Avatar Pushes Box Office Records Over 10 Billion Dollars

Hollywood’s box office sales broke all records this year by passing the $10 billion milestone for the first time in history.

The previous 2007 record of $9.6 billion was superseded this year largely thanks to major blockbusting sequels from the Transformers, Harry Potter and Twilight franchises.

James Cameron’s hugely anticipated space opera Avatar, which premiered last night, should push box office receipts for the year to an astonishing $10.6 billion (£6.36 billion) for 2009.

With consumers still watching their monthly outgoings in the hangover of the recession, going to the cinema has been a cheap form of entertainment for the American and Canadian public. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com Box Office said: “The global economy is taking a major hit and, when these conglomerates that own movie studios are having a tough time, it’s at least one bright spot in the equation,” according to the Metro.

Figures from the website show big hits this year for sci-fi, fantasy and animated films. The high-grossing films of 2009 started in March with Monsters vs. Aliens 3D followed by May blockbusters in the form of Star Trek, UP and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The real winners of 2009 were the summer crowd-pleasers Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The Transformers sequel is currently the highest grossing movie of the year with a US domestic gross of $402 million, followed by the sixth Harry Potter hit which grossed $301 million this year.

The bumper year in Hollywood is in stark contrast to the recent decline in the videogames market, which last month saw a 7.6 per cent decline, despite the phenomenal success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Movies news posted by David Finklehorn on Friday, December 11, 2009

Comments

Thank you Avatar! (James Cameron)

If Twilight pushed the box office over $10bn, my last drop of life would have been sucked out by the teen vampire media frenzy to follow. It would have covered the Internet in total darkness.

Comment posted by Master Chief on 12/11/2009 4:08:08 PM

I'm a bit confused

How has a movie that hasn't been released yet pushed the box office over $10 billion?

Comment posted by Anonymous on 12/11/2009 7:41:37 PM

Re:I`m a bit confused

Perhaps I should clarify as I didn't make it perfectly clear in the article.

Total box office takings in the US have eclipsed $10 billion this year across all films, in part helped by the hype and early bookings from Avatar.

Previous to Avatar tickets going on pre-release, total box office sales stood at $9.67 billion. Pre-sales for 3D screenings for Avatar at IMAX, along with other big box office releases like the Princess and the Frog pushed this figure over the $10 billion threshold.

As it says in the article, once Avatar is released worldwide, the total gross is expected to hit $10.6 billion.

Apologies for any confusion.

DF.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 12/14/2009 11:19:42 AM

WTF?

Avatar isn't out till Christmas Day...

Comment posted by Anonymous on 12/12/2009 6:05:06 AM

Re:WTF?

It's been premiered already and will be on general release in most countries except Poland, Argentina, and Italy before Christmas Day. And some people buy tickets in advance, especially for 3D screenings.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 12/14/2009 10:44:24 AM