2005 Box Office in review!

[The Clown Prince]

NOTE: All numbers provided below are courtesy of Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com).

It's been no secret that 2005 was not a spectacular year for box office movie receipts when compared to years past. In fact 2005 was the lowest year for returns since 2001 when movies totaled $8,412.5 billion. 482 movies were released that year and the biggest movie of 2001 was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone which made $317,575,550.

2004 was the climax for box office receipts as box office returns had been climbing each year. 2004 saw 551 movies released which totaled $9,418.3 billion. Shrek 2 was the biggest movie of the year with $441,226,247. 2004's big finish was also aided by the success of the #2 movie of the year Spider-Man 2 with $373.5 million and the surprise hit of the year and #3 movie The Passion of the Christ with $370.2 million.

Now for 2005. There are still a couple of big movies that are continuing to earn money. The Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, and even Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but the totals they have now only count for 2005 and will not count towards 2006 totals.

Speaking of Narnia, it became the seventh film at the last minute of 2005 to cross the $200 million mark so congrats to that film.

2005 saw 519 movies released that totaled $8,157 billion. The biggest film of the year was Star Wars- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith which made $380,270,577.

The number 2 movie of the year was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which has met with huge success! So far it's total now stands at $273.6 million. The 'Potter' franchise continues to do hugely well around the world. When you add in it's world wide totals for all 4 movies, the franchise has made $3,451,653,101! And there are still three movies to be released in the coming years.

Hollywood analysts and box office watchers have contributed a number of reasons as to why 2005 was a low performing year and that 2006 may be no exception despite some big films opening in the new year. Some of those reasons are...

*Pirating and probably THE biggest reason why. Hollywood studios have claimed that billions of dollars each year are lost around the world due to pirating thanks to the Internet and modern technology.

*Rising ticket prices. As ticket prices rise to make up for people not coming to the movies, it causes more people to stay home.

*The drop in price of home theaters. People with not a lot of money can set up a pretty decent system and have all the comforts of home without the hassle of going out which leads to...

*Audience behavior getting worse. I know it's a reason for me personally for not going a whole heck of a lot anymore. Cell phones people can't stop using, constant talking, misbehaved children that parents should leave at home, and just out right rude people.

*The average time frame of theater to DVD has gotten shorter. The studios though are to blame for this as they control when a movie comes out on video. The average time frame from when a movie debuts in theaters to when it comes out on video is 4 to 6 months. Sometimes 3 months. Big summer blockbusters and most summer theater movies are almost guaranteed to be out on video to take advantage of the successful holiday shopping season.

Despite the troubles theaters are having, studios will unlikely do anything about DVD release dates. The DVD market is hugely profitable, and films that don't make their budgets back in the theater, more than likely will get it back on video. Plus, movies that perform huge in the theater end up performing great on video as well. It's very hard now a days for a studio to lose money on a movie when you factor in the worldwide box office returns and home video.

Below is a list of the top 25 movies of 2005. Numbers in parentheses are their worldwide totals. The Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, Walk the Line, and Goblet of Fire are estimate numbers for now as obviously they haven't finished their theatrical run.

1) Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith- $380,270,577 ($848,466,209)
2) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- $273,698,000 ($808,698,000)
3) War of the Worlds- $234,280,354 ($588,929,061)
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- $209,516,000 ($288,378,000)
5) Wedding Crashers- $209,218,368 ($283,105,717)
6) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- $206,459,076 ($471,859,076)
7) Batman Begins- $205,343,774 ($371,853,783)
8) Madagascar- $193,202,933 ($525,659,004)
9) Mr. & Mrs. Smith- $186,336,279 ($454,792,630)
10) Hitch- $179,495,555 ($368,100,420)
11) King Kong- $158,658,000 ($355,843,118)
12) The Longest Yard- $158,119,460 ($190,026,588)
13) Fantastic Four- $154,696,080 ($329,498,383)
14) Chicken Little- $131,145,625 ($197,177,625)
15) Robots- $128,200,012 ($260,696,994)
16) The Pacifier- $113,086,868 ($198,800,868)
17) The 40-Year-Old Virgin- $109,289,008 ($168,843,761)
18) Walk the Line- $89,080,022 (N/A)
19) Flightplan- $89,036,640 ($191,782,640)
20) Saw II- $86,883,372 ($116,483,372)
21) Monster-in-Law- $82,931,301 ($153,774,400)
22) Are We There Yet?- $82,531,160 ($97,775,425)
23) The Dukes of Hazzard- $80,270,227 ($110,594,793)
24) March of the Penguins- $77,437,223 ($111,375,756)
25) The Ring Two- $76,231,249 ($160,864,957)

Fan favorite movies placed below 25....

