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SATURDAY PM UPDATE: Disney's Alice In Wonderland is a monster hit 
despite blowing past its budget and bringing back mediocre reviews. It clearly becomes the biggest 3D bow ever and the best March release ever and the highest grossing movie of 2010 with $41 million on Friday and $44.3 million on Saturday. Remember, those higher priced 3D tickets make all the difference. Even so, the Tim Burton-directed, Johnny Depp-starring fantasy flick had the biggest 3D release of all time. Of its 3,728 North American locations this weekend, its total domestic 3D count is 2,063, plus 180 Imax 3D engagements. That helped the pic post a $116.3M opening weekend with numbers blowing away Avatar's first Fri-Sat-Sun. IMAX on Friday had the biggest day in their history with $4.3M for Alice. The IMAX weekend take of $11+M also is a record for the big screen company. Overseas, Alice shot to #1 almost everywhere after opening day and date in 40 territories beginning Wednesday. Disney narrowly avoided a boycott overseas when UK and other exhibitors were angered by the studio's plans to shorten the theatrical-to-DVD window from 16 weeks to just 12 weeks. (UK Exhibitors End Boycott Of Disney's Alice)
As for foreign grosses, Alice debuted to $94 million in 40+ markets representing only 60% of the international marketplace. That means the worldwide box office was $210.3M. That's only 2nd to Avatar's $242M global bow, but Wonderland's domestic total blew past Avatar's.
This would be a huge triumph for Walt Disney Studios except this also is one of those awkward Hollywood situations where a studio cleans house of top executives only to have the new management preside over a hit courtesy of their predecessors. In this case, Rich Ross et al will benefit from what Dick Cook and Oren Aviv hath wrought. Everyone knows that Dick had a very special relationship with both Tim and Johnny. But what's really amusing is the way that one of Alice's producers, Joe Roth, is trying to use the film to claw his way back into Hollywood. I see the former Disney and Fox production chief who failed miserably with his Revolution Studios is up to his old trick of manipulating the media, this time with a tale of how he put together Wonderland singlehandedly. (Oh, puh-leeze.) "Don't you think 4 years in the penalty box is long enough?" a Roth pal emailed me today. Not when considering how arrogantly he made so many awful movies. And not when knowing that Alice blew past its budget. (Roth admits to $150M, but I hear the real figure is $200M.)
The only other major newcomer this weekend was Overture's Brooklyn's Finest directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke opened like most R-rated action films: it had a $4.7M Friday and $5.5M Saturday for a $13.5M weekend.
Here's the Top 10 as of Saturday. (Numbers will be refined in the morning.)
1. Alice In Wonderland (Disney) NEW [3,728 Theaters]
Friday $41M, Saturday $44.3M, Weekend $116.3M, Worldwide $210.3M
2. Brooklyn's Finest (Overture) NEW [1,936 Theaters]
Friday $4.7M, Saturday $5.2M, Weekend $13.1M
3. Shutter Island (Paramount) Week 3 [3,178 Theaters]
Friday $4.0M, Saturday $6.0M, Weekend $13.0M, Cume $95.6M
4. Cop Out (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,150 Theaters]
Friday $2.8M, Saturday $4.0M, Weekend $9.1M, Cume $32.3M
5. The Crazies (Overture) Week 2 [2,479 Theaters]
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $3.0M, Weekend $6.9M, Cume $27.3M
6. Avatar (Fox) [2,163 Theaters] Week 12
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $3.6M, Weekend $7.7M, Cume $720.1M
7. Percy Jackson (Fox) Week 4 [2,994 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $2.3M, Weekend $5.1M, Cume $78.0M
8. Valentine's Day (Warner Bros) Week 4 [3,040 Theaters]
Friday $1.4M, Saturday $1.9M, Weekend $4.2M, Cume $106.4M
9. Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight) Week 12 [1,274 Theaters]
Friday $925K, Saturday $1.6M, Weekend $3.3M, Cume $29.5M
10. Dear John (Sony) Week 5 [2,496 Theaters]
Friday $965K, Saturday $1.3M, Weekend $2.8M, Estimated Cume $76.6M
7:40 PM: I'm hearing that Friday's North American grosses for Disney's 3D Alice In Wonderland are looking like $35+M and maybe even as high as $40M from 3,728 theaters. This would make it the biggest film of 2010 so far and its aleady the biggest 3D bow ever. Also opening this weekend is Overture's cop drama Brooklyn's Finest which could hit $5M today for a possible $13M weekend.
10:55 AM: I just learned that today's matinees for Disney's Alice In Wonderland are running ahead of Avatar's so far.
FRIDAY AM: First it was $90+M. Now I'm hearing from Hollywood that Disney's Alice In Wonderland has a real shot at $100 million weekend.
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The film is currently rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, this is definitely going to hamper its box office a bit. But 100 million? Jesus Christ, people are really going to be disappointed when they see the 3D and the mediocre CGI. The problem is the movie just won’t have the kind of legs Avatar did in IMAX theaters. It’s a kids movie, so it’ll get a crapload of business the first weekend, then drop off quite a bit. But let’s remember, yes the ticket prices are more expensive, but people only pay the higher prices when they know they’re getting their money’s worth. Unfortunately, judging by the reviews, they aren’t.
It should be obvious to all by now that reviews for commercial films have absolutely no effect on the gross–good or bad.
Hi JohnDoe. Why bring Jesus Christ into this. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and not some word you should use to bring a point. Next time try “Mohammed” and see what happens.
God bless you and God bless America!!!
Mohammed H. Prophet, Christians can be tedious. Not everyone cares whether or not your imaginary friend is getting the respect he deserves. And why say “God bless America” at the end? Is it official now that any mention of Jesus must be followed by an inspiring patriotic statement? And why take the opportunity to call out the muslims, as if Christians wouldn’t outlaw blasphemy the second they had the chance.
Agreed. Lets’ keep Hollywood contempt for Christianity out of the discussion.
Anonymous: It won’t help you to project ulterior motives onto the Christian, though I’m not sure there’s much else you’d be able to do. Also, no, Christians would not outlaw blasphemy if they had the chance because the point is grace and forgiveness, as opposed to force and hatred. Nice tolerance though!
lol u a hippy dude?
To JohnDoe: I don’t think Jesus Christ is much concerned about this film and many will thank you to leave Him out of this argument.
I’m sure Jesus is proud to have you speak for him regarding his taste in movies.
I’m curious — does anyone else think that perhaps Alice was HELPED by Avatar? I have no interest in seeing Alice (Burton=blech), but I’ll see it Monday to check out how the 3D compares. Could these numbers be inflated by an audience thirst for more Avatar?
You are exactly right. It seems now, fifty years after it was first invented, 3D has finally become the permanent norm for blockbusters.
I agree with you zangadoo ‘Alice’ was helped by Avatar personally I had never gone to see a 3D movie until Avatar and I just went to go see ‘Alice’ to compare. But in my opinion Avatar was the better 3D movie. The 3D for Alice just made it different not better.
Since when did we go by critic’s reviews in determining out own opinions? I am not following paid critics like sheep, I’d missed a lot of movies I’ve enjoyed over they years, and saw some I though were lousy, but the critics went nuts over.
I loved the movie, the heck with the critics. “Wizard of Oz” was panned too.
I loved the movie too! and will see it again if I could!
I would NOT take my grandchildren to see “Alice In Wonderland”. Why do they have to make it into a horror movie for the little children. Just for MONEY!!!!
I loved the film, but it’s not kid’s film by any means.
Did you even see the movie or are you basing your opinions on the trailer and the reviews? This is a not exclusively a “kids” movie, as a matter of fact I would caution parents as it is very dark and nightmarish in its imagedry. Avatar is wholly a different kind of film and most of its spark and intrigue came from the knowledge that the 3D presented was new technology.
Bravo Disney & Tim Burton on your continued success!
