Romania Box Office

[James]

Great write-ups.

It's nice that the market keeps growing, but more screens are definitely needed around the country, to maximize potential. I think another IMAX in the West and even one in the East (Iasi) would do very well and help drive attendance up. 

As for exactly what the public likes...big spectacle is always a guaranteed seller. 

I agree about IMAX. For Interstellar for example, it was probably around 15% of it's business and that is huge considering there's only 1 IMAX theatre. Iasi should definitely have one.

[Rsyu]

I agree about IMAX. For Interstellar for example, it was probably around 15% of it's business and that is huge considering there's only 1 IMAX theatre. Iasi should definitely have one.

 

That's really high tbh. In Korea it's IMAX accounted for 11% of total gross but we have 15 theatres that were constantly 80-90% full. Acquiring tickets must be really tough with just one IMAX screen!  

[Hernan Gonzalez]

I agree about IMAX. For Interstellar for example, it was probably around 15% of it's business and that is huge considering there's only 1 IMAX theatre. Iasi should definitely have one.

At least you have 1. There's no IMAX theater in Barcelona

[reddevil18]

At least you have 1. There's no IMAX theater in Barcelona

Yeah, but that's one in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. Even if there's none in Barcelona (I thought there was one, but I guess I'm mistaken), you still have Valencia and Madrid within a 3 hour journey.

 

For Romania, you have big urban centres that are far more than 3 hours away from said IMAX screen... Iasi, for example, is a huge university city, so on top of it being the fourth biggest city in the country as per its permanent residents, you have an extremely large number of students, as well as a big catchment area. It really does need an IMAX screen, IMO. Same for Timisoara and/or Cluj in the West and Centre. 

[Hernan Gonzalez]

Yeah, but that's one in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. Even if there's none in Barcelona (I thought there was one, but I guess I'm mistaken), you still have Valencia and Madrid within a 3 hour journey.

There was one in Barcelona, near the aquarium, but it is closed now. No one used to go there because they were only showing movies about nature and technology. I think the one in Madrid is also closed...

[James]

That's really high tbh. In Korea it's IMAX accounted for 11% of total gross but we have 15 theatres that were constantly 80-90% full. Acquiring tickets must be really tough with just one IMAX screen!

Just look at The Hobbit. It opens on 19 and the tickets went on sale less than 2 days ago, but the IMAX shows are 60-80% full, and that's with no promotion on the official site of the biggest theatre chain here. I got tickets in the fIrst 2 hours since the release

Edited December 7, 2014 by James

[James]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

 

After a few great weeks, the BO finally slowed down a little, mostly because the lack of big openers.

 

- The Penguins of Madagascar ruled the box office in it's second frame. It's 56% drop is way bigger than 'Madagascar 3's 45% one, but the comparison should be 'Puss in Boots'. That was also a spin-off that opened in the same period, had a similar OW and an identical second weekend drop (56%). Here's a chart of the highest grossing animations in Romania:

 

It's unlikely 'Penguins' matches 'Puss in Boots' $1.34M, but a gross in the 1.1M area should happen. Expect it to land on no. 5 or 6 on this chart.

 

- Paddington started it's run with an ok 20.648 admissions (and $98K). While that's nothing to write home about, with the holidays coming and being a family movie, it should get around 100.000 adm in the end.

 

- In third place, Horrible Bosses slided 53%. That's pretty much in line with the first movie's 50% drop. It is already at $347K and with Christmas legs, $600K+ should be no problem.

 

- The Judge had a 14.793 adm start. That is behind 'Gone Girl's 17.000 tickets opening and it's also a bit weaker than 'Prisoners' last year. The latter made less than 50.000 adm. With holiday legs, 'The Judge' should do more though.

 

- Interstellar had it's steepest drop yet: 43%. That is mainly due to the 3 adult oriented movies arriving this week. Still, it now stands at a mighty 266.532 adm and $1.4M. By today or tomorrow, it should get ahead of 'Noah' and become No. 3 for the year. Also, getting to 300.000 adm (and taking second place for 2014) looks possible. 