26) Constantine- $75,567,648 ($229,658,938)
29) Sin City- $74,103,820 ($158,930,820)
43) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit- $55,811,560 ($178,518,989)
46) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride- $53,359,111 ($116,659,111)
49) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- $51,085,416 ($104,478,416)
56) Kingdom of Heaven (a favorite of mine)- $47,398,413 ($210,964,802)
87) Zathura- $28,045,540 ($32,073,322)
91) Serenity- $25,374,750 ($38,471,845)

For a full list of 2005's films and their numbers, click here (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2005&p=.htm). To look at numbers for 2004 and further back click here (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/).

We will see what kind of success 2006 has in store for us in the coming months.

The Clown Prince

[Sigma]

I hate seeing my two favorite films of 2005 bellow the top 25, Sin City and Serenity, but I think they will come out well in DVD sales, especially Sin City.

[Strollymonster]

Yeesh, the theater I work in got the top 4 films of this year...I thought the workload was a tad heavy ;)

[Dirtbag]

I can't believe Sin City was so far down. I would blame it on the R rating, but Wedding Crashers, 40 Year Old Virgin, and Saw II all did very well despite it. It's been making a killing on DVD where I work in both sales and rentals. Not that 26 out of 540 is bad by any means, but I expected top 10 for some reason.

[Daikun]

Hollywood analysts and box office watchers have contributed a number of reasons as to why 2005 was a low performing year and that 2006 may be no exception despite some big films opening in the new year. Some of those reasons are...Should it be surprising that the overuse of commercials wasn't listed as one of the reasons?

Or the fact that 9/10 films this year was a sequel, remake, or adaptation of an old franchise?

[JLApe]

One factor pointed out by Roger Ebert is that last year had The Passion of the Christ, whose primary audience - church congregation - do not normally go to the movies. Take that away from 2004, 2005 actually did pretty good. Though the above-mentioned factors will be damaging to box-office should they persist.

[Hades]

I agree about the reasons why people stop going to theaters, especially the cell phone reason. While I still go to see every movie I want to, I have to say, that ticket prices, the price of food, annoying kids (and babies), and phones are making think twice. I think every movie theater should have a jamming device to block cell phone signals when inside of them. Oh yeah, and I'm not sure about you guys, but my theater staff has become the rudest people when it comes to having bags and stuff. They expect everyone to own a car and not bring their bags into the theater, and then ***** at you when you ask for them to put it at the front desk.

[NinjaJack]

Eh, I like having a big fat audience in tow when watching a movie. The group reactions of laughter, sadness and general emotion are what make going in with a packed crowed great. Just shut those dang kids up!

[Speedy Boris]

Or the fact that 9/10 films this year was a sequel, remake, or adaptation of an old franchise? Doesn't help, you're right.

I also didn't go to the movies as much as I did last year. Movies I saw in theaters last year (2004):
-Shrek 2
-The Day After Tomorrow
-Troy
-Dodgeball
-I, Robot
-The Ladykillers
-Fahrenheit 9/11
-Alien vs. Predator
-SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

Movies I saw in theaters this year (2005):
-The Incredibles
-Robots
-Sin City
-Sahara
-Star Wars Episode III

Chronicles of Narnia ALMOST made the 2005 list (we were going to see it in 2005 but the theater we went to was full!), but I saw it yesterday so it doesn't count.

[Silly McGooses]

Eh, I like having a big fat audience in tow when watching a movie. The group reactions of laughter, sadness and general emotion are what make going in with a packed crowed great. Just shut those dang kids up!I couldn't agree more; nobody seems to understand what I'm getting at when I talk about this.

Movies I saw in Theaters this year:
Frankie and Johnnie are Married
Star Wars: Episode 3
Seducing Dr. Lewis
Robots
Batman Begins
Fantastic Four
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Red Eye
Corpse Bride
A Sound of Thunder
Brokeback Mountain
King Kong
The Producers
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstresses

I actually went much more this year than last year.

[RayChuang]

One factor pointed out by Roger Ebert is that last year had The Passion of the Christ, whose primary audience - church congregation - do not normally go to the movies. Take that away from 2004, 2005 actually did pretty good. Though the above-mentioned factors will be damaging to box-office should they persist.Actually, 2004 was an anomaly due to the amazing successes of these six movies:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (carryover effect from December 2003 release)
The Passion of the Christ
Shrek 2
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Spider-Man 2
The Incredibles

The combined successes of these three movies bumped up total ticket sales to unprecedented levels.

