Disney hits industry-first $7 billion at box office

LOS ANGELES | A huge debut for “Rogue One” has seen Walt Disney Studios become the first distributor in history to hit $7 billion in annual global box office receipts, it said Monday.

The $290 million worldwide opening for the “Star Wars” spinoff puts Disney’s haul for 2016 at $2.7 billion in North America, also an industry record, and $4.3 billion elsewhere.

It is the first year in which all five of Walt Disney Studios’ top brands — Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm — have released movies.

“This historic achievement is possible because all of our film studios are bringing their absolute best to the table, telling great stories of all kinds that resonate with audiences across borders, gender and generations,” said Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

“These films work because each one has not only something for everyone, but everything for someone. It’s our honor to be able to create these experiences for audiences, and we’re thankful to them for continuing to come out to the theater with us.

Even before “Rogue One” came out, hits such as “Finding Dory,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “Zootopia” ensured the studio had beaten last year’s record $5.8 billion by the end of October and was comfortably on track to pass the record of $6.9 billion set by Universal in 2015.

Disney has set several records this year, becoming the fastest studio ever to hit $2 billion domestically and $5 billion at the global box office, both in July.

It has not been entirely plain sailing, as “Alice Through The Looking Glass” and “The BFG” were deemed commercial flops.

Coastguard drama “The Finest Hours” also sank without a trace, with Variety magazine reporting that Disney was expecting losses of around $75 million from the film.

On the other side of the ledger, the studio had three hits in 2016 that passed the illustrious $1 billion global mark — “Captain America” ($1.2 billion), “Finding Dory,” ($1.03 billion) and “Zootopia” ($1.02 billion).

“The Jungle Book” made $967 million, while “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which debuted in December last year, brought in $737 million of its $2.1 billion global take in 2016.

Those five films scored an average 94 percent rating on RottenTomatoes.com, which aggregates the reviews for all releases.

“Rogue One,” which is yet to open in the vast Chinese market, is expected to do better than all of these, although much of its global take will come in 2017.

source: interaksyon.com

3D fairy tale ‘Frozen’ overtakes ‘Catching Fire’ at North American box office

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK | Walt Disney Co’s animated princess fairy tale “Frozen” heated up movie box office charts in the United States and Canada, displacing dystopian thriller “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” as the top-earning film.

“Frozen” sold $31.6 million worth of tickets from Friday through Sunday during its second weekend in theaters to top domestic movie charts, while “Catching Fire” earned $27 million, according to studio estimates from Rentrak.

The weekend’s only new nationwide release, crime thriller “Out of the Furnace,” took a distant third place with $5.3 million.

Global sales for “Frozen,” a solid holiday season hit, climbed to $190 million through Sunday, Disney said. The 3D movie, inspired by “The Snow Queen” fairytale, features the voice of Kristen Bell as a Scandinavian princess intent on finding her sister, the Queen, who has the power to freeze anything with a touch and accidentally sets off a long winter that is destroying their kingdom.

“Catching Fire,” the second of the “Hunger Games” films based on novels by Suzanne Collins, brought its global total to a massive $673.4 million, according to distributor Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen, a skilled archer who provides hope for an oppressed society on the edge of rebellion.

Lions Gate noted that the U.S. weather in recent days, with several winter storm systems in play, likely had an impact on box office results.

Third-place film “Out of the Furnace” stars Christian Bale and Casey Affleck as brothers in a working-class Pennsylvania steel town. When one of the brothers disappears, the other sets out to find him and enact revenge.

“Out of the Furnace” was distributed by privately held Relativity Media and cost $22 million to make. Critics were split on the film. As of Saturday, the movie scored a 51 percent positive rating among reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

In a statement, Relativity called the “a daring story from a renowned director and an award-winning cast,” adding “While we had hoped it would perform better this weekend, we are all proud of this movie.”

Rounding out the charts, Marvel superhero sequel “Thor: The Dark World,” which stars Chris Hemsworth as the god of thunder, earned $4.7 million. “Delivery Man,” featuring Vince Vaughn as a sperm donor who fathers more than 500 children, finished fifth, grossing $3.8 million. Disney distributed “Thor” and “Delivery Man.”

Next weekend, theaters are expected to be busy with fans turning out for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second of three movies based on the fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Last year’s blockbuster “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” earned $1 billion at theaters worldwide.

source: interaksyon.com