Steve’s Box Office Report: 2007

Steve’s Box Office Report: 2007

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 2007:  

1. Spider-Man 3 – $336,530,303 (May)
2. Transformers – $319,246,193 (July)
3. I Am Legend – $256,393,010 (December)
4. The Bourne Ultimatum – $227,471,070 (August)
5. 300 – $210,614,939 (March)
6. Ratatouille – $206,445,654 (June)
7. American Gangster – $130,164,645 (November)
8. Ghost Rider – $115,802,596 (February)
9. The Game Plan – $90,648,202 (September)
10. Disturbia – $80,209,692 (April)
11. Saw IV – $63,300,095 (October)
12. Stomp the Yard – $61,356,221 (January)

Honorable Mentions 

1. Shrek the Third – $322,719,944 (May)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $309,420,425 (May)
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – $292,004,738 (July)
4. National Treasure: Book of Secrets – $219,964,115 (December)
5. Alvin and the Chipmunks – $217,326,974 (December)
6. The Simpsons Movie – $183,135,014 (July)
7. Wild Hogs – $168,273,550 (March)
8. Knocked Up – $148,768,917 (June)
9. Juno – $143,495,265 (December)
10. Rush Hour 3 – $140,125,968 (August)
11. Live Free or Die Hard – $134,529,403 (June)
12. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer – $131,921,738 (June)
13. Enchanted – $127,807,262 (November)
14. Bee Movie – $126,631,277 (November)
15. Superbad – $121,463,226 (August)
16. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry – $120,059,556 (July)
17. Hairspray – $118,871,849 (July)
18. Blades of Glory – $118,594,548 (March)
19. Ocean’s Thirteen – $117,154,724 (June)
20. Evan Almighty – $100,462,298 (June)

2007 Winners:  

January: Stomp the Yard

February: Norbit, Bridge to Terabithia, and Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls

March: 300, Wild Hogs, Blades of Glory, TMNT, and Premonition

April: Disturbia, Are We Done Yet?, and Fracture

May: Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third

June: Ratatouille, Knocked Up, Live Free or Die Hard, Ocean’s Thirteen, and 1408

July: Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Simpsons Movie, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Hairspray

August: The Bourne Ultimatum, Superbad, and Halloween

September: The Game Plan

October: Saw IV, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?, Michael Clayton, and Dan in Real Life

November: American Gangster, Enchanted, No Country for Old Men, and This Christmas

December: I Am Legend, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Juno, and P.S. I Love You

The Top 10 Winners of 2007:  

1. Transformers (July)
2. Shrek the Third (May)
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks (December)
4. 300 (March)
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July)
6. Juno (December)
7. Knocked Up (June)
8. The Bourne Ultimatum (August)
9. Wild Hogs (March)
10. The Simpsons Movie (July)

2007 Losers:  

January: Children of Men, Happily N’Ever After, and Alpha Dog

February: Hannibal Rising

March: Meet the Robinsons and Zodiac

April: Grindhouse, Perfect Stranger, Next, and Pathfinder: Legend of the Ghost Warrior

May: Lucky You

June: Evan Almighty and Surf’s Up

July: None

August: Stardust and The Invasion

September: The Kingdom, The Brave One, Eastern Promises, Shoot ‘Em Up, Dragon Wars, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

October: The Heartbreak Kid, Across the Universe, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and the Seeker: The Dark is Rising

November: Bee Movie, Beowulf, Fred Claus, and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

December: The Golden Compass

The Top 10 Losers of 2007:  

1. The Golden Compass (December)
2. Meet the Robinsons (March)
3. Evan Almighty (June)
4. Beowulf (November)
5. The Invasion (August)
6. Lucky You (May)
7. Across the Universe (October)
8. Grindhouse (April)
9. Surf’s Up (June)
10. Children of Men (January)

2007 Stories:  

January: Tepid newcomers and award contenders lead to weak start of 2007

February: Ghost Rider becomes 1^st 2007 film to break $100 million

March: 300 Spartan kicks its way to the top of March 2007

April: Disturbia leads weak crop of films for April 2007

May: May 2007 dominated by a trio of “3”s.

