EmpireCity

No, it will change because the studio funding the billion dollar budget will be smart (not that they have a choice) and change it no matter what. It is more than a dick measuring contest, it is a logistics issue. There simply isn't the theater space (especially 3D screens) to accommodate 2 gigantic 3D releases like this. Star Wars has officially staked out December 2017 and Avatar would have to move no matter what or face making domestic theaters choose between it and Star Wars. The politics behind the scenes would be pretty funny. Who do you think film bookers are going to fear being leaned on, 20th Century Fox and their relatively mediocre slate of films or Disney that has the power of Lucasfilm/Marvel/Pixar/Disney Animation/Buena Vista behind it? The second that a film booker from any theater chain doesn't give it what it wants on Star Wars and want to give it to Avatar, they are going to say "ok, then when Avengers: Infinity War and Toy Story 4 come out next year, then you can pound sand while we withhold prints from you and give extra screens to your competition. Still want to give those screens to 20th Century Fox and Avatar?"

No, it made as much money as it did because of the 3D along with it being groundbreaking as a film. 3D had never been done like that or even close in a Hollywood tent pole release. If that was a 2D movie, it makes a whole lot less money, as in possibly a billion or more less.

Novelty may be a bit harsh, but I don't think it is something the vast majority of people actually care about after the fact. It was a visual and effects driven film that was very pretty to look at. I guess the words I need would be empty phenomenon (Domestic) or something along those lines. Gun to their head, every 20th Century Fox executive would tell you they don't want to go within 100 miles of Star Wars in the domestic market. International market is a much different story. It will be interesting to see what they do. The biggest mistake 20th Century Fox and Cameron made was procrastinating. The second they heard Lucasfilm was bought by Disney they should have fast tracked development of Avatar 2, but my guess is they still thought they were fine since Episode VII was supposed to be May of 2015. I think it completely caught them off guard when it got bumped to December of 2015 and then it had to be devastating to see that $248m opening and international record as well happening in their December territory. They tried to re-stake out that December territory, but it doesn't matter at this point. Star Wars is too big and now that they have found they can have these kinds of records in December and keep it clear of their other Marvel product in May/Summer, they aren't going to give December back. Avatar needs to find a new home, and there aren't really a ton of options as sweet as December was for them.

Scott Mendelson is out of his mind if he thinks Avatar 2 is going anywhere near that December 17th release date. Avatar may be an international smash hit, but it was a novelty in the United States. It made an insane amount of money, but that was based off the new introduction of 3D into cinemas, and since then 3D has gone down in popularity in the United States. It will not have a repeat of the success it enjoyed in 2009, not even close in the domestic market.

This info is very outdated. Almost every studio has a flat licensing percentage over the entire movie run that will slightly change. The days of 80% on opening weekend and 25% on Week 10 are long gone.

The Revenant bounced back nicely as expected.

I wouldn't worry much about the drop. It was more of a family day yesterday, so think it will bounce back.

Ok.

Monday $6.8m for TFA $5.75m for The Revenant

Estimated for Saturday.... $12.5m for The Revenant $11m for TFA

Revenant with $9.3m is awesome.

No source to link or quote.

Looks like TFA did right about $4m on Tuesday.

TFA made it above $42m and Revenant looks to be above $40m for the weekend.

$815m total after this weekend. From the same point Jurassic World did another $100m for the rest of its run. That gives TFA a minimum floor of $915m and I can guarantee that it will have bigger subsequent weekend and weekday numbers. Many theaters are going to keep it playing strong into March.

It will be at $815 on Sunday. You think it only has $60 million in it after that?

Why are people so dense about this? Did Titanic or TPM have to deal with Netflix? Smart Phones? Instant access to pirated copies of the movie? HDTV? Every era has different advantages and disadvantages. Everyone is so impressed by Gone With The Wind and the ticket sales, but it has literally nothing else to compete with. No tv, internet, HD Sports, streaming, travel options, etc... A few select radio stations and books were the competition, so of course it had massive sales. The reality is there is no fair way to compare each era, but it is fun either way.

I was making a guess on this one, but no real insider info for the most part. The late nights weren't quite as strong. Still a great number.

It won't disappear that fast. There is no other significant family coming out until Jan. 29th. It has a free run until then.

$51.2m Friday

$30m+ is going to be a lock.

Is there a bigger hack writer about box office (or anything) than Scott Mendelson? http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/12/21/star-wars-box-office-can-the-force-awakens-top-avatar-to-become-the-biggest-us-grosser-ever/

It had a 15% drop and did $61m on a Sunday and you think the demand is burnt and legs are gone? Lol.

BvS is going to massively disappoint. It won't hit $150m opening weekend.

This is incorrect and Disney is being extremely conservative. They are still verifying if it got the Saturday record and looks to be at $70m for Saturday. It is way underestimated and will end up around $245m+ for the weekend actuals.