Muppets Most Wanted Box Office Numbers

[goldenstate5]

Great news guys, MMW eased 33.1% to a $11,373,000 on its second weekend bringing its 10-day total to $33,210,000 and in foreign markets it now has $7,500,000. This brings its worldwide total to $40,710,000. Come on is it really a flop people? If it gets like $7 million next week that'll propel it to $40 million + weekday totals, so like $42 million, and after that it'd just need a mere $8 million to reach its budget. Right now it only needs $17 million to reach its budget, clearly reachable, lets just hope Rio 2 doesn't make much of an impact. The total for MMW's second weekend is even a larger total than TM 11's $11,082,755 at the same point. So really is this that much of a flop people, this might even be a minor success. Even a Forbes article says that it'll most likely reach its budget domestically and a little more.

If it just "reaches its budget" then all that means is that it's not a flop. Which of course is good for the brand reputation but Disney is looking for profit, not stability. There's also marketing costs to take in account from. And don't think I'm being pessimistic when saying this, I'm just relaying the facts so nobody thinks that $55 million total means Disney netted $5 million. (for the record, the production budget is actually 54 million) There's also marketing costs to be concerned of as well. That rallies up the tally probably to 70 million give or take spent on MMW. I can tell you pretty honestly that Disney hopes altogether to make around 100 mil total (with foreign grosses) at the end of the day, or at least near that.

Do they have a shot? Maybe. They're most definitely bringing back the production budget now, which means the Muppets will not be lying in obscurity, but Disney may be hesitant to bring them to the big screen again. If the estimate holds, MMW proved to be at least not frontloaded like the 2011 movie was, proving it has some decent legs. 6 to 7 mil next week (combined with a 4 to 5 mil weekday total) will bring it to 43 to 44 million... so actually I think it now has a good chance of literally matching its production budget domestically just barely at 53 to 54 million. So in the end it all comes down to foreign grosses, which are promising so far considering it hasn't reached other countries yet. Since the last movie had foreign totals matching the domestic, this is what Disney is looking for. Let's hope it can still manage... there's a long road ahead.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

the attendance in my theater this week seemed better this week too, for some reason. many more families this week versus last week...

Probably word of mouth.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

From what I've seen on YouTube European fans particularly British fans just react better to the muppets then American fans IMO.

 

[Drtooth]

the attendance in my theater this week seemed better this week too, for some reason. many more families this week versus last week...

Which I hope is the case. Just less people wanting to go to the theaters last week. If it can get its projected 10 Million, that's good news, kinda. Especially considering that there's like 4 or 5 movies opening this week (2 of which seem to only court a small, indie audience anyway). If it manages to be 2 or 3 in box office this weekend, I'm sure it's a decent sign.

 

[MrBloogarFoobly]

But will the diminishing returns yield a third Muppet movie? Unlikely. Disney would be wise to jump into television.

 

[CensoredAlso]

But will the diminishing returns yield a third Muppet movie? Unlikely. Disney would be wise to jump into television.

I seriously do wish they'd considered Television. It might actually give them time to develop the characters. Something these movies barely seem to have time to concentrate on.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I agree I think they need to come back to their roots.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

I'm pleasantly surprised that MMW has held up well from weekend-to-weekend. I'm starting to see a lot of talk on FB and social media in general from people who headed to theatres in groups (either as families or just friends) to see the movie on its second weekend in North America. Even the biggest Muppet fan I know didn't get a chance to see MMW until last night (he sent me a private FB message raving about it) so I have a good feeling that it's all going to even out in the end.

And, guys, I have to tell you - we've been pulling our hair out about the movie supposedly underperforming at the box office and wondering about whether Disney will ever put this much effort into making or marketing a Muppet film again, but at the risk of sounding too pie-in-the-sky, my whole view of the MMW box office numbers changed when I looked at Box Office Mojo again last night.

MMW was in third place - and I realized that, despite the admittedly-so-so numbers, The Muppets have been in the Top Three at the North American box office for the past two weeks.

In 2014.
Thirty-five years after their first film.
Over two decades after losing Jim Henson and Richard Hunt.
Without any level of participation from Frank Oz (although, obviously, that's his choice).
Nearly 60 years after The Muppets actually began.

Would we have preferred to see it crush the competition and make Avatar or Toy Story money and guarantee another five Muppet movies in the next decade or so? Of COURSE we would.

But right now I can't help but be thrilled that, in an increasingly-crowded entertainment world that has become a lot cruder and more violent over the past three decades, that there is still room - ANY room - for the Muppets.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I just read where Brian Henson saw MMW and he said he was real pleased with it and felt his father would be very proud of it and that The Muppets are still going strong today. Then again had Jim lived we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[ploobis]

I just read where Brian Henson saw MMW and he said he was real pleased with it and felt his father would be very proud of it and that The Muppets are still going strong today. Then again had Jim lived we wouldn't be having this conversation.

That's really great to know!