 

- Nightcrawler opened to 11.517 adm (and $63K). That's decent, considering the marketing was pretty much non-existent.

 

- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 continues it's downward spiral. It fell another 61% this weekend and collected a bit over 10.000 tickets. That is a much steeper drop than 'Catching Fire's 51% and so, MJ's third weekend was actually smaller than CF's. 'Mockingjay' will finish a bit ahead of the second installment in admissions (and that because it's opening was way stronger; the legs, on the other hand, are horrendous), but it won't touch 'Catching Fire's $855K gross.

 

- St. Vincent debuted with an expected (and weak) 5.313 tickets sold.

 

- Jessabelle and The Rewrite both had ugly drops.

 

Top 10:

 

 

Next week's openers:

 

- Exodus: Gods and Kings

- Dumb and Dumber To

- Ana (local movie)

 

'Noah' debuted earlier this year with over 60.000 adm. But here's the issue: the tickets for Exodus are not on sale yet, which is absolutely mind boggling, since the ones for 'Dumb and Dumber To' are; you can buy tickets for 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Arrmies' that opens in 2 weeks for Pete's sake. Also, the marketing wasn't so strong as 'Noah's. So I expect an opening in the 45.000 adm area.

 

'Dumb and Dumber' never got released here, but it gained popularity from TV reruns. An opening in the same range as 'Horrible Bosses 2' for the sequel (30.000+) seems likely.

 

Local movie = bomb.   

[James]

MARKET UPDATE

 

The yearly box office after this weekend reached $51M. That is the first time Romania's BO crosses the 50M border in a year. The previous high was 2013's $48.5M. 

2014 runs 15.8% ahead of 2013 through the same point.

 

Also, an update on the Top 20 for 2014 (the bolded titles are still in theatres):

 

 

'Mockingjay' and 'The Penguins of Madagascr' should make their entrance to the top by next week.

Edited December 8, 2014 by James

[James]

Weekly update: It's all about The Hobbit! Now seriously, there's really nothing else selling. The Exodus and Dumb and Dumber To open tomorrow but Dumb and Dumber To looks dead (mostly because of the complete lack of marketing this past week) and Exodus is still blocked on the site of the main theatre chain (that owns about 75% of the theatres in the country). Basically, you can't buy tickets for it online. Also, theres not even a single ad for it on the main page of the site which is absolutely ridiculous. 

And now The Hobbit. Even though it opens on Dec. 19th, it's presales alone would be enough to beat Exodus this weekend. It's not about sold out theatres anymore, it's about sold out cities. Timisoara, the country's 3rd biggest city has sould out all the shows for the weekend, Iasi, the 4th biggest city also sold out everything. Monday/Tuesday for those cities are also close to selling out completely. 

Craiova, the 5th biggest town also sold out every available show (not just for the weekend but for the first 7 days of release!) through the main theatre chain there.

Constanta, the 4th biggest city has a lot of 70%+ full shows, same for the rest of the country.

In the capital, Bucharest, IMAX theatres are selling out at a rapid pace, even for the morning shows. Also because of the high demand, the biggest theatre chain will have a Hobbit marathon. The tickets for the two shows scheduled sold so good, the chain decided to have marathons in other cities too (in a day or two those should also be sold out). Basically, the only thing that will limitate The Hobbit's OW will be the number of screens available. It will be the widest release ever, but that seems not enough. 

Edited December 11, 2014 by James

[ChD]

Yeah, but that's one in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. Even if there's none in Barcelona (I thought there was one, but I guess I'm mistaken), you still have Valencia and Madrid within a 3 hour journey.

 

For Romania, you have big urban centres that are far more than 3 hours away from said IMAX screen... Iasi, for example, is a huge university city, so on top of it being the fourth biggest city in the country as per its permanent residents, you have an extremely large number of students, as well as a big catchment area. It really does need an IMAX screen, IMO. Same for Timisoara and/or Cluj in the West and Centre. 