[Lord Dalek]

So what did I see last year?

Robots
The Ring II
Sin City
Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Batman Begins
War of the Worlds
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Wallace and Grommit and the Curse of the Wererabit

(Also saw Nausicaa and Batman but those don't count)

So yeah, a dry year.

[g_UnIt_GaNsTa]

Star Wars, War of the Worlds, and King Kong did/are doing good, and they were the only memorable flicks I saw this year, so all is well.

[James]

*Pirating and probably THE biggest reason why. Hollywood studios have claimed that billions of dollars each year are lost around the world due to pirating thanks to the Internet and modern technology.


I don't buy this one bit. It's a wonderful excuse for an industry and the music industry has been using it as a scapegoat for years for a stagnant market swamped with over promoted singles and little technological incentives (DVD managed commentaries and special features for not more than CDs, yet CDs still remain a fairly bare minimum product). While I imagine pirating is an issue, I don't think on the board scale of things it's anywhere as near as big an issue as even for the music industry. Beauty for this argument is you create an invisible enemy you can't provide evidence for, yet you sweep blame away from the product and onto the consumer.


*Rising ticket prices. As ticket prices rise to make up for people not coming to the movies, it causes more people to stay home.


Yeah, this is a big issue for me. Prices are very high. I'm not sure what can be done about this, there is only so much a cinema can do.


*The drop in price of home theaters. People with not a lot of money can set up a pretty decent system and have all the comforts of home without the hassle of going out which leads to...


Yes, another issue. If I miss a movie I can watch it on TV a year or so later or even shorter a period on DVD. A point you make later.


*Audience behavior getting worse. I know it's a reason for me personally for not going a whole heck of a lot anymore. Cell phones people can't stop using, constant talking, misbehaved children that parents should leave at home, and just out right rude people.


Yes, it can be frustrating. Whether it's a MAJOR factor, I'm not sure. But yes I think one thing cinemas can do for their money is invest more power in workers to expell from movie. Not just because of noise disruption, but some kids sit at the back and actively make noise knowing view will dare approach them. So intimidation is an issue too. People don't want to pay around half the price of a DVD to go to the cinema and feel hassled.

*The average time frame of theater to DVD has gotten shorter. The studios though are to blame for this as they control when a movie comes out on video. The average time frame from when a movie debuts in theaters to when it comes out on video is 4 to 6 months. Sometimes 3 months. Big summer blockbusters and most summer theater movies are almost guaranteed to be out on video to take advantage of the successful holiday shopping season.

Very true.

I think the rise in home entertainment and cost prices are the biggest issue, with theatre disruption and shorter periods in personal release being a slightly smaller issue (as nothing beats the experience of a film at the cinema). The more minor problems are the issue piracy. I doubt on the broad scheme of things this is a real issue. People I know who pirate are the ones who go to the cinema more than I. They also buy DVDs for, unlike the CD market, there are incentives to the product.

Of course, the other major factor is that the films are fairly uninspiring of late. Watching I Robot earlier this year and Batman Begins I found the finale formula horrendously predictable. I just hope that the industry doesn't spend it's time fighting scapegoats and actually takes the blame and the issue of natural technological evolution very seriously.

[SirLemming]

Eh, I like having a big fat audience in tow when watching a movie. The group reactions of laughter, sadness and general emotion are what make going in with a packed crowed great. Just shut those dang kids up! It's good in theory, but not when there are rude & inconsiderate people. And unfortunately, people get more and more rude & inconsiderate by the minute.

I think it should also be noted that the theater experience in general, not just the audience, is often less than satisfactory. It often seems like the staff really couldn't care less what goes on in the theaters. It's insane how often there are sound problems and stuff and there seem to be no staff members around to fix them. Why spend close to $10 on a ticket, or around $40 for your family, when you're not guaranteed a high-quality experience? Only if it's a movie you're absolutely sure you want to see as soon as you can.

[TimTwoFace]

I'll just look at the Top Ten...

1) Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith- $380,270,577 ($848,466,209)
2) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- $273,698,000 ($808,698,000)
3) War of the Worlds- $234,280,354 ($588,929,061)
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- $209,516,000 ($288,378,000)
5) Wedding Crashers- $209,218,368 ($283,105,717)
6) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- $206,459,076 ($471,859,076)
7) Batman Begins- $205,343,774 ($371,853,783)
8) Madagascar- $193,202,933 ($525,659,004)
9) Mr. & Mrs. Smith- $186,336,279 ($454,792,630)
10) Hitch- $179,495,555 ($368,100,420)

There are some surprises there. I think everyone figured that STAR WARS was going to be #1 overall this year. It wasn't that superb a movie, either - it was good, though, and it finished a storyline that many were waiting 28 years to see.