The film is currently rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, this is definitely going to hamper its box office a bit. But 100 million? Allāhu Akbar , people are really going to be disappointed when they see the 3D and the mediocre CG I. The problem is the movie just won’t have the kind of legs Avatar did in I MAX theaters. It’s a kids movie, so it’ll get a crap load of business the first weekend, then drop off quite a bit. But let’s remember, yes the ticket prices are more expensive, but people only pay the higher prices when they know they’re getting their money’s worth. Unfortunately, judging by the reviews, they aren’t.
That edit is amazing, I lol’d.
So funny.
Heaven forbid I bore you, but please don’t offend me! It might do this world good if you washed your filthy mouth out with clorox.
Shocking that geniuses like Depp and Burton would move forward on a film with no plot. Such potential for Depp to be entertaining – I was soooo bored!
Maybe you shoulda dropped a hit of acid to pick things up. Sheesh…’bored’. Oh you’re just so dang cool! Did you file your nails or catch up on emails while you had to endure the monotony?? Oh brother…
Absolutely agree with you. The effects only did so much. I was bored out of my mind halfway through the movie.
I don’t think Rotten Tomatoes is anything to gauge success by. And “kid’s movie”…ha ha ha ha ha ha. You really got your finger to the pulse there bro. You apparently do not understand how many adults will flock to see a Tim Burton move, a Johnny Depp movie…and particularly a movie with both elements. I know a group a 30 people who went on Friday to the Hollywood El Capitan theater and all designed costumes for the event! Yes…from scratch. Kids movie….ha!
I would bet based on your comment that yoy have not seen the movie. This is not a “kids movie” as you described it. The movie was fantastic. A wonderful rendition of a classic childs story made for grown ups. I suggest you see it before making absurd statements.
Avatar was all hype with a pathetic storyline. Alice in wonderland is a timeless tale and Burton’s version is an artistic masterpiece.
Yea, totally with you on every word!
plus: I don’t find it entertaining to see two aliens kissing and being romantic and all…
Should be interesting to see how much drop-off this thing gets. I’m predicting over 50% … which means this thing will still fetch north of $250million when it’s all said and done ($400-500million worldwide?).
So, are only tentpole event films going to get the Avatar 3D treatment? I’m curious WHEN we’re going to have some true indie (District 9 tried first time around with Neil before Peter Jackson stepped in) film lay down a 3D/CGI SFX gem. It’s going to take a lot of Sony PS3s in some uber daisy chain to power this true indie post-production effort. 3 years? Maybe someone like Robert Rodgriquez can do it …
You ever think maybe people just like to see the story? Or Johnny Dep as a weirdo.
Seriously you people need to lighten up; you spend your whole life becoming experts on fleeting moments in people’s lives. And you are critizing a film that’s your own fault for seeing anyways. There are people who don’t care how cheep it looks. It obviously wasn’t cheep look who’s playing the lead role.
even so… i still have no desire to see it
Fabulous, Fansastic, Fable… I so had no desire to view but now am so glad I did- the view was lovly to watch and the characters were rich the Red Queen undienably was the greatest cast member with a close second to Depp. Watch this film– don’t expect– allow to just be dazzled…
I can’t even believe Disney allowed this movie or this piece of crap to have it’s name.
Great. Now literally every movie is going to be 3D…
Every movie is already coming out in 3D. Shrek, Clash of the Titans, and I’m sure many more. Yet I agree, more will become 3D after this hit. Personally I found the glasses annoying and I had a slight headache afterwards. It might just be the cheap glasses the theater used, not sure.
@ Dick Nasty:
So don’t watch them in 3D. Just watch them on a normal screen. They still do that you know.
Last time I looked it was a green splat on ‘Rotten Tomatoes’. Not that that means it won’t do well on it’s opening weekend, but it looks hopelessly overblown to me. I doubt it will end up being a classic.
I also wonder what kind of audience it will attract. Looks too detailed and mature for anyone under 13 and ‘not worth paying for’ for most adults. I doubt teens will be interested (other than a small army of teen girl Depp fans). Also, the character of Alice looks coma-worthy.
After the dreck that was ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ I am very hesitant about paying for an opulent remake by Tim Burton. He completely loses the story and the charm of the characters by showing off with the art direction, resulting in a painfully long film that requires a couple aspirin at the end.
“…completely loses the story…”
Come on man, do some better research first. Tim Burton’s version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is almost word for word from the book. “Willie Wonka” back in the 80’s was way off.
And “…charm of the characters…” that’s the point, they’re not supposed to be charming. They are brats.
I’m assuming you hate Edward Scissorhands, Pirates and any other Depp/Burton movie or combination.
Let the experts be the critics, they actually know their stories and movies.
Your assessment should have waited until you actually saw it. I love how people who have not seen things come to such harsh judgments. I’ll tell you this… (1) It’s not just a kids movie (2) It’s fine for smaller kids (2) Costuming is great (3) Mia is good in the role (4) Johnny’s portrayal of the Mad Hatter is wonderful, more of sympathetic character than was written for the original, which is a rather mean and spiteful guy. (4) the story embellishments really lend to the story. (5) Costumes were great (6) the color palette they chose is fabulous.
And all this from someone who was skeptical, but reserved any lame comments prior to viewing.
I’m still waiting to see Box Office numbers without the $3 premium tagged on to Avatar.
I do hope so, I really would like to see this movie do well. I like Avatar but thought Alice In Wonderland was better. Please keep us updated.
You know, you’re right. Alice in Wonderland is better than Avatar. And you know, the critics are with you on that….Oh wait.
Jesus son, what kinda PCP you smokin’?
oh goody the Avatar trolls are amongst us. what a joy to know the asylum isnt full.
the only dreck & splat going on thats movie related is the pcp smoking avatar fanatics, trolling to make sure the message boards show fake posts proclaiming any potential “avatar competition” is “crap” and that avatar will always be the “greatest movie ever made,” by hook or by crook. well I guess we know what these avatar zealots & missionaries will be doing for the rest of their lives.
…have a nice life johndoe….
…you must be an incredibly boring & hateful person to trash a movie you have never seen. you & the other avatar followers are disgusting. its incredible someone like you even exists. you have taken all the fun out of movie going by making it “political”. each time a movie comes out you will crank up your avatar pr & propaganda machine. “oh the joy…”
dont get hit will playing in traffic sport. oh wait…better yet…keep playin. theres always that one time that you will slip up. then the rest of us will be standing on the sidelines cryin crocodile tears.
yeah, keep playin in traffic pal. keep playin. better yet be nice if FOX & cameron released what it truly spent to make avatar. then everyone could tell if the movie even made a profit.
oh and lets get ready for the 10 year wait of a sequel, that most of us will be either retirees or dead by the time it comes out.
avatar: the only popular movie to create a cult and groupie following simultaneously.
The critics? Goodness. The critics views are worthless in trying to decide what film you want to spend your money on. Actually, the’re worth a little – if they like the film, it’s generally one to avoid. Or wait until it comes out on DVD. LOL!
Just because someone likes a movie you have to pick on them? Has there never been a movie that you liked that the critics didn’t like?
I’m sure there are going to be a lot of people that like other movies more than Avatar, are you going to ask what they are smokin’?
By the way, I liked Avatar and saw it in theaters twice, and I probably won’t see Alice In Wonderland in theaters.
I’m just wondering why you pick on someone for liking a movie.
actually, i agree.
avatar was good, but only because it was pretty.
i mean, the plot has been done dozens of times, and i really didn’t care for the whole ‘green, anti-war’ message that was GLARINGLY obvious throughout the movie, not to mention the stereotypical characters and the overly perfect na’vi.
alice’s plot was not exactly original, but it had much more interesting characters, and, i thought, it was more fun to look at.
alice was better, in my opinion.
You know, you’re right. Alice in Wonderland is better than Avatar. And you know, the critics are with you on that….Oh wait.
Allāhu Akbar, what kinda PCP you smokin’?
