Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[mr3urious]

Anyways, I can go as far to say that DRAGON FAILED at the box office! Instead of raising its totals on Sat. and Sun. it dropped both days leading to a dissapointing total of $50 million (might even have $49 mil. after the actuals got out).

Very disappointing indeed, though it did earn a little more than its predecessor.

I don't get it, Despicable Me 2 made so much money, and it wasn't nearly as popular as Dragon!

That made so much money due to it being released during the 4th of July weekend.

 

[Drtooth]

50 Million isn't bad. Dragon's in it for the long run, and no doubt kids will flock to it on weekdays once summer vacation hits. Kung Fu Panda 2 did around the same amount, and there's still going to be a third film (at least). Personally, I just wish CN cleared up a spot on its schedule to actually show the cartoon spinoff and use that as a promotion.

22 Jump Street at least looks like a solid comedy. It had a strong following from the first film, and no doubt that followed to this box office. But it's not a family film. 50 on opening weekend is a pretty good showing, plus Dragon's already has a third on in the works.

 

[jvcarroll]

Say what?

Dragon 2 did not fail. It took in more this weekend than the original. However, it did disappoint the studio in that they expected it to fare even better than it did and to out perform 22 Jump Street. Still, a $50 million opening is impressive. Dragon will likely top the box office this coming weekend. Jump Street is popular, but animated films have staying power. This week's only new contender is Jersey Boys and that's niche. As for the marketing and ads, Fox is in charge of distribution now. I don't know if they had a hand in the advertising campaign, but it was certainly lacking this time around.

 

[Drtooth]

Say what?

Dragon 2 did not fail. It took in more this weekend than the original. However, it did disappoint the studio in that they expected it to fare even better than it did and to out perform 22 Jump Street. Still, a $50 million opening is impressive. Dragon will likely top the box office this coming weekend. Jump Street is popular, but animated films have staying power.

Exactly. It's not bad for a pre-summer break weekend in June. Once the weekday summer crowd comes in, the movie will really make its money. Something tells me it's going to do well in the long run. I mean, the animated films that would likely be the competition are the long gone Oz movie and Planes 2, which will only get the under 5 crowd. Like I said, Kung Fu Panda opened up against Hangover 2, came in second, but managed to do well. I'm not expecting the same massive Hangover 2 dropoff, but Dragon's going to get its due once the kids are out of school nationally.

 

[jvcarroll]

There's this black and white logic in entertainment these days that if something doesn't win then it somehow loses. Dragon 2 might be number 2 now but it's certainly not a loser. At a $145 million budget ($20 M less than the original) and a $76 M first week global box office take, this is poised to become quite a hit.

 

[Drtooth]

There's this black and white logic in entertainment these days that if something doesn't win then it somehow loses.

I honestly hate the inconsistency of a movie opening in first with a weak take being considered a hit (even when it doesn't make back its budget) while a movie opening in a strong second is a failure. A real loser is something that opens at a distant third and disappears the next weekend. Certainly a disappointing take, but not terrible. With little family film competition, Dragons will make money in the long run, especially domestically. It's just this week, a bunch of older movie goers (older than kids, anyway) flocked to a comedy for the first time this summer.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Say what?

Dragon 2 did not fail. It took in more this weekend than the original. However, it did disappoint the studio in that they expected it to fare even better than it did and to out perform 22 Jump Street. Still, a $50 million opening is impressive. Dragon will likely top the box office this coming weekend. Jump Street is popular, but animated films have staying power. This week's only new contender is Jersey Boys and that's niche. As for the marketing and ads, Fox is in charge of distribution now. I don't know if they had a hand in the advertising campaign, but it was certainly lacking this time around.

Thank you James. I'm really tired of how things are labeled as a "failure" if it doesn't pull in millions of dollars. It was still second place at the box office at $50 million (where the HIGHEST amount going to a movie was $60 million, so it obviously wasn't a major week at the box office). Let's not forget that this movie made more than the original, and plus it's going to make a lot of money since it's literally like the only decent family film in theaters. (The other this summer is Planes.)

I just think this week was a slow week at the movies. School ends this week, and kids are all taking their finals, so the theaters are empty. Things will pick up a lot throughout the next few weeks.

