by Phil Contrino
Hollywood reached new heights thanks to the likes of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Hangover and New Moon.
Thanks in no small part to the recent stellar performance of Avatar, 2009's total domestic haul has now reached the $10 billion mark. Tuesday's official numbers won't come in until Wednesday afternoon, but after factoring in Monday's grosses the domestic cume sits at $9.992 billion. Avatar alone should be able to make the remaining $8 million on Tuesday that is needed to hit the impressive plateau.
With $402.1 million in the bank, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is this year's best domestic earner. Meanwhile, The Twilight Saga: New Moon was able to shatter expectations with an opening weekend tally of $142.8 million, which marked the strongest opening of the year as well as the third best of all time.
There was plenty of business to go around in 2009, and it was spread out pretty equally. Two films (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) grossed $300 million or more, four films (The Hangover, New Moon, Star Trek and UP) made between $299 million and $200 million and 23 films raked in between $199 million and $100 million.
The record-breaking 2009 box office is the result of high quality franchises and independent film product being offered to moviegoers, says Joel Cohen, CEO, MovieTickets.com. The additional focus on enhancing the theatrical experience, evident through the offering of more films in 3D, helped the industry break through the historic 10 billion dollar mark."
Yet for all the sure things that were released this year, 2009 may be remembered most for its surprise hits. Films such as The Hangover, Taken, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Paranormal Activity, District 9 and The Blind Side totally defied the expectations of industry professionals and box office prognosticators alike.
"People are definitely becoming more adventurous," says Dale Hurst, director of marketing for Carmike Cinemas, when asked about the list of films that moviegoers decided to take a chance on this year even though they lacked big stars and they were not continuations of a popular franchise.
"It's no secret that our economy is taking a downturn, and people are looking for more and more ways to save money," adds Hurst. "I think traveling and buying expensive products are on the back-burner for the time being, but people still want to be entertained and I think going to the movies is still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment."
Thanks to a promising slate of new releases that have yet to open, 2009 will go comfortably beyond the $10 billion mark
Hollywood reached new heights thanks to the likes of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Hangover and New Moon.
Thanks in no small part to the recent stellar performance of Avatar, 2009's total domestic haul has now reached the $10 billion mark. Tuesday's official numbers won't come in until Wednesday afternoon, but after factoring in Monday's grosses the domestic cume sits at $9.992 billion. Avatar alone should be able to make the remaining $8 million on Tuesday that is needed to hit the impressive plateau.
With $402.1 million in the bank, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is this year's best domestic earner. Meanwhile, The Twilight Saga: New Moon was able to shatter expectations with an opening weekend tally of $142.8 million, which marked the strongest opening of the year as well as the third best of all time.
There was plenty of business to go around in 2009, and it was spread out pretty equally. Two films (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) grossed $300 million or more, four films (The Hangover, New Moon, Star Trek and UP) made between $299 million and $200 million and 23 films raked in between $199 million and $100 million.
The record-breaking 2009 box office is the result of high quality franchises and independent film product being offered to moviegoers, says Joel Cohen, CEO, MovieTickets.com. The additional focus on enhancing the theatrical experience, evident through the offering of more films in 3D, helped the industry break through the historic 10 billion dollar mark."
Yet for all the sure things that were released this year, 2009 may be remembered most for its surprise hits. Films such as The Hangover, Taken, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Paranormal Activity, District 9 and The Blind Side totally defied the expectations of industry professionals and box office prognosticators alike.
"People are definitely becoming more adventurous," says Dale Hurst, director of marketing for Carmike Cinemas, when asked about the list of films that moviegoers decided to take a chance on this year even though they lacked big stars and they were not continuations of a popular franchise.
"It's no secret that our economy is taking a downturn, and people are looking for more and more ways to save money," adds Hurst. "I think traveling and buying expensive products are on the back-burner for the time being, but people still want to be entertained and I think going to the movies is still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment."
Thanks to a promising slate of new releases that have yet to open, 2009 will go comfortably beyond the $10 billion mark
approved by the SHH.
