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July 5, 2012
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY BOXOFFICE: Spidey Flies Fairly High On the 4th

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Written by: Mitch Salem
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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (Sony) earned $23.4M at the boxoffice on July 4th, which is clearly a very good number.  The question is, how good?

It was the 2d highest Independence Day gross ever, below only the original Transformers, which made $29.1M in 2007, the last time July 4th fell on a Wednesday.  (#3 is Spider-Man 2 with $22M in 2004, but that was both a Sunday and the movie’s 5th day of release.)  The slightly unsettling aspect of the numbers for Sony is that while Transformers had only a 4% Tuesday-to-Wednesday decline, Amazing fell by 33%, making it far more front-loaded.  The percentages look better if one includes the $8.8M Transformers made in Monday evening “preview” screenings along with its Tuesday number–although the resulting 20% drop is still preferable to 33%–but in that case the Transformers total of $65.7M by the end of July 4th is running about 10% ahead of Amazing‘s $58.4M.  (And Amazing, of course, has the benefit of 3D ticket prices.)

On July 5, 2007, Transformers earned $19.2M, a 34% drop from July 4th.  A similar percentage drop for Amazing would give it a Thursday gross of $15.4M, and put it on track for a 6-day gross of around $130M, which would be in the neighborhood of the Top 30 6-day openings.  (Transformers is at #17 or #22, depending on whether its Monday evening grosses are included; the previous Spider-Mans are at #23, #8 and #11, respectively.)   All of this may sound like calculating how many web-spinning millions can fit on the head of a pin, but when a movie represents a $400M investment (including worldwide marketing) and the hoped-for start of a new rebooted franchise, the distinction between a $120M opening and a $150M start becomes meaningful.

Paramount will counterprogram Amazing today by appealing directly to the teen girl audience with KATY PERRY:  PART OF ME, a 3D concert documentary that’s getting surprisingly strong reviews (77% positive on Rotten Tomatoes).  On Friday, Universal adds the R-rated SAVAGES to the mix, currently languishing a bit at 68% positive on RT.

Stay with SHOWBUZZDAILY all through the holiday for updated boxoffice and analysis!

 



About the Author

Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."