X3 Box Office Tracker

[BMM]

It's the right thing to do to see which movie sold the most tickets but you can't compare the marketplace in the 1970's to today. There's way more to do now compared to the 70's. Megaplexes, giant malls, home theatres, incredible video game systems, skate parks, mega-malls, MTV, cable, satellite tv, TIVO, illegal downloading, major piracy, etc...So it's really not fair. Superman in the 70's didn't have to worry about Batman coming out 2 weeks later, and then pirates, and then Spiderman, etc...Totally different.

I agree that it is rather difficult to compare tickets, etc. via the two different market places, but half of those reasons are ridiculous . . . megaplexes and giant malls . . . as if they didn't have large malls or theaters in the 1970s . . . and believe it or not, people were satisfied with the televsion programs they received before MTV, cable, satellite TV, TIVO, etc. It's not as though television didn't influence people's decisions to not go to the movies in the 1970s either . . . and the same can be said for video games as well . . . again, society did function without these things at one point in time, and maintained equal distractions in the place of video games, etc . . . and I don't know what is with the last example. It's not as though The Last Stand (or any movie) has ever faced a line-up like that . . . regardless, there was, and always has been, vast competition between films--this is not new.

Piracy is a much more legitimate problem than the vast majority of those examples, as it is actually an issue that wasn't present during the 1970s, nor was there anything really comparable to it. Regardless, piracy alone does not account for certain disparities . . . most notably those in the population difference.

If you want a topic that really highlights the disparity between the number of people available to go to the movies in the 1970s vs. 2000+ . . . here's one for you--the population. The world population has more than doubled since the 1970s. At that time, the world population comprised of 3.5-4.5 billion people. Whereas now, the world population has more than doubled maintaining over 9 billion people . . . that allows for a lot more people to go see movies today than 30 years ago.

Bogus, bogus, bogus. Inflation when it comes to movies is noncess

Inflation is bogus . . . That's probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard . . .



On a side-note, why are we even discussing Batman Begins v. Fantastic Four? How is this even an issue? Batman Begins was a better movie. Critics, fans, and non-fans actually liked Batman Begins . . . and as a result it did better via the box office. Not much to compare. Case closed.

 

[Carp Man]

Inflation is bogus . . . That's probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard . . .

When it comes to MOVIES. Not the general economy. Believe you me. I feel inflation every 2 weeks when I get my paycheck. When i have to put 50 dollars to fill up my tank, when in the 70's I could do it for 5, when gas was 24 cents a gallon. There was less pull on your entertainment buck back in the 70's then today. Today you have computers, the internet, you can download movies for a fee, or free if you chose to go that way. Gas prices, the overall econamy.So don't tell me that Superman, Gone With The Wind, ect, ect, would make anywhere near the dollars some say it would. Only 2 movies ever that has made over a billion dollars worldwide is Titanic, and Lord Of The Ring.

 

[Angry Sentinel]

edit....!

 

[Angry Sentinel]

And I don't care if you compare them or not. There is no reason to reference Superman 79' and only use that monitary figure that is stated when you know damn well tickets only costed about 1/4 of what the cost today. If you are going to post the figure, post it as it would appear today. Regardless of all the 'reasons' for it selling that many tickets, it STILL sold that many tickets!

When it comes to MOVIES. Not the general economy. Believe you me. I feel inflation every 2 weeks when I get my paycheck. When i have to put 50 dollars to fill up my tank, when in the 70's I could do it for 10, when gas was 24 cents a gallon. There was less pull on your entertainment buck back in the 70's then today. Today you have computers, the internet, you can download movies for a fee, or free if you chose to go that way. Gas prices, the overall econamy.So don't tell me that Superman, Gone With The Wind, ect, ect, would make anywhere near the dollars some say it would. Only movie ever that has made over a billion dollars worldwide is Titanic.

This could go on forever, but COM-ON!! It's like the man said, just because these gadgets and doo-hickeys didn't exist in 1970 does not mean the public didn't spend money on entertainment. The only way we would know if your statement is true or not is to have SEVERAL well learned ECONOMIST do a comparable study on the entertainment spending of that time against this one.... Somehow I don't think the percentage would be as big a difference as you would like it to be.

 

[Advanced Dark]

There were less forms of entertainment for kids as far as things to "pay for" in the 70's comapred to today. Sure they could go out and play stickball, or build a fort, or play Monopoly & watch the The 6 Million dollar man & the Carol Burnett show...but today's marketplace is vastly different than the 70's and every single media analyst will mirror that same thought as indisuptable fact.

