $100 million. The worst case scenario has two of the three potential $100 million hits missing that mark, plus the midlevel hits also struggling. In that case, we could end March about $300 million further behind 2010's pace. (Hopefully things will start to turn around in April.) More...

International Box Office: Swan and Speech Have Unlimited Success

February 23rd, 2011

As I've stated in the past, it is quite rare for a film that opened in limited release in the United States to go on and have success internationally. Most markets are simply too small to have the infrastructure to support limited releases. So it's quite a pleasant surprise to find two such films atop the international box office. Leading the way for the second weekend in a row is Black Swan, this time earning $17.60 million on 3,699 screens in 39 markets. In total it has $98.24 million and it has likely already reached the century mark. It opened in first place in Spain with $2.91 million on 296 screens, but it was not as strong in Italy with $1.50 million on 257 screens, which was only enough for third place. Oscar contenders tend to perform really well in Italy, so this is a bit of a disappointment. As far as holdovers are concerned, the film was down just 18% in France, adding $3.82 million on 338 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.77 million after just two weeks of release. More...


  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. International
  5. Video Sales
  6. Full Financials
  7. Cast & Crew
  8. Trailer

Synopsis

Two sci-fi geeks take a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town - a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings. Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$13,043,310 (34.9% of total gross)
Legs:2.87 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:37.0% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Production Budget:$40,000,000 (worldwide box office is 2.5 times production budget)
Theater counts:2,802 opening theaters/2,806 max. theaters, 4.0 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $50,858,962

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists


Watch Now On

Amazon VOD:Amazon
iTunes:iTunes, iTunes
Google Play:Google Play, Google Play
Vudu:Vudu

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: March 18th, 2011 (Wide) by Universal
Video Release: August 9th, 2011 by Universal Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R for language including sexual references, and some drug use.
(Rating bulletin 2146, 11/10/2010)
Running Time: 105 minutes
Comparisons: vs. Ghostbusters
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Non-Chronological, Epilogue, Fugitive / On the Run, Escape, Religious, Road Trip, Conspiracy Theory, Friendly Alien on Earth, Motion Capture Performance, Surprise Twist, Action Comedy, Death of a Pet
Source:Original Screenplay
Genre:Comedy
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Science Fiction
Production/Financing Companies: Relativity Media, Working Title Films, Big Talk Pictures
Production Countries: United Kingdom, United States
Languages: English, English

Leading Cast

Simon Pegg    Graeme Willy
Nick Frost    Clive Gollings
Seth Rogen    Paul

Supporting Cast

Jason Bateman    Agent Zoil
Kristen Wiig    Ruth Buggs
Sigourney Weaver    The Big Guy
Mia Stallard    Young Tara
Jeremy Owen    Sword Vender
Jeffrey Tambor    Adam Shadowchild
David House    Security Guard
Jennifer Granger    Adam Shadowchild Fan
Nelson Ascencio    Jorge
Jane Lynch    Pat Stevens
David Koechner    Gus
Jesse Plemons    Jake
Bill Hader    Haggard
Joe Lo Truglio    O'Reilly
Mark Sivertsen    State Trooper
Joe Berryman    Gas Station Attendant
John Carroll Lynch    Moses Buggs
Syd Masters    Band Member #1
Gary Roller    Band Member #2
Oliver O'Shea    Band Member #3
Lonnie Otha-Mayer    Band Member #4
Will Veitch    Band Member #5
Michael Miller    Police Officer
Lori Dillen    Robed Woman
J. Todd Anderson    Comic Store Clerk
Brett Michael Jones    Keith Nash
Diego Deane    Fireworks Store Clerk
Blythe Danner    Tara Walton

Cameos

Steven Spielberg    Himself

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Greg Mottola    Director
Simon Pegg    Screenwriter
Nick Frost    Screenwriter
Nira Park    Producer
Tim Bevan    Producer
Eric Fellner    Producer
Liza Chasin    Executive Producer
Debra Hayward    Executive Producer
Natascha Wharton    Executive Producer
Robert Graf    Executive Producer

