Monday's top movies: 1. BRAVE - $9M ($75M), 2. MADAGASCAR 3 - $3M ($160M), 3. ABE LINCOLN - $2M ($18

[lab276]

In the 30 million range? Or % wise?

% wise.

[Mojoguy]

Wouldn't not having VHS to compete with take away from the magic of its run ever so slightly?

Oh, I'm not seriously trying to compare them. Just imagining how awesome it would've been to experience Star Wars in 1977.

[Letsuseournoggin]

% wise.

You think it'll drop in the 30s for next week?Damn.

[Letsuseournoggin]

Oh, I'm not seriously trying to compare them. Just imagining how awesome it would've been to experience Star Wars in 1977.

If we were around for that run, we'd likely laugh at the "hype" we see for movies nowadays.

[lab276]

You think it'll drop in the 30s for next week?Damn.

It's not impossible.

[Deep Wang]

"Priced to own"?I was only five in 1998, but are you sure only a few movies were released? I thought it'd be like today when everything gets released on home video.

The best example I can give you, is how I first learned of this. In 1997 I was a huge Austin Powers fan. Saw it a few times at the movies and couldn't wait to own the movie. I saw what day it was being released, I think it was in October. Went in to my local Two-Day Video(they hadn't been bought by Blockbuster yet) and asked for Austin Powers to buy. It wasn't for sale and I was crushed! I asked the manager why and she laid it out to me. Movies on VHS were priced anywhere from $75-100. There were a few titles, mostly those that were big blockbusters, that were considered "priced to own." I remember being able to buy Men In Black and of course Titanic. If they weren't priced to own, you had to wait another 5-6 months until they were. That or buy them used at the video store.

[MagnetMan]

If we were around for that run, we'd likely laugh at the "hype" we see for movies nowadays.

Even though I was 5 when Star Wars came out (and I'm told I was taken to it in theaters), my first memory of "hype" was the line for "E.T." It was the first time I had seen a line coming out of my theater and down the block.

[lab276]

The best example I can give you, is how I first learned of this. In 1997 I was a huge Austin Powers fan. Saw it a few times at the movies and couldn't wait to own the movie. I saw what day it was being released, I think it was in October. Went in to my local Two-Day Video(they hadn't been bought by Blockbuster yet) and asked for Austin Powers to buy. It wasn't for sale and I was crushed! I asked the manager why and she laid it out to me. Movies on VHS were priced anywhere from $75-100. There were a few titles, mostly those that were big blockbusters, that were considered "priced to own." I remember being able to buy Men In Black and of course Titanic. If they weren't priced to own, you had to wait another 5-6 months until they were. That or buy them used at the video store.

I wonder if that's an American thing. We had heaps of videos and not all of them were kids movies. Edited June 26, 2012 by lab276

[Gopher]

A drop in the 30s is nigh impossible. Low forties is the best case scenario from my projections.

[doublejack]

It still had VHS to compete with.

In North America, VHS was primarily a rental format. Plus there was a huge gap between when a movie was released in theaters and when it finally came out on VHS. Titanic wasn't affected much by VHS, in comparison to what DVD did to theater business.

All great points, yes. But I still feel that the era of ET, Jaws, SW is pretty different than Titanic's much like Avatar's is extremely different from any of the other's on the all time best box office runs. In the end though, I still have to crown Titanic as king because of number of tickets sold in its first run, the staying power, and how that fucker increased on some weekends.

I'm not going to continue the discussion any further, just going to point out that the US population was a lot larger during Titanic's run than during that of SW or Jaws. So tickets sold is somewhat tainted statistic. It can't be used to say "Titanic is best".

"Priced to own"?I was only five in 1998, but are you sure only a few movies were released? I thought it'd be like today when everything gets released on home video.

As Rallax pointed out, the vast majority of movies ran from $75 and up on VSH. Ditto for Laserdisc. True cinephiles would go out and buy movies anyway, but the general population rented most movies and owned very few. As of 1999 I owned about two dozen VHS tapes - titles like the SW trilogy, Tombstone, Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park... all big hits. The advent of EVERY movie being affordable to own on DVD changed my habits, and I have 1,500 DVD's as a result. (as a footnote, streaming has changed my habits yet again, and I have purchased only about 20 movies in the last two years. I no longer feel an urge to own everything, only what I really, really like)

[Letsuseournoggin]

It's not impossible.

Not impossible. I just would be over the moon if it did that. A drop like that would certify this as one heck of a leggy run.

[ecstasy]

I don't care about Titanic or Avatar right now. Stop whining blah blah blah.It's June 2012 and it's all about the Avengers right now. Titanic's and Avatar's records will still be there.But I'm celebrating that a movie I love will join elite company in the 600m club. Yes that's right. It's up in there.

Edited June 26, 2012 by ECSTASY

[Letsuseournoggin]

I don't care about Titanic or Avatar right now. Stop whining blah blah blah.It's June 2012 and it's all about the Avengers right now. Titanic's and Avatar's records will still be there.But I'm celebrating that a movie I love will join elite company in the 600m club. Yes that's right. It's up in there.

Superheroes assembling to save the worldA romance set on a sinking shipBlue aliens defending their home against us.Kinda odd when you look the club like that. An elite one no doubt though.

[Deep Wang]

One particularly fun fact about VHS is that Empire wasn't released until AFTER Jedi. So I am one of the generation that saw them out of order because of this.Also, E.T. wasn't released for years on VHS. I still remember when I got it for Christmas one year. Someone can probably find the exact year, but I am thinking it was around 88-90 when it finally happened.

Edited June 26, 2012 by rallax

[ecstasy]

Superheroes assembling to save the worldA romance set on a sinking shipBlue aliens defending their home against us.Kinda odd when you look the club like that. An elite one no doubt though.

Movies that struck a chord in the movie going public in one or another. The Dark Knight Rises will probably get there too or close I imagine.

[YoursTruly]

I don't care about Titanic or Avatar right now. Stop whining blah blah blah.It's June 2012 and it's all about the Avengers right now. Titanic's and Avatar's records will still be there.But I'm celebrating that a movie I love will join elite company in the 600m club. Yes that's right. It's up in there.

Also, TA looks like a good bet for $1.5B+ worldwide, which is a remarkable accomplishment.

[doublejack]

Also, TA looks like a good bet for $1.5B+ worldwide, which is a remarkable accomplishment.

It's a lock IMO. I was calling for $1.5B from late May. It might even reach that mark before it is released in Japan.

[YoursTruly]

It's a lock IMO. I was calling for $1.5B from late May. It might even reach that mark before it is released in Japan.

Oh, right, forgot about Japan.

[FishMB]

I think it's folly to discount today's films against what old ones did. If Titanic or Star Wars were released in this environment I assume their runs would look very modern. Movies come in and get out now. You have to prove your worth to even be able to stay in a theater longer than a month...

[Letsuseournoggin]

I think it's folly to discount today's films against what old ones did. If Titanic or Star Wars were released in this environment I assume their runs would look very modern. Movies come in and get out now. You have to prove your worth to even be able to stay in a theater longer than a month...

Well said.