 

Timisoara REALLY needs one. Preferably before the next Nolan movie.

 

I'm sure that's gonna happen. (Yes, it's sarcasm)

[James]

Timisoara REALLY needs one. Preferably before the next Nolan movie.

 

I'm sure that's gonna happen. (Yes, it's sarcasm)

Timisoara need more theatres, IMAX or not. Same with Iasi. It's insane how fast TH sold out everything. You basically can't see the movie there till Tuesday. And by tomorrow, even Tuesday will be gone.

[ChD]

The Hobbit opens next week here? Really?
 

I just checked. The Hobbit opens on the 19th EVERYWHERE? Really?
 

I thought it was the second weekend of December as the previous ones.

Edited December 11, 2014 by ChD

[James]

The Hobbit opens next week here? Really?

 

I just checked. The Hobbit opens on the 19th EVERYWHERE? Really?

 

I thought it was the second weekend of December as the previous ones.

Yeah, it's annoying. I have to wait another week to see it when most European countries got it on 10/11

[ChD]

Timisoara need more theatres, IMAX or not. Same with Iasi. It's insane how fast TH sold out everything. You basically can't see the movie there till Tuesday. And by tomorrow, even Tuesday will be gone.

 

The theaters only fill up with movies like The Hobbit, an according to a friend of mine, like Anabelle. I haven't seen it full in a long, long time. Last time I actually saw a long line was with Mission Impossible 5. Anyway, might be just me going at movies at 1-2 PM.

 

Timisoara needs more big audithoriums. It only has a 400+ seater a 200+, and after that they reach mostly 50.

[ChD]

Yeah, it's annoying. I have to wait another week to see it when most European countries got it on 10/11

 

That basically means I will have to wait until after holidays to be able to watch it. And that is if I have someone to go with. I'm not going alone.

[James]

The theaters only fill up with movies like The Hobbit, an according to a friend of mine, like Anabelle. I haven't seen it full in a long, long time. Last time I actually saw a long line was with Mission Impossible 5. Anyway, might be just me going at movies at 1-2 PM.

 

Timisoara needs more big audithoriums. It only has a 400+ seater a 200+, and after that they reach mostly 50.

Well, the IMAX in Bucharest has 400 seats and that's the biggest audithorium I've ever seen. But there are so many theatres here it's very hard to see that many sellouts (IMAX aside.)

[James]

That basically means I will have to wait until after holidays to be able to watch it. And that is if I have someone to go with. I'm not going alone.

Two hours after the tickets went on sale, I got the ones for me and my friends at IMAX at 14:20, Friday. I missed the 19:00 show I usually go to and I also missed my favourite row (8). Got to settle with 6.  

[ChD]

Well, the IMAX in Bucharest has 400 seats and that's the biggest audithorium I've ever seen. But there are so many theatres here it's very hard to see that many sellouts (IMAX aside.)

 

Actually the biggest one has 320 seats. Huh. I thought it was bigger.

 

Two hours after the tickets went on sale, I got the ones for me and my friends at IMAX at 14:20, Friday. I missed the 19:00 show I usually go to and I also missed my favourite row (8). Got to settle with 6.  

 

I always get 7th or 8th row, as well. I think I watched Mission Impossible from the third row as we didn't book tickets and was just a spontaneous thing, and it was horrible. I had a stiff neck after the movie finished.

[James]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

 

An ok-ish weekend. 'Dumb and Dumber To' opened strong and 'Exodus' debuted on top despite opening in limited release, as the market prepares for a massive debut from 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' next weekend.

