Steve’s Box Office Report: 2012
So we have finally reached the end of the year and I believe that it is only fitting that we do a final recap of the year in general. The way this will work is that I will first take all the films that were number one in their respective month and rank them by the amount of money that they made. I will then include a list of films that all made over $100 million in their run into a separate list that will be considered honorable mentions. Next, I will list all the winners and losers from each respective month and after calculating the profits and net losses, I will rank the top 10 winners and losers of the year. Next, I will list all the stories/surprises from the year and list my top 3 for the year, and then I will list the overachievers and underachievers before forming a top 5 of the year for both based on box figures and personal opinion. After that, I will list all the films from each month that were nominated for the big 3 awards (Academy, Golden Globe, and Golden Raspberry) and then list the films that won each of those awards (number of awards won by number of awards nominated for). Finally, I will give my overall thoughts of the year in general and rank the months by grade before giving a final grade for the year.
The Number One Films of 2012:
1. Marvel’s the Avengers – $623,357,910 (May)
2. The Dark Knight Rises – $448,139,099 (July)
3. The Hunger Games – $408,010,692 (March)
4. Skyfall – $304,360,277 (November)
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – $303,003,568 (December)
6. Brave – $237,283,207 (June)
7. Hotel Transylvania – $148,313,048 (September)
8. Taken 2 – $139,854,287 (October)
9. Safe House – $126,373,434 (February)
10. The Bourne Legacy – $113,203,870 (August)
11. Think Like a Man – $91,547,205 (April)
12. Contraband – $66,528,000 (January)
Honorable Mentions:
1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 – $292,324,737 (November)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man – $262,030,663 (July)
3. Ted – $218,815,487 (June)
4. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – $216,391,482 (June)
5. The Lorax – $214,030,500 (March)
6. Wreck-It Ralph – $189,422,889 (November)
7. Lincoln – $182,207,973 (November)
8. Men in Black 3 – $179,020,854 (May)
9. Django Unchained – $162,805,434 (December)
10. Ice Age: Continental Drift – $161,321,843 (July)
11. Snow White and the Huntsman – $155,332,381 (June)
12. Les Miserables – $148,809,770 (December)
13. 21 Jump Street – $138,447,667 (March)
14. Argo – $136,025,503 (October)
15. Silver Linings Playbook – $132,092,958 (December)
16. Prometheus – $126,477,084 (June)
17. The Vow – $125,014,030 (February)
18. Life of Pi – $124,987,023 (November)
19. Magic Mike – $113,721,571 (June)
20. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – $103,860,290 (February)
21. Rise of the Guardians – $103,412,758 (November)
Winners:
January: Contraband, the Devil Inside, the Grey, Beauty and the Beast 3D Re-Release, and the Artist
February: Safe House, the Vow, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Act of Valor, Chronicle, the Woman in Black, and Good Deeds
March: The Hunger Games, the Lorax, 21 Jump Street, and Project X
April: Think Like a Man, the Lucky One, and Chimpanzee
May: Marvel’s the Avengers, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Moonrise Kingdom
June: Brave, Ted, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Magic Mike, and Madea’s Witness Protection
July: The Dark Knight Rises, the Amazing Spider-Man, and Ice Age: Continental Drift
August: Hope Springs, the Odd Life of Timothy Green, the Possession, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, and 2016: Obama’s America
September: Hotel Transylvania, Looper, End of Watch, and House at the End of the Street
October: Taken 2, Argo, Pitch Perfect, Paranormal Activity 4, and Sinister
November: Skyfall, the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Wreck-It Ralph, Lincoln, and Flight
December: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Silver Linings Playbook, Jack Reacher, Parental Guidance, and This is 40
The Top 10 Winners of 2012:
1. Marvel’s the Avengers (May)
2. The Dark Knight Rises (July)
3. The Hunger Games (March)
4. Skyfall (November)
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December)
6. Brave (June)
7. The Amazing Spider-Man (July)
8. Hotel Transylvania (September)
9. Taken 2 (October)
10. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (November)
Losers:
January: Man on a Ledge
February: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D Re-Release
March: Wrath of the Titans, John Carter, Mirror Mirror, and A Thousand Words
April: Titanic 15th Anniversary Re-Release and the Pirates! Band of Misfits
May: Men in Black 3, Dark Shadows, and Battleship
June: Rock of Ages, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and That’s My Boy
July: The Watch
August: Total Recall
September: Resident Evil: Retribution, Finding Nemo 3D Re-Release, Trouble With the Curve, and Dredd
October: Cloud Atlas
November: Rise of the Guardians, Red Dawn, and Anna Karenina
December: Monsters Inc. 3D Re-Release and Playing for Keeps
The Top 10 Losers of 2012:
1. John Carter (March)
2. Rise of the Guardians (November)
3. Rock of Ages (June)
4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June)
5. Cloud Atlas (October)
6. Wrath of the Titans (March)
7. Men in Black 3 (May)
8. Total Recall (August)
9. Battleship (May)
10. That’s My Boy (June)
Stories:
January: Contraband overcomes horror films and award contenders to lead weak January 2012
February: Romance takes a backseat to action as “Safe House” wins overachieving February 2012
