Weekend actuals were released from studios and one very important lesson is being learned as the Summer of 2010 is rolling along, original material is dominating the box office this weekend, and possibly this year.
Inception, the high risk project from Christopher Nolan, took in well over $62 million over this past weekend, check out the review here. With a release in 3,792 theaters, the movie averaged $16,557 per theater. Second place was Despicable Me, with an average of $9,370 per theater for a $32 million second weekend. The Steve Carrell animation film is at a gross of $118 million in the United States alone with only a $69 million budget.
The two films were the clear champions for the weekend and both were based on original ideas. The other wide release this week, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, was a feature length film interpretation of the Fantasia piece brought to live action. The film grossed only $17.6 million over the three day weekend, with a rumored budget reaching $150 million or more, that’s not the returns Disney needs. It only further proves that without Pixar, Disney success stories are hard to find.
The real story though is Inception the film is generating massive amounts of discussion, continuing hype, and most importantly debate. The film, unlike most of the summer’s offerings, actually left audiences with something to discuss more than an explosion or how it differed from the source material it was derived from.
Inception has hopefully opened a gate for original works to be treated with respect and become more of the summer tent poles than dragging franchises out until the material has become so exhausted they just can’t think of another story line, see Shrek Forever After for a prime example.
The Nolan directed film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has already started hitting the international scene as well and will continue to be released in different countries through September. Expect to see impressive numbers internationally as well.
Credit: Examiner
