AfterDawn: News

2007 best summer on record for box office

Despite piracy concerns by movie studios, Hollywood appears to be experiencing record box office returns this summer.

For the first time ever, four films have made more than $300 million in the U.S. in the same summer. "Spider-Man 3", "Shrek the Third", Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", and "Transformers" have all broken the $300 million barrier. 9 other titles have exceeded $100 million.



ummer 2007 is turning out to be the best on the books, running 10% ahead of 2006 and 6% ahead of 2004, the previous record-holder, according to Nielsen EDI. The total number of summer admissions (May 4-Aug. 12) is 526.5 million, up 6% over the same Frame last summer.

So far the year-to-date numbers are just as promising, with income running 10% ahead of the best year on record - 2004.

I guess those popcorn farmers aren't doing as badly as NBC would like us to believe.

Source: Variety

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 18 Aug 2007 22:39

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• 34 comments

• Paladore

  see? we aren't all watching cam recorded movies :P

  18.8.2007 22:56 #1

• albino92

  yeah lol only the crappy ones! This summer wasn't the best for movies, it had a few good ones, but all the blockbusters were mostly mediocre and some flat out SUCKED! POTC:ATW!

  18.8.2007 23:06 #2

• sk8flawzz

  i guess thats what happens when theres GOOD movies out there to watch, i rarely enjoy watching movies at the theatre but SM3 and Transformers were both worth the 10 bucks

  18.8.2007 23:06 #3

• albino92

  SM3 was a dissapointment but i'd still give it a "good". And Tranformers was alright, but yeah you can't go through the summer without seeing those two movies, i guess.

  19.8.2007 00:03 #4

• Ludikhris

  Super Bad was wayyy worth it. You have to like sex though. And like it in the dirty American Pit meets a porno way.

  19.8.2007 00:39 #5

• albino92

  Well i haven't seen it yet but i have plans to see it today

  19.8.2007 00:44 #6

• Paladore

  Bourn ultimatum, TF, SM3, Superbad were all worth the ticketprice...

  19.8.2007 02:09 #7

• albino92

  Bourne Ultimatum had the potential to be an excellent but it had too shaky cam, SM3 was a dissapointment for many reasons, and tranformers was just pure MICHEAL BAY. all films were just good, but i wouldn't say great and yah they were worth the ticket price.

  19.8.2007 02:35 #8

• the2twins

  lol yh there was alot of great movies released/leaked on the internet aswell lol i found lots at www.plentytostream.co.nr

  19.8.2007 04:18 #9

• SProdigy

  You were not sent in "guessing" as much if a film was "cool" or "sucked" because everything was a sequel and had a certain level of expectation, with the exception of Transformers and The Simpsons, which were bases on huge franchises to begin with. (For the ones I've seen.)

  19.8.2007 05:03 #10

• xugiua

  I think if it was Spider-Man 1 or Pirates of the Carribian 1 they still would have done great, without having been sequels. Word of mouth and commercials are way under rated. They work really well. If we have more good movies made we will go see them, it would be nice if the movie franchise would realize this. Same for music. They wonder why their sales keep going down. MAKE SOME GOOD DAMN MUSIC AND PEOPLE WILL BUY DUMB ASS'S. It's kinda like Americans are starting to suck and just want to blame it on something (downloading). I wonder what they would blame it on if we didn't have file sharing??

  19.8.2007 05:36 #11

• xugiua

  I think if it was Spider-Man 1 or Pirates of the Carribian 1 they still would have done great, without having been sequels. Word of mouth and commercials are way under rated. They work really well. If we have more good movies made we will go see them, it would be nice if the movie franchise would realize this. Same for music. They wonder why their sales keep going down. MAKE SOME GOOD DAMN MUSIC AND PEOPLE WILL BUY DUMB ASS'S. It's kinda like Americans are starting to suck and just want to blame it on something (downloading). I wonder what they would blame it on if we didn't have file sharing??

  19.8.2007 05:36 #12

• chubbyInc

  Next year if there are less blockbusters and they make less money than this year they'll for sure blame pirates.
  