 

- Last week I predicted a debut in the 45.000 adm area for Exodus: Gods and Kings, but that was before I knew the main theatre chain will pull it out of the schedule to make room for 'The Hobbit'. So, since that chain owns 70-75% of the market, 'Exodus' opened with only 30.629 admissions (and $186K) from 33 screens. That is a VERY GOOD number for it. If Cinema City, the main theatre company, would've released it this weekend, Exodus would've topped Noah's 60.651 tickets opening for sure. But things are how they are and right now I don't know whether 'Exodus' was eliminated from the schedule for good or if it will be released at a certain point next year. Either way, with holidays coming, it should hold well, that is if it doesn't lose the screens it has to 'The Hobbit', that gets showtimes like crazy.

 

- In second place, Dumb and Dumber To had strong walk-ins throughout the weekend and ended up with a very good 36.035 adm and $185K. I think that's the smallest gap in USD between no. 1 and no. 2 since I follow the local box office. The only reason the comedy came in second is the pricier 3D tickets for Exodus. The debut is above the one of 'Horrible Bosses 2', two weeks ago. With holidays coming it should have decent legs, despite the seemingly bad WOM. Either way, over 100.000 adm is a given.

 

- The Penguins of Madagascar enjoyed a solid weekend, after sliding 34%, better than 'Puss in Boots' 41%. Actually, their third weekend is almost identical, which is very good for 'Penguins'. It now stands at $680K and 1M is still in play.

 

- Paddington also had a nice hold (-38%). Total is $178K.

 

- Interstellar had the best drop in Top 10, easing just 28%. At 281.749 admissions and $1.48M is now the second most attended for 2014 (behind only 'The Wolf of Wall Street', that will have no trouble beating in the end) and third is USD. It's holds will decide whether it will end up in Top 3 highest grossing movies of the year or not. The drop next weekend should be bigger, since it will lose all it's IMAX screens to 'The Hobbit'.

 

- Horrible Bosses 2 slides 43% this weekend. It's still running well ahead of it's predecessor.Cume stands at a good $428K.

 

- The Judge took a 49% hit. That's a better drop than 'Prisoners' had last year. Total is a weak $155K.

 

- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 finally managed a decent drop (-40%). By next weekend it should pass 'Catching Fire' in admissions, but the gross still seems like a stretch.

 

- Nightcrawler and St. Vincent both had bad second outings.

 

Top 10:

 

 

Next week's openers:

 

- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

- Happy New Year

- The Search

 

So it begins. The great event of our time Seriously though, the final installment in the most popular franchise around will open to massive numbers next week. 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey' opened with 88.636 admissions on it's way to 409.993. A year later, 'The Desolation of Smaug' debuted with 100.008 tickets and ended up with 388.107. The first two films are the highest grossing ever after 'Avatar', and they are also the most attended of the 21st century (again, after Avatar). All these figures should be exceeded by the final entry in 'The Hobbit' series.

I closely followed Romania's box office for less than half a year now, but I don't think any movie received this kind of treatement. 'The Battle of the Five Armies' is locked to have the widest release ever. I tried to follow the biggest theatre chains and for the 3 day weekend only, 'The Hobbit' has over 400 shows of which around 110 are already sold out, with many more being 90% full. Also, the movie still gets showtimes like crazy and I wouldn't be surprised if the number exceeded 500 when all is said and done. It's hard to count the presales since there's no central database, but 3 days in advance (the movie opens on 19th), their number passes 50.000. Also, there are 12 marathons all across the country (4 just in Bucharest), that were added recently. 2 are already sold out and by tomorrow most of the others should sell all tickets as well.

 

Now, a prediction is hard to make. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2' owns the OW record when it comes to admissions (123.163). The OW record in USD belongs to '300: Rise of an Empire' ($691K). Setting a new OW record in USD should happen easily, despite the current exchange rate and I predict 125.000 admissions so the attendance record will fall too. Of course, things could be different, but I think with all the anticipation there's no way to go but up.

 

As for the other 2 releases, I'd be surprised if any of them broke the 10.000 adm border. 

Edited December 15, 2014 by James

[ChD]

That moment when Dumb and Dumber Two had a higher attendance than Exodus.