Who the hell cares about the critics? They are in the entertainment business just as actors and directors. They are often contrarian simply so people will read their self-important nonsense. The only reviewer I give a rats ass about is Red Letter Media. That’s because he is thorough and entertaining. Word of mouth will make or break this movie. If the word of mouth is good then the “critics” are that much more obsolete. Avatar getting good reviews should tell you how much BS reviews are. They just shot Pocahontas in 3D and painted her blue. No real person who praises that movie ever mentions any part of the story or the characters. It’s all bells and whistles. As more movies are shot in 3D, Avatar’s shortcomings will become ever more apparent as the novelty wears off.
You know, you’re right. Alice in Wonderland is better than Avatar. And you know, the critics are with you on that….Oh wait.
Yahweh, what kinda PCP you smokin’?
You’re killing me.
alice in wonderland was way better than avatar in my opinion. frankly, avatar’s plot bored me. a lot. alice in wonderland had me cracking up and completely entertained.
So you’re estimating it will make between 75 – 100? This isn’t a very useful post. What were the midnight screening numbers?
I’m still waiting for the BO numbers for Avatar w/o the $3 premium attached to the 3-D screenings which I understand to be 80% of the total BO return.
Why? It’s completely irrelevant, because people were willing to pay the extra premium. What the fuck are you even trying to prove? That it made less than your favorite superhero film when you figure in inflation, and take away the premium? What’s the point? If you want the figures that badly, ask 20th Century FOX, but I’m guessing they’ll just tell you to check up your ass. Cheerio mate!
posted by JohnDoe: “What the fuck are you even trying to prove?” real nice John. i see you must be worried about avatar’s supposed “record”?
sheesh. what a nutjob. i also want to know what was the actual capital investment for all of that blue-berry jam cameron & FOX made? it took 11 yrs to make. its like weapons investment. for all we know this movie cost a billion dollars to make. hence silence on the sequel john.
johndoe, accept an intervention right now & let the rest of us enjoy the run of Alice. If you arent going to see the movie anyway why not just ignore it? it cant beat avatar’s “incredible run”…. ya know?
to paraphrase your own foul-mouthed post “”What the fuck are you even trying to prove?”
or better yet johndoe: “What the fuck are you even worried about?”
John Doe, you are just a potty mouthed FOOL!
What a little immature twit! lol
I’m not a huge Avatar supporter, but I’d have to agree. Well past $700 million means it’s an uber-ridiculous hit however which way you want to tweak the numbers. It’s time to give up on the old but-the-prices-were-higher caveat.
Yes, $3 would come out to 80% of the price of a movie ticket.
Wonderful math.
YES!!
Wow, that is amazing, looks like 300’s all time march record is going down. I could definitely see this being really frontloaded though so it may fall short of 100m.
I think Alice in Wonderland is more front loaded than Avatar so I can’t see it doing that well in the long run. Word of mouth so far has been average as well. Avatar has a weak midnight and a good but not great opening weekend. It had/has crazy legs though. I believe Avatar was the #1 movie yesterday at the box office.
I don’t get it. What’s so special about this release? This story has been done to death, and collaborations between Depp and Burton are also old hat at this point. I don’t feel compelled to go just for the 3D because I feel Avatar set the bar so high for the format that its impact won’t be replicated until Cameron’s next release.
I think Spielberg is going to nail 3D again with Tintin in late 2011. I believe that he, Jackson and Cameron (and probably Lucas if he ever does another movie) are the only ones committed to actually shooting 3D movies with 3D cameras at this point. All we’ve been hearing from the studios and two-bit directors like Burton are that they’re moving ahead with fake, post-production, digitally converted 3D. Cameron was way, way, way ahead of the game and everyone else is either playing catch-up or is failing to understand the kind of technology he has pioneered that got those great results. These post-production converted, rush-job 3D movies are just going to diminish the format in people’s eyes.
Hollywood is going to look really, really bad when the 3D TVs come out and the average sporting event looks better than the average 3D movie because it was actually shot with a 3D camera rather than digitally converted. I’ve seen Sony’s 3D TV demo of sports and nature shows and the live-action 3D looks better than any 3D movie we’ve seen to date, with the exception of Avatar because it’s GENUINE 3D, not faked on a computer with a cheap post-production rush job.
>>I believe that he, Jackson and Cameron (and probably Lucas if he ever does another movie) are the only ones committed to actually shooting 3D movies with 3D cameras at this point.<<
"Committed" or the only ones able to afford a quality 3D picture?
“Genuine 3D” Sir, is called “REALITY”. Cameron’s Avatar had 3D, CGI, green screens, etc…and new HD camera technology that seamlessly put it all together with a computer. Actually, I noticed after about 35 mins into Avatar the actualy 3D “moments” were selectively placed so I do not believe the entire film was 3D.
This version of Alice is original so it is not a remake per se. If Disney decided at the last to convert it to 3D to capture a larger audience blessings to their marketing guys! I hope they get big bonuses. Who cares really about the box office totals save studio execs who are trying to justify the costs. A means to an end.
The REAL money is going to be the merchandising, Disney loves McD’s happy meal toys, Alice dolls, playsets, sheets sets, costumes, etc… I think it is brilliant!
BTW: Now that everyone has invested in HDTV, launching 3D TV in this economy is too premature, SONY will lose boatloads!
cameron uses computer generated 3d. look it up. Titanic’s drama made me puke, i can see why people get sick after seeing Avatar. Too much syrup. Alice in Wonderland was a fun movie, with no politics, or brainwashing. Of course it’s not a kiddie movie like Avatar, so your kids won’t be indoctrinated while watching, because they won’t be there.
everyone know who greenlights what and everyone remembers the slight they and their coworkers, buddies and regimes are dealt. this happens to everyone…..eventually…. and will happen to Rich Ross…. eventually.
I saw the 11:45 showing at the AMC Lincoln Square.
The theater was mostly empty. No one really laughed.
I don’t think this will have good word of mouth.
Makes u wonder why Disney wants a shorter theatrical window
Saw the 9:45am 3D show and it was Pretty full. Movie itself for me was just “eh….” Some stunning shots, “Alice” was great, but I think I’m just sort of over Tim Burton? I really wanted to like it, and I felt a lot of the audience felt the same way. As the movie went on you could feel the audience was deflating. No applause at the end….
This seems to be poised to clean house this weekend for sure!
Nice! I was in the 9.7% of the DHD poll (predicting the weekend gross for A.I.W.) that said this thing was going to make $85 million plus. Now it might be $100m+.
Courtesy of the Cheshire Cat … if I didn’t know better, I would have guessed that he was describing the movie industry:
Alice: But I don’t want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can’t help that. We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.
Alice: How do you know I’m mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn’t have come here.
Alice: And how do you know that you’re mad?
The Cat: To begin with, a dog’s not mad. You grant that?
Alice: I suppose so,
The Cat: Well, then, you see, a dog growls when it’s angry, and wags its tail when it’s pleased. Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad.
I fear what will happen in November. HP7 was making recordbreaking starts in summer, with starts during the week. Novermber, only a 3 day weekend and 3D will mostlikely push it over Dark Knight record…
That’s possible, but I think it’s still unlikely. Besides, Potter movies have very reliably made about $300 mil each the last three times, so the total gross still won’t be close.
It may beat Avatar for the box office weekend but will it have legs? Avatar is just finally losing its edge at the box office and its already March. So big box office weekends doesn’t mean much unless it had legs.
congrats Dick Cook!!!!!!!!!
You’re absolutely right. Remember New Moon? The movie had the 2nd biggest opening weekend of all time, just behind The Dark Knight, and it never made 300 million. No legs. It blew its load on the first weekend.
You are only half right. New Moon cost $50 million and made $706 million. Avatar cost $237 million and have made about 2,6 billion dollars so far. Avatar cost 4,47 times more than New Moon.
4,47*$706 million = 3,155 billion dollars. New Moon is more profitable than Avatar.
say what???
why are you even comparing this to avatar? ? ?
do you think this is a threat to avatar’s “record”?
my goodness this is getting pathetic.
Will it have legs? In a word, no. Avatar was the exception to the rule; AIW is going to show us how a typical blockbuster behaves.