After that, there's a big mish-mash of near hits and late-comers.

-I didn't expect Harry Potter to do that well, as I thought, theatrically, Pottermania was dying down a bit.

-WAR OF THE WORLDS didn't deserve to cross $200 Mill. That was, really, a very poor movie with just a few key scenes. Spielberg really disappointed me - and I don't say that often. (And it wasn't just about Tom Cruise being in the movie - I just thought it was a poor film that cost a lot of money to make.)

-CHRONICLES OF NARNIA...I'm surprised it's still going this strongly, and even more surprised it's beating King Kong in the Christmas 2005 sweepstakes. I don't know what the future of this series holds, considering this story is considered to be the most beloved, but we'll see.

-WEDDING CRASHERS...I didn't expect the movie to do this well. I've yet to see it, and I fear that when I do, I'll just see it as an overrated movie. I did not expect it to hit $200 Mill, that's for sure. Good on it for doing so - it must've hit a chord with the right people this summer.

-CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - it doesn't deserve to be this high. It's a good movie and visually it's a treat for everyone, but I don't like seeing it this high. It had a good enough marketing campaign to get the kids into the theatres, though.

-BATMAN BEGINS - I'm a biased Bat-fan, but I definitely thought this movie would be higher, especially considering how well other recent big-budget superhero movies (SPIDER-MAN 2, X-MEN 2) have fared. I think what hurt this movie's chances was that not only was it darker fare, but no one knew what the point of the movie was. Many are still thinking it's a prequel to the Burton/Schumacher franchise. There was no big villain that people could latch onto - only the real fans knew that going in. It's a superb movie, and I've seen it appear on many Top Ten lists already. I thought it'd get up towards $300 Million, myself. (Initially, I said $350!)

-MADAGASCAR - overrated. It had tremendous potential but fell short in nearly every category. It doesn't deserve to be a Top Ten money-maker movie of this year. Dreamworks has yet to impress me, apart from their terrific Shrek films.

-MR. & MRS. SMITH - It wound up about where I figured it would. It was a decent action movie. I've nothing much else to add.

-HITCH - I didn't think this movie would be this high - but it was the only big movie back when it came out in the spring for the longest time. A little Will goes a long way, after all. And good on Kevin James for starting to make a name for himself.

-Tim

[Hades]

No disrespect man, but the reason Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grossed that high was because it was one great FREAKING movie!! First off, it was a Tim Burton film. That is already 1 plus. THen it had Johnny Depp, that gets another 3 pluses. Add Danny Elfman's score, with Chris Lee in it, there goes another 10 pluses. And now, add 1000 pluses to the fact that it actually followed the book's storyline CORRECTLY!! Thus, you have one great ride with a lot of awesome scenes and lines, and music that is actually good and fits the mood. If anything needs to go from that list, it is Wedding Crashers and Mr and Mrs Smith, as those were utter trash.

[James]

-BATMAN BEGINS - I'm a biased Bat-fan, but I definitely thought this movie would be higher, especially considering how well other recent big-budget superhero movies (SPIDER-MAN 2, X-MEN 2) have fared. I think what hurt this movie's chances was that not only was it darker fare, but no one knew what the point of the movie was. Many are still thinking it's a prequel to the Burton/Schumacher franchise. There was no big villain that people could latch onto - only the real fans knew that going in. It's a superb movie, and I've seen it appear on many Top Ten lists already. I thought it'd get up towards $300 Million, myself. (Initially, I said $350!)

Again,. I think the issue with Batman Begins - and something which fans forget - that to Joe Public, reboot or not, fantastic or not, this is still the FIFTH film in around 15 years. That's a lot of Batman, some not so good. If you see it as the fifth in a franchise (which I know technically it's not meant to be, but practically it is), you are going to see a drop off. No matter how good it is, it's an experience that movie goers are experienced with and there was very little that could be pitched aside (you didn't like the last Batman fllm, this one will be far better!!) that would change that. It's Batman. Joe Public has seen it. Four times before. "We get the picture, it's Batman..".

So in fairness to the film, when judging it's box office, it might be worth bearing in mind in some respects, it's not a reboot of a very old franchise, it's a reboot of a rather new one still and ergo could be seen as a fifth film. Critically and box office wise, it didn't fair at all bad in that respect.

