Christmas Weekend Shatters Theater Box Office Records

Written by Wayne Hall on December 29, 2009 – 12:00 pm -

It was a weekend for the record books in theaters around the world after the Christmas holiday, according to Variety.

First off, it was the biggest weekend for income ever, a total of $280 million – passing the July 2008 opening of The Dark Knight with $260 million. Part of that success was due to 20th Century’s 3D powerhouse, Avatar, which declined only three percent from last weekend’s take to end up in first place again, with $75 million. That brings the film’s worldwide total to $617.3 million in just 10 days. James Cameron‘s Avatar is benefiting from incredible word-of-mouth, as evidenced by the fact that the film nearly grossed as much in its second frame as in its first $77 million frame.

In another record, domestic ticket sales for 2009 in the United States jumped the $10 billion level for the first time, capping a record-breaking year that is running 12 percent ahead of last year. Also, attendance is up more than five percent.

Coming in second place in the States was Sherlock Holmes, with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, which brought in $65.4 million, breaking the previous record of top debut ever on a Christmas weekend.  The previous winner was Meet the Fockers with $46.2 million.

Something of a surprise was the Fox film, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which posted a five-day Christmas bow of $77.1 million. That included a weekend haul of $50.2 million, which earned it the number three spot and outdid the $44.2 million debut of the first Alvin back on Dec. 14, 2007. Overseas, Squeakquel debuted to a strong $36.5 million for a worldwide debut of $113.6 million.

Distributors said it box office gained with December 25  falling on a Friday, since Christmas afternoon and evening are a busy time for theaters, combined with the fact that Friday is itself a big moviegoing day.

Most films saw substantial gains from Friday to Saturday, particularly family films. Alvin was up 41 percent and Avatar increasing 21 percent.

It is routine for films doing business on opening day to see a Saturday drop, however, as in the case of Sherlock, which grossed a record-breaking $24.9 million on Christmas Day. That put Sherlock ahead of Avatar’s $23.5 million to win the day. The previous best Christmas Day gross for a new motion picture was Marley and Me at $14.4 million.

“I’m thrilled that we blew away all the expectations,” Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said about Sherlock, which skewed slightly male at 54 percent. The audience was fairly evenly divided among audiences over and under 30. Warners is hoping the movie will launch a franchise.

Fox senior VP of distribution Bert Livingston said it wasn’t a surprise that Sherlock beat Avatar on Christmas Day, but that Avatar ruled overall. “It was our second Friday, and I think they had a great campaign. People wanted to see Sherlock,” he said.

Livingston also noted that the studio couldn’t have been more delighted with the opening of Squeakquel. “When Alvin did $18.8 million on the first day, I thought that every family had gone to see it opening day, and wondered whether it would be the biggest day of the weekend. I didn’t think we could beat that number, but we did and the film grossed $20.4 million on Saturday,” he said.

Squeakquel’s audience was 70 percent families. Sequel overperformed among Latinos, who helped to drive the success of the first Alvin, which took in $217.3 million in the States and $143.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $360.6 million.

The weekdays between Christmas and New Year’s weekend see Saturday-like business, and with such a strong Christmas weekend, distributors are hoping that this year, the trend is even more pronounced. Avatar, for instance, could hit $300 million by the end of New Year’s weekend.

Related posts:

  1. New Moon Wolfs Up Box Office Records
  2. ‘Final Destination’ Arrives At Top Of Weekend Box Office
  3. District 9 Drops, Basterds Wins Weekend Box Office
  4. Carrey’s Carol Comes Out On Top
  5. Watchmen Tops US Box Office

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