Blu-ray Sales: Rio Returns to the Top

September 7th, 2011

As bad as it was on the DVD sales chart this week, it was worse on the Blu-ray sales chart. The best new release was a catalog title for a direct-to-DVD sequel, which is a terrible sign. As for the only bit of bright news on the chart, Rio returned to first place with 69,000 units / $1.48 million for the week and 1.51 million units / $33.23 million after four. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Priest Pulls out the Win

September 1st, 2011

Despite only managing fourth place on the DVD sales chart this week, Priest opened on top of the Blu-ray sales chart with 187,000 units / $4.24 million. Its opening Blu-ray ratio was 49% and this is great news for upcoming summer blockbusters, as it suggests they could break 50%. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Parrots Hold Off Alien Invasion

August 24th, 2011

Despite six new releases in the top ten on the Blu-ray sales chart this past week, Rio was able to remain on top with 261,000 units / $7.30 million over the week and 1.29 million units / $28.67 million after two. More...

DVD Sales: Rio Remains Perched on Top

August 24th, 2011

New releases were particularly weak this past week, and none of them were able to unseat Rio on the DVD sales chart. It sold an additional 636,000 units and generated $9.53 million more dollars in sales, pushing its running tallies to 2.27 million units and $34.01 million. It is already in six place for 2011 (fifth place if you don't count Despicable Me, which was released in 2010). More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for August 9th, 2011

August 9th, 2011

This week's list is highly frustrating for two reasons. Firstly, while there's a pretty big list of first-run releases, many of which had some pre-release buzz, almost none of them matched expectations. Secondly, my internet access kept cutting out, so it took till 4:30 a.m. to get this done, and by the end I was swearing nearly constantly. (Even 15 minutes of the Smooth Jazz Nyan Cat wasn't enough to calm my nerves.) Moving on... There were two main contenders for Pick of the Week, Paul on Blu-ray and Stargate: Atlantis: Complete Series Megaset on Blu-ray. In the end I went with the latter, partially because the screener for the former hasn't shown up yet. More...

International Box Office: Rio's Reaching for the Top

April 20th, 2011

Rio has become the biggest hit on the international box office so far this year after just two weeks of release. This past weekend it made $56.34 million on 13,754 screens in 63 markets to lift its total to $131.78 million. This is just a couple of million above The Green Hornet, although it is extending that lead very rapidly. The film was aided by a pair of first place openings in major markets, scoring $4.92 million on 667 screens in France and $2.38 million on 626 screens in Italy. It really shone in a number of holdover markets as well, including Brazil, where it was down a mere 14% to $7.22 million on 1,025 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.75 million after two. At this pace, it will top the final box office of Toy Story 3, Harry Potter and Tangled by next weekend. It added $5.70 million on 1,297 screens in Russia to lift its running tally to $18.94 million. It did drop by 39% from its opening weekend, which was higher than in most major markets, but still very strong for Russia. It grew by 33% in Australia to $3.22 million on 467 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.97 million after two. It was up 12% in the U.K. to $2.76 million on 531 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.97 million. Rio doesn't have a lot of markets left to expand into, but even so, at this pace it should hit $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide with relative ease. More...

Wimpy Fights its Way to the Top

March 28th, 2011

Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules opened on the high end of expectations while Sucker Punch opened on the low end of expectations, which meant there wasn't a really tight race for top spot at the box office this weekend. The overall box office was healthy with a total haul of $121 million, which was close to 6% higher than last weekend, but it was also close to 6% lower than the same weekend last year. On the one hand, this is arguably the best performance 2011 has had so far, as the only time we've won on the year-over-year comparison was when 2011 has a holiday that didn't line up with 2010. On the other hand, 2011 is still half a billion dollars behind 2010's pace at $2.18 billion to $2.69 billion. More...

Contest: Ominous Signs: Winning Announcement

March 22nd, 2011

The winners of our Ominous Signs contest were determined and they are... More...

Box Office Watchers Have Limited Reasons to Cheer

March 21st, 2011

It was another poor weekend at the box office and none of the new wide releases were blockbusters, but on the plus side, none were bombs either. The overall box office was down 11% from last weekend to $115 million, which was 9% lower than the same weekend last year. However, that was actually much better than 2011 has managed for most of the year. Year-to-date, 2011 is still off of 2010's pace by 20% at $2.52 billion to $2.02 billion and that likely won't change till Memorial day. Hopefully it won't be too late to turn things around by then. More...