[krazymed]

Piracy should be a bigger deal with DVD releases, not theatrical. There is a huge difference, and it's one big reason I don't buy the reasoning either.

[James]

No disrespect man, but the reason Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grossed that high was because it was one great FREAKING movie!! .... And now, add 1000 pluses to the fact that it actually followed the book's storyline CORRECTLY!!

Actually, for me, it was the deviation from the book that spoiled it. Delving into Wonka's past was all fun and interesting but it did seem to leave the film in a quandry as to how to resolve. Seem to umm and ahhh it's way to the end through the last 20 minutes.

But I agree, that film does get unfairly slammed, mainly from the nostalgic memory of the original film outing (which IMO was comparatively very mediocre beyond Wilder's excellent performance).

[Baltofan]

I thought that Narnia and King Kong would had been placed between #1 and #3.

[True Noir]

That looks just about right. I am surprised to see that War of the World's did so well, because I wasn't around for the hype when it first came out. It is an excellent movie anyhow. It would have been cool to see Constantine and Sin City up higher.

[Obi]

Episode III deserves it.

[PeterFries]

Interesting tidbit on Batman Begins' grosses:

Warner Home Video...[was] led in the fourth quarter by the surprising opening week and legs of BATMAN BEGINS, which will generate about 90% of its $205 million box office gross on DVD (in 2005). Consumer spending on DVDs of the top summer theatrical hits typically reached 65% to 85% of box office grosses in the first few weeks of release.

I can't help but think that Hollywood box office grosses are coming down for the same reason that pop music sales are -- people are just getting bored by the same old thing, over and over again. As someone else said, remakes, sequels, and the same story rehashed over and over and over again -- other than upping the ante on special effects, there's so little new to see in theaters that it's no wonder people can't be bothered.

I think Hollywood's expectations (as well as stockholders') got ridiculously high over the last couple decades based on the whole retarded "record-breaking weekend" mentality - they try so hard now to engineer artificial blockbusters that there's nearly no art in cinema anymore. Even "independent cinema" seems contrived and formulaic now. Who can get excited about the latest remake opening on twenty five million screens at $15 a ticket on a Tuesday managing to set a "weekend record opening"?

[The Penguin]

And Revenge of the Sith (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=141477) is number one. Star Wars is back on top again. :cool:

Piracy should be a bigger deal with DVD releases, not theatrical. There is a huge difference, and it's one big reason I don't buy the reasoning either.I'm not saying I agree with the extent of what the studios are saying, but piracy still affects theatrical releases. If you can buy a DVD of let's say King Kong for 5 bucks or have someone you know buy it in China for a dollar then why bother to pay to go to the theater? Some still would, but if the (possibly) lower quality and the moral implications aren't a deterrent then they aren't gonna go.

[Hades]

But I agree, that film does get unfairly slammed, mainly from the nostalgic memory of the original film outing (which IMO was comparatively very mediocre beyond Wilder's excellent performance).Don't forget the fac that even Dahl thought it was a terrible adaptation. Charlie even had Dahl's widow working on production.OT, but does anyone have this weekend's box office results?

[James]

I'm not saying I agree with the extent of what the studios are saying, but piracy still affects theatrical releases. If you can buy a DVD of let's say King Kong for 5 bucks or have someone you know buy it in China for a dollar then why bother to pay to go to the theater? Some still would, but if the (possibly) lower quality and the moral implications aren't a deterrent then they aren't gonna go.

But the piracy has always been an issue which is why I have always found the film (and the music industry) complaining about it so excessive. Before computers, more people pirated on video. Before MP3, people copied CDs. Before CD's, people taped off the radio. The Entertainment has always had a problem with piracy. I agree, that it is an issue which has probably esculated to some extent, however I think the same people who pirate off the internet would have managed to have grabbed the dollar video from China in 1986.

My concern is that piracy becomes the focus of the film industry rather like it has in music, rather than looking at the problems with the products themselves.

My only sympathy goes with the DVD market which in all fairness really IS trying to offer a decent product that is worth the cash. The music and film industry needs to look at what it markets, how it markets (especially the single overkill on the likes of MTV, I don't know about you, but by the time a single is released, it's had 4 weeks on TV and I'm sick of it) and what you get for your money. I think the film industry - if it's going to spend the amount of money I can predict it will on piracy, would be better off targetting the cinemas and seeing if there are POSITIVE ways of encouraging people back to the seats.