In the 70's they also didn't have to deal with this and piracy is so easy now it's sick.

June 20, 2006

MPA: China piracy cost biz $2.7 bil in '05

SHANGHAI -- Piracy in China cost filmmakers $2.7 billion last year, with domestic firms shouldering more than half those losses, according to a study commissioned by a trade group representing the major Hollywood studios. China's film industry lost about $1.5 billion in revenue to piracy last year, while the major U.S. studios lost $565 million, according to data released Monday by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), whose members include the studio units of Time Warner, Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc. The study was the first for China done by a third party, LEK Consulting, for the MPA, which previously did a similar annual study itself. (Reuters) FULL STORY

 

[Angry Sentinel]

Dang it Blades.... Carp Man is YOUR allias, isn't he

I'm outta here...

 

[BMM]

When it comes to MOVIES. Not the general economy. Believe you me. I feel inflation every 2 weeks when I get my paycheck. When i have to put 50 dollars to fill up my tank, when in the 70's I could do it for 5, when gas was 24 cents a gallon. There was less pull on your entertainment buck back in the 70's then today. Today you have computers, the internet, you can download movies for a fee, or free if you chose to go that way. Gas prices, the overall econamy.So don't tell me that Superman, Gone With The Wind, ect, ect, would make anywhere near the dollars some say it would. Only movie ever that has made over a billion dollars worldwide is Titanic.

In so far as I'm aware the film/entertainment industry is a vast economic contributor and therefore makes a vast impact on the U.S. economy . . . likewise, the U.S. economy makes a vast impact on the film/entertainment industry. This aspect doesn't simply get to be ignored. Like it or not, inflation is adjusted for anything and everything belonging and contributing to our economic system . . . and as such, the film/entertainment is included, and therefore is subject to such adjustments, especially when making comparisons about the value of cash flows between two differering economic periods.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ Yeah but you can't adjust inflation without adjusting for marketplace changes. Home theatres, dvd rentals, $13.99 for new dvd releases only months after theatrical release, tivo, piracy, video game systems, etc...That is not factored into the adjustment for inflaction. You have to add all of that lost revenue and bundle it with theatrical reveneue...which also isn't fair. It's just best not to compare box office from before the 80's with today. Films from the 90's and up you can adjust for inflation and mimizie the effects of market changes. ****, look at Gone with the Wind and adjust that for inflation. That was a tentpole picture of the era and those kind of ticket sales will never happen again...ever.

 

[BMM]

There were less forms of entertainment for kids as far as things to "pay for" in the 70's comapred to today. Sure they could go out and play stickball, or build a fort, or play Monopoly & watch the The 6 Million dollar man & the Carol Burnett show...but today's marketplace is vastly different than the 70's and every single media analyst will mirror that same thought as indisuptable fact.

In the 70's they also didn't have to deal with this and piracy is so easy now it's sick.

I never said the marketplace wasn't vastly different. That still doesn't make up for the notion that people in the late 1970s (seriously, almost the 1980s) didn't have anything to do but go to the movie theaters . . . honestly, stickball . . . build a fort, and play Monopoly. This is the late 1970s, not the 1950s (despite the television references). Again, it's not as though people didn't have comparable distractions back then . . . they didn't just twiddle their thumbs waiting for the sun to rise, movies to come out, and then the sun to set.

I already ackowledged the piracy issue, but I also presented one of my own . . . Piracy may have cost the film industry a couple of billion dollars . . . . but that doesn't take too much away from the added increase of upwards of 5 billion more people available to watch movies and contribute trillions more to the economy, including the film industry.

 

[Advanced Dark]

I never said the marketplace wasn't vastly different. That still doesn't make up for the notion that people in the late 1970s (seriously, almost the 1980s) didn't have anything to do but go to the movie theaters . . . honestly, stickball . . . build a fort, and play Monopoly. This is the late 1970s, not the 1950s (despite the television references). Again, it's not as though people didn't have comparable distractions back then . . . they didn't just twiddle their thumbs waiting for the sun to rise, movies to come out, and then the sun to set.

I already ackowledged the piracy issue, but I also presented one of my own . . . Piracy may have cost the film industry a couple of billion dollars . . . . but that doesn't take too much away from the added increase of upwards of 5 billion more people available to watch movies and contribute trillions more to the economy, including the film industry.

