Steve’s Box Office Report: December 2013
Top 10 Films for the Month of December:
1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $258,366,855
2. American Hustle – $150,117,807
3. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – $125,168,368
4. The Wolf of Wall Street – $116,900,694
5. Saving Mr. Banks – $83,301,580
6. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – $58,236,838
7. A Madea Christmas – $52,543,354
8. 47 Ronin – $38,362,475
9. Walking with Dinosaurs 3D – $36,076,121
10. Grudge Match – $29,807,260
Honorable Mentions:
1. Out of the Furnace – $11,330,849
2. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – $8,323,085
3. Justin Bieber’s Believe – $6,206,566
December Winners: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, American Hustle, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Saving Mr. Banks, and A Madea Christmas
We come to the final month of 2013 and it has been quite the year to say the least, and after what has been a pretty hot last two months it now comes down to see how the month of December ends the year. This month was pretty stacked with some big films as well as a bunch of films that were going to be award contenders, and even with the loaded slate there were quite a few films that made it into this category. The first film that makes it into this category is the second film in the Hobbit trilogy with the Desolation of Smaug, which sees Bilbo and the dwarves continue their journey back to the Lonely Mountain and a confrontation with Smaug the dragon. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who did begin to question if the book needed to be split in three, but this film would finish with over $258 million and now all eyes will be on the third film to see how the trilogy ends. The next film that makes it into this category is the crime film American Hustle, a film where a pair of con artists are forced by an FBI agent to work with him in bringing down corrupt politicians. The film would receive critical acclaim from critics who considered it one of the best of the year, and it would finish with over $150 million which I will delve into later in the recap. The next film that makes it into this category is the long-awaited sequel to Anchorman with the Legend Continues, which sees Ron Burgandy return to San Diego and reunite his old team as they struggle to return to their former glory. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a good film though a step down from the first one, and it would finish with over $125 million which was a good showing for a sequel that came out almost a decade after the first one. The next film that makes it into this category is the family film Saving Mr. Banks, based on the true story of Walt Disney working to get the rights to film “Mary Poppins” from P.L. Travers. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was carried by strong performances of the actors, and it would finish with over $83 million which was enough to put it in the top 5 for the month. The last film from this month that makes it into this category is the comedy film A Madea Christmas, which sees Madea and her great-niece going to see her great-niece’s daughter while also helping save the town. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was one of Tyler Perry’s worst outings, and it would finish with over $52 million which was a fine showing helped by the Christmas tie-in. With the strong performances that these films had, the month of December is off to a pretty strong start though we will have to see how the rest of the categories play out.
December Losers: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 47 Ronin, Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
With such a loaded month, you knew that there were bound to be some films that didn’t do as well as others and were going to end up in this category, and after the last category had a good amount of films it was going to be interesting to see how many ended up in this category. Ultimately, we do have a few films that make it into this category though fortunately there are fewer films in this category than the previous one, but it is still not a good showing given that there are a decent amount of films in this category. The first film that makes it into this category is the comedy-drama film the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, based on the short story of the same name of a man who goes on a great adventure. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it didn’t live up to its full potential, and it would finish with over $58 million which was a fine showing though well behind other films this month. The next film that makes it into this category is the fantasy action film 47 Ronin, loosely based on the legend of the 47 ronin who seek to avenge their former master. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was a dull attempt at a fantasy, and it would finish with over $38 million as it would end up being one of the last bombs of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is the family film Walking with Dinosaurs, a film about a young dinosaur who looks to become the leader of his herd as well as a hero. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt the story was too basic against impressive visual effects, and it would finish with just over $36 million which was a low number even with the 3D add-on. The last film that makes it into this category is the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, based on the true story of Nelson Mandela’s life leading to the end of apartheid in South Africa and his election as President. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been despite a strong performance from Idris Elba, and it would finish with just over $8 million as it quietly disappeared from theaters. Even though there were only four films in this category as opposed to the five in the previous category, the failures of these films can’t be overlooked and they do hurt the month to a certain extent.
The Surprise/Story of December 2013: Fewer moviegoers return to Middle Earth as “The Desolation of Smaug” easily takes top spot of December 2013
One of the constants that we have seen throughout the last decade or so was the Lord of the Rings series dominating the month of December as that trilogy are still among the top earners of December, and even last year the first Hobbit film was the strongest showing of that December though there were still questions as to whether it should’ve been split in three. That belief really starts to come forward here as even though the Desolation of Smaug finishes at the top of the month pretty easily, it wasn’t able to match the first Hobbit film by quite a good amount which is not looking good for the prospects of the third film. Regardless of that, the Desolation of Smaug was still a strong success carrying the month and was buoyed by some other strong showings, particularly from a few big award contenders, and the month does end up being strong enough to end the year on a good note though again it was a slight step down from the previous year.
