The next set of reviews we’ll be publishing are some of the ones Roger Thomas has done exclusively for The Stanly News & Press. Roger has written movie reviews for The Stanly News & Press and other outlets for years, long before starting this blog. So we decided it would be good to give readers a sample of his previous work, in addition to posts of reviews of current films. Other reviews will run daily.
Written by Roger Thomas
When you are a movie fan like me, all aspects of the art of filmmaking are intriguing. That includes the box office receipts.
Barring a huge upset 2012 may break a few records. It is difficult to predict whether the total domestic grosses (box office ticket sales in the USA) will exceed the record set in 2009: $10,595,500,000. But there are plenty of other records that are equally impressive.
First, there has never been a year in the history of film when three films passed the $400 million mark for initial box office receipts. “The Dark Knight Rises” (read Roger Thomas’ review here) should pass that number by the middle of August, give or take a few days. Then it will become the third film of 2012 to cross the milestone. The other two that have already passed the mark are, of course, “The Avengers” with $617 million and “The Hunger Games” with almost $407 million.
There have only been two years in history that have had four films that broke the $300 million mark. In 2007, “Spider-Man 3,” “Shrek the Third,” “Transformers” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” all passed $300 million. In 2010, the films to accomplish this were “Toy Story 3,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Iron Man 2” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.”
It does not appear that any other films thus far released in 2012 will cross the $300 million threshold. Even the incredibly good “The Amazing Spider-Man” seems destined to come up short. (If it does not earn $300 million, it will be the first Spider-Man film to not cross the mark and may be seen as a disappointment for that very reason.) But even though, no current film seems to have the drawing power to cross the mark, there are still more than four months left and at least two heavy hitters coming soon.
The final “Twilight” film and Peter Jackson’s first of the three parts of “The Hobbit” are both expected to be popular to the tune of possibly $300 million or more. If each meets or exceeds expectations, 2012 will be the first year ever to have five films that surpass $300 million. If this happens the combined box office of the top five films of 2011 will meet or exceed $2 billion. (That’s billion with a B.)
One other trend I am watching is the total number of films to exceed $200 million. The record is 2007 with eleven films achieving that goal. Both 2010 and 2009 had ten films that reached this goal. 2005 had eight.
Currently with more than four months left in this year, and several big films yet to be revealed, 2012 has eight films that have passed the $200 million threshold: “Avengers,” “Hunger Games,” “Dark Knight Rises,” “Amazing Spider-Man,” “Brave,” “Lorax,” “Madagascar 3” and “Ted.” Three comic-book films, three animated features, one sci-fi novel adaptation, and one raunchy comedy. Expect to see a lot more of each of these genres in the years to come.
I should note what some of you might be thinking. Comparing the years does not take into account the increase in ticket price and the additional charges for 3-D or Imax. Nor does it account for inflation. I agree, these things skew some of the results.
It may be comparing apples to oranges, but it is the only numbers we have. (There are some charts online that take into account inflation but I am seeking to compare real numbers from the last decade.) We could all agree that there was not substantial change between 2011 and 2012. Both years had 3-D, Imax and the difference in average ticket price was only 9 cents. And yet not even one film in 2011 made $400 million; this year we have three already. For me, that is an interesting statistic, not earth-shattering but compelling.
Will 2012 have more than eight films to earn over $200 million? Probably. More than eleven? Only time will tell. Will another film or two break the $300 million mark? I certainly will not be surprised. My guess is that at least two more films will for a record total of five. Will there be another film to surpass the goal of $400 million? Probably not, but then again, all records are made to be broken.
For a movie lover like me, watching the box office grosses is a fun pastime between watching the movies.
Editor’s note: Here are the top 10 highest grossing movies domestically for 2012, per BoxOfficeMojo.com. Click on each movie title to see a trailer of the film.
1. The Avengers $623,357,910 Roger’s review
2. The Dark Knight Rises $448,139,099 Roger’s review
3. The Hunger Games $408,010,692 Roger’s review
4. Skyfall $304,360,277 Roger’s review
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey $303,003,568 Roger’s review
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 $292,324,737
7. The Amazing Spider-Man $262,030,663 Roger’s review
8. Brave $237,283,207 Roger’s review
9. Ted $218,815,487
10. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted $216,391,482 Roger’s review
Cinema Corner 