Box office statistics

Mike The Mover · Dec 24, 2006

Titanic
-------

USA gross: $600,779,824

Average tickect price: $4.59 (1997)

Tickets sold: 130,888,850

US pop. in '97: 267,783,607

49% of the US population saw Titanic in theaters.

Collateral
----------

USA gross: $100,003,492

Average ticket price: $6.21 (2004)

Tickets sold: 16,103,621

US pop. today: 300,000,000

%5 of the US population saw Collateral in theaters.

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Okay so if 49% of America saw a movie that means everybody and their sister went to the movie. Probably even homeless people.

But %5 of America is not very much, and that is #358 of all-time gross, (Titanic is #1).

I mean most movies don't do nearly that well. These numbers are probably not accurate. I'm just wondering what's going on. More people should see movies.

Joe Calabrese · Dec 24, 2006

Key word is "average" ticket price.

The average of a ticket price takes into account the median of all prices from across the US, whereas US population is askew in places where ticket prices are highest.

So, more people live where tickets cost $10 (Major cities and their suburbs) than all of the $6 (small towns, mid west, etc...) combined.

Also, Titanic was so succesfull because people saw it more times than most films. I saw it three times. I saw colateral only once.

Also, you have to take into account how many screens played. The more screens, the more cities it played, and in big cities (higher ticket prices) the more people paid top dollar.

Opty · Dec 24, 2006

I've never seen Titanic and I never intend to.

Thank you.

sspunisher · Dec 24, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
Also, Titanic was so succesfull because people saw it more times than most films. I saw it three times.

Why did you watch it 3 times?

Joe Calabrese · Dec 25, 2006

At that time I was single. Great Date film. Another reason the film was so wildly successful. Girls went to see it in droves.

J.S Greer · Dec 25, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
Key word is "average" ticket price.

The average of a ticket price takes into account the median of all prices from across the US, whereas US population is askew in places where ticket prices are highest.

So, more people live where tickets cost $10 (Major cities and their suburbs) than all of the $6 (small towns, mid west, etc...) combined.

Also, Titanic was so succesfull because people saw it more times than most films. I saw it three times. I saw colateral only once.

Also, you have to take into account how many screens played. The more screens, the more cities it played, and in big cities (higher ticket prices) the more people paid top dollar.

Exactly...

Movies that gross that much, such as Titanic, Lord of the Rings, Spider man, etc... do so because of peopl going to see the movies more than once.

49% of the country didnt see Titanic...

It's like the Nielsen ratings...They have a few thousand or so boxes in homes across the country, monitor the watching habits of those homes and the residents, then create an average.

Soundscan changed the way music sales were recorded too. Skid row was the first metal album to ever debut at #1 on soundscan, and as a matter of fact, it was in the first week that retailers used soundscan.

Averages arent concrete numbers.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 25, 2006

Titanic

I saw Titanic at least six times at a theater, once because I wanted to, and the other fives times with friends who hadn't seen it, or who wanted to see it again. A big bunch of people watched this film several times. It seemed to be a film people either loved to death, or hated completely. Those who loved it went back time and again. I loved it.

And I've also seen it several times on DVD.

Mike The Mover · Dec 25, 2006

I tell you, after seeing Titanic once I have no desire to ever see it again. Collateral on the other hand I've seen 5+ times.

maestrowork · Dec 25, 2006

To each his own. As with anything artistic or entertaining, nothing is for everyone.

But it's no secret that LONG-TERM box office success depends on repeat viewings. Titanic only made $20+ million when it first came out but it consistently made $20+ million each weekend for a long time. There are two types of box office champs: ones that do opening-weekend killings and ones that do constant business. "Hulk" belongs to the former and "Titanic" belongs to the latter.

Whether you love or hate Titanic, you can't ignore the fact that it did over $1 billion in box office and that was almost 10 years ago. Somebody must have been watching it.

Joe Calabrese · Dec 26, 2006

My next door neighbor's kid, who was sixteen/seventeen at the time, and her girlfriends must have seen Titanic a dozen times each. Every Pre- and Post pubescent girl had a big crush on Dicaprio. That was the #1 reason people went to see the film so many times.

