RayChuang

But remember what I said:

1. This last week was finals week for most colleges in the USA.

2. This last week was what is called hell week at companies as they try to get their calendar-year work completed, since the next two weeks will have many people out on Christmas and New Year's Day vacations.

3. This last week had a number of strong storms that affected travel in general.

Combine all three factors and that explains why King Kong did so poorly the first few days. Note that Friday box office revenues started to pick up, and Saturday box office revenues went like gangbusters.

With college now out for the holidays and company employees finally taking their vacations, you will see strong patronage for King Kong right through New Year's Day.

fumanstan

I don't think that's the case. It sounds more like others see the words dissapointment or flop and act like the film is getting attacked somehow.

Josh H

I think it cuts both ways, and I consider myself objective as I couldn't give a shit less how much a movie makes.

Some people get upset and take it as bashing of a movie they like. But on the other hand, people do toss out the flop term inappropriately as it should be reserved for movies that make no money.

Kong will make a Tidy profit when all is said and done. Probably make a nice profit just in worldwide box office, not to mention the eventual DVD and all the marketing products.

SINGLE104

Whether this movie is tentatively successful, or not during it's current theatrical run, but it will definitely earn more profit on DVD sales when it's released. Maybe some people are waiting for the DVD, so they can view the film in the privacy of their own Home Theaters, without tolerating various distractions from inconsiderate movie-goer audiences. With the price of two admissions, (one for your spouse, or significant other) actually you can own it.

slavetotherave

That is EXACTLY what my dad is doing.

Rogue588

Well, I was rollerskating by the parking lot at my theatre at two in the morning, and there were only TWO cars parked there. This thing got "stank" written all over it.

Disagree with the "hate" part, agree with with everything else.

nightmaster

This will be one of those movies that will sell DVDs like hotcakes, no doubt, but like PJ's Rings movies is highly deserving of being seen on a huge screen- the word spectacle comes to mind. Of course, many DVD geeks these days HAVE fairly large screens at home anyway .

fumanstan

Yeah, but that doesn't mean they want the movie to fail, or even indicates a dislike for the film. Most people haven't been crying "FLOP" here because they hate the movie and want it to bomb. They're doing so because that's what they've gleaned from the numbers.

Josh H

Oh I agree. I was just pointing out that people here are often wrong in tossing out the flop term (and also that others were too sensitive and are wrong to take those comments as bashing the movie).

Kong made $146 million worldwide so far, it will probably be in the read in two weeks. There's no way that's a flop. A flop is a film that loses a ton of money. Kong is going to make a ton when all is said and done. Just because it got off to a slower start than the "experts" on this forum expected.

Dr. DVD

That's what I'm thinkins as well, that Kong will pick up during the week as people take vacation. I can also vouch for finals week as a factor; I work in a large college town in textbooks and we were so bogged down by buybacks that I barely made it out to see Kong myself. However, I am certain Kong will fall to Dick and Jane its first day as it is a short comedy and Kong is well, three hours!
Also, Kong won't bomb, it will most likely break even in its theatrical run. Hell, worldwide it's already made back 3/4 of its budget. I find it amazing how much emphasis on whether or not a movie is a hit is placed on domestic take and initial theatrical run. I also find it amazing that people actually judge a film's quality by whether or not it sells tickets. Many of my favorite movies were not hot ticket items in their day (Almost Famous).

SINGLE104

Absolutely! and with equivalent, or superior digital sound systems too

Dr. DVD

And the best viewing envrionment. When I saw KK, there were some little kids running around behind me who kept yelling: "That's Kong! That's Kong!" everytime he was onscreen.

wmansir

AFAIK these numbers are all gross. I've read Jackson is pocketing 20% of gross, plus the theaters get a cut. So say it cost $250M including marketing, what kind of world wide gross does it need to get into the black?

B5Erik

Probably about $350 million worldwide. Add in DVD sales and this thing is gonna bring in a nice profit for Universal.

Kerborus

I made the same argument for ST:Nemesis and people still called it a bomb...

OldBoy

$210mil domestic
$309mil worldwide

not such a bad take for what many thought would be bomb based on the domestic take alone.

Mr. Cinema

I'm quite happy with Kong's take. Let's hope some Oscar nominations will boost sales. Too bad its 99% eliminated in the Best Picture category.

Jackskeleton

The difference is you aren't Universal. They really do hope they get Oscar nods or else they are writting up a loss. 20% goes to Jackson, the typical chunk of theater % being devided out and then the great amount of marketing this needed to hit double that amount to make it worth Universals intial bragging.

matome

Yeah, but many also thought this was going to be another Lord of The Rings and give Sith a run at #1 for the year.

Michael Corvin

^^ probably the same few that were toting that nothing would over take its No. 1 spot until mid-Feb. Gotta laugh at that one. Almost every major film released since Kong has taken the No. 1 spot, with Narnia even bumping it one week.

Jericho

I'm gonna toot my own horn here and say I was pretty close on the domestic total. So it did pretty much what I expected, which is hardly a bomb. Expecting LOTR numbers seemed foolish. I mean every Speilberg movie doesn't make E.T. numbers...

Mr. Cinema

Don't forget to add in dvd rentals and sales. As you consistently pointed out when people were calling Land of the Dead a failure.

Mr. Cinema

Was this before or after Sith earned $380 million in the US? If it was after, how many times has 2 films earned $380 million in the same year? Never?

That's setting the bar pretty high. The people who claimed this were the same ones who say something is going to break Titanic's record every year. Sith, just like LOTR, had a built in audience. They each have mass following, al la Harry Potter.

Janus3

thank god it's not an oscar contender.

matome

2004 had $370, 373 and 441m. I do think it was mostly the Jackson-ites that were predicting a higher tally than Sith (even the requisite Titanic mention in there as well), but to be sure if someone at the beginning of the year said that Wedding Crashers would gross as much as King Kong, he would definitely have been laughed out of the room.