Monsters Vs Aliens Rules The Box Office
Monsters vs Aliens launched it’s box office run in 4,014 theaters across a total of around 7,000 screens, making it the 13th widest release in modern film history and the biggest non-summer debut of all-time – and as expected, it has stormed the box office.
The film took $16.8 million in its first day at the domestic box office, putting it on track to rake in between $50-$60 million by the end of the weekend. With the holiday period approaching in two weeks time, some pundits are estimating the movie could ultimately exceed $600M in worldwide takings.
One of the primary reasons why Monster vs Aliens has received such a high box office count relates to the movie’s 3-D format. In additional to its normal 2-D theatrical release, it is also screening on an estimated 2,218 3-D screens including 143 IMAX 3-D screens. Each 3-D screening comes with an upcharge of between $2 and $3.50.
Dreamworks had hoped for a wider 3-D screen release, however such an achievement was dependent on exhibitors upgrading to digital. The economic climate has been blamed for why many theater owners have held back on spending the necessary money on upgrading, or why some have had trouble securing the financing to undertake the conversion.
Nonetheless, it is believed the success of Monsters vs Aliens will contribute to an accelerated digital uptake as exhibitors will see the benefits of being well placed for the roughly 40 major 3-D movies currently in the pipeline, including Disney/Pixar’s Up and James Cameron’s Avatar due out later this year.
Watch a clip from Monsters vs Aliens:
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Big Hollywood