Does it have legs? Pal, I wouldn’t be surprised if it walks all over everything out there.
this film dies next week does not come near Avatar
eh, i hope it does.
avatar was ok, but didn’t deserve all the attention it got, it was pretty, but that’s all. there was absolutely nothing new brought to the screen outside of the special effects.
But a 120 million dollar opening weekend means everything. At this rate it will make more than easily make more than 250 million dollars domestically and I wouldn’t be surprised if it made more than 300 million and then another 300 million or more overseas. This movie should easily be able to make about 700 million dollars worldwide which would be a huge hit.
I’m waiting for all of the “Inflation Adjusted Gross” people to start saying that it’s a flop, it won’t be profitable, and it doesn’t really matter because of the higher ticket prices for 3-D and IMAX theaters…
I’m thinking a huge opening but so-so work-of-mouth and a huge 2nd weekend drop-off so $300MM is a stretch….
a 120 million dollar opening is nothing to sneeze at — and you’re worried about legs? At it’s worst, it would still go above 200 million.
Makes you wonder why Disney is choosing for a shorter direct to video on this one.
I thought the quicker DVD release was only in International territories due to the World Cup.
I’m not saying a 120MIL weekend is bad, that is very good. I don’t think it will beat Avatar in the long run. But it will make a profit.
I enjoyed it but, than, I had zero expectations because Charlie And the Chocolate Factory is one of the worst movies I`ve ever seen. Depp was grating (couldn`t understand 90% of his Scottishwhatever jibberish) and the ending fell flat on its face, but it had endearing moments and was absolutely gorgeous to look at. Crowd loved it and clapped like mad but I`m hearing about opposite reactions from other people. So minimum 50% drop looks to be in the cards. Still staggering success. Now bring on Clash of the Titans!
Awareness is very high for this pic. The current releases are not exciting the viewers much. What’s more, the collaboration of these 2 genius will sure to make the pic a surefire hit
I will give it a high of 84M and above. I reckon Friday take will be around 34M and above with an uptick on Sat and a small decline on Sun
I don’t usually guess at the box office, but since i have kids who were put off by the dark look of Alice (they both thought the trailer was “too scary”) I thought the film wouldn’t do very well.
I was wrong and my kids are – clearly – fraidy cats.
Can’t imagine it will have legs. Not scoring well at Rotten Tomatoes or with most critics. Word of mouth as been a lot of “so so film that looks fabulous”. I’d bet it has a huge first weekend then falls back next week behind Green Zone.
Saw it today @12:15.
Pretty crowded for a Friday Afternoon
LOVED IT!!
Alice in Wonderland owes most of its opening weekend solely to Avatar. It’s only doing this good by default, because it forced Avatar out of so many 3D engagements. It also had the benefit of being the main trailer attached to Avatar at what seemed like 100% of Avatar’s showings. And, of course, Avatar has convinced audiences that 3D can be great and made people hungry for more. Of course, Alice is a huge brand name so, just like Transformers 2, it’s going to have a big opening. But it will see massive drops from here on out once people realize Burton has butchered yet more classic characters to fit his own twisted, perverse, sadomasochistic and painfully unentertaining visions. He’s done it to Batman, Planet of the Apes and Willy Wonka before. This sad little excuse for a man shouldn’t be let near another beloved classic of the culture ever again.
Unfortunately thanks to Burton and this movie we are now back to post-production converted digital 3D, a style which compares to genuine Avatar-style dual-camera 3D the same way that Ted Turner’s colorized It’s a Wonderful Life compares to the glorious Technicolor Gone with the Wind. Fake, digitized, post-production 3D is the same weak sauce we’ve been seeing on every 3D movie before. It will continue to do NOTHING to convince people that 3D is the wave of the future that all movies should be seen in. Unless the rest of Hollywood takes Cameron’s lead and films their movies in PROPER 3D, the whole thing could become just another William Castle-like fad in the end. If that happens, theaters will be sorry they poured money into the technology. Theaters more than anyone need to tell Hollywood to make 3D movies the right away because their business is going to suffer badly if Hollywood drops the ball on this. Cameron, Spielberg and Jackson cannot be the only ones who film in genuine 3D or the industry will see this revolution evaporate faster than it started.
Here’s a guy who knows what he’s talking about. Good post Eric.
Amen!
and…. he did it without using inferior words.
Solid post sir. Couldn’t agree with you more on every point you made.
Burton butchered Batman? That’s crazy talk.
lol…Cameron, Spielberg, Jackson…three terrible MOR hacks…you are welcome to them, good sir
WHAAAAAAAAAT?
Biggest Shocker of the year.
I caught an Alice matinee. I hated it. I actually walked out near the end when it became Lord of the Rings lite. Pretty 3D visuals marred by an awful reconfiguring of the classic story template. It actually tries to ratchet up doubt and suspense about whether the eponymous character is the real person who shifted the Wonderland landscape as a child. There’s a lot of crap crammed into each frame, but the whole enterprise is still dishwater dull. And honestly, the routine of Burton burying Depp underneath garish makeup and prosthetics is starting to wear dangerously thin. The Mad Hatter never registers as anything other than Johnny Depp doing the same, tired shtick from all of his other Burton collaborations.
It’ll be championed only by Burton apologists and people who like to say Ooh and Aah without thinking about a story too much. The people who ripped Avatar because of their allegation that it wasn’t revolutionary enough in the storytelling department had better deem it the prohibitive favorite for worst film of 2010 to maintain evaluative consistency. Maybe I have an Avatar hangover or something because I was hoping for a similar immersive experience and instead I was filled with dread about what can go wrong with the 3D format when it’s in the hands of a once-great director who’s clearly resting on his laurels.
Never underestimate the power of Johnny Depp I suppose. The problem with Alice is no one is going to say, “Jesus, hey Marge, you gotta see this Alice in Wonderland movie in 3D, the tickets are 15 dollars, but the movie is incredible!”. The movie just won’t have legs. Deadline can talk all it wants about blowing away Avatar’s opening weekend. But Alice won’t make $700+ million, or 2.6 billion worldwide. Not an icecube’s fucking chance in the coldest depths of hell. Sorry, but it had to be said.
johndoe you are my hero. you are so smart. you are so loyal an avatar follower it makes the rest of us blush with shame & envy. you will be rewarded well in heaven for your incredible loyalty. you CERTAINLY know what yu are talking about.
goodby my love. my lord. my…avatar….
wtf?
Thanks. It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m already sick of hearing that Alice in Wonderland opened bigger than Avatar. Guess what folks? Avatar didn’t open that big!
Ouch, Avatar took quite a hit. Alice’s numbers are amazing, it will be interesting to see if How to Train Your Dragon and Clash of the Titans continue this trend of 3d movies exceeding expectations or if they will lead to oversaturation.
“Avatar” “took quite a hit”? lol
Considering it’s been out only 11 weeks and has already made $715 million domestic and over $2.5 billion so far, I don’t think anyone’s complaining that it’s only fallen to #7, with it being #2 every non-weekend day for the past 2 weeks.
It’s had no competition till now.
Yeesh, the Avatar fanatics are out in full force on this thread…
Yay and Hurray for Alice!! down with little blue aliens.
Thank U!!!!
No way will ALICE have the same “legs” AVATAR had. It had bad reviews and its word-of-mouth will not be as strong and it will not have as many diehard fans.
But it will end up making a crazy amount of money even if it drops 50% or more next weekend. I’m thinking 340 million domestically and 850 million WW.
I’m disappointed about AVATAR though. I really wanted it to go past 750 million domestically but will end up stopping around 740 million, and $2.725 billion WW … which of course is not too shabby.
Nikki, you’ve got to stop the snide little remarks about Avatar. Alice will never reach its global cume. Avatar was only the 28th highest opening weekend in 2009. 28th!! If Alice beats its opening, I should hope so!! But it won’t be doing “better” for a very long time.
