"Nearly a third of the domestic audience was made up of parents with their children, said Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution."
Posted on 05/27/2008 6:53:46 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
The most recent Indiana Jones film more than recouped its big budget with an estimated $311 million in global box office sales through the long weekend, according to studio estimates Monday.
Families went in droves to catch "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," a PG-13 adventure starring Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archaeologist who took 19 years to return to the big screen.
Paramount Pictures estimated the action sequel made $151.1 million in the U.S. and Canada from Thursday to the holiday Monday and $160 million overseas.
It marked the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever, behind only "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which made $153 million domestically from Thursday to Monday last year.
Nearly a third of the domestic audience was made up of parents with their children, said Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution.
"Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn't wait to take their kids with them," Moore said.
The film cost a reported $185 million to make, even with the principal talent — Ford, director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas — deferring their usual fees for a greater share of the profits.
The first three Indy movies raked in $1.2 billion worldwide.
Marketing costs were undisclosed, although the latest "Indiana Jones" received a major push from Paramount. DVDs of the first three movies were re-released, they aired on TV days before the opening and huge billboards sprung up.
The final trailer for the movie rolled before the opening of Marvel Studios' "Iron Man," which was also distributed by Paramount, three weeks earlier.
"It's been a pretty good month," Moore said. "We started the month with 'Iron Man' and finished with 'Indiana Jones.'"
Other movies' receipts over the long weekend paled by comparison.
Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" slashed its way to $28.6 million, for a total $96.7 million over two weeks. "Iron Man" locked up third with $25.7 million in its third week for a total of $257.8 million.
The Wachowski brothers flick "Speed Racer," distributed by Warner Bros., crawled closer to the finish line with $5.2 million for fifth, bringing its domestic total to $37.4 million. It brought in $30 million overseas, and had yet to be released in major markets France, Russia, Japan and Australia.
The studio said it was not ready to wave the checkered flag on the film, which cost $120 million to make.
"If I had my druthers I'd have it in theaters for weeks and months to come," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of distribution.
For the year so far, domestic movie revenues are down more than 4 percent at $3.4 billion, with attendance off nearly 7 percent.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $126 million (plus $25.1 million on Thursday).
2. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," $28.6 million.
3. "Iron Man," $25.7 million.
4. "What Happens in Vegas," $11.2 million.
5. "Speed Racer," $5.2 million.
6. "Made of Honor," $4.2 million.
7. "Baby Mama," $4.2 million.
8. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $2.2 million.
9. "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," $1.2 million.
10. "The Visitor," $917,000.
"Nearly a third of the domestic audience was made up of parents with their children, said Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution."
Shia LaBeouf, left, Harrison Ford and Karen Allen...
I've seen Iron Man twice. I'll wait for Indiana Jones to come out on DVD.
Recession?
What recession?
Have you noticed how crowded the restaurants are too?
It was a good popcorn movie. I don’t feel it had the “pop” as the other films and never found it’s groove.
I think it’ll be more rewatchable though. It wasn’t bad. It had some boring parts and issues that a lot of fans are wailing over. Overall though, I liked it a bit more than Iron Man. At least Crystal Skull wasn’t super predictable.
I saw it too, and I liked 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' the best.
“’Indiana Jones’ Earns $311 Million Worldwide”
Russian communists deeply saddened.
We’ll try to go see it next weekend. We tried this weekend and it was sold out so we went to Narnia instead.
Mrs. Cuz and I saw this on Saturday and I’d have to agree with the Mrs. “For being a 70 year old actor, Harrison Ford’s still GOT IT!”
One of the things I enjoyed about “Last Crusade” was the way the theme of Indy’s relationship with his father tied in with the quest for the Holy Grail. I missed that level of connection in this one, and it could have been handled easily at the beginning with just a few lines.
I also thought plot was a little convoluted. They were twisting it all over the place to get to the payoff, which, again, had little to do thematically with the characters. It could just as easily have been Scully and Mulder chasing around, instead of Indy and Marian.
Cate Blanchett playing the Russian bad girl...
We saw 'Indy' at one of those locally-owned historic theaters that was never torn down and is huge. They don't sell tickets in advance, and you can always get in.
I’m a huge Indiana Jones fan, but I missed the film this weekend. I hope to see it this coming weekend - hopefully the crowds will be smaller.
I went to see 21 this weekend!!! Outstanding! Sorry you got stuck seeing a stinker. Next time see 21. It was so much fun and a great flick.
We happened to be out for the day with time to kill, and made it the first movie we have seen in a theater in 10 years.
Thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it might rank 3rd of the 4. There was plenty of suspension of disbelief as you accepted our hero’s survival through multiple cliff falls, and even a nuclear blast. (And no, those aren’t spoilers)
The oddly political aspect was that it mocked the anti-communist fears of the 50s, while thoroughly demonizing the Soviets.
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