No it's not that. It's when a movie like Superman, Rocky, or Jaws came out it was not only a big event but probably one of the ONLY big movie events of the year. There wasn't 10-20 potential blockbusters coming out. When Star Wars came out it absorbed the nations attention as a whole more so than the new trilogy ever did by far. It was magical. Today with the DVD's and the special features, etc...it's just not anymore. There was no internet in the 70's let alone broadband until not too long ago. The internet alone created a suction from other entertainment outlets. I don't want to argue it anymore really. It's not comparable.

 

[BMM]

^ Yeah but you can't adjust inflation without adjusting for marketplace changes. Home theatres, dvd rentals, $13.99 for new dvd releases only months after theatrical release, tivo, piracy, video game systems, etc...That is not factored into the adjustment for inflaction. You have to add all of that lost revenue and bundle it with theatrical reveneue...which also isn't fair. It's just best not to compare box office from before the 80's with today. Films from the 90's and up you can adjust for inflation and mimizie the effects of market changes. ****, look at Gone with the Wind and adjust that for inflation. That was a tentpole picture of the era and those kind of ticket sales will never happen again...ever.

Again, you're making it sound as if there weren't equivalent distrations or reasons not to go to the movies back in the 1970s. People had reasons to not see Superman in the 1970s just like they had reasons to not see The Last Stand today. It's not as though every single human being alive went to see Superman in the 1970s and didn't go see The Last Stand because they were too busy to be bothered with TIVO. Regardless, you can still adjust for inflation via the actual figures given. I agree that movies shouldn't necessarily be compared between such different eras . . . but if people are going to post numbers to make a comparison (like some posters are saying) and don't expect them to be balanced so they are actually comparable, then that's too bad . . . the numbers are going to be adjusted for present value, including inflation . . . but overall I agree, they shouldn't be compared . . . and if they are, it's going to be difficult.

 

[obeastdyke]

oh yeah X-men still hasnt opened in CHINA! It openes there in July. Then Japan in Sept so we still have a lot of money to make. It will no doubt pass X-men 2. I think the last stand could make close to 500 million worldwide.

Amazing opening in South Korea by the way. Why arent u people making a big deal about it? If it were a bad opening there would be nonstop talk about it. Now talk about how amazing the film did there!!!!

 

[Advanced Dark]

500 no way. It's at 399 now. May 22-25 from Japan and another 15-20 in holdovers and a few million in China (a small market).

50 million in additional holdovers would be unheard of.

 

[GL's Light]

The South Korean opening is indeed very impressive. $ 500 million worldwide is out of reach, but $ 450 million is very doable, especially if Japan comes through with the same kind of strength as SK.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Last 'X-Men' promoted
Xu Wei
2006-06-20

Director Brett Ratner (right) and actor Hugh Jackman of "X-Men: The Last Stand" promote the movie at Jin Mao Tower yesterday. The final chapter of the "X-Men" trilogy will hit local screens this summer.
ANTICIPATING the release in China of the last in the "X-Men" trilogy - "X-Men: The Last Stand" - the film's director and leading actor promoted the movie at the ongoing 9th Shanghai International Film Festival.

At a press conference yesterday at Jin Mao Tower, director Brett Ratner and actor Hugh Jackman shared their experiences behind the scenes.

Ratner, who is known as director for movies "Red Dragon" and "Rush Hour," said making such a large-sized movie with so many action and fighting scenes was challenging.

"You know, making a movie is always a hard thing, but one should enjoy it," he said.

Ratner added that the movie was different from many other action productions with dazzling special effects and magnificent scenes. In "The Last Stand," the movie makers paid most attention to the portrayal of the unique personalities of each character.

Jackman who walked the festival's red carpet at the opening ceremony was excited to meet Oscar-winning director Ang Lee there. He joked that he had passed his resume to Lee to explore opportunities to collaborate.

"And soon I will work with Nicole Kidman on an epic set in the 1940s Australia," he said.

Since the movie's world premiere in May, the saga has grossed over US$200 million. The "X-Men" in 2000 and "X2: X-Men United" in 2003 have together yielded more than US$675 million worldwide. The final chapter in the "X-Men" is expected to hit local screens in the summer.

Cool!