So, if you want to write a script that will become a hugely successfully movie, pick up a copy of Teen Beat magazine and write characters for the young hunks in those pages.

Celia Cyanide · Dec 26, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
Also, Titanic was so succesfull because people saw it more times than most films.

And I think that probably means that it wasn't actually 49% of the population who saw Titanic. It was the same 5-10% over and over again.

And I have no desire whatsoever to see Collateral.

Celia Cyanide · Dec 26, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
So, if you want to write a script that will become a hugely successfully movie, pick up a copy of Teen Beat magazine and write characters for the young hunks in those pages.

Except that it didn't seem to work for Basketball Diaries or Total Eclipse.

ATP · Dec 26, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
My next door neighbor's kid, who was sixteen/seventeen at the time, and her girlfriends must have seen Titanic a dozen times each. Every Pre- and Post pubescent girl had a big crush on Dicaprio. That was the #1 reason people went to see the film so many times.

So, if you want to write a script that will become a hugely successfully movie, pick up a copy of Teen Beat magazine and write characters for the young hunks in those pages.

Apparently, this reaction was not confined to just girls in the US.

Bad Penny · Dec 26, 2006

DrSpork said:
I've never seen Titanic and I never intend to.

Thank you.

maestrowork · Dec 27, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
So, if you want to write a script that will become a hugely successfully movie, pick up a copy of Teen Beat magazine and write characters for the young hunks in those pages.

That explained the recent success of "Step Up" -- a mediocre movie, but Tatum Channing sells tickets. Same with Orlando Bloom, Josh Harnett, etc.

I think you're onto something, Joe. If any of your have teenage daughters, good for you!

maestrowork · Dec 27, 2006

Celia Cyanide said:
Except that it didn't seem to work for Basketball Diaries or Total Eclipse.

Because he wasn't a romantic lead. What changed all that was Romeo + Juliet. Suddenly teenage girls saw that DiCaprio was a hunk/studmuffin. Titanic was just extremely great timing for him.

tourdeforce · Dec 27, 2006

They should go by number of tickets sold.

I think GONE WITH THE WIND always wins that way.

maestrowork · Dec 27, 2006

Time has changed though, so even that may not be a good indication. Back then, movies were events. Also, there was probably only one movie playing at a time and it played for a LONG time.

Mike The Mover · Dec 27, 2006

If you look at Gone With The Wind, it's gross was $198,655,278. That was in 1939. So in today's dollars that's a lot more.

Joe Calabrese · Dec 27, 2006

Although yes in today's dollars it would have been more, you also have to take into account that most of that revenue came from the reissues from all the following decades. Also the film's budget (if made today) would have been a 100 million dollar film.

tourdeforce · Dec 27, 2006

Joe Calabrese said:
Also the film's budget (if made today) would have been a 100 million dollar film.

Good point. That always get lost in the calculated-for-inflation BO arguments.

kitt · Dec 27, 2006

Titanic, I saw it when I was 16 with my sister. We were crying along with the rest of theater when Jack died, but then we looked at each other and our pethetic faces and burst into a laughing fit. Needless to say we got a lot of evil stares and hisses.

I liked the movie though, not enough to pay to see it again at the theater, but I think I've watched it about twice since then on DVD.

dpaterso · Dec 27, 2006

I was forced to go and watch it when it came out. Then forced to go watch it again. Then forced to watch it yet again when it was released on video. Titanic literally stripped away my manhood, I haven't been the same since.

-Derek

whistlelock · Dec 28, 2006

Consider Deep Throat.

It cost 25,000 dollars to make and made over 600 million.

If you're after box office $, get into Porn Production.

Box office statistics

Mike The Mover

Joe Calabrese

Opty

sspunisher

Joe Calabrese

J.S Greer

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Jamesaritchie

Mike The Mover

maestrowork

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Joe Calabrese

Celia Cyanide

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Celia Cyanide

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ATP

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maestrowork

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maestrowork

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Mike The Mover

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