Steve’s Box Office Report: 2009
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 2009:
1. Avatar – $749,766,139 (December)
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $402,111,870 (June)
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $301,959,197 (July)
4. The Twilight Saga: New Moon – $296,623,634 (November)
5. Up – $293,004,164 (May)
6. Monsters vs. Aliens – $198,351,526 (March)
7. Fast and Furious – $155,064,265 (April)
8. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – $150,201,498 (August)
9. Gran Torino – $148,095,302 (January)
10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $124,870,275 (September)
11. Couples Retreat – $109,204,945 (October)
12. He’s Just Not That Into You – $93,953,653 (February)
Honorable Mentions:
1. The Hangover – $277,322,503 (June)
2. Star Trek – $257,730,019 (May)
3. The Blind Side – $255,959,475 (November)
4. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $219,614,612 (December)
5. Sherlock Holmes – $209,028,679 (December)
6. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $196,573,705 (July)
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine – $179,883,157 (May)
8. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – $177,243,721 (May)
9. 2012 – $166,112,167 (November)
10. The Proposal – $163,958,031 (June)
11. Paul Blart: Mall Cop – $146,336,178 (January)
12. Taken – $145,000,989 (January)
13. A Christmas Carol – $137,855,863 (November)
14. Angels and Demons – $133,375,846 (May)
15. Terminator Salvation – $125,322,469 (May)
16. Inglorious Basterds – $120,540,719 (August)
17. G-Force – $119,436,770 (July)
18. District 9 – $115,646,235 (August)
19. It’s Complicated – $112,735,375 (December)
20. Paranormal Activity – $107,918,810 (October)
21. Watchmen – $107,509,799 (March)
22. The Princess and the Frog – $104,400,899 (December)
2009 Winners:
January: Gran Torino, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Taken, Hotel for Dogs, Bride Wars, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, the Unborn, the Uninvited, and the Wrestler
February: He’s Just Not That Into You, Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, and Friday the 13th
March: Monsters vs. Aliens, Knowing, I Love You, Man, and the Haunting in Connecticut
April: Fast and Furious, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Obsessed, and 17 Again
May: Up, Star Trek, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
June: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the Hangover, and the Proposal
July: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Ugly Truth, and Orphan
August: Inglorious Basterds, District 9, Julie and Julia, the Final Destination, the Time Traveler’s Wife, and (500) Days of Summer
September: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself
October: Couples Retreat, Paranormal Activity, Zombieland, and Law Abiding Citizen
November: The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the Blind Side, and Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
December: Avatar, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Sherlock Holmes, It’s Complicated, and Up in the Air
The Top 10 Winners of 2009:
1. Avatar (December)
2. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (November)
3. The Hangover (June)
4. The Blind Side (November)
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June)
6. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (December)
7. The Proposal (June)
8. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (January)
9. Taken (January)
10. Sherlock Holmes (December)
2009 Losers:
January: Inkheart
February: The Pink Panther 2 and the International
March: Watchmen
April: State of Play, the Soloist, and Dragonball: Evolution
May: Terminator: Salvation
June: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Land of the Lost, and Imagine That
July: G-Force and Funny People
August: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Taking Woodstock
September: Surrogates, Gamer, Pandroum, and Whiteout
October: Where the Wild Things Are, Astro Boy, Amelia, and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
November: 2012, A Christmas Carol, Planet 51, and Pirate Radio
December: Invictus, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Nine, and the Young Victoria
The Top 10 Losers of 2009:
1. Terminator: Salvation (May)
2. A Christmas Carol (November)
3. Nine (December)
4. Land of the Lost (June)
5. Astro Boy (October)
6. Inkheart (January)
7. Pirate Radio (November)
8. Surrogates (September)
9. Imagine That (June)
10. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (June)
2009 Stories:
January: Aging stars shine bright during award season as Gran Torino wins close January 2009
February: Romance blossoms as He’s Just Not That Into You wins February 2009
March: Monsters vs. Aliens takes the top spot of underwhelming March 2009
April: Fast and Furious power slides to top spot of April 2009
May: Up rises its way to the top of loaded May 2009
June: Transformers rules supreme again as Revenge dominates June 2009
July: The magic continues as Harry Potter’s 6th film outing rules July 2009