June: Pixar wins second straight June

July: Battling robots outlast wizards to win crown of July 2007

August: Bourne’s 3^rd outing claims August 2007 to close out summer

September: The Game Plan sacks award contenders to claim September 2007

October: Saw IV slashes its way to the top of weak October 2007

November: Gangsters overtake princesses and bees to win underwhelming November 2007

December: Will Smith out-duels treasure hunters and singing chipmunks to close out 2007 on a high note

The Top 3 Stories of 2007: 

1. May 2007 dominated by a trio of “3”s. (May)
2. Will Smith out-duels treasure hunters and singing chipmunks to close out 2007 on a strong note (December)
3. Tepid newcomers and award contenders lead to weak start of 2007 (January)

Overachievers of 2007:  

January: Stomp the Yard

February: Bridge to Terabithia

March: 300

April: Disturbia

May: Shrek the Third

June: Knocked Up

July: Transformers

August: Superbad

September: The Game Plan

October: Saw IV

November: No Country for Old Men

December: Alvin and the Chipmunks and Juno

The Top 5 Overachievers of 2007:  

1. Shrek the Third (May)
2. Transformers (July)
3. No Country for Old Men (November)
4. 300 (March)
5. Alvin and the Chipmunks (December)

Underachievers of 2007:  

January: Epic Movie

February: Ghost Rider

March: Meet the Robinsons

April: Grindhouse

May: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

June: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Surf’s Up

July: I Know Who Killed Me

August: Rush Hour 3

September: Resident Evil: Extinction

October: Across the Universe

November: Fred Claus

December: The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

The Top 5 Underachievers of 2007:  

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (May)
2. Meet the Robinsons (March)
3. Across the Universe (October)
4. Fred Claus (November)
5. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (June)

2007 Awards Watch:  

January: Epic Movie, Pan’s Labyrinth, Children of Men, Notes on a Scandal, Volver, and Code Name: The Cleaner

February: Ghost Rider, Norbit, Because I Said So, Hannibal Rising, Letters from Iwo Jima

March: None

April: Are We Done Yet? and Next

May: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

June: Ratatouille, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Surf’s Up, Hostel: Part II, La Vie En Rose

July: Transformers, The Simpsons Movie, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Hairspray, Sicko, I Know Who Killed Me, and Captivity

August: The Bourne Ultimatum, Daddy Day Camp, and BRATZ

September: 3:10 to Yuma, Good Luck Chuck, Eastern Promises, In the Valley of Elah, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

October: Michael Clayton, Across the Universe, Gone Baby Gone, Into the Wild, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age

November: American Gangster, Enchanted, Bee Movie, No Country for Old Men, August Rush, Awake

December: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Juno, The Golden Compass, Charlie Wilson’s War, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

2007 Awards Winners:  

Academy Awards: No Country for Old Men (4 out of 8), The Bourne Ultimatum (3 out of 3), La Vie En Rose (2 out of 3), There Will Be Blood (2 out of 8), Michael Clayton (1 out of 7), Juno (1 out of 4), Ratatouille (1 out of 5), Letters from Iwo Jima (1 out of 4), Pan’s Labyrinth (3 out of 6), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1 out of 3), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (1 out of 2), and the Golden Compass (1 out of 2) 

Golden Globe Awards: Letters from Iwo Jima (1 out of 2), No Country for Old Men (2 out of 4), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2 out of 4), Into the Wild (1 out of 2), La Vie En Rose (1 out of 1), Ratatouille (1 out of 1), and There Will Be Blood (1 out of 2)

Golden Raspberry Awards: I Know Who Killed Me (8 out of 9), Norbit (3 out of 7), and Daddy Day Camp (1 out of 5)

Overall Thoughts of 2007:  

So overall, the year of 2007 ended up being down the middle in terms of how the year went. There is no question that there were a lot of successes during the year which helped prop it up somewhat slightly, but at the same time there were also a lot of failures throughout the year that keep it from being a better year. When we look at the numbers, it was pretty clear the summer carried the year while December managed to end it on a high note, but the remaining months of the year were either solid, underwhelming, or just downright bad with January garnering a rare “F” grade. It is a pretty good sign when you have 28 films released this year that made over $100 million and at the time that was a good number, but I’m sure the number will go up a bit in the years to come. 2007 was a very interesting year in the box office as business did seem a bit down when compared to last year though as mentioned there were plenty of films that did very well, and we will see how 2008 plays out and if they can improve on 2007. As for the year of 2007, it is a pretty down the middle year in terms of the box office though it does tick upward just slightly thanks to the summer and December.

Final Rankings of Months of 2007:  

1. July – A+
2. June – A
3. December – A-
4. August – B+
5. March – B
6. May – B-
7. November – C+
8. February – D
9. April – D
10. September – D
11. October – D-
12. January – F

 Final Grade of 2007: C+