Box Office - A Massive Global Debut for '2012'

It isn't just American audiences that love watching the end of the world: 2012 grossed an estimated $220 million this weekend worldwide, including a $65 million start in the US. That's good enough to be in the top 40 for the year in domestic dollars (already) and in the top 10 around the globe. On the international front, it has already outgrossed District 9, Watchmen, and Public Enemies...in three days. It's the ninth best worldwide debut in history. That gives Sony one of the biggest hits of the year, and surprisingly enough, the studio didn't already have one. Coming into the weekend, its biggest film of 2009 was Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which isn't even among the top ten movies this year. That'll change now. There's a real chance for 2012 to break the bank to the tune of over $200 million in America, thanks to a bonus weekend at Thanksgiving, where most films won't see much of a slide from the previous frame. So by then, $150 million should be in the cards, with still a couple active weeks left. Disney's A Christmas Carol, which is equally expensive, still hasn't grossed as much as 2012 in two weeks, but it did enjoy a healthy second weekend - $22 million - so it might hang around for a while a do respectably here, hoping for a massive amount of interest in foreign markets. A $200 million version of this movie seems outlandish and if it fails to make that back, Disney might not bankroll another Zemeckis film with that kind of pricetag. But it could still play very well around the world through the rest of the year. Precious leapt into the top five with only about 175 theaters fighting for its cause. Its $6.1 million was just barely behind George Clooney's The Men Who Stare at Goats, and because these are estimated figures, it's possible we'll see a flip-flop there. Two movies crossed the $100 million plateau this weekend, as well: Couples Retreat and Paranormal Activity are the newest members of that club, although the Couples Retreat press junket in Bali cost many times more than the entire expense of filming Paranormal, so we know who's happier about that achievement. If you're thinking Twilight: New Moon will shorten 2012's life at the box office, I'm not sure I agree with you. Although the Twilight crowd does extend beyond teenagers - even though that's where the marketing is - 2012 hits a lot of demographics pretty well, so I don't believe its audience will drop more than about 50% next weekend. But we will definitely have more big numbers to track thanks to those glistening vampires. The Top Five:
1 - 2012 ($65 million)
2 - A Christmas Carol ($22.3 million)
3 - The Men Who Stare at Goats ($6.2 million)
4 - Precious ($6.1 million)
5 - This Is It ($5.1 million)

Comments

[Vince]

I agree, after this better-than-expected opening, and the solid word of mouth (way better than 10,000 BC at least), 2012 has the ability to stick around for a while. This is a true, old-fashioned blockbuster at a time where there are none. This movie will fill that niche quite perfectly.

[Krystal]

A friend saw '2012' last night & she's still freaked out this morning at church, which must mean incredible CGI & the science behind the natural disaster is presented convincingly.