 

[Carp Man]

Yea 400 million in 24 or 25 days is most impressive. And there are those who say SR will make 400 million after it's 2nd weekend. Those who say that got into the Kryponite Kool-Aid.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Superman opens on a Tuesday night so it could accumulate more in 10 days than X-Men did but when Pirates comes out the game is over. Supes will likely pull 400 million worldwide faster than X3 and has a better shot of passing 500 million as long as Pirates doesn't do too much damage.

 

[danoyse]

I agree that it is rather difficult to compare tickets, etc. via the two different market places, but half of those reasons are ridiculous . . . megaplexes and giant malls . . . as if they didn't have large malls or theaters in the 1970s . . .

It's a huge difference now. I was a little kid in the late 70s...movie theaters weren't multiplexes, they had maybe 1 or 2 screens, tops. We didn't have VCRs, and pay-cable was brand new. I saw Star Wars in the theater when I was 3...it didn't show up on TV until I was 8.

And it used to be that summer was the most unpopular time to release movies. It was thought that most people were on the beach...which is why Universal brought "Jaws" out during the summer. It became the highest grossing film of all time by the end of summer (and reportedly beach attendance went down)...and it really launched the summer movie season that we have now.

and believe it or not, people were satisfied with the televsion programs they received before MTV, cable, satellite TV, TIVO, etc. It's not as though television didn't influence people's decisions to not go to the movies in the 1970s either . . .

But it got better when those things came around. It was such a cool thing to watch movies on cable without commercials. It was very tough to go back to regular TV once you had a cable and a VCR.

There are so many different factors now then there were back then...I'm not trying to make excuses, a good movie is a good movie...but it was a totally different atmosphere when you didn't have cable or home video.

 

[Carp Man]

Superman opens on a Tuesday night so it could accumulate more in 10 days than X-Men did but when Pirates comes out the game is over. Supes will likely pull 400 million worldwide faster than X3 and has a better shot of passing 500 million as long as Pirates doesn't do too much damage.

No doubt it has the POTENTIAL, to make between 400 and 500 million total. But with WB's week marketing, POTC opening weekend after, word of mouth will be hugh in determing it's suscess. Repeat customers. That caries it after the uforia is over. And yes I thik X-Men got 5 million off midnight showings.

 

[TNC9852002]

uforia?

-TNC

 

[Advanced Dark]

Midnight showings is one thing but Supes opens at 10:00 PM on Tuesday night plus all wedesday and all day thursday before the weekend. It'll probably be the fastest to 200 million for the year.

 

[danoyse]

No it's not that. It's when a movie like Superman, Rocky, or Jaws came out it was not only a big event but probably one of the ONLY big movie events of the year. There wasn't 10-20 potential blockbusters coming out. When Star Wars came out it absorbed the nations attention as a whole more so than the new trilogy ever did by far. It was magical. Today with the DVD's and the special features, etc...it's just not anymore. There was no internet in the 70's let alone broadband until not too long ago. The internet alone created a suction from other entertainment outlets. I don't want to argue it anymore really. It's not comparable.

It's true. I saw the original 'Star Wars' in the theater...I still remember the audience going beserk at the giant spaceship in the opening scene. And I'm totally not exaggerating here...they cheered so loud when the Death Star blew up that people were actually stomping on the floor. I'll never forget.

And with "Empire," there was no AICN to give away the entire script. "I am your father" was probably (in my moviegoing experience) the biggest jaw-dropping moment in movie history. Nothing will ever compare to that.

And it can't happen now, not with the internet and magazines that report spoilers. As much as I enjoy the internet, I do miss those days.

 

[danoyse]

Director Brett Ratner (right) and actor Hugh Jackman of "X-Men: The Last Stand" promote the movie at Jin Mao Tower yesterday. The final chapter of the "X-Men" trilogy will hit local screens this summer.

I couldn't figure out how to copy the picture...but wow, Hugh is so cute.

 

[Carp Man]

Midnight showings is one thing but Supes opens at 10:00 PM on Tuesday night plus all wedesday and all day thursday before the weekend. It'll probably be the fastest to 200 million for the year.

If your talking straight domestic, the record is 8 days by SM 2, and ROTS, X 3 took 17 days. If your talking worldwide then no question. That wouldn't surprise me at all. Don't know what SR forign schedule is like. If it is going to open same day worldwide like X 3 did. If it is then 200 million total is a very good possibility.

 

[Pickle-El]

I sense a banning coming.........

Can't wait!