Wanabee-slayer
Prefect Jess!
Does anybody know how much Serenity made at the box office it's just I know Joss had a lot riding on it.
Serenity boxoffice?
- Thread starter Wanabee-slayer
- Start date
StuckinTraffic
Miss Treager
According to Box Office Mojo, it's made $38.8 million worldwide. That's roughly what it cost to make, so it just broke even. Dammit. :sad0:
blackdog
Townie
Is that the figure for movie theater tickets only? Are there any numbers available for DVD sales?
StuckinTraffic
Miss Treager
From what I can tell, that only includes box office receipts. I'd be interested to know how it's done in PPV, rentals and DVD purchases.
From what I read on the Browncoats official site before it closed, the DVD sales may well be the clincher for any sequels
S
StuckinTraffic
Yeah, I think so, too. DVD sales have been up for a while now, and are just recently declining, but I think Serenity will do well in this arena.
Wanabee-slayer
Prefect Jess!
well I already bought my copy. Let's hope millions of people do the same I need some browncoat action or I'll have no reason to go on with no more Buffy or Angel.
dashboardprophet
A Sprinkling of Clouds
'Serenity' was released at a time when cinema attendance was very flat, especially in America. A lot of films under-performed during this period.
The gross from American box office receipts was approximately $25.5 million. The gross generated in the rest of the world was approximately $13.3 million, making a total gross of $38.8 million.
The production budget was $39 million. This does not include the cost of marketing and distribution. I haven't seen official figures for this but I believe the spend on marketing and distribution in America was something approaching $25 million. I have no idea how much was spent elsewhere.
As a very imprecise rule of thumb, it is said a Hollywood film needs to generate twice its production budget from the domestic box office gross in order to break even. In other words, Universal would have been looking for an American box office gross of at least $78 million. It should be remembered that the production company will only receive about 40% of the gross.
These days, profits are largely derived from DVD revenue and pay-per-view TV. It is likely that 'Serenity' will perform quite well on DVD. However, because of the comparatively poor box office showing it would have to produce exceptionally good results for there to be any realistic chance of a sequel and that is extremely unlikely to happen.
'Firefly' / 'Serenity' has an exceptionally loyal and vocal fanbase that is very active on-line. This tends to give a false impression that the fanbase is a lot bigger than it actually is. Universal took a chance when it bankrolled the film and the promotion was very much geared towards creating grass-roots "word-of-mouth". The fans were tireless in their efforts to promote the film and spread the word but at the end of the day it simply failed to attract a wider audience.
'Serenity' received a lot of very good reviews and is widely considered to be one of the best films of 2005. However, in commercial terms it proved to be a disappointment. Unfortunately, these things happen.
To give a comparison, the figures for 'The Grudge' are as follows:
Production budget: $10 million
Domestic marketing and distribution spend: $40 million (approximate)
American box office gross: $110.3 million
Oversees box office gross: $76.5 million (Total: $186.8 million)
Domestic DVD revenue (Feb-Jul 2005): $48 million
(Quoted as $80 million to date, but this is an approximate figure)
The gross from American box office receipts was approximately $25.5 million. The gross generated in the rest of the world was approximately $13.3 million, making a total gross of $38.8 million.
The production budget was $39 million. This does not include the cost of marketing and distribution. I haven't seen official figures for this but I believe the spend on marketing and distribution in America was something approaching $25 million. I have no idea how much was spent elsewhere.
As a very imprecise rule of thumb, it is said a Hollywood film needs to generate twice its production budget from the domestic box office gross in order to break even. In other words, Universal would have been looking for an American box office gross of at least $78 million. It should be remembered that the production company will only receive about 40% of the gross.
These days, profits are largely derived from DVD revenue and pay-per-view TV. It is likely that 'Serenity' will perform quite well on DVD. However, because of the comparatively poor box office showing it would have to produce exceptionally good results for there to be any realistic chance of a sequel and that is extremely unlikely to happen.
'Firefly' / 'Serenity' has an exceptionally loyal and vocal fanbase that is very active on-line. This tends to give a false impression that the fanbase is a lot bigger than it actually is. Universal took a chance when it bankrolled the film and the promotion was very much geared towards creating grass-roots "word-of-mouth". The fans were tireless in their efforts to promote the film and spread the word but at the end of the day it simply failed to attract a wider audience.
'Serenity' received a lot of very good reviews and is widely considered to be one of the best films of 2005. However, in commercial terms it proved to be a disappointment. Unfortunately, these things happen.
To give a comparison, the figures for 'The Grudge' are as follows:
Production budget: $10 million
Domestic marketing and distribution spend: $40 million (approximate)
American box office gross: $110.3 million
Oversees box office gross: $76.5 million (Total: $186.8 million)
Domestic DVD revenue (Feb-Jul 2005): $48 million
(Quoted as $80 million to date, but this is an approximate figure)
Black Eye Guy
wow that was extensive! :)
blackdog
Townie
However, because of the comparatively poor box office showing it would have to produce exceptionally good results for there to be any realistic chance of a sequel and that is extremely unlikely to happen.
I regret that I have to agree. It looks like we have probably seen the last of the good ship Serenity.
I regret that I have to agree. It looks like we have probably seen the last of the good ship Serenity.
Wanabee-slayer
Prefect Jess!
blackdog
Townie
I wish I felt differently, but I don't see how the Firefly story will continue. Now that Joss has shut down Mutant Enemy, it would be very difficult to reassemble the cast and production crew (even if someone was willing to bankroll another movie). Serenity needed to score a big return at the box office, but it just didn't happen.