Weekend Estimates: Limitless Wins Five-Way Box Office Battle

March 20th, 2011

The North American box office showed further glimmers of hope this weekend, with no less than five movies vying for top spot on the chart, and Limitless handily beating expectations to finish first. Its $19 million debut is the best so far for Relativity Media's fledgling distribution organization. Overall, however, box office will be down around 10% from last year, continuing a losing streak that will almost certainly extend to cover the entire first quarter. More...

Weekend Preview: Do the New Releases have Limitless Potential?

March 17th, 2011

Three wide releases come out this week, all of which have the potential to reach first place, and there's a slim chance they will finish one-two-three. On the other hand, there are also two holdovers that have a reasonable shot at first place as well, meaning the new releases could be fighting for scraps at the box office. Regardless, there's little hope that the total box office will match last year's pace, as Alice in Wonderland was still dominating the chart. Best case scenario, there's a close race for top spot with a couple of the new releases pulling in $30 million, or close to it. Worst case scenario has no new release earning half that. Unfortunately, the low end seems more likely. More...

Contest: Ominous Signs

March 11th, 2011

Three films open in wide release next weekend, with Paul reportedly opening the widest. I don't think that will be enough to propel the film into first place during its opening (the previous two Pegg and Frost films didn't even open in the top five). But it could be close and we have a prize that also has an alien theme to it, so we going with that one as the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Paul. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or not, will win a copy of Dark Skies: The Complete Series on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

International Box Office: Swan's Song a Three-Part Harmony

March 2nd, 2011

For the third weekend in a row, Black Swan led the way on the international chart, pulling in $17.50 million on 3,950 screens in 45 markets for a total of $123.37 million internationally and $226.95 million worldwide. In Spain it remained in first place with $2.52 million on 319 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.47 million after two. It added $2.81 million on 363 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.74 million after three. It doesn't have many markets left to open in, but the film has already made nearly a quarter billion dollars on a production budget of just $13 million, so it is fantastically profitable. More...

2011 Preview: March

March 1st, 2011

This is going to suck. February wasn't exactly a banner month at the box office and 2011 is already roughly $400 million behind 2010's pace. To make matters worse, last March broke records starting with the release of Alice in Wonderland. There is no movie coming out this month that will come close to Alice in Wonderland's performance; in fact, the number one film this March will likely not do as well as the second best film from last March. The best case scenario has the month producing three $100 million movies, plus a number of midlevel hits, while still failing to match last year's pace by about $100 million. The worst case scenario has two of the three potential $100 million hits missing that mark, plus the midlevel hits also struggling. In that case, we could end March about $300 million further behind 2010's pace. (Hopefully things will start to turn around in April.) More...

International Box Office: Swan and Speech Have Unlimited Success

February 23rd, 2011

As I've stated in the past, it is quite rare for a film that opened in limited release in the United States to go on and have success internationally. Most markets are simply too small to have the infrastructure to support limited releases. So it's quite a pleasant surprise to find two such films atop the international box office. Leading the way for the second weekend in a row is Black Swan, this time earning $17.60 million on 3,699 screens in 39 markets. In total it has $98.24 million and it has likely already reached the century mark. It opened in first place in Spain with $2.91 million on 296 screens, but it was not as strong in Italy with $1.50 million on 257 screens, which was only enough for third place. Oscar contenders tend to perform really well in Italy, so this is a bit of a disappointment. As far as holdovers are concerned, the film was down just 18% in France, adding $3.82 million on 338 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.77 million after just two weeks of release. More...

