Harry Potter

[DiszyDean]

Anyone notice the drop off in box office from week 1 to week 2 of the Order of the Phoenix movie? 175m the first week to 32m the second week and coming in second to Chuck and Larry.

While I noticed some were all over the big drop off from POC - World's End, I have seen no mention of this, interestingly enough. Does that mean that people are losing interest in the movie franchise as was claimed with POC? Especially now since they know how it all ends? I wonder what that will mean for the last two movies yet to be distributed?

I wonder how Universal feels about that?

 

[ChrisFL]

but it happens with most movie franchises I think, even all of the big "blockbuster" movies drop off quite a bit in the second week.

I also think the length of time a movie spends in the theater is shorter these days

 

[daber]

All the Potter fans were standing in line.....to get the last book and then read it. They didn't have time to see the movie this weekend.

 

[YoHo]

Sadly this is true, having both releases so close together didn't help, Also This was one of the less popular books I think. But it's not franchises that are the problem, it's bad movie making. POTC didn't fail, because people are done with franchises, it failed, because it was a bad movie.

82% drop off week to week is I think a record.
Movies do have to prove they'll be successful much faster then normal and Potter's going to get hurt by The Simpsons and all the other fantasy movies coming out in the next few months.
Still, I wouldn't be surprised if it holds pretty well this coming weekend once the book's been read.



As for the movie itself, I thought it was not bad. As with the others, I'm constantly impressed with the Casting and the art direction and since PoA, I've generally been accepting of the screenplay. The cinematography has sucked since Columbus left.

 

[MomofKatie]

All the Potter fans were standing in line.....to get the last book and then read it. They didn't have time to see the movie this weekend.

Yup- I'd be willing to bet that OotP will actually do better this coming weekend, because lots of HP fans will want to re-watch it after reading the last book.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I agree with previous posters that the fact that a lot of the HP audience was a little occupied this weekend. This may be one of the few cases where a 2nd week drop off can't really be thoroughly analyzed yet.

And I could be wrong, but I think the next 2 films will be just as big or bigger than previous ones. If for no other reason than there are millions of people who have been wrapped up in this world for up to 10 years now and have nothing "new" left to discover. By the time the next movie (and then the final movie) are released, those millions are going to be jonesing for a little Hogwarts.

I'm sure after the record setting book sales worldwide that Universal isn't at all worried about 2nd week box office.

 

[MyGoofy26]

Yup- I'd be willing to bet that OotP will actually do better this coming weekend, because lots of HP fans will want to re-watch it after reading the last book.

It'll be interesting to see - I was thinking the same thing, that it may bounce back this weekend after the heightened frenzy. I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in sales of the older movies, books, etc. after this weekend. Now that the "whole story" is out there, I bet a lot of people are going to want to start from the beginning and find all the clues that were planted early on.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

POTC didn't fail, because people are done with franchises, it failed, because it was a bad movie.

Sory to veer off topic, but I keep seeing this claim online, and I have to wonder: How can a movie that has earned $940 million worldwide to date, and is currently the top-grossing movie of 2007, be considered a failure? Is it as successful as POTC2? No. But it's by no means a box office failure.

*Brian*

 

[YoHo]

IT can be considered:
A: an artistic failure
B: when one looks at the numbers, you'll see that it is a financial failure as well. I'm not going to repeat the information, because there's a lot of it, but we had a good discussion back when the movie came out about what the box office really means. Look through Rumors for the old PotC At worlds end thread.

 

[EUROPACL]

If you look at it Daily the Box office drop is not as big. I think it has more to do with the Midweek open.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=harrypotter5.htm

 

[Stitch 03]

The current Harry Potter has also grossed more after its second weekend then any of the other installments had at that point in time. At worst it will probably be the 2nd highest grossing HP (domestically) and may even end up number 1. I expect it will surpass the 300 million mark and Monday's figures looked good.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/showdowns/chart/?id=vs-harrypotter.htm

 

[YoHo]

Where are you getting that? This movie had the lowest opening weekend, the second highest falloff and the widest release. I don't think it would be prudent based on that to make ANY assumptions.

 

[Stitch 03]

Check the link. After the 1st weekend it had grossed 139.7 million. The next best was the Goblet of Fire with 102.7 million. The reason the announced opening weekend grosses were smaller is that they did not include the opening days (Wed & Thurs). Order of the Phoenix is the first installment to open on a Wednesday.

As of the end of the 2nd weekend each installment grossed the following:

Azkaban - 158 million
Chamber of Secrets - 148 million
Sorcerer's Stone - 187 million
Goblet of Fire - 203 million
Order of the Phoenix - 213 million

At the end of this weekend expect it to be at a gross of ~239 million (16 million Mon - Thurs & 15 million on the weekend). This will still put it ahead of the other installments.

 

[redkelley]

Personnally, I think the next two movies will do BETTER than the others BECAUSE the books are finished. No books to be released means more people looking forward to the movies to get their "fix."

I for one can't wait for the next two movies and for the Wizarding World to open at Universal.

Joi

 

[newnana]

DD and I went to see HP yesterday, because she works at the theater she and a guest see movies free.
The manager told her that they had to open another theater because the crowds for HP were huge all day. He said that they have never had to do that for a movie that was past its first wave (first 2 weekends out). Last week-end the show's weren't even 1/3 full, so they cut it to one medium theater. This week-end its now showing in 1 medium and 1 large theater, to almost packed shows. I guess we die hard book fans are finally coming in for a movie "fix".

 

[pouncingpluto]

We've seen it twice so far, in IMAX 3D. That's probably it for us until the DVD comes out, but you never know... I wouldn't put it past us to go one more time.

 

[tidefan]

I just don't see HP holding over time now that the series is over. Right now, it's a bit of a frenzy b/c of the book (hey, I read it, it was good), but 3 years from now, I just don't know if it will be the same. We'll see...

 

[MyGoofy26]

I just don't see HP holding over time now that the series is over. Right now, it's a bit of a frenzy b/c of the book (hey, I read it, it was good), but 3 years from now, I just don't know if it will be the same. We'll see...

I think it's going to last. Yeah, there's a frenzy right now, but it's remained pretty popular for 10 years now. . . longer than most "fads" that we see. The series has worked its way into mass consciousness. It has benchmarked the adolescent years for many young adults. And a lot of those kids that started out with Harry in the beginning aren't too far away from starting families of their own, so a whole new generation will latch on as their parents introduce them to these books that meant so much to them growing up.

It reminds me of Disney in a way. The movies, the tv shows, the parks that we all grew up on, we can't wait to take our kids, grandkids, etc. and experience it again through their eyes.

 

[pouncingpluto]

I hope you're right, Carrie.

I mean, I certainly don't expect it to remain at this level of popularity, but I think it will remain very popular for awhile, especially with the movies and the theme park attractions at Universal. And exactly what you said, about people introducing their kids to it.

And then in time, once it's not popular in terms of pop culture, I hope it remains popular as a beloved book series, along the lines of the Narnia books or Madeline L'Engle's books or Lord of the Rings or Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

 

[tidefan]

I think it's going to last. Yeah, there's a frenzy right now, but it's remained pretty popular for 10 years now. . . longer than most "fads" that we see.

Yes, but what fueled part of the fire was not knowing how the game would end. Now that there aren't any more books to look forward to, I think that it will be a different dynamic. Hey, when I was a kid, Star Wars toys were about as hot as you could get, but 3 years after Return of the Jedi, while there was still interest, it wasn't even close to the same level.

And on that note... Let's just hope Rowling doesn't come out 16 years from now and lay a clunker like Episode I...