Box Office Review: December 2012

During the month of December, the domestic box office as a whole made a decent $934 million, which was just enough to help 2012 claim the title for highest grossing year of all time. Compared to past Decembers, 2012 ranks fourth all time. It's way behind December 2009's record gross of $1.066 billion, but it's nicely ahead of both 2010 ($882 million), and 2011 ($877 million).

What worked:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Part one of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy easily scored the highest domestic gross of the month with $228 million. That is a respectable number by itself, but in day-to-day comparison it trails The Return of the King by $54 million and The Two Towers by $25 million. This proves that goodwill from The Lord of the Rings wasn't quite strong enough to overcome the 48fps and one-book-three-movies issues. But as I've said before, that's not going to be enough to stop the company of Thorin Oakenshield from reaching $1 billion worldwide.

Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino's follow up to 2009's Inglourious Basterds is supposedly darker, bloodier, and funnier than its predecessor, but it is definitely grossing more. Django has grossed $68 million in seven days, which is $15 million more than Basterds had at the same point. Django should easily pass $120 million to become Tarantino's highest grossing film, with a final gross between $150 and $175 million.

Les Miserables
Here's another directorial follow-up to a recent and very well liked film (not to mention Oscar winner) that is aiming to outgross its predecessor (and win more Oscars as well). Tom Hooper's The King's Speech earned $138 million back in 2010 and won the Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay. There's not much point in comparing the two films' day-to-day grosses since they were given different release patterns, but it did take Speech about two months to reach Les Mis's six-day gross of $66 million. I definitely think Les Mis should reach Speech's final gross and become the fourth highest grossing musical of all time (behind Grease, Chicago, and Momma Mia!), though if the Academy voters are kind it may gross even higher.

Holdovers
November holdovers Lincoln, Skyfall, Rise of the Guardians, Life of Pi, and Breaking Dawn, Part Two all grossed over $40 million during December. This is quite an accomplishment considering the overbooked nature of the holiday box office due to the plethora of new releases between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Limited Releases
In only five theaters, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty has grossed $1.368 million in twelve days. That isn't the most impressive limited start of the year, but it should, along with the upcoming Oscar Nominations announcement, generate enough buzz to take first place for the weekend of its nationwide expansion. The Impossible also did some good business ahead of its nationwide expansion by making $529,000 through eleven days in only sixteen theaters. Its expansion won't be as impressive as Thirty's, but it should still fare well in the lean month of January.

What didn't work:

While everybody was out seeing the films mentioned above, almost nobody took the time to see the rest of December's new releases. Jack Reacher ($44 million), This is 40 ($36 million), Parental Guidance ($34 million), The Guilt Trip ($21 million), Monsters, Inc. 3D ($18 million), and Playing for Keeps ($12 million) were all lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Were they overlooked unfairly or did they deserve to be cast to the wayside? I don't know. I didn't see them.

January 2013 Preview!

In the same way that September is the Box Office's post-summer nap, January is Hollywood's response to the crazy hooplah of the holiday season. That is, at least concerning new releases. For most of January, the city is preparing for its biggest night of the year (which yours truly will be enjoying from the comfort of his own living room and blogging about both here and at roblovesmovies.tumblr.com.)

So here is the short list of films I plan to see in January:

The Impossible (Nationwide: 1/4/13)
Yes, I'm starting off the list with a 2012 release. In my defense, Ewan McGregor's English-language Spanish film about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has only been shown in sixteen theaters, so I haven't really had any opportunities to see it yet. The Impossible has already generated a fair amount of awards season buzz for both McGregor and co-star Naomi Watts, and was given a perfect four-star rating from film critic Roger Ebert.

Zero Dark Thirty (Nationwide: 1/11/13)
It's another 2012 release going nationwide in early January (the day after Oscar nominations) that has been generating massive amounts of awards season buzz, as well as praise (and controversy) from critics. I would be surprised if Thirty's nationwide expansion doesn't follow on the heels of several Oscar noms, including Kathryn Bigelow's directing and lead actress Jessica Chastain (who just happens to be my favorite for that award.) Who says a little torture is a bad thing?

Quartet (1/11/13)
Here's the first new release of 2013 that I'm interested in seeing, although the films I'm most interested in seeing are the afore-mentioned 2012 releases. Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut is a quirky comedy about a retirement home for former opera singers whose annual Verdi tribute concert gets disrupted by the arrival of Jean, a new resident and old diva. Starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, and Billy Connolly. Quartet won't be getting much of a release (or make much of a splash at the box office), but it looks to be an enjoyable outing to the theater for those interested. And as an added bonus, you'll get to hear Professor McGonagall drop an f-bomb.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (1/25/13)
The last of the month's reduced slate of films is the newest re-imagining of the classic tale about the brother and sister who get tricked into a witch's ginger bread house and almost wind up on her dinner table. This time, Hansel and Gretel give the old witch a taste of her own medicine and then devote their lives to ridding the world of pesky evil witches. This should be funny, action-y, dark, and very violent (times ten if you see it in IMAX.) I also predict that at least half an hour of the film will be comprised of low-angle butt shots, and hopefully not just of Jeremy Renner.

Are you going to see any of the month's new releases? Or will you be catching up on the last of 2012's releases? Let me know which movies you plan to see!