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 18, 2011 5 $13,043,310   2,802 $4,655   $13,043,310 1
Mar 25, 2011 6 $7,856,800 -40% 2,806 $2,800   $24,960,970 2
Apr 1, 2011 9 $4,245,560 -46% 2,550 $1,665   $31,844,445 3
Apr 8, 2011 13 $1,742,340 -59% 1,667 $1,045   $35,078,290 4
Apr 15, 2011 21 $485,080 -72% 536 $905   $36,104,500 5
Apr 22, 2011 26 $242,535 -50% 245 $990   $36,553,395 6
Apr 29, 2011 25 $299,040 +23% 224 $1,335   $36,943,010 7
May 6, 2011 30 $201,960 -32% 204 $990   $37,214,385 8
May 13, 2011 42 $104,980 -48% 181 $580   $37,371,385 9

Daily Box Office Performance

DateRankGross%YD%LWTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossDays
Mar 18, 2011 3 $4,469,190     2,802 $1,595   $4,469,190 1
Mar 19, 2011 5 $5,113,650 +14%   2,801 $1,826   $9,582,840 2
Mar 20, 2011 5 $3,460,470 -32%   2,801 $1,235   $13,043,310 3
Mar 21, 2011 5 $1,078,770 -69%   2,801 $385   $14,122,080 4
Mar 22, 2011 4 $1,134,305 +5%   2,801 $405   $15,256,385 5
Mar 23, 2011 5 $910,335 -20%   2,801 $325   $16,166,720 6
Mar 24, 2011 5 $937,450 +3%   2,801 $335   $17,104,170 7
Mar 25, 2011 6 $2,272,860 +142% -49% 2,806 $810   $19,377,030 8
Mar 26, 2011 6 $3,395,260 +49% -34% 2,806 $1,210   $22,772,290 9
Mar 27, 2011 6 $2,188,680 -36% -37% 2,806 $780   $24,960,970 10
Mar 28, 2011 6 $673,440 -69% -38% 2,806 $240   $25,634,410 11
Mar 29, 2011 6 $729,560 +8% -36% 2,806 $260   $26,363,970 12
Mar 30, 2011 6 $603,565 -17% -34% 2,806 $215   $26,967,535 13
Mar 31, 2011 6 $631,350 +5% -33% 2,806 $225   $27,598,885 14
Apr 1, 2011 8 $1,287,430 +104% -43% 2,550 $505   $28,886,315 15
Apr 2, 2011 9 $1,823,355 +42% -46% 2,543 $717   $30,709,670 16
Apr 3, 2011 9 $1,134,775 -38% -48% 2,543 $446   $31,844,445 17
Apr 4, 2011 8 $356,835 -69% -47% 2,543 $140   $32,201,280 18
Apr 5, 2011 8 $433,525 +21% -41% 2,543 $170   $32,634,805 19
Apr 6, 2011 9 $344,250 -21% -43% 2,543 $135   $32,979,055 20
Apr 7, 2011 9 $356,895 +4% -43% 2,543 $140   $33,335,950 21
Apr 8, 2011 13 $525,335 +47% -59% 1,667 $315   $33,861,285 22
Apr 9, 2011 13 $775,205 +48% -57% 1,667 $465   $34,636,490 23
Apr 10, 2011 13 $441,800 -43% -61% 1,667 $265   $35,078,290 24
Apr 11, 2011 12 $133,035 -70% -63% 1,667 $80   $35,211,325 25
Apr 12, 2011 12 $150,125 +13% -65% 1,667 $90   $35,361,450 26
Apr 13, 2011 13 $124,985 -17% -64% 1,667 $75   $35,486,435 27
Apr 14, 2011 12 $132,985 +6% -63% 1,667 $80   $35,619,420 28
Apr 15, 2011 - $139,360 +5% -73% 536 $260   $35,758,780 29
Apr 16, 2011 - $222,440 +60% -71% 536 $415   $35,981,220 30
Apr 17, 2011 - $123,280 -45% -72% 536 $230   $36,104,500 31
Apr 18, 2011 - $45,560 -63% -66% 536 $85   $36,150,060 32
Apr 19, 2011 - $50,920 +12% -66% 536 $95   $36,200,980 33
Apr 20, 2011 - $45,560 -11% -64% 536 $85   $36,246,540 34
Apr 21, 2011 - $64,320 +41% -52% 536 $120   $36,310,860 35
Apr 22, 2011 - $88,185 +37% -37% 245 $360   $36,399,045 36
Apr 23, 2011 - $93,100 +6% -58% 245 $380   $36,492,145 37
Apr 24, 2011 - $61,250 -34% -50% 245 $250   $36,553,395 38
Apr 25, 2011 - $31,850 -48% -30% 245 $130   $36,585,245 39
Apr 26, 2011 - $22,050 -31% -57% 245 $90   $36,607,295 40
Apr 27, 2011 - $19,525 -11% -57% 245 $80   $36,626,820 41
Apr 28, 2011 - $17,150 -12% -73% 245 $70   $36,643,970 42
Apr 29, 2011 - $109,760 +540% +24% 224 $490   $36,753,730 43
Apr 30, 2011 - $131,040 +19% +41% 224 $585   $36,884,770 44
May 1, 2011 - $58,240 -56% -5% 224 $260   $36,943,010 45
May 2, 2011 - $16,775 -71% -47% 224 $75   $36,959,785 46
May 3, 2011 - $20,160 +20% -9% 224 $90   $36,979,945 47
May 4, 2011 - $16,800 -17% -14% 224 $75   $36,996,745 48
May 5, 2011 - $15,680 -7% -9% 224 $70   $37,012,425 49
May 6, 2011 - $67,320 +329% -39% 204 $330   $37,079,745 50
May 7, 2011 - $90,780 +35% -31% 204 $445   $37,170,525 51
May 8, 2011 - $43,860 -52% -25% 204 $215   $37,214,385 52
May 9, 2011 - $12,240 -72% -27% 204 $60   $37,226,625 53
May 10, 2011 - $14,280 +17% -29% 204 $70   $37,240,905 54
May 11, 2011 - $12,240 -14% -27% 204 $60   $37,253,145 55
May 12, 2011 - $13,260 +8% -15% 204 $65   $37,266,405 56
May 13, 2011 - $30,770 +132% -54% 181 $170   $37,297,175 57
May 14, 2011 - $47,060 +53% -48% 181 $260   $37,344,235 58
May 15, 2011 - $27,150 -42% -38% 181 $150   $37,371,385 59
May 16, 2011 - $9,955 -63% -19% 181 $55   $37,381,340 60
May 17, 2011 - $11,765 +18% -18% 181 $65   $37,393,105 61
May 18, 2011 - $9,935 -16% -19% 181 $55   $37,403,040 62
May 19, 2011 - $9,905 n/c -25% 181 $55   $37,412,945 63

