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Posts Tagged ‘The Hobbit’
by Nigel Druitt
As of last Friday, Iron Man 3 has become the latest film to gross more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. It has become only the 16th film in history to do so (at least, not adjusted for ticket price inflation), and did so in only 22 days. Now, Shane Black has become the most unlikely of candidates to have directed a billion-dollar flick.
It’s a club that’s becoming slightly less prestigious with every passing year. Foreign markets are becoming even bigger box office draws to the studios than the domestic one, and greater advertising pushes, bigger and more bloated sequels, and effects-heavy action (not to mention rising ticket prices) are leading to bigger and more top-heavy opening weekends. And it’s becoming more common: Four of these films (a full quarter of the list) were released in 2012.
Here are the 16 films that make up the Billion-Dollar Club, from the lowest- to highest-ranked on Flickchart:
- In: Unfiltered|User Showcase
- Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Avatar, Christopher Nolan, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Iron Man 3, James Bond, James Cameron, Johnny Depp, Joss Whedon, Peter Jackson, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Skyfall, Star Wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Avengers, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic, Toy Story 3, Transformers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
by Nigel Druitt
Once again, James Cameron will pioneer new filmmaking technologies in one of his movies. As his sequels to Avatar promise to spend time deep in Pandora’s oceans, Cameron and his crew will now utilize their groundbreaking performance capture technology underwater, according to producer Jon Landau.
by Nigel Druitt
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has become the 15th film to cross $1 billion (not adjusted for inflation) in worldwide ticket sales.
The first chapter of Peter Jackson‘s new trilogy based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien crossed this threshold thanks to a 10-day, $37.3 million opening in China. It is the second of Jackson’s films to do so, after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed over $1 billion after its release in 2003. This makes Jackson the third director to have helmed two billion-dollar movies, after James Cameron and Christopher Nolan.
Of the 15 billion-dollar films, only three – the top two, Cameron’s Avatar and Titanic, and Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland - were not part of pre-existing franchises. The Hobbit is the fourth film released in 2012 to hit the milestone, after The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall.
It is interesting to note that The Hobbit‘s domestic take of $301.4 million is well below that of the three Lord of the Rings films, despite having the additional boost of IMAX and 3D ticket sales. It has done far better overseas; by contrast, Return of the King grossed only $10.4 million in China. No doubt controversy over the film’s 48 frames-per-second technology diluted ticket sales, but it has still certainly proven popular enough.
Word of The Hobbit‘s success is good news for New Line and Warner Bros. after the underwhelming and potentially disastrous $28 million opening of Jack the Giant Slayer, a film that reportedly cost north of $200 million, and might prove to be an even bigger train wreck than last year’s box office bomb, John Carter (which also opened in March).
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is currently ranked #8 among 2012 films on Flickchart.
by Nigel Druitt
In this day and age of digital downloads and streaming over the Internet, DVD distributors have had to look at additional incentives to attract people into buying physical discs. And Warner Bros. has announced a new one to convince people to buy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey when it hits shelves on Tuesday, March 19.
Anybody purchasing The Hobbit on DVD or Blu-ray before Sunday, March 24 will be able to view a preview of the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, as part of a live event hosted by Peter Jackson himself at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on the 24th. To see the preview, buyers will have to enter the UltraViolet code that comes with the Blu-ray package.
An Unexpected Journey will also be available for digital download on March 12, but there is no word yet on whether customers choosing this option will be able to view the Smaug preview.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is closing in on $1 billion at the worldwide box office (which would make it the fourth film released in 2012 to hit this mark), and is currently ranked #8 for 2012 on Flickchart.
via Studio Briefing
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Reel Rumbles #43: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ vs. ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’
24, Jan 2013by Nigel Druitt
In This Corner…
One is the first chapter in an epic trilogy based on the first of three massive novels set in Middle-earth, the fictional world created by author J.R.R. Tolkien. The other is the first chapter in an epic trilogy based on a 100-page children’s book set in that same world (with additional material plundered from Tolkien’s appendices to his work, and from the screenwriters’ imaginations). Ultimately, they are epic films about high adventure, fantastical creatures, magic, swordplay, camaraderie, and magnificent New Zealand landscapes. Eleven years separate their theatrical releases; did that time allow Peter Jackson to craft a superior new adventure, or just continue to prove that the first movie in a franchise is often the best? Step into the Reel Rumbles ring and find out as we pit The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring vs. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
- In: Reel Rumbles
- Tags: 1937, 1954, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Graham McTavish, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, King Kong, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Richard Armitage, Sean Bean, Sylvester McCoy, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lovely Bones, Viggo Mortensen