Very nice so far for Alice in Wonderland, it won’t have the legs of Avatar but it should end up very big. To say that Brooklyn’s Finest opened like most R rated action flicks is absolutely silly. Their is no specific range that films in this genre open to, and this one was expected to open to numbers far less than this. It’s actually rather surprising how well it performed opening day, as it’s tracking was showing a high single digit weekend in most cases.
The movie isn’t very good – I expect the profit to die out fairly quickly.
How much did midnight showings bring in?
Really? People aren’t tired of Depp and Burton yet?
You might want to update that figure armand. This is going to be huge.
Looks like a movie you need to see on big screen rather than dvd, so likely has some legs depending on reviews.
With these great numbers (Avatar, Shuttle Island and this one), wonder if the studios are re-thinking their production cutoffs? People might be treating going to the movies as the new vacation in today’s new normal. The more spectacular the movie, the most interest.
The pic of Helena Bonham-Carter is freaky. Burton certainly has a way with things. Recommend his recent interview on Charlie Rose.
you can’t compare this with Avatar– just look at their running lengths. way more Alices per day . Avatar 4 the most . Funny lat night I tried to get in for Alice . it was all sold out so people were going back to Avatar- it was sold out also
It might open huge, but it will not last. I haven’t spoken to anyone that has liked it yet.
My IMAX sold out every Friday showing a few days in advance, and only the 11 AM and 10 PM on Saturday are not yet sold out (though both will be before long). Clearly, this is at least opening a lot better than Avatar, but no it will not have very good legs, at least nowhere near the vicinity of Avatar. If it makes $120 million this weekend, I call a sub-$300 million total.
Alice has to thank Avatar for that huge opening. Everyone that saw the James Cameron flick remembers the smiling cat in the Alice trailer. It’s definately a win on it’s own but they should send Fox some cash.
This rarely happens but I’m stunned the figure is so high. Usually I at least have some inclination to see 100m + openers (unless it’s Transformers 2) but nothing about this film tempts me to see it. I expect a massive drop next weekend, that’s for sure.
Wow, I don’t think any of us thought this would happen, I was guessing 70 million at the highest, but this is going to make atleast 250 million domestic.
But I would guess it’s going to make almost 300 million domestic and huge worldwide returns.
I do believe it is heavily front-loaded and will most likely drop 50%+ next week. Its a pity that Avatar only made 1.3m on Friday considering it made 1.6m on Thursday. The loss of 3d theaters really affected the film. That’s going to be tough for future releases trying to balance out 3d space, but then again on Avatar’s 13th weekend, i guess that was expected. 750m will be a stretch at this point.
Saw Alice last night and thought it was spectacular. I’m not always a big Tim Burton fan. But this is HIS movie. Not Depp’s.
I think you’ll either love the movie and the visuals or you’ll hate it. Don’t know that there will be much in between ground.
That being said. Any mention or comparison to Avatar’s BO is ridonkulous. Alice may hit 300m but it’s not getting anywhere close to Avatar. I am not an Avatar-lover, either. Haven’t even seen it. I just know that those types of numbers are rare. Plus Alice will be off of 3D screens in 3 weeks vs. Avatars 10.
good news. Would that the public began to take to heart the message of Alice in Wonderland and question the radical nonsense perpetrated on them by those in authority like criminal banksters and fake government leaders.
Black is white and the red queen is ruling right now.
one of the most idiotic comments on here ever.
Spot on comment, buddhabob. Saw this film, loved it, visually amazing with story to match, with its subversive subtext against the current administration. This film is an event, it is going to huge with the young — as a story of rebellion against the status quo. Let the tea parties begin…
Boring movie with fun characters. Word of mouth will bring it down, and like a previous comment states, noooo leeeggs. I’m disappoitned i contributed to a big opening weekend.
who cares if it has legs. If some people dont like it others might. you know i heard the same crap from those who didnt like Shutter Island. Yet S.I. is not a bad movie, no word of mouth killed it and it has a good enough run going that other movies would kill for.
Seems like a lot of people were saying the same thing about Avatar. No one knows until the show is over, predictions are meaningless. The one thing that will hurt Alice is it’s straight to video in 12 weeks.
I have a feeling Iger and Disney will reconsider that move. Disney has reconsidered moves in the past. Believe me if Disney is still making money in 12 weeks off of Alice in theaters they will squeeze more out of it
Who cares if it has no legs. We are not talking about another Avatar movie here. It will easily make 250 million dollars domestically and has a good chance to hit 300 million dollars. That is a huge hit no matter what you naysayers think.
This movie does not grab my attention, it kind of reminds of the Mike Myers Dr. Seuss movie, that was a corny movie.
unoriginal,empty and boring movie with great set and clothes!
why did i see this movie ? i dislike Burton movies since “ed wood”
Wonder if Iger will regret winning that shortened window fight.
Wow… what amazes me is that this title has been sitting in public domain forever and could’ve been made by any studio. No one owns the rights to Alice In Wonderland. Good for the producers and Disney for capitalizing on this. I just can’t believe this wasn’t done sooner. I guess it’s perfect timing with 3D being hot right now.
3-D won’t be enough to make a movie hit, year after year. Sure the higher ticket prices help, but how about the tenth movie to come out in 3-D? Will it be able to pull in huge box office out of 3-D ticket prices alone?
I also wonder how much of the theatrical box office was sold off to finance the movie. Even Tim Burton is not cheap. The real money in DVD/VOD is unlikely to have as much oomph because you cannot charge 3-D prices.
Its also questionable how well 3-D translates into “ordinary” films without a fantastical animated/cgi world like AVATAR or ALICE. How much “better” is say, “the Hangover” in 3-D? How much more will audiences pay for it?
I think 3D will enhance any movie that’s visually interesting at all just like color does. Let’s look at Marilyn Monroe. Would you rather see her in black-and-white or color? Well, you’d probably rather see her in 3D than 2D also. But, just like color, it’s not going to put butts in the seats all by itself after the novelty wears off. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean audiences will want to go back to 2D any more than they want to go back to black-and-white. Basically 3D (or color) will make a movie that’s already good even better, but it can’t make a bad movie good.
Word of mouth will kill imho, I saw it first thing in the am on friday and was not in love with it found it preachy and violent.
And I am a big fan of Depp so I forgive him a lot. Funny thing is his Mad Hatter was a snore..and Alice was too frankly.
I loved the movie and I am old enough to appreciate the Lewis Carroll books. Having said that, my grandchildren are too young to see it because of the intense scenes. I will buy the DVD and save it for the future. I thought it was very creative and the visuals were wonderful. Mad Hatter was meant for Johnny Depp and he never disappoints when he protrays the over the top characters.
I’d hold off on buying it until it joins Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Planet of the Apes in Walmart’s $5.00 bins.
I spent many years in film distribution. I have not seen the film so will only state things based on historic openings that are for good to great films. From what I understand this is a deep and well made film that offers much to return viewers.
If it hits 120 mil for the weekend it will do no less than 150 mil for the week. That translates to about 350 to 400 for the USA- Canada
box office. 700 to 800 mil in total BO is reasonable. Big hit.
Wow…I knew AIW would open big but 120 mil big,.not expecting that. After seeing AVATAR and now witnessing this enormous success from ALICE I only got one thing to say,.oh god I can’t wait for TRON LEGACY 3D!!! Now that we seem to be in the 3D coming of age it will be interesting to see how other 3D format movies perform and are received through the viewer. We’ve had our first dances with wolves stylish meets 9foot Avatar(boring) and now cut princess type falls in a hole, meets weird characters plus Depp trippin on acid(lame). Now that we got that mess out the way I think we all ready for a knock down, drag out matrix+ blade runner+ star wars+ tron light biking, gladiator martial arts disk battling, bad ass, kick ass, adrenaline pumping 3D movie. Put a muzzle on these boring ass movies. AIW does 120mil I think I see 200mil for TRON. CAN’T WAIT!!
Great reaction to Tron Legacy trailer in my sold out AIW show. The buzz is building for this one. Hopefully, it lives up to expecations. Looks incredible.
