Weekend Box Office Round-Up for Jul 20-22

Good afternoon Disney friends,

Disney was part of another record weekend. For the first time ever 8 of the top 10 films for the weekend were sequels. In fact, the top 5 were all sequels-only the second time ever-the first was 2 weeks ago. (That could be top 6 depending on how Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Skyscraper finally end up-right now they are separated by $45k.)  Also, there was a shocker at the top spot--Equalizer 2 overperformed by over $10 mil compared to projections going into the weekend to beat out Mama Mia: Here We Go Again, $35.8 mil to $34.4 mil. 

Now to Disney--Ant Man and the Wasp and Incredibles 2 were numbers 4 and 5 for the weekend. Ant-Man was able to add over $16 mil for a running total of over $164.6 mil. That total is only about $16 mil short of what the first film was able to pull in during its entire run in 2015. The film added over $21 mil from international markets for a total worldwide gross of $353 mil--it still has 44% of the international markets to go.

Incredibles 2 pulled in an estimated $11.5 mil stateside for a running tally of $557 mil. It also opened in South Korea this weekend with over $10 mil, which is the largest opening for a Disney animated film or a Pixar. The current worldwide tally is coming in at $940 mil and still has 25% of the international markets to go. Once this film finishes its run, it will become the 36th film to cross the $1 bil mark. That would also be Disney's third film to hit that mark this year alone.

Avengers: Infinity War added over $400k for a running tally of $676.8 mil. Solo: A Star Wars Story added $221k for a current total of $212 mil. Lastly, Disney added theaters for Black Panther to help the film add an estimated $25k, which puts the film at $699,931,862 domestically.

Next weekend sees Tom Cruise return to the Mission Impossible series which will probably have cause a larger than normal drop for Equalizer 2 due to pulling in similar crowds. This will have somewhat of an effect on Ant-Man and the Wasp, but Disney's film is more family fare. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies will probably eat into both A-M and Incredibles 2.

I hope you have a magical week and if you need help book a Disney vacation (parks, resorts, or cruises,) please email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Disney Weekend Box Office Round Up

Good evening Disney friends, 

I am sorry to be coming to you a later than normal but I spent time watching Ant-Man and the Wasp earlier today. The movie was very good. There are a few times when the movie did drag but over all the jokes were good and so was the action. From some of the rumors running around, this film will be important in regards to next summers Avengers 4. One last thought about the movie in terms of whether or not to go see it-the end credit scenes were almost worth the price of the ticket. 

Now to some numbers. Disney made it 5 for 6 this year--5 of Disney's 6 films have opened at number 1 for the weekend (A Wrinkle in Time is the only film to not open number 1 and part of the reason was that Black Panther was still number 1 when it opened.) If you look at the 5 movies that ranked number 1, they have been number 1 for a total of 10 weekends this year. In fact, except for three weeks in late January or early February between Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Black Panther, a Disney film has been ranked in the top 10 every weekend so far this year. Since Avengers: Infintiy War opened, Disney has had 2 films ranked in the top 10 (2 weekends they had 3.) 

Ant-Man and the Wasp opened with an estimated $76 million dollars which was well above the previous films opening of $57 million. According to some industry experts, Ant-Man and the Wasp will probably clear about $100 million for Disney when the film finishes its worldwide run. 

Disney was also able to hold on to the number two spot with Incredibles 2 staying there for the third weekend in a row. I2's weekend of $29 million helped the film become the first animated film to cross the $500 million mark for the domestic market. It was also able to surpass Finding Dory to become the highest grossing animated film of all time in the domestic market. 

Disney accounted for 57% of the domestic market this weekend.

I hope you have a magical weekend and if you need any help booking a Disney vacation, please let me know how I can help by emailing me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Weekend Box Office Update for Jun 29-Jul 1 (Mid Year Review)

Good afternoon Disney friends,

As we reach the midway point of the year, it is a good time to take a look back at Disney's box office numbers and look ahead to the rest of the year.  

Just a quick note about this weekend before I begin the look back. Disney still has 2 films in the top 10. Incredibles 2 maintained its stay at number 2 with a weekend take of $45 mil (total domestic of $439 mil)  and Solo: A Star Wars Story is ranked at number 8 for the weekend by pulling in $2.2 mil (total of $207 mil) from the domestic market. Avengers: Infinity War was able to gross $1.4 mil (total $672 mil,) but did drop out of the top 10.

Looking Back

The numbers for Disney films have been staggering. From the 5 films they have released in 2018, the House of Mouse has already grossed over $2 bil for the domestic market. The next closest competitor is Universal which has grossed $638 mil. For a little more perspective, there have been 349 films released domestically this year and Disney has only 5 of those films, but yet it is pulling in just shy of 40% of the entire domestic market for the year. All five Disney films have grossed over $100 mil domestically. There have only been 12 films to hit this mark so far this year. 

In terms of all time domestic box office grosses, Disney's Black Panther and Avenger: Infinity War are respectively the 3rd and 4th films on the list. Disney now has 6 of the top 10 all time highest grossing films from the domestic market. Looking at the global market, Disney now has 17 of the 34 films that have grossed over $1 bil for the worldwide market. These 2 films helped make this years April, the highest grossing April of all time. This year also saw the highest February of all time.