August: G.I. Joe rises up to the top of August 2009 to end summer on a moderate note
September: Cloudy days ahead as Meatballs leads weak September 2009
October: Comedy overcomes Horror as Couples Retreat barely edges out Paranormal Activity for October 2009 crown
November: Twilight sparkles again as “New Moon” wins November 2009
December: Avatar soars high as it closes out 2009 on a dominant note
The Top 3 Stories of 2009:
1. Avatar soars high as it closes out 2009 on a dominant note (December)
2. Up rises its way to the top of loaded May 2009 (May)
3. The magic continues as Harry Potter’s 6th film outing rules July 2009 (July)
Overachievers of 2009:
January: Taken
February: He’s Just Not That Into You
March: Monsters vs. Aliens
April: Fast and Furious
May: Star Trek
June: The Hangover
July: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
August: District 9
September: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
October: Paranormal Activity
November: The Blind Side
December: Avatar
The Top 5 Overachievers of 2009:
1. Avatar (December)
2. The Hangover (June)
3. The Blind Side (November)
4. Taken (January)
5. Paranormal Activity (October)
Underachievers of 2009:
January: Hotel for Dogs
February: Coraline
March: Watchmen
April: The Soloist
May: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
June: The Hurt Locker
July: Bruno
August: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
September: Jennifer’s Body
October: Saw VI
November: A Christmas Carol
December: The Princess and the Frog
The Top 5 Underachievers of 2009:
1. A Christmas Carol (November)
2. The Princess and the Frog (December)
3. Jennifer’s Body (September)
4. Saw VI (October)
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May)
2009 Awards Watch:
January: Bride Wars, the Reader, Milk, Defiance, the Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, Frost/Nixon, and Last Chance Harvey
February: Coraline, the Pink Panther 2, and the Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
March: Duplicity and Miss March
April: Hannah Montana: The Movie and Obsessed
May: Up and Star Trek
June: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the Hangover, the Proposal, Land of the Lost, the Hurt Locker, and Imagine That
July: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
August: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Inglorious Basterds, District 9, Julie and Julia, and (500) Days of Summer
September: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, All About Steve, the Informant!, and Jennifer’s Body
October: Where the Wild Things Are and A Serious Man
November: The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the Blind Side, Old Dogs, Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, and Fantastic Mr. Fox
December: Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, It’s Complicated, the Princess and the Frog, Up in the Air, Invictus, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Nine, the Young Victoria, and A Single Man
2009 Awards Winners:
Academy Awards: Milk (2 out of 8), the Hurt Locker (6 out of 9), Avatar (3 out of 9), Up, (2 out of 5), Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (2 out of 6), the Blind Side (1 out of 2), Inglorious Basterds (1 out of 8), Star Trek (1 out of 4), and the Young Victoria (1 out of 3)
Golden Globe Awards: The Wrestler (2 out of 3), Avatar (2 out of 4), Up (2 out of 2), Revolutionary Road (1 out of 4), the Reader (1 out of 4), the Hangover (1 out of 1), the Blind Side (1 out of 1), Sherlock Holmes (1 out of 1), Julie and Julia (1 out of 2), Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (1 out of 3), Inglorious Basterds (1 out of 4), and Up in the Air (1 out of 6)
Golden Raspberry Awards: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (3 out of 7), All About Steve (2 out of 5), the Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (1 out of 2), Hannah Montana: The Movie (1 out of 2), Land of the Lost (1 out of 7), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (1 out of 6)
Overall Thoughts of 2009:
Overall, the year of 2009 ended up being a pretty solid year with plenty of high points and only a few low points as it ended up being slightly better than 2008 as a whole. The year started off well in January and then dipped for most of the spring, but then by May things spiked up and the summer was red hot. Things did taper off a bit in September though it would pick back up in October, and then after a solid November the year would finish extremely strong with a dominant December. The decade as a whole has provided some memorable films while also leaving some dubious marks as well, and as we head into a new decade we will see what films stand out and which ones end up getting left in the dust. As for the year of 2009, it was a very successful year and was a great way to end the decade of the 2000s.
Final Rankings of Months of 2009:
1. May – A+
2. December – A+
3. June – B+
4. July – B+
5. January – B
6. August – B
7. November – B
8. March – C
9. April – C
10. February – C-
11. October – C-
12. September – D+
Final Grade of 2009: B+