I don’t agree with your assessment of Avatar being like Dances with Wolves (I’m guessing you haven’t even seen that movie), but I do share your hope that Tron Legacy is good, because I’ve seen the original film, and its fuckin’ terrible.
Actaully i did see AVATAR and it was a borefest from beginning to end. You sound a little contradicting if you dont mind me saying so. You share my hope for TRON to be good (translation, im really hyped to see this movie) but you thought the first one was terrible. You dont usually have aperson that was so dissapointed with an original movie and then so hopeful and anticipating its sequel…guess you are just special.
LOL, boring? That’s why Avatar sold over 250 million tickets worldwide, because people like boring movies, right? Avatar was absolutely engrossing and enthralling from start to finish, with incredible action scenes, not slow-motion, fruity “dance numbers” like the Matrix movies subjected us to. And if you’re looking for a boring science-fiction movie that takes all the patience of sitting through church and Sunday school to get through, Blade Runner’s definitely the one. And, yeah, Avatar WAS the Star Wars of its decade, an absolutely revolutionary special effects picture that rivets your attention to the screen, gives you an out-of-body sensory experience, tells an incredible classical story of a hero’s journey and knocks your socks off with a powerful action climax. I wish the best for Tron, but there isn’t any director working today who can put together a more exciting, involving and visually stunning special effects picture than James Cameron.
I wish you were kidding. When it came time to hang a vision on his technique, Cameron swung mightily for the infield grass. And connected.
Avatar was Hollywood’s highest ever ratio of spectacle to believability. It defined film bling.
Avatar was in that regard the inverse of dozens of classics dating back fifty or more years, many of which blew you out of the chair in black and white and monophonic sound. Bleh.
Its obvious your a avid AVATAR supporter but I have a suggestion…could you back James Cameron’s nuts just a little bit. You do realize everything you just thought then proceeding to write is blasphemous. Every movie you just put down happen to be all classics and revolutionary cinematic classics each time re-writing the game, raising the bar on sci-fi, action genre, and the use of CGI, FX, fight choreography and on and on I can go. What are you nuts? Are you nuts man? Are you sitting at home smoking crack in your underwear or something? Your comparing AVATAR to the likes of the MATRIX and STAR WARS. AVATAR better than STAR WARS, I don’t think so man. There’s no comparing to those movies. AVATAR is AVATAR and the MATRIX and STAR WARS are AMC classics that will forever live in the minds of many, movie lore. They stand alone by themselves and there is comparing and there are many that would agree with me. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
I didn’t say Avatar is better than Star Wars. I said it’s on the same level. But, hell, yeah, Avatar is better than the Matrix and Blade Runner. Not saying either of those are bad movies but I’m saying they have far more weaknesses and flaws to them than Avatar does, not the least of which is that they’re both relatively boring stories and the excitement of the action scenes is lessened by too much artificial slow-mo and over-stylized choreography. The only major thing both those films have going for them is pretty art direction and visual design. Other than that they’re somewhat empty and bloodless. And on top of that they are painfully and incredibly overrated, at least by geeks on the internet. The major movie critics got it right though, on Rotten Tomatoes they rate The Matrix a 68% while they rate Avatar a 94%. Those are about the grades I’d give each of them myself.
That’s not something I’m reacting to on the spot, that’s an argument I’ve been making about those movies for years to anyone who wants to listen. It’s funny you bring up the term “blasphemy” because that’s exactly the kind of cultlike fervor that people build up around those movies. You guys act like you can’t be a “sophisticated” filmgoer unless you join the club, drink the kool-aid, pick the exact same “greatest films of all time” as everyone else and never question them. You guys think you are so hip when in reality you’re just sheep that are conforming to everyone else’s views around you. The “signal” goes out from your leaders and you adopt the opinion they tell you to have so that you can retain your status in the group. Very boring approach to life.
I think you meant to say Dances with Wolves meets Fern Gully, ADIX.
Are you listening Hollywood? Build a film in the sci-fi genre in 3D that actually makes points, addresses the human experience, asks questions, disperses some of the many myths of these postmodern times, and pushes the boundaries.
You’ve got the better part of a century of literature in the genre; so what are you waiting for?
Conversely, if you’re going to make swashbuckling pot-boilers – I love em as much as the next viewer – then go put some Larry Niven on film – you could build entire franchises from just one of his many parallel bloodlines. That would be a wonder even without the overarching themes and meaning I’d really love to see you finally get into in the post Star Wars, post Matrix, post LOTR era.
I saw this movie last night,while it was visually beautiful the story was quite average as a matter of fact the movie was down right boring
Boring, eh??? So it’s just like Avatar, which was a complete bore — and we all know how that did.
Saw it today because of the hype.
Very good movie that should touch and hold a crowd for weeks.
can’t wait to see it!!!
Well Alice in Wonderland opened at all the metro cinemas in Jackson and it didn’t in Vicksburg ms. However,this afternoon when I bought my dvd of 2012 I learned that owners of Wilcox Theatres are Morman in Relegion thmxs to the cashier. Now when does a cinema gets picky with for its audience especially when the operator shows posters for Alice in Wonderland and doesn’t open it? Are they discriminating against the audience who I can tell u here in the heart of the bible belt are Bapisits and all sorts. This type of bad descion making only hurts your business in the long run. It may explain last year why Hannah Montana the movie didn’t open on its opening weekend either. If relegion is used in business matters like what for what’s best for your local audience. Well it ain’t going to work. Why? they’ll go see it in the metro markets but that’s how the business goes.
Does Cameron have patent exclusivity on his fusion camera system? Will other companies have to invent their own dual-lens apparatus to replicate the crispness of Avatar’s 3D?
I’m sure Cameron would be willing to lease out his tech for a reasonable fee. After all, a big part of Lucas’ fortune comes from letting other filmmakers hire ILM for their projects…)
oh my, Curious says that Avatar is “crisper” than Alice.
oh my, oh heavens to betsy….
…I better not see Avatar because its just not as “crisp” as Alice…
….oh my oh my. and it must be true because Curious saw both so it must be true. and everyone who saw Avatar just luvs it and they also just hate Alice so oh my oh my….
…thank you lord for sending johndoe and now Curious to show how wrong my thoughts & feelings were for Alice. I must relent and let Alice go.
all hail Curious george. Because he said it, it must be true.
all hail Avatar for the “crispness” of its images in 3D.
May only rot and ruin follow Alice.
May Alice NEVAR rise to the heights of the “mighty & famous AVATAR”….
….because, there is no god like Avatar and there is no prophet like cameron…
…all hail satar…
oops…i mean
“all hail Avatar”
“all hail Avatar”
“all hail Avatar”
yadda yadda yadda
oy vei…
No they won’t. The technology was used before ‘AVATAR’ in ‘JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3-D’. It’s just that ‘AVATAR’ was bigger and more indulgent with the immersion.
Let me Google that for you…actually it turns out his 3D camera system was designed and used for his Imax documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep. But other people do license the technology from him. Apparently his camera was also previously used on Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. It is also being used on Tron Legacy (good news!) and at sporting events such as the 2007 NBA finals.
Say what you like in the States, I reckon the overseas take of this movie will probably push the worldwide box office to over one billion.
James
I LOVED IT! LOVED THIS WHACKED OUT-DARK AS HELL FANTASY!!!
Way better than Avartard in 3D effects and story. Yeah it wasn’t Johnny Depp’s finest hour, so what, nevertheless it managed to hold itself together. Tim Burton’s best since Sleepy Hollow imho. I really can’t understand the negative lobbied at this flick. It’s a good time folks. Definitely going again.
Wow, what a big box office weekend with many surprises.