 

[Muppet Master]

Ok fine sheesh, not a fail, but in the long-run will it really hold up as well as the first Dragon? That film's opening weekend was a mere 20% of its final total. Biggest shot dragon has is to make like $180 million, so I'm just saying, considering both films are rotten tomatoes hits (both 90%+) that's just sad.

 

[jvcarroll]

Ok fine sheesh, not a fail, but in the long-run will it really hold up as well as the first Dragon? That film's opening weekend was a mere 20% of its final total. Biggest shot dragon has is to make like $180 million, so I'm just saying, considering both films are rotten tomatoes hits (both 90%+) that's just sad.

Basic math challenges that assumption and sets this sequel on track to make more than the original. Anything could happen. However, because the studio expected higher returns, DW stock dipped today. They expected this to be a sure-fire chart-topper (like Despicable Me 2) instead of just a very solid opening. My ire at this being considered a failure is more about industry perceptions than your particular post. It's not all black and white. Any other animated picture would welcome a healthy opening like Dragon 2. I think the franchise is safe.

 

[Muppet Master]

Basic math challenges that assumption and sets this sequel on track to make more than the original. Anything could happen. However, because the studio expected higher returns, DW stock dipped today. They expected this to be a sure-fire chart-topper (like Despicable Me 2) instead of just a very solid opening. My ire at this being considered a failure is more about industry perceptions than your particular post. It's not all black and white. Any other animated picture would welcome a healthy opening like Dragon 2. I think the franchise is safe.

I get your drift. Anyways it actually made $49,451,323 so this is closer to KFP 2 than a blockbuster film. Better than 22, which made $57 mil. and not $60 mil., pretty weak estimates this weekend. Anyways, here look at the first dragon's gross patterns.


Mar 26–28 1 $43,732,319 - 4,055 - $10,785 $43,732,319 1
Apr 2–4 3 $29,010,044 -33.7% 4,060 +5 $7,145 $92,135,916 2
Apr 9–11 3 $24,863,535 -14.3% 4,007 -53 $6,205 $133,404,438 3
Apr 16–18 2 $19,633,320 -21.0% 3,825 -182 $5,133 $158,251,066 4
Apr 23–25 1 $15,350,213 -21.8% 3,665 -160 $4,188 $178,345,927 5
Apr 30–May 2 2 $10,614,289 -30.9% 3,426 -239 $3,098 $192,173,750 6
May 7–9 3 $6,680,374 -37.1% 3,003 -423 $2,225 $201,013,867 7
May 14–16 5 $5,003,536 -25.1% 2,620 -383 $1,910 $207,647,696 8
May 21–23 9 $1,901,211 -62.0% 1,751 -869 $1,086 $210,990,918 9
May 28–30 10 $1,150,834 -39.5% 825 -926 $1,395 $212,755,053 10
May 28–31 10 $1,513,677 -20.4% 825 -926 $1,835 $213,117,896 10
Jun 4–6 14 $488,283 -57.6% 343 -482 $1,424 $213,883,143 11
Jun 11–13 17 $330,459 -32.3% 281 -62 $1,176 $214,426,381 12
Jun 18–20 29 $167,083 -49.4% 213 -68 $784 $214,764,298 13
Jun 25–27 16 $477,499 +186% 333 +120 $1,434 $215,422,528 14
Jul 2–4 21 $341,760 -28.4% 303 -30 $1,128 $216,156,994 15
Jul 2–5 20 $481,505 +0.8% 303 -30 $1,589 $216,296,739 15
Jul 9–11 22 $317,923 -7.0% 254 -49 $1,252 $216,893,967 16
Jul 16–18 24 $237,392 -25.3% 228 -26 $1,041 $217,387,997 17
Italics indicate four day weekend.

This is not your average gross pattern. A normal movie with the first dragon's opening would make about $150 million in march. Yes, weekday totals will be this dragon film's savor, but still I just can't imagine this film coming close to $217 million, but who know, Ice Age 3 had a $40 million opening compared to its predecessor's $70 million opening and that made $1 million more than its predecessor.