March: The odds are in “The Hunger Games” favor as the film easily takes top spot of March 2012
April: “Think Like a Man” wins tepid April 2012 as all eyes are on May
May: Heroes assemble as “The Avengers” blasts off and easily dominates May 2012
June: Pixar reclaims the top spot as “Brave” edges out “Ted” to win June 2012
July: Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy concludes on high as “Dark Knight Rises” easily takes top spot of July 2012
August: The Bourne series barely stays afloat as “Legacy” carries weak August 2012
September: Animation scares away the competition as “Hotel Transylvania” easily takes top spot of September 2012
October: “Taken 2” uses its particular skills to overcome horror films and take top spot of October 2012
November: James Bond outshines vampires as Skyfall takes the top spot of loaded November 2012
December: Middle-Earth rules once again as the first Hobbit film “An Unexpected Journey” dominates December 2012
The Top 3 Stories of 2012:
1. Heroes assemble as “The Avengers” blasts off and easily dominates May 2012
2. Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy concludes on high as “Dark Knight Rises” easily takes top spot of July 2012
3. Middle-Earth rules once again as the first Hobbit film “An Unexpected Journey” dominates December 2012
Overachievers of 2012:
January: The Devil Inside
February: The Vow
March: The Hunger Games
April: Think Like a Man
May: Marvel’s the Avengers
June: Ted
July: The Amazing Spider-Man
August: None
September: Hotel Transylvania
October: Taken 2
November: Lincoln
December: Silver Linings Playbook
The Top 5 Overachievers of 2012:
1. Marvel’s the Avengers (May)
2. The Hunger Games (March)
3. Hotel Transylvania (September)
4. Lincoln (November)
5. Ted (June)
Underachievers of 2012:
January: Beauty and the Beast 3D Re-Release
February: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D Re-Release
March: John Carter
April: American Reunion
May: Men in Black 3
June: Snow White and the Huntsman
July: Savages
August: The Bourne Legacy
September: Finding Nemo 3D Re-Release
October: Frankenweenie
November: Rise of the Guardians
December: Monsters Inc. 3D Re-Release
The Top 5 Underachievers of 2012:
1. John Carter (March)
2. Snow White and the Huntsman (June)
3. Rise of the Guardians (November)
4. Frankenweenie (October)
5. Men in Black 3 (May)
2012 Awards Watch:
January: The Artist, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the Iron Lady, and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
February: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Good Deeds
March: The Hunger Games, Wrath of the Titans, Mirror Mirror, A Thousand Words, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
April: The Three Stooges and the Pirates! Band of Misfits
May: Marvel’s the Avengers, Battleship, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting
June: Brave, Ted, Snow White and the Huntsman, Madea’s Witness Protection, That’s My Boy, and Beasts of the Southern Wild
July: Searching for Sugar Man
August: Hope Springs, Total Recall, ParaNorman, and the Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure
September: Hotel Transylvania, Resident Evil: Retribution, and the Master
October: Argo, Frankenweenie, Alex Cross, and Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike
November: Skyfall, the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Wreck-It Ralph, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Rise of the Guardians, Flight, Anna Karenina, Hitchcock, and Rust and Bone
December: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Silver Linings Playbook, the Guilt Trip, Playing for Keeps, and Amour
2012 Awards Winners:
Academy Awards: The Artist (5 out of 10), Life of Pi (4 out of 11), Argo (3 out of 7), Les Miserable (3 out of 8), the Iron Lady (2 out of 2), Django Unchained (2 out of 5), Lincoln (2 out of 12), Skyfall (2 out of 5), Silver Linings Playbook (1 out of 8), Brave (1 out of 1), Amour (1 out of 5), and Anna Karenina (1 out of 4)
Golden Globe Awards: The Artist (3 out of 6), Les Miserables (3 out of 4), Argo (2 out of 5), Django Unchained (2 out of 5), Lincoln (1 out of 7), Silver Linings Playbook (1 out of 4), Life of Pi (1 out of 3), Brave (1 out of 1), the Iron Lady (1 out of 1), and Amour (1 out of 1)
Golden Raspberry Awards: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (7 out of 11), That’s My Boy (2 out of 8), Snow White and the Huntsman (1 out of 1), and Battleship (1 out of 7)
Overall Thoughts of 2012:
Overall, the year of 2012 ended being one of the best that I’ve done to this point since starting this way back in May 2006. It is hard to believe that we are coming up on having done almost 7 years of box office recaps and there is no question that we are hitting a pivotal point in the box office. This year saw the culmination of Phase 1 of the MCU, the end of the Twilight saga as well as Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, the beginning of the Hunger Games series, and much more as this year also saw a lot of successful award contenders. After a fairly tepid 2010 and slightly better 2011, 2012 completely blows both those years out of the water and we will see if 2013 can keep the momentum going. As for the year of 2012 itself, it is easily one of the best years to this point and might end up being one of the best of the decade.
Final Rankings of Months of 2012:
1. June – A
2. November – A-
3. July – B+
4. May – B+
5. December – B+
6. March – B+
7. February – B-
8. October – C+
9. September – C
10. August – C-
11. April – D
12. January – F
Final Grade of 2012: B-