Infinity War is only the 4th film of all time to gross over $2 bil from the global market after having the highest grossing opening for both the domestic market and the worldwide market. Black Panther had the highest opening weekend for the month of February. Incredibles 2 had the highest opening weekend for an animated film. In terms of opening weekends for the domestic market, Disney now has 9 of the top 10. Disney now has the highest opening weekends for February (Black Panther), March (Beauty and the Beast), April (Avengers: Infinity War), May (Marvel's The Avengers), and December (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

I will admit that Solo: A Star Wars Story and A Wrinkle in Time both underperformed and these were not financial successes for Disney, but the films grossed over $200 mil and $100 mil at the domestic box office respectively. Part of their lack of success was the strength of Panther and Infinity War.

Looking Ahead

Here is the list of films (with dates) for the films yet to come from Disney:

Ant-Man and the Wasp July 6

Disney's Christopher Robin August 3

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms November 2

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 November 21

Mary Poppins Returns Christmas Day

When looking at the future numbers, I think Ant-Man will do very well especially since the latest information has the film building is building to next years Avengers 4, because Ant-Man will attempt to explain the quantum realm which may have a big part of Avengers 4. (There have been rumors about the name of this film this weekend, but I will wait until the official name change to speak on it.)  The first film opened with a gross of $57 mil on its way to a domestic gross of $180 mil and a global take of $519 mil.

Ralph and Mary will do well. Ralph moves to the cherished Thanksgiving weekend spot. The first film opened the first weekend in November 6 years ago at number 1 with over $49 mil and the marketing has been strong. Mary Poppins opens on Christmas day and is one of the most beloved characters at Walt Disney World resort.

To me the wildcards for Disney will be Christopher Robin and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Robin looks a lot like a sequel to Hook and The Four Realms is being released at the right time of year.

Next weekend will see Disney return to number 1 with Ant-Man and the Wasp. Until then, have a great week.

Disney Box Office Update Jun 15-17 (An Incredible Weekend)

Good afternoon Disney friends,

To all the dads out there, Happy Fathers' Day. I hope you have had (and will continue to have) a wonderful day.

Disney definitely recovered this weekend from the disappointment of Solo: A Star Wars Story with an incredible opening for Incredibles 2. The film is looking at an opening of around $180 mil (estimates going into the weekend were between $120 and $140 mil.) This is the highest opening weekend for an animated film which broke the previous record of $135 mil for Finding Dory, which opened 2 years ago this weekend. To put the opening into perspective, the first Incredibles film only grossed over $261 mil during its entire run when it opened in 2004. This film has broken many records for animated films and opening weekends. Here is the list (the numbers in parenthesis compares the film to all pictures.)

Highest opening weekend-$180 mil (8th)

Highest opening previews-$18.5 mil

Highest opening day-$71.5 mil (14th)

Highest Saturday-$58.8 mil (10th)

Highest Sunday-$49.6 mil (8th)

The good run for Disney did not end here because the House of Mouse had 2 other films in the top 10. Solo ($9 mil) may not be having the best run for a Star Wars film, but it did cross $190 mil and will probably make it to $200 mil. Also, Avengers: Infinity War ($5.3 mil) crossed the $660 mil mark and now has $670 mil easily in sight. Infinity War also crossed the $2 bil worldwide mark earlier this week (only the 4th film to do so.) With this weekend's receipts, the film also passed Titanic for number 4 on the all time domestic ranking. Lastly, Black Panther is within $400k of hitting $700 mil. 

In terms of looking ahead, it will be interesting to see how the Incredible family is able to stand up to a bunch of dinosaurs next weekend. Then it will be a little bit slow until Ant-Man and The Wasp opens following the July 4th holiday.

I hope you have a magical week.

Weekend Box Office Roundup for Jan 8-10, 2018

Good afternoon Disney friends,

The second weekend of the month is about in the books and Disney still has 2 films in the top 5. 

Even though it is underwhelming at the box office, Solo: A Star Wars Story was still able to maintain its place at number 2 for the weekend. With an estimated take of $15 mil, the film has crossed the $175 mil mark (actually $176 mil.) It currently is the fifth highest grossing film for the domestic market this year. It has also moved up to number 12 for the global market (current gross of $312 mil and still has Japan to go.)

Avengers: Infinity War was number 5 and brought in over $6.8 mil which helped it cross the $650 mil mark (currently $654.7 mil.) The film also stands at $1.998 bil for the worldwide market. By Tuesday (probably sometime on Monday,) the film will become just the 4th film to cross the $2 bil mark. It also got an extra month in China (normally films only get about 1 month in China, but sometimes they will allow films an extra month.)

Black Panther is still inching its way to $700 mil with the addition of $137k bringing it to $699,388,067 in 17 weeks of release.

Next weekend sees the release of the long awaited Incredibles 2, which is looking to be Disney/Pixar's next hit. There are 2 numbers that will be interesting to keep up with (I am being careful with predictions after Solo's predictions.) First, Finding Dory has the highest grossing opening weekend ($135 mil) for the domestic market for an animated film. Secondly, Frozen, which is the highest grossing animated film for the global market, brought in $1.276 bil during its release. 

I hope you have a magical week.