Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Box Office Mojo has the early numbers. And Chicken Little has been estimated to take 10.7 million it's opening day. <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?sortdate=2005-11-04&p=.htm" target="_blank">http://www.boxofficemojo.com/d aily/chart/?sortdate=2005-11-04&p=.htm</a> If you follow the trends of animated films like Finding Nemo, Shrek 2 and The Incredibles, Saturday and Sunday are when there's an increase to these films.
Originally Posted By kennect It will be interesting to see how the final weekend figures play out....And even more so to see if the film has actually any legs to stand on over the next few weeks....
Originally Posted By kennect VB, I think you are more than right...Potter should stop everything in its tracks...It is kind of sad these days that films such as Potter, etc. have the ability to make another decent film a dud....Franchising and marketing seem to be everything now...But you have to make a buck so I can't disagree with what is happening...I just want to see Disney get back some of the muscle they had many years ago...Hopefully they can get back into the cycle soon and things will work out over time...I love the association the company has had with Pixar but I have never thought of any of those films as being real Disney movies....After I read all of the major reviews for this film I got the idea that Disney worked it to death by trying make sure they had a hit on their hands....Doesn't sound like it...Now I can't wait to see what else is in store from them this holiday season...Could Narnia actually be good?
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Guys don't forget though if families can't get into Potter, then Chicken Little will more than likely get the spill over. And the weekend after that it's Thanksgiving, which is always a strong box office time.
Originally Posted By kennect DD, I hope you are right...Regardless of reviews that I have read I would really like to see this film do well if in fact that it does catch on with the public at large...And we all know stranger things have happened...
Originally Posted By idleHands "It is kind of sad these days that films such as Potter, etc. have the ability to make another decent film a dud....Franchising and marketing seem to be everything now..." I've heard this argument before, and I must strongly disagree with your conclusions. The Harry Potter films are able to "stop everything in its tracks" because they really are that good. These films, based on some of the best children's literature to come along in decades, are precisely what Disney animated features used to be. The Potter films fire my imagination, firmly hold my attention from start to finish, and give me 2-3 hours of pure movie-going satisfaction. Yeah, I sound like a sappy promo for the Potter franchise. Well, why not? These films are excellent! I proudly own all three DVDs, and will definitely buy Goblet of Fire, when it's released next year. And unlike Chicken Little, I'm looking forward to November 18, when I can see HP:GoF in my local IMAX theatre. I can't recall the last time I felt this way about a film from WDFA. Pixar? Yes. Same feeling of anticipation. But Disney? It's been way too long.
Originally Posted By Sapphire It should be noted that "Zathura" arrives next week (the 11th), and that's gunning for family audiences too. It's a lower-profile title, but Sony has been doing a lot to market it and preview-screening it like crazy, so it could do well - whether it's enough to knock "Chicken Little" out of the number 1 slot I can't say.
Originally Posted By CTXRover According to studio estimates, with a Saturday take of 17.8 million, Chicken Little opened with a very solid $40.8 million opening weekend. That makes Chicken Little's Disney's second biggest opening for an animated film (non-Pixar) behind the Lion King. There is the possibility that when the actuals come in, it could even become Disney's biggest non-Pixar opening for an animated film in its history.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Compare that to the TOTAL US gross for 'Treasure Planet', the film that was supposed to save traditional animation at Disney: $38,120,554 (USA). Chicken Little may or may not be your cup of tea, but it obviously is not a failure. And whether you like it or not, the American audience has clearly shown over the last 5 years that it prefers CGI to traditional animation. A mediocre CGI film will ALWAYS outdraw a mediocre traditional animation film. Sad but true. Gross Receipts Source: www.imdb.com
Originally Posted By CTXRover Quick correction: Studio estimates for CL put the opening weekend at 40.08 million, not 40.8 million as I said above...Critics/pessimists will say Disney is over-estimating just to cross the 40 million mark, I on the otherhand think it is equally as possible that they are underestimating Sunday's take and the film should secure a 40+ opening when the actuals come out Monday.
Originally Posted By Sapphire CTXRover, I think you're right in how the movie is doing, but shouldn't the comparison to "Lion King"'s opening adjust that film's first weekend for inflation? I think it would be more telling to have a sense of how much that movie would have brought in with today's ticket prices. Also, if mediocre CGI films always do better than traditionally animated ones, how come "Valiant" couldn't even do as well as "Home on the Range"?
Originally Posted By tonyanton Sapphire...I agree about the adjustment, though "top grossing films" lists always seem to ignore this fact. If so, much older films, like Mary Poppins, Gone with the Wind, and Sound of Music would still be in the top 10 or so. I think "Valiant" had little to no marketing and unappealing character design. With the exception of the Ugly Duckling (which I guess should be ugly!) the "Chicken Little" characters have a very appealing look, IMO.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <The Harry Potter films are able to "stop everything in its tracks" because they really are that good< I agree with this, they really are tha good ( like the Lotr Movies also) -- As far as PIXAR not feeling " Disney "- I also agree -- the last true Disney Classic feel to me was Beauty & the Beast -- Tarzan was close.....maybe too much Phil Collins --even though I like his music, it was not the traditional Disney musical fare -- Little Mermaid / B&B / Aladdin / Lion King
Originally Posted By Bystander 40 million is a good opening. But heavily promoted films typically open big and fall off quickly. The typical "blockbuster" drop from weekend to weekend is about 50%. A 35% drop is considered very good, 60% is trouble. 40+20+10+5+3+2=80 million. Add another 10-20 million for weekdays and remaining weekends and you can see how a film can open big and stall out around $100 mil. The Dukes of Hazzard opened with 30 million and finished at 80 million with a 60% weekend-to-weekend drop. Chicken Little isn't out of the woods yet.
Originally Posted By kennect Bystander, you are right...If this film is to be a hit now it is up to good word of mouth by others to keep it running high at the BO...We all know how fickle the public can be so it will be interesting how it plays out over the next few weeks...I wish them the best....
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<Chicken Little isn't out of the woods yet.>> It's virtually impossible for an animated film to open to 35 mil and above and not earn 100 million. Plus you forgot one thing, once this leaves theatres it's going to be a big hit on dvd. Disney isn't losing money on this.
Originally Posted By Bystander Let me add that I don't think CL will drop as fast as them Duke boys. I'm guessing about 140 million total. But. It didn't open as big as Ice Age and it didn't open as big as Shark Tale.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 And more importantly I think this is going to be the start of a winning streak for the studio. Narnia is going to be huge. The ads are already starting up. You can't walk into a bookstore without Narnia being up front. Next year with Cars and Pirates 2, not to mention Glory Road, which could be a Remember the Titans type hit, things are looking up for them.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<I'm guessing about 140 million total.>> Against a 60 million budget is what I've read.