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 18, 2011 5 $17,104,170   2,802 $6,104   $17,104,170 1
Mar 25, 2011 6 $10,494,715 -39% 2,806 $3,740   $27,598,885 2
Apr 1, 2011 9 $5,737,065 -45% 2,550 $2,250   $33,335,950 3
Apr 8, 2011 13 $2,283,470 -60% 1,667 $1,370   $35,619,420 4
Apr 15, 2011 21 $691,440 -70% 536 $1,290   $36,310,860 5
Apr 22, 2011 26 $333,110 -52% 245 $1,360   $36,643,970 6
Apr 29, 2011 26 $368,455 +11% 224 $1,645   $37,012,425 7
May 6, 2011 32 $253,980 -31% 204 $1,245   $37,266,405 8
May 13, 2011 40 $146,540 -42% 181 $810   $37,412,945 9

International Cumulative Box Office Records


Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records


Weekly US DVD Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Aug 14, 20113172,906 172,906$2,991,274$2,991,2741
Aug 21, 2011764,019-63% 236,925$1,183,711$4,174,9852
Aug 28, 2011939,365-39% 276,290$727,859$4,902,8443
Sep 4, 20111626,322-33% 302,612$479,060$5,381,9044
Sep 11, 20112419,784-25% 322,396$336,130$5,718,0345
Sep 18, 20112414,733-26% 337,129$234,549$5,952,5836
Oct 27, 20191116,841 829,524$84,205$9,982,715429
Nov 3, 2019724,302+44% 853,826$96,965$10,079,680430

Weekly US Blu-ray Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Aug 14, 20112143,979 143,979$2,973,175$2,973,1751
Aug 21, 2011540,836-72% 184,815$843,261$3,816,4362
Aug 28, 2011529,522-28% 214,337$610,506$4,426,9423
Sep 4, 2011915,338-48% 229,675$329,911$4,756,8534
Sep 11, 20111110,763-30% 240,438$215,146$4,971,9995
Sep 25, 2011174,347 249,369$86,903$5,150,5327

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.