Movie Studios Have Reason to Celebrate
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Something must be in the popcorn. Moviegoers are heading to the theaters in droves -- and helping the studios realize revenues they haven't seen in quite some time. Just take a look at these records as a result of this weekend's huge box office draws:
- Four movies brought in $20 million for their respective studios for the first time since the weekend of Christmas 2008.
- Box office dollars are up 30 percent compared to the same weekend in 2011.
- Overall weekend revenue estimates approximate $190 million.
So, what companies are the beneficiaries of these impressive stats?
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and General Electric (NYSE: GE). The Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds thriller Safe House came in second at the box office this weekend at $39.3 million. But combined with Big Miracle (the true story about rescuing whales), which earned $3.9 million, and Contraband and Billy Elliot, the combined gross totals some $45 million for NBC Universal, a division of General Electric and Comcast. This gives NBC Universal first place in the weekend box office revenue race.
Sony (NYSE: SNE). The surprise hit of the weekend was Sony Pictures' tear jerker The Vow, which brought in $41.7 million over the weekend. While the film may be called a "chick flick" by many -- and it is that -- it is more than that. It's based on a true story of a married couple, Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, who were in a car accident. The wife, Krickitt, never regains her memory after the accident, and thus doesn't remember her husband, Kim. The story goes through Kim's trials and tribulations to have his wife fall back in love with him again. The film showed the strongest weekend opening this year.
Sony gets to add another $2.5 to its coffers with the ticket sales of its Underworld: Awakening, a fantasy, action, and horror flick featuring Kate Beckinsale.
News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS). News Corp subsidiary, Fox Entertainment Group/20th Century Fox had a few movies this weekend that helped it land in the third spot. The highest was the re-release in 3-D of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, which brought in $23 million. Horror flick Chronicle brought in $12.3 million, while George Clooney's and Oscar hopeful The Descendants brought in another $3.5 million.
Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).The family adventure movie starring Dwayne Johnston, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island did well for Time Warner's subsidiary Warner Bros. studio, clocking in $27.5 million this weekend. Add that to the 911-based Extremely Loud & Close $1.5 million and Time Warner comes in at fourth.
What's the basis for this renewed interest in movies as of late? Could it be there are a more diverse selection of movies to choose from? Or is it the desire to see movies based on a true story? Is it simply that it was the weekend before Valentines Day? Or are the movie studios buckling down and making better movies?
Whatever is fueling the spark, the studios have reason to celebrate today.
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