Overachiever of December 2013: American Hustle
As mentioned earlier, there were several award contenders that came out this month and quite a few of them did very well, and at the top of that list ends up being American Hustle which looked to follow in the footsteps of David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook from the previous year. With it’s unique take on the oft-forgotten ABSCAM scandal of the late 70s to early 80s and featuring a strong cast, this film had all the potential to be a success and it would end up being a major success by making over $150 million which put it ahead of Silver Linings Playbook. It also would be considered one of the best films of what ends up being a pretty strong year in terms of films considered the best, and as a result it ends up being the overachiever of the month though I will be honest that this is one of the weaker overachievers simply because the month itself didn’t have many options.
Underachiever of December 2013: The Wolf of Wall Street
Now on paper, when you see what film ends up being the underachiever of the month, it seems very unlikely given the fact that the film did finish with over $100 million and easily landed in the top 5 for the month. But it all comes down to what it could’ve done and the film that fits that perfectly is the biographical crime film the Wolf of Wall Street, based on the memoirs of the same name of the life of Jordan Belfort and his rise as a stockbrokers before being caught by the FBI due to fraud. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who considered it one of the best of the year and it did finish with over $114 million which was a strong showing, but for some reason the mainstream audience was divided on it with some agreeing with the critics though some felt it was a poor film. It is because of this divide that despite the strong showing by the film, it does feel a bit underwhelming in that it could’ve done even more and that’s why the film ends up being named the underachiever of the month.
December 2013 Awards Watch: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, American Hustle, the Wolf of Wall Street, Saving Mr. Banks, a Madea Christmas, Grudge Match, and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
As I mentioned a few times in this recap and previous Decembers, this is when the major award contenders really start to come out and try to stake their claim in getting plenty of money heading into the award ceremonies. With a total of 13 films coming out this month, we end up getting about half the field landing in this category which just shows the strength of these films in terms of being in award contention. The first film that makes it into this category is the Desolation of Smaug which was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects) though it wouldn’t win any, making it the first Middle Earth film to not win any awards. The next film that makes it into this category is American Hustle which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Production Design) though amazingly didn’t win one award, but it would end up winning 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actress – Musical or Comedy, and Best Supporting Actress) while being nominated for 4 more (Best Director, Best Actor – Musical or Comedy, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay). The next film that makes it into this category is the Wolf of Wall Street which was nominated for 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay) though it wouldn’t win any, and it would win one Golden Globe Award (Best Actor – Musical or Comedy) while being nominated for one more (Best Picture – Musical or Comedy). The next film that makes it into this category is Saving Mr. Banks which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Original Score) though it wouldn’t win, and it was also nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Actress – Drama) though it wouldn’t win. The next film that makes it into this category is a Madea Christmas which would win one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Actress) while being nominated for 5 more (Worst Film, Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Screenplay, and Worst On-Screen Combo). The next film that makes it into this category is the sports comedy Grudge Match, a film where two aging boxers agree to face off one more time to settle their long-time rivalry. The film would receive negative reviews from critics and finished with over $29 million as it would be nominated for one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Actor) though it wouldn’t win. The last film that makes it into this category is Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Original Song) though it wouldn’t win, and it would win one Golden Globe Award (Best Original Song) while being nominated for two more (Best Actor – Drama and Best Original Score). This was an interesting month as the films in this category nabbed a lot of nominations, but not a lot of wins which just goes to show how strong the year was as a whole.
Overall Thoughts of December 2013:
Overall, the month of December 2013 ended up being a pretty solid month though it is a bit of a step down from the previous month which was a bit of a disappointment, but not enough to drag the year down as a whole. Comparing this month to the previous year, 2012 easily had the stronger December showing though that’s not to say anything about this December as it did have a strong showing to an extent. We did have at least three films make over $100 million while one did cross the $200 million, and the rest of the films fared pretty well though we did have at least one or two bombs in this month. 2013 has ended up being a solid year for the most part as it started a bit tepid, really peaked over the summer, and even this fall was better than normal coupled with a strong holiday season, and we will see if that momentum continues as we kick off a new year with 2014. As for this month, it is a solid month that closes out what was a pretty good year overall in 2013.
Final Grade: B+
