Curious Intentions Media

To finish our look at 2011′s film box office positives, negatives, and…well…really we skipped over all the in between stuff, I want to run through various box office statistics you may find interesting. Disclaimer: All statistics come from BoxOfficeMojo.com as of 30 December 2011.

• Total 2011 Box Office Gross Year-to-Date: $10.1065 billion
• Total Tickets Sold: 1.269 billion (Average Ticket Price: $7.96)
• Total Number of Films Released Theatrically: 591
• Largest Number of Screens On Opening: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 on 11,000 screens in 4,375 locations
• Largest Opening Weekend: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 with $169 million in three days
  • $43.5 million during midnight Thursday showings; $92.1 million on opening day, Friday 15 July

• Number of Feature Films Released in IMAX: 23
• Number of Feature Films Released in 3D: 43
• Number of Superhero Films: 6
• Number of Animated Films: 16
• Number of Films with a CGI Star: 4
• Number of Documentaries Released Theatrically: 112
• Number of Vampire/Werewolf/Witch/Zombie Films: 9
• Number of Sequels: 27 (5 as 4th and 5 as 5th in respective series)

Box Office Breakdown By Studio:

1. Paramount – $1.785 billion, 18.5% market share among 20 films (14 released in year)
   1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Thor, Kung Fu Panda 2, Captain America
2. Warner Bros. – $1.716 billion, 17.8% market share among 37 films (25 in year)
   1. Harry Potter, Hangover Part II, Horrible Bosses, Green Lantern
3. Sony/Columbia – $1.213 billion, 12.6% market share among 27 films (22 in year)
   1. The Smurfs, Just Go With It, Bad Teacher, The Green Hornet
4. Buena Vista – $1.192 billion, 12.4% market share among 16 films (13 in year)
   1. Pirates 4, Cars 2, The Help, Gnomeo and Juliet
5. Universal – $1.039 billion, 10.8% market share among 17 films (15 in year)
   1. Fast Five, Bridesmaids, Hop, Cowboys & Aliens
6. 20^th Century Fox – $868 million, 9% market share among 18 films (14 in year)

Notice how many of these studios make the majority of their yearly revenue off of a few films. Captain America wasn’t hugely successful, but Transformers alone brings in nearly 40% of Paramount’s 2011 revenue. The same holds for Warner Bros. and Harry Potter 7.2. It’s interesting. Keep in mind these figures do not fully factor in some of the recent winter releases, notably The Adventures of Tintin and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but things shouldn’t change too much. All in all, it was a…decent year for films, which some may find an understatement, but when it compare it against 2009/2010 it was lacking just slightly. Can’t change the past, though; we can only look forward into 2012!