Labor Day Weekend Push at The Box Office

[lrodk]

Disney will be increasing the number of screens this Labor Day weekend by at least 7-fold for Pearl Harbor and Atlantis. Disney is trying to capitalize on a weakness in films during the latter part of August by taking up more space at the cinemas in much the same way they did with Armageddon. The plan, if it works, will give the company a strong boost at thje box office during the last big summer weekend. With most of the blockbuster films of the season having already captured their lion's share of the pot, Disney is merely trying to pick up some scraps(every little bit helps) before they wrap up these films permanantly for video release later this year. One figure I heard had Atlantis playing on 750 screens for the weekend, up from the current 147.

 

[HBK]

But if they couldn't get anyone to see these films before, what makes Disney think anything will be any different now?

 

[All Aboard]

Actually HBK, Disney was able to get around 25 million people in the U.S. to see Pearl Harbor (and around 11 million to see Atlantis.)

 

[Sarangel]

I think the idea is to pick up people who meant to see either film during the initial release, but were distracted by other things. I know I wanted to go to see Atlantis again with a girlfriend who hadn't seen it, but we couldn't find a theater playing it.

Sarangel

 

[YoHo]

I'm no AV, but my gut says Atlantis will benefit more from this then Pearl based on the positive reviews and the fact that she Shrek Hoopla seems to have died down.

 

[tiggerstheman1]

Is is just me or has Disney morphed into The Repeat, Replay Company? I mean, what is it with them? The Disney Channel seems like it carries about 30% old ABC rerums, now their doing reruns (basically) at the theaters. Yeah, yeah, I know, they are just adding more screens, technically. But both those trains left the station a couple of months ago. I'm waiting for the rerun of Princess Diaries around December. Oh, I'm sure the "Director's Cut" will be so much better that I would want to run out and see it again (btw, I have seen it, and I loved it, so it's not about the film it's about the marketing).

Now that the Redux marketing hype in Hollywood is in full steam with the AP Redux and others, I guess we can expect more. Frankly, I don't want it. Give me a rerelease in 7 years when something has been deemed a "classic" by the fans. Don't give me a "Director's Cut" piece a couple of years after the original thinking I'm going to run down the local Cineplex and plunk down 8 bucks for something with an extra 30 seconds of film. Hey, I'm still renting the video for a couple of years! Spy Kids Director's Cut? Right, I'm going to pay 8 bucks to see the film again (which I liked), and to see the extra 30 seconds or so? I'm sure that the extra time will so change the film that it will seem like a whole new story. (sarcasm alert).

I guess the suits don't think about building the value of the work, just prostituting it out as much as possible. If you value the art, then you wont parade it around like some cheap, Jerry Springer guest.

Is this what we have to look forward to on the ABC Family Channel? More old ABC/Disney reruns with no new programming? Yep, make sure THAT one is on my cable bill. I need more chances to see the lost episodes of "Boy Meets World".

Long Live The Walt Rerun Company!!!

.... end of rant, please return to your regularly scheduled web surfing. I thank you and my Id thanks you.

 

[Jakey]

Just a little report on what's going on out there. We took the kids to the theatre this weekend (Labor Day) and Disney shows were packed, so I guess their strategy is working. I know both Atlantis and Princess Diaries were packed for virtually every show.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

What were the results at the box office for Pearl Harbor and Atlantis: The Lost Empire? I know they didn't make the top ten.

 

[Another Voice]

‘Pearl Harbor’ took in just $1.15 million in its expanded run, keeping the film still short of the $200 million level. ‘Atlantis’ took in $0.82 million and this one has already being put into the same bin that Disney keeps ‘Oliver and Company’ and ‘The Rescuers Down Under’. Meanwhile both ‘The Princess Diaries’ and ‘The Others’ continue to do well and will turn very nice profits for Disney. ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ dropped more than 60% as the film was unable to get any non-Kevin Smith fans interested and ‘Bubble Boy’ disappeared entirely (total box office for the film’s entire run will be around $5 million and won’t even pay for the TV ads).

‘Rush Hour 2’ also passed ‘Pearl Harbor’ to take the bronze medal for the summer box office (‘Shrek’ and ‘The Mummy Returns’ took gold and silver). ‘Pearl’ finished in fourth.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

Pearl Harbor in the end though was able to become the Number 1 movie this year world-wide grossing around $197 million domestically and $240 million international.

 

[Another Voice]

The latest public information has 'The Mummy Returns' at a worldwide total of $415.4 million and 'Pearl Harbor' at $414.5 worldwide. 'Shrek' right now is at $407.4 million, but has yet to open in several major markets (one of which I think is Japan). Each region has their own "seasons" which dictates different release times for different types of movies. The United States has the most pronounced "summer" season, so it's a little early to proclaim this year's winner.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

The internation box office is so unpredictable it could take quite awhile till we find a winner as of yet.