  The last movie I saw was Pirates of the Caribbean 3, which was a disappointment and I only saw it because the tickets were half priced on that day.
  
  I will probably still go support The Simpsons, but for everything else, they can wait.....it's cheaper to rent.

  19.8.2007 05:36 #13

• AXT

  Originally posted by chubbyInc: Next year if there are less blockbusters and they make less money than this year they'll for sure blame pirates.True.

  19.8.2007 06:00 #14

• spydah

  I give this year a B+ for the movies released. Over the last 2 - 3 years movies sucked in general so i think they stepped their games up and made more quality films rather then just releasing a bunch of crap they were hoping people would spend money on. They cant blame piracy for slow movie sales because people been recording movies in theaters for years dating back to when I was like 7 which was like 20 years ago. Bootlegs have always been in circulation they just figure because they were never able to stop those now they have a new form of transportation of films by internet that they can use and make more money off people besides what the films make. Each year more P2P, torrent sites and so forth have been closed then reopened with a price tag on it with filtered crap on it. If they knew it was a lot of money in internet downloads years ago they would have be on top of it before people did it on their own. Its wild to see them go from watching people sell VHS bootlegs on the street then DVD/CD bootlegs and now digital/internet bootlegs. All of those major companies want to capitalized on this and get more for the same product.

  19.8.2007 06:29 #15

• armorthis

  Hahahaha, and they try and say Piracy of movies is at an all time high, too.

  19.8.2007 09:15 #16

• iamx

  The reason the box office did so good this summer were because of "Transformers", "Spiderman 3", and "Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer". All THREE of those movies DEMANDED to be seen on the big screen. Seeing only the downloaded versions of those movies wouldn't do any of them justice. Well, maybe the movie studios will learn from this "financial serendipity" and make good blockbusters for all the summers to come. It's a very simple concept; make movies that people actually want to pay to go SEE, and lo and behold, they will come......

  19.8.2007 09:21 #17

• Rydis

  don't forget at the same time, their still loosing billions because of pirates. Oh noes.

  19.8.2007 12:28 #18

• WierdName

  IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF PIRACY! Oh wait, the "best summer" for box office... It must be because of the MPAA's hard efforts to sue, I mean, "combat" pirates.

  19.8.2007 12:42 #19

• Unfocused

  But what about the pirates? I thought they were hurtting sales? All these claims about ticket sales at all time lows, American Corn Farmers loosing business, some random event decreasing sales.
  
  MPAA is full of lies and propoganda!

  19.8.2007 13:19 #20

• BIGnewb

  wow its like they forgot 300,live free or die hard,knocked up,ghost rider,wild hogs,shooter,blades of glory,disturbia,fracture,1408,evan almighty, wow i just went on and on.funny how ppl forget.all of these movies were huge hits and are excellent movies.i loved 2007 movies.im gonna see the bourne ultimatum tmw.keep making good movies and you'll make good money.people who made epic movie should go shoot themselves in the foot.

  19.8.2007 19:44 #21

• SProdigy

  Originally posted by BIGnewb: wow its like they forgot 300,live free or die hard,knocked up,ghost rider,wild hogs,shooter,blades of glory,disturbia,fracture,1408,evan almighty, ...I didn't, but was just stating my thoughts in general. Shooter was way underrated, and Die Hard, IMHO, was the best one of the series. With most of the movies listed though, not all were blockbusters, and needed an acquired taste (Disturbia, Wild Hogs, 300, etc.) but the fact was, almost all of these movies delivered.
  
  With all these quality films, could someone please remind Eli Roth why Hostel 2 didn't make any money?

  20.8.2007 06:00 #22

• ZippyDSM

  TF is passable barely...its kidna sad tho tis a teen drama adventure ....but they didn't rape what TF was in it that much thus why its passable...,Emo spidy 3 sucks ass,shrek is old and should retire,Pirates of the Caribbean is alright.

  20.8.2007 08:59 #23

• Mr-Movies

  Yep, it’s the big crack down on those pirates that has permitted such a good summer at the box office. If next years movies are bad piracy will definitely be to blame.
  