1. AiW – I knew this would open well, but THIS big?! Blowing all other first-quarter of the year opening out of the water, ALICE should finish near $300M. The Friday early matinee strength showed that older people and parents with little kids were out in full force. These were the quadrants people were wondering if they’d show up. However,the small Saturday bump is troublesome, however, with such a monster opening day, a big bump was unlikely. While I see this having better legs than WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE which crashed and burned, parents seem to be OK bringing little tykes to this. This will not have great legs, but should have a good multiplier. IMAX is really benefiting (the format I saw it in. *** out of ****. Anyone else not able to understand Depp’s rambles?) and though the 3D was post-converted, it still looked good since it was planned to be 3D while shooting, not like CLASH. While there is no major releases coming up for the next two weeks where DRAGON and CLASH will steal its 3D screens, 3-4 films will be released so it might lose a screen or two just due to volume.
2. BROOKLYN’S FINEST – Seeming DOA with a $6-8M opening, this flick pulled in decent numbers. Depending on how well it holds, OVERTURE may see another decent profit (wierd how they released this right after CRAZIES).
3. SHUTTER ISLAND – With a lighter drop than expected, $100M mark should be cracked before Friday. $125-135M final.
4. COP OUT – Damn! I really wanted this to crash and burn, but no such luck. $50M is doable, but with the amount of comedies coming out in the next few weeks, I don’t see this holding onto many screens.
5. AVATAR – While Friday looked scary for this pic with barely any boost, the big Saturday bump and light Sunday drop had this flick hold pretty well against losing almost all of its 3D screens. However, Oscar weekend helped its case. Also, one of my theaters has 2 3d screens and an IMAX and they gave AVATAR one of the 3D screens. When I peaked in it looked pretty packed so there are people that still are paying. $750M could be possible, but not likely due to the onslaught of 3D pics in the upcoming weeks.
6. THE CRAZIES – How badly I wanted this to hold good, but like eveyr other horror pic, it crumbled. Due to COP OUTS better hold and how many movies are coming out, CRAZIES is likely to be lose its screens first. A $38-42M final is likely unless it has some shocking monster holds.
7. PERCY JACKSON – While the second-weekend tumble killed the films momentum at cracking $100M, the good holds, warm audience reaction, and strong overseas numbers against a $95M budget is probably enough for Fox to commission a sequel. PERCY has outdid other likeminded films released to capitilize on the POTTER phenomenon and with that soon out of the picture, PERCY might fill the void even if it isn’t in the same major box office capicity.
8. V-DAY – Another steep drop for the rom-com-ble spells disaster next weekend where it will likely lose most of its show times to the 4 new pics arriving.
9. DEAR JOHN – A strong hold is likely this films last hurrah once REMEMBER ME opens next weekend. $82M-85M final is likely, or just enough to surpass THE NOTEBOOK’s final tally. Another in a long line of winners for ScreenGems.
10. CRAZY HEART – With an Oscar boost, only to be capitalized upon next week even more so after Bridges’ “assumingly” takes home his statue, SEARCHLIGHT strikes gold AND green again.
OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 BUT NOTABLE
THE WOLFMAN (#11) tumbles again after losing nearly half of its theaters. $65M total is more in line which is barely more than half of its OW. Hope GREEN ZONE will change Universal’s box office luck around, but I wouldn’t bet on it. TOOTH FAIRY (#12) is finally knocked out of the top 10, but it still is doing sturdy business to crack $60M which is a miracle in itself. THE GHOST WRITER (#13) expands successfully yet again, even in the midst of Oscar week were audiences usually catch up on the films they miss and next week were they see the films that win will prove another challenge, but GHOST WRITER should still do fine even though it is a crowded frame. THE BLIND SIDE (#14) cracks the magical quarter-billion mark! WOW!
Loved it. Helena Bonham Carter was amazing. Don’t go into it expecting award winning. Just go in expecting to be entertained and you will enjoy it.
Saw it in IMAX at Lincoln Square in NYC. Was surrounded by ADD 20-somethings, talking and texting. Didn’t like the film. Hated the 3D conversion.
By the most cinemas don’t have 3d tech in thier projectors. Has that been considered?
It looks like crap. Depp thinks he’s still all “strange” and “cool” but the truth is, he’s the most mainstream actor out there. Cool kids laugh at him – only fat aging mothers like him now.
I bet ‘Alice’ will be only the sixth movie to hit the billion dollar mark because it will be a huge blockbuster in the UK and the rest of Europe. So what if it only brings in 350 million in the States – the rest of the world will easily make up the difference.
James
All those who hated this film probably never read the story as kids, nor understood Carroll’s satire of the people of his time.
I saw this movie and thought it a brilliant modern take on an old story.
I suspect also that a lot of the Scots/ English cultural references are lost on those who are culturally stultified. So that makes all those commentators who hated it a bunch of Besoms.
Saw the movie, was astonished by the 3d effects. You feel like you are in the film. It is amazing and far superior to the Blue Cat people movie that really was not that impressive a 3d experience. Saw it in REAL 3D mode, best that I have seen , by a large margin. See it.
Considering most Americans live in a wonderland, it is no wonder this movie is so popular. Most Americans are clueless, feminized morons and they all need to escape the harsh reality that they live in everyday. Have a nice day – not!
Alice had one thing that Avatar did not a PLOT. It is a great movie with a young woman who grew stronger and became more sure of herself during the course of the movie. This movie was both beautiful and meaningful.
People. Get lives. Quit paying $15/ticket to wear ridiculous 3d glasses and rush home as fast as you can to tell all your ‘friends’ your ‘professional’ opinions in the comments sections, blogs, and forums that you consider your social realms.
Some of you, JohnDoe included, post so much cheerleader crap it begs to question if you are being paid by the studio. Sad part is, you’re not.
Get a life outside of watching extreme fantasy sci-fi flicks in dark movie theaters with adolescents, and take a big step in to the world of reality. You’ll be shocked at how badly you’ve stunted true social development.
To me this looks like it’ll be even worse than Willy Wonka (the super-strange remake).
Umm, no thanks. Never cared much for Tim Burton’s stuff. Too out there for my tastes.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND IS # 1. SUCK IT YOU HATERS!
Two words– JOHNNY DEPP!!!
This movie rates a “Fresh” 61% from the ROTTEN TOMATOES “Top Critics.” That’s more than enough critical approval to support any ultimate gross one might want to imagine.
Also, the disapproving critics seem mostly off base on matters that are likely to affect the gross. Some of them are obvious Carroll purists or have strong personal views of the source material that differ from the movie. Those are OK as bases for criticism, but they are unlikely to affect the gross much.
Then there are the critics who complain that the movie is too “predictable.” But it’s is made from classic, well-known source material and the trick with that kind of material is to make the movie “predictable” enough so the source isn’t violated, but to update it enough so it’s fresh. I haven’t seen a single review that makes a persuasive argument that Burton failed on those counts. That source material has the legs of a linebacker. Bottom line: My guess is that this movie derived from that material is going to have very strong legs, too.
There was a BIG SNOWSTORM the opening weekend of Avatar. That is the ONLY reason this movie beat the numbers.
Both movies are VERY GOOD. Go see them!!
I saw it in 2D. I don’t like 3D and the graphics are fine in 2D.
The movie was okay, but being a fan of the book, I think Burton went a little too off topic not including 1) The trial about the Tarts, 2) The Walrus and the Oysters, and 3) the Chef who used pepper in everything.
The best actors in this movie were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and the Red Queen. Alice should have been younger…
Any thoughts on “Brooklyn’s Finest”? Good or bad, it’s a movie for us old foggies who like our movies a little bit more down-to-earth. Message to Hollywood: there are still people in the world 40 and older who aren’t into CGI-filled fantasy films. It would be nice to see Burton do another movie with Michael Keaton. Burton and Depp are becoming monotonous.
Bad movies seem to be the most popular of late.
Looking forward to this dream story!
better than Avatar. has the feel of a modern day Wizard of Oz… will see it again. and most likely many times with the grandkids.
I can’t wait for the 3-D remake of My Dinner with Andre!
Why has no one mentioned the PG rating? I’m sure that is boosting ticket sales due to a larger audience.
WOW
Impressive!
Tim Burton should call and say Thank You to James Cameron.
