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Alice in Wonderland

Well, we kind of figured that Alice in Wonderland would set the top box office opening of 2010, but I dunno how many people predicted this: $116 million!

Now, I know that there was ticket-price inflation due to 3-D and so on, but still, even Avatar only opened to $77 million, and that was the biggest 3-D movie of all time. This, however, ranks as the biggest opening for a 3-D movie of all time.

Not only that, but this is the greatest opening of all time for a movie in the month of March, and for that matter, of any movie opening in any month before May. It also ranks as the sixth-greatest opening of all time. Not bad for a movie opening at this time of year.

The movie made $41 million on Friday and $45 million on Saturday, averaging $31,196 per location. Well over half of its locations were 3-D (and therefore benefited from the increased ticket prices for 3-D.)

So there you have another record falling, and as I have said before, it is really getting ridiculous the number of records that keep on falling for no good reason every week. As I have said, it has to be these ticket prices. Three big factors, I think, for why this was such a moneymaker: it was in 3-D, Tim Burton made it, and Johnny Depp was in it. There were likely a few other reasons.

Brooklyn’s Finest finished its opening weekend a distant runner-up. The weekend estimates are as follows:

  1. Alice in Wonderland (2010) – $116,300,000
  2. Brooklyn’s Finest – $13,500,000
  3. Shutter Island – $13,300,000
  4. Cop Out – $9,145,000
  5. Avatar – $7,700,000
  6. The Crazies – $7,016,000
  7. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief – $5,100,000
  8. Valentine’s Day – $4,270,000
  9. Crazy Heart – $3,350,000
  10. Dear John – $2,850,000

So there you go, another record falls by the wayside. And they say the month of March is no good for blockbusters — not any more.

Back with another Reject Report later this week, where we shall ponder whether the Alice in Wonderland gravy train will continue for a while longer.


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  • anon
    ive seen this movie already, anyone notice its exactly plotwise like disneys hook with robin williams...
  • This movie is rocking the box office. This is amazing to me.
  • Dee
    Dear Mr. Cairns:

    Your article is the first I have read that suggests one of the reasons these 'box office records' are being continuously broken is 3-D movie ticket price inflation. Not only is that true, but the frequent general increase of ticket prices from season to season (urban vs. rural) must also be considered. I chuckle when I overhear a conversation or read about how excited people get when they see how much a movie has grossed on its opening weekend, 'breaking another record'. That figure simply is not accurate unless you also consider general ticket pricing increases from region to region, year to year, decade to decade. Merely 'breaking an existing box office record' is no indicator of the quality of a film - it merely reminds us of how sheep-like we can be. If we believe the hype about films that don't warrant the kudos, then shame on us. I'd like to see more people in the Industry be honest, tell the public when a movie is really bad so 1) we don't waste money and 2) don't send studio executives the wrong message. Crapitalism at its worst. Alot of what is critic-based in print ads and radio spots is taken out of context. It is simply a sales pitch about how to market, promote, and spin. Thanks for your comments - how refreshing!
  • Aleric
    This just goes to show that if you hype anything enough and put it in 3-D you could make millions.
  • Brian
    Sigh, this is horrible news... now with dollar signs in their eye sockets Every other movie this year will now be in 3D. Freaking craptastic. I saw avatar, then went back and watched it in 2d. The glasses, the eye strain.. NO flippin thanks. Never again. I guess I wont be going to the theatre very much this season. If the kids and movie lovers dont stop supporting this, its going to be a horrible 2010 theatre experience.
  • Jeff R Hall
    Wow, I was under the impression that the reviews for Alice In Wonderland were middling. Is Tim Burton now "critic proof"?
  • adamcharles
    No, I think the combination of it being a PG-rated Johnny Depp vehicle and the first event film of 2010 is what caused the huge turnout. It might die down a little this week and then have another decent spike next week due to Spring Break. After that the middling reactions may kick in. That being said, a good deal of the issues adults had are things that won't bother the younger audience members.
  • Jeff
    When you ask if AiW will "be able to sustain this", do you mean will it avoid the typical (or atypical, on the negative end) box office dropoff in weeks 2/3/beyond, a dropoff that especially likes to manifest on movies that were expected to perform well on opening weekend but turn out to be surprise week 1 mega-cash cows? Or do you mean will it avoid that so well that it finishes its run in the rarefied air it that the receipts are currently in? I could certainly see it avoiding a >40% week 2 decline. But if you're asking the latter question, which is basically "Will it end up as the #6 grosser of all-time?", I think you'd have to be borderline delusional to answer yes.
  • This is really amazing. May film makers continue to produce movies like this. This may be far more than Avatars sales on it's opening, but the question is will Alice in Wonderland be able to sustain this? I hope so...
  • Dan
    Suck it, Avatar
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