Summer 2009 has notched a 4 per cent uptick at the North American box-office in a record performance based largely on a not-so-secret extra dimension Premium ticket charges at 3D venues fueled a bigger-than-usual 5.5 per cent increase.
In the nation’s average ticket price to $7.54. With the season’s final numbers now in, the pricier tickets helped shape a $4.30 billion summer that topped both last summer’s $4.13 billion tally and the previous seasonal record of $4.16 billion, set in summer 2007.
Still, admissions were down modestly from last summer, after accounting for the ticket-price inflation. Hollywood hasn’t marked a new summer admissions high since 2004, when 642 million tickets were sold, according to the National Association of Theatres Owners (NATO).
A total 570 million tickets were sold in summer ‘09, or 1.5 per cent fewer than in the previous summer. But despite any hand-wringing over declining ticket sales, the surge in seasonal box-office represents fresh evidence that 3D is proving to be the boon industryites have been hoping for.
“It’s certainly helping,” NATO spokesman Patrick Corcoran said. “We’ve topped $4 billion for the third straight summer, and 3D is bringing people into the theatres.” As for the drop in admissions, he added, “There are a lot of businesses that would be very happy to be selling fewer of their products for more money.”
A sharp rise in average ticket prices is likely to continue for the balance of this year and next, as the industry’s 3D rollout continues. But its impact on box-office is already clear, especially with animated titles. For Disney’s summer 3D releases Up and G-Force and a three-quel to Fox’s Ice Age, 3D grosses accounted for roughly half of the films’ respective haula. That’s particularly impressive considering 3D venues represented only about one-third of each picture’s total engagements.
Still, the summer’s top-grossing picture boasted not a single 3D playdate. Paramount’s DreamWorks-produced action sequel Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen has grossed $400 million domestically and about $830 million globally. Also, Warner Bros. was led by the $297 million charge of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, which boasts a mere 13 minutes of extra-dimensional footage.
Meanwhile, excitement over the boost in average ticket charges was offset by frustration over a still-paltry installed base of 3D systems both domestically and abroad. There were about 1,500 non-competitive 3D screens available to distributors in early summer and still fewer than 1,700 today.
The rollout of digital and 3D projection hardware has been hampered by inadequate financing. With the nation’s protracted lending crunch easing, there is spreading hope that a more rapid rollout of 3D systems soon can commence.
Four 3D pics were released this summer — counting Disney’s X Games: The Movie but not the Potter pic — compared to just one last summer (Journey To The Center Of The Earth). Seven extra-dimensional pics have unspooled since January 1 and an equal number are set for release by year’s end for a total fourteen 3-D titles.
Yet only non-3D releases spawned new film franchises this summer. Sequels already are planned for summer hits including Paramount’s military actioner G.I. Joe and Warner Bros.’ breakout comedy The Hangover. And how long can it be before Sony officially greenlights a follow-up to its sleeper scifi thriller District 9?
But despite the emphasis on big “tentpole” releases, most of the summer box-office still comes from small pictures. There were 13 $100 million grossers this summer, just one more than the previous summer and three fewer than in 2007.
“That means we had about $400 million more spread around among under-$100 million grossers this summer than in 2007,” NATO’s Corcoran said. It should be noted for year-over-year comparisons summer ’09 boasted one more weekend than last summer, due to seasonal calendar fluctuations. The fall will have one fewer frame than a year earlier, according to Nielsen EDI’s box-office calendar. Year-to-date, the industry is tracking roughly 4 per cent ahead of the same portion of last year, at $7.21 billion.