The film is even better upon a second viewing. As for not understanding Depp’s Scottish-like accent, you’re really not supposed too. He’s speaking Underlandish. It’s gibberish.
I thought every actor did a fantastic job, particularly Mia and Helena.
Congrats to Tim Burton. This is truly some of his best work and I look forward to Dark Shadows.
Is it possible for Burton to get some new ideas and some new art design? Seriously, the bloke’s films have looked and felt the same for 20 years.
It’s a kids movie only if your kids are psychotic.
That might just be Burton’s view of the world.
Well those of us who were psychotic kids will enjoy it.
I remember someone posting on here a few weeks back that Alice In Wonderland will beat Avatar’s total and make over $1 Billion domestically…Hahaha I know, still cracks me up.
But this opening is amazing! Especially when the experts predicted $65 million to $85 million and no one thought it would get even close to $100 million.
I think this movie will actually hold pretty well. It’s not a frontloaded sequel. On the other hand, it is based on a famous story/movie. Tim Burton’s own “re-imagining” of Planet Of The Apes opened big and then fell badly. There are other similar movies based on stories that are well known, that ended up falling dramatically from opening weekend to the second weekend. If people don’t like the product, they won’t go back, and they will tell their friends not to go at all.
But with Alice In Wonderland, whether people actually like the movie or not, they will still tell people to see it just because the effects and the overall look of the film is so amazing.
There are two really big factors that should help this movie continue with a good run at the theater.
One, it is a movie that appeals to all age groups. Older people know the story and that is the reason they want to see it. Younger adults have grown up with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton movies, so that’s why they are interested in it. Teens like the big movies will cool effects, so that’s why they want to see it.
The second reason the movie will continue doing well can already be seen by the bump in attendance from Friday to Saturday. This is a PG-rated family film. This is a family film that parents don’t mind taking their kids to. It is a visual feast that will keep their kids’ attention, while the parents can also enjoy it since they know the story and have Johnny Depp to watch, and also the cool effects.
Family movies hold well. And Alice In Wonderland will continue that trend. While it will definetely drop bigger than most family movies, especially in its second weekend, the movie will not see the significant drops of movies like Planet Of The Apes or the Twilight movies, among others.
This movie will make over $300 million easily. It’s up to word of mouth whether it can reach $400 million+.
reading the blogs i will have to agree this is a one week wonder. where as avatar being more of a adult movie giving it more legs. but i went to see alice with my grandson to be honest i fell asleep! parents wont take their kids back if the have to sit thru that again and pay $$11! bet on it. i am surprised the cop show did poorly? with the kids at home next week expect it to do better! in my opinion like all tim burton movies one week wonders like chocolate factory. has this guy ever made a movie that made money?
The film is exactly like Avaturd: a visually stunning, trite, mish-mash of tied old storylines with paper thin characters and a predictably boring plot. I would say it’s a bit better than Avaturd which in my opinion is the shiniest piece of crap ever made. This is just a little less shiny which makes it a bit more charming (thanks to Alice).
@CRAPTESTIC: great post man! People like you, myself, and a few others I understand are in the minority but I couldn’t agree with you more. AVATRAVESTY was the most over done, most expensive piece of shit movie I have ever experienced.
I like how people try to outdo each other with giving Avatar a new name…”Avatard”, “Avaturd”, “Avatravesty” (although that one is kind of a stretch).
Not sure what your educational backgrounds are, but your maturity level is about equal to that of a 12 or 13-year-old (although I think 12 and 13-year-olds might be offended by that comment).
But I can’t blame you. When people want to be heard, they have to take drastic measures.
I don’t know who the most annoying people are? The people that love Avatar and think its the greatest movie ever, or the people that try to come up with new ways to turn “Avatar” into some hybrid word that seems funny but actually isn’t.
I like Avatar. It was good. Not great! Not the Best Picture ever made. Not even the Best Picture to come out over the past year. Not even one of the top 100 movies ever made. Kinda made me feel bummed out when I left the theater, but it was still cool to see the effects. And that’s all that matters. The new effects. I definetely didn’t go for the story or to find meaning in life. Just wanted to see some cool new effects, and it delivered that.
Bully for Timmy! Personally, I don’t care how brilliant Cameron is, he’s an utter horse’s ass. I hope his little blue smurflings go down in royal flames. Burton never disappoints. I go to the movies to be entertained, not to be re-educated.
Cheers to Alice!
If you follow the industry news like Nikki, then you would know that there are over 20 films going 3D in the theaters this year. A lot of them are post production conversions to 3D. Clash of the Titans is an example. Its release was delayed a week to allow for the conversion time. The special effects look good but the original film was a dog in that aspect. Hopefully the story was improved to match the remakes’ visuals.
Toy Story 3 is the next film that will probably be real 3D. I would like Nikki to do a list of the films coming and sort out the real 3D films from the 2D conversions.
A lot of “cassics” are now undergoing the conversion. Such as Lord Of the Rings and the Star Wars series. There are not enough theaters with 3D to handle even two big 3D releases at once.
Avatar succeeded, like past Cameron films, by delivering a great visual experience with an interesting NEW story. Most are science fiction where historical accuracy is not needed – such as Titanic. While the franchises like Harry Potter can deliver on seat sales in a consistant manner, most single films cannot. The downside is people tire of the long storyline archs and years needed to see them. They have taken the short serials idea and made them longer.
The studios keep redoing old films, good or bad, rather than originating new films with NEW characters and thrills. In the end the story is everything. The audiences yearn for a good story and a new one, not remakes over and over and over.
True 3D can be a fabulous visual enhancement for depth of field. But 2d in its best presentation can be too. A few weeks back I saw the Seattle Art Museum presentation of The Red Shoes in the restored 2D techicolor print. It was the very print Scorcese took to the Cannes Film Festival. It was an immaculate print and the restoration began with the original three strip negatives. I have the movie on Laserdisc and had watched lots of times. Its a classic for its period, like lots of Powell and Pressburger films. I noted to Moira Macdonald, the Seattle Times reviewer, that after all of viewings I had on video, I had NEVER SEEN this movie until seeing the restored print. This will look great on the new DVD release later this year.
All of the qualities of a film makes me decide which I will buy on DVD. Avatar is one, The Time Travelers Wife is another. Most films are not worthy of a second viewing, or even a first.
CHEERS…Mathew
Most of these comments seem as negative as if having been spewed forth by The Red Queen. It is not the same “old Alice in Wonderland story”, but a creative extension of the original.
In my opinion, there were a few inappropriate situations thrown in which detracted from the production. One example was when The White Queen brewed a witch potion with dead people’s fingers and other black magic-type items in order to change Alice’s size again. Another situation which did not ring true was that instead of 1800s Alice getting married, she was put in a top executive-type position aboard a worldwide sailing expedition at the close of the film. Inappropriate in my opinion because then was not today.
Otherwise, there is much food for thought in the script and the presentation. The movie was brilliant!
Avatar is awesome and has simply whetted our appetites for more extraordinary productions in 3-D.
Wet our appetite for forth coming 3D productions is the only thing AVATAR accomplished because it certainly wasn’t a great or awesome. It was actually quite boring. Besides pretty colors and 3D technology which in itself was not exciting the whole natives saving their land from the industrialization of mankind story was quite a bore. Now that our appetites are wet we can move ahead with more hotly anticipated 3D releases like TRON LEGACY 3D. The early trailers and footage for this event look absolutely incredible. Can’t wait!
A lot of love for Avatar, here. While the 3D was great, the plot was little more than eco-propaganda. Evil capitalists killing the “Tree of life”? Ugh.
Next up: China’s “Long March” in 3D!
Saw the movie yesterday. I was entertained and thought the second half of the movie was very good. Had a good time with friends and everyone in the theater seemed to enjoy it.
Don’t you people get tired of saying “BIGGEST OPENING EVER” for a movie most educated individuals will probably ignore? And this, another queeny Tim Burton film (with a Queen character) and Johnny Depp again appearing as the dude in lipstick?
I’m sorry, but is there a point to your post?