Zero.
It was a .45 ;-)
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.
I’m still trying to figure out why he didn’t use his whip when they stepped into the sand pit. :)
Dude, you are scaring me! :-0
Upfront fees lag behind in film industry
.....it's 400 mil. But movie studios often make use of some really squirrelly accounting practices :)
Am I correct in stating that Indy did not touch his revolver EVEN ONE TIME in this movie? It wasn’t even SEEN one time. And also, IIRC, the hero (Ryan?) in the drug movie (C and P Danger?) also did not lay his hands on a firearm even one time. Spielberg showing his stripes.
no he used a machine gun.
Yes, and the exhibitor gets HALF of the box office.
Zero.
It was a .45 ;-)
Cool. I didn’t know such a thing existed. How do you know this was Indy’s however? A fan website? Just curious.
Often, but it can vary from film to film, right? I'd be interested to see how much the exhibitors are getting on this one.
My wife and I loved the movie, and I thought it was a blast. It was great to watch it and let the cares of the world be suspended for a while.
Just visual ID...it’s always been one of my favorite revolvers. During WWI, which was only a few years after the US Military adopted the 1911 service pistol, it became apparent that the new pistols could not be turned out at the rate needed to supply the rapidly growing military. Because S&W was already tooled up to manufacture revolvers, the M1917 was developed basically from existing models, but designed to fire the .45 ACP round with half-moon clips...
Going tonight.
Reduced expectations though.
No way it can measure up to the old days.
But not expecting a Phantom Menace either.
I used to sell interests in movies from Disney back in the late 1980s. In those days, without exception, whomever exhibited the Disney films got half the box office.
A new mall opened near me recently. An upscale hamburger shop (Red Robin) reportedly had trouble getting employees because the county’s teens are well off enough that few would “stoop” to taking such a job waiting tables.
And yes it was mobbed opening week.
Recession? Only insofar as people are finding they can’t have _everything_ and the rate of increase of spending has peaked.
It was a truly lousy movie that appeared to be made for just one thing.that's to fleece the dollars from the pockets of loyal Indiana Jones movie viewers.
The script,and quality control were crap.There was also too much computer animation and it appeared they are trying to give the viewers their action fix by overloading the movie with action all of the time.
It appears that all of the movies are doing the same thing putting in action scenes that really make NO sense to the plot of the movie.
Oh!I forgot the movies plot was a stinker to.There was none.
And the gaming industry, which has the highest up front cost to consumers of the entertainment industry, just had a record quarter. And that was the quarter BEFORE Wii Fit.
I wonder when the liberals are going to start whining about profiteering by Hollywood studios and actors?
There’s a lot more to a movie’s costs than just making the movie. Production alone may have been $185M, but there’s distribution, marketing, percentage skimming, alternate media forms, promotional tie-ins, etc. The whole issue of cost vs. profit gets downright surreal.
“Forrest Gump” was one of the biggest grossers in history, yet the scriptwriter had to sue for payment because he contracted for “percentage of profit”, but despite huge net gross the movie allegedly lost money.
Excellent eye you have. Cool looking revolver, too.
They don't just have to recoup the production budget -- there are marketing and promotion expenses that also have to be recouped. But even with that, even though this has been one of the most heavily promoted movies in my memory, there's no way the total bill adds up to $800M.
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