January Box Office
By: MattInRC
Lone Survivor leads the best January in four years.
Last year around this time, we lamented about Hollywood's disappointing January, a fact which took three months to correct - not so in 2014. Led by a gripping war flick and an animated musical, January's box office took in $894 million, up 8% from 2013 and 18.6% from 2011. Lone Survivor finished just under $100 million, while Frozen took in $89.8 million. The biggest difference can be seen when comparing the top 5 this year from last, which lately has been dominated by December leftovers. In 2014, two of the top three films are new releases: Lone Survivor and the buddy-cop comedy Ride Along, which took in $84.6 million. As a matter of comparison, 2013 sported only one new release in its top 5 (Mama), while 2012 had two (Contraband and The Devil Inside). In 2014, Oscar contenders American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street rounded out the top 5.
Although the animated comedy The Nut Job came in 7th behind The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug with $44.4 million, the studio is apparently very happy with the results and have announced a sequel set for 2016. On the other hand, Smaug will probably not make $300 million before its run is complete, becoming the only Peter Jackson Middle Earth movie to fall short.
The month wasn't without its share of disappointments - sadly we already have three bombs to start our 'Top Disappointments of 2014' article. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit finished ninth with only $35.4 million, while Paramount's Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones ($32.2 million), The Legend of Hercules ($17.6 million), and I, Frankenstein ($12.1 million) didn't even make the top 10. We were particularly surprised by the poor response to Jack Ryan, but weren't at all shocked to see the numbers for Hercules and The Marked Ones, both of which tested very poorly among our test audiences. The fact that Frankenstein didn't even offer a screening locally tells you what the studio thought of its chances.
This trend of dumping lesser films into January like a trash bin is getting a bit old, as it creates a hole that Hollywood must dig itself out of with its Summer and late Fall lineups. It's clear that they don't care about this fact, content to let its Oscar-nominated films dominate these early months as moviegoers catch up, while throwing in a few new releases which they hope will surprise their wallets. Any winning baseball lineup must have a strong #1 and #2, and Hollywood must do similarly better in the early months to keep audiences interested. Luckily, Ride Along - the only pure January release - did its part, but few others rose to the challenge.
February brings us The LEGO Movie, which is poised to earn $50 million or more in its first weekend, but we're not sure if the rebooted Robocop will connect with audiences, and instead are placing our bets on the 80's comedy remake About Last Night.
While not beyond the realm of possibility, it's unlikely that any of January's top 10 new releases will find themselves there when the year is finished, but these early numbers are a welcomed sign that we could see an even stronger 2014. Our thanks to BoxOfficeMojo for the numbers.
Discuss this article with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.
Please Leave A Comment-
Comments