  Out of the big box office sellers I think only 1 possibly 2 are even worth seeing. Pirates of the Caribbean 1 was horrible but people are dieing to see 3 this is why we get so many crappy movies because Hollyweird is trying to guess at what crap people will go see. I haven't watched a cartoon since I was in my early teens but these days many adults love cartoons like the Simpsons stated above. I could see them making a Family Guy movie next, oh please don't. We are to fault as well as Hollyweird for the crap we are getting.

  20.8.2007 09:10 #24

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Mr-Movies: Yep, it’s the big crack down on those pirates that has permitted such a good summer at the box office. If next years movies are bad piracy will definitely be to blame.
  
  Out of the big box office sellers I think only 1 possibly 2 are even worth seeing. Pirates of the Caribbean 1 was horrible but people are dieing to see 3 this is why we get so many crappy movies because Hollyweird is trying to guess at what crap people will go see. I haven't watched a cartoon since I was in my early teens but these days many adults love cartoons like the Simpsons stated above. I could see them making a Family Guy movie next, oh please don't. We are to fault as well as Hollyweird for the crap we are getting.I like POTC its a fun flick like the mummy,I am a fan of animation but not the americanized mainstream crap that seems to sale to the brain damaged masses....
  
  then again I like my fiction unedited and nearly everything on the big screen is altered and watered down in some way............

  20.8.2007 09:24 #25

• Rydis

  Originally posted by Mr-Movies: Yep, it’s the big crack down on those pirates that has permitted such a good summer at the box office. If next years movies are bad piracy will definitely be to blame.
  
  Out of the big box office sellers I think only 1 possibly 2 are even worth seeing. Pirates of the Caribbean 1 was horrible but people are dieing to see 3 this is why we get so many crappy movies because Hollyweird is trying to guess at what crap people will go see. I haven't watched a cartoon since I was in my early teens but these days many adults love cartoons like the Simpsons stated above. I could see them making a Family Guy movie next, oh please don't. We are to fault as well as Hollyweird for the crap we are getting.There has already been a Family Guy Movie.

  20.8.2007 12:53 #26

• iamx

  Originally posted by Mr-Movies: If next years movies are bad piracy will definitely be to blame.
  You hit the nail on the head with this statement. When things go bad, pull the scapegoat out of the closet and use it for blame. When things go good, contribute it to "defeat" of the scapegoat.....

  20.8.2007 13:18 #27

• WierdName

  Originally posted by iamx: You hit the nail on the head with this statement. When things go bad, pull the scapegoat out of the closet and use it for blame. When things go good, contribute it to "defeat" of the scapegoat.....So I wonder how they get the scapegoat out of the closet without anyone seeing the skeletons hidden behind it...

  20.8.2007 13:23 #28

• Unfocused

  It is just funny how all of this praise is coming hot on the heels of their complaints that they are losing money to all of the pirates.

  20.8.2007 16:59 #29

• iamx

  Originally posted by WierdName: Originally posted by iamx: So I wonder how they get the scapegoat out of the closet without anyone seeing the skeletons hidden behind it...It's easy. They have an anti-mater machine that will render the skeletons invisible. All WE'LL be able to see is the scapegoat, but the skeletons will be suspended in an anti matter resonance state....

  20.8.2007 17:02 #30

• pcanisius

  the blockbusters help make this the highest grossing year for films in history, but what about rising ticket prices? I'm sure they dont have a whole lot to do with that...
  
  and on the note of rising ticket prices, quick show of hands who think prices are going to go down now that the MPAA's efforts to quell internet piracy have succeded. yeah. me neither

  21.8.2007 13:26 #31

• WierdName

  Originally posted by iamx: It's easy. They have an anti-mater machine that will render the skeletons invisible. All WE'LL be able to see is the scapegoat, but the skeletons will be suspended in an anti matter resonance state....Oh, ok. That makes sense.

  21.8.2007 16:25 #32

• borhan9

  This is great news for the movie industry and they should realise that people still go to the movies and should not bother with going after downloaders if the profits are like that.

  21.8.2007 22:33 #33

• Unfocused

  They are still making money hand over fist. No matter what they say, they will never give you the real numbers. Piracy only serves to advertise.

  22.8.2007 19:07 #34