Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Continues To Dominate

Colin Hay

TedStriker: While I understand your point about inaccurate inflation numbers for movies with multiple releases, and I'm sure many sites do fall into the trap you describe (adjusting a movie's gross over multiple releases based on inflation adjuster for its initial release only), but I don't think BoxOfficeMojo is guilty of this problem. If you check out their discussion on how they handle inflation, they say this:

"Some movies have been released several times over the decades, and we do account for this. For example, Snow White was released in 1937, but half of its lifetime gross is from re-releases in the 80s and 90s, so each of these releases is adjusted according to the year it earned its money."

Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/about/adjuster.htm

And looking at their list of top adjusted grossers, it's pretty clear that they don't just apply one calculation to the aggregate total gross over a movie's lifespan.

So, I don't dispute that what you claim is true of some websites, and possibly the Guinness Book of World Records, but BoxOfficeMojo at least seems to be on the level, and it does have Gone With the Wind and Star Wars ahead of The Sound of Music. Not saying they're correct, but it does seem that they're doing the math right.

Jan 19 - 06:24 AM

Big Brother

Not sure that's true Ted as it pertains to BO Mojo. Here's the blurb BO Mojo uses to explain their formula:

Adjusted to the estimated 2010 average ticket price of $7.35. Inflation-adjustment is mostly done by multiplying estimated admissions by the latest average ticket price. Where admissions are unavailable, adjustment is based on the average ticket price for when each movie was released (taking in to account re-releases where applicable).

^ Indicates documented multiple theatrical releases. Most of the pre-1980 movies listed on this chart had multiple undocumentented releases over the years. The year shown is the first year of release.

The part in brackets an the last paragraph seems to say that they take re-releases and money made in subsequent years into account. I haven't read all your debate with Pixar, so pardon me if I missed something.

Jan 19 - 06:30 AM

dude meister

ok i havent commented on a post in a whil, but i just had to. since all of you haters probably loved d9 i will say this, while d9 was a great movie its general plot basis had also been used a 100 times before 'guy goes on the run from the same coporation/army/whaevertever that he worked for in the first place, he joins forces with the ailens/army/country/whatever e was against in the first place, corporation bad ailens good, ever heard that before? so dont get all whiny about avatar's plot 'ripping off dances with wolves' and i am SO f-ing sick of the hating of the dialouge, they're army guys! do you expect them to talk in shakespearian dialouge no! they talk how you expect people to talk, how your mother, brother, father, sister, friends, YOU would talk, and i like that because it helps feel organic and realistic, and also d9 dosent have the greatest dialouge either, half of it was copley saying 'f.u.c.k' in a very funny way, but again it was a fantastic movie. and avatar may not have the most original story, but i still loved it, and i felt it was pretty deep and emotional, and d9 was heavily crticised over the last 40 minutes, with all of it being simple mindless shooting, which i got no problem with, but avatar had some serious depth as well, some examples, the scene after home tree is deystroyed and netyri finds her father dying and jake is outcast, pretty deep. the scene where jake talks, or narrates (for me, what made me love worthington's performance)how conflicted he feels, feeling like his whole life has gone by and he dosen't know who he is anymore. also pretty deep, while jake's speech towards the end wasn't exactly deep, it was still emotional and uplifting, was one of my fave scenes of the whole movie. and THAT is why it whon the gg. do you people really think you know more than the top critics (which has a 94% score) such as richard corliss and roger ebert and the holloywood foreign press association. have your own opinion, i might respectfully disagree and we can have a friendly debate without insults and threats. but dont come off as a pretentious snobby douche (talking to you imofan) who acts like their opinion is fact.

Jan 19 - 07:09 AM

dude meister

*hollywood

Jan 19 - 07:22 AM

Alpha Z

Ashron, let me clue you in on something. You wouldn't know how to make good film if step by step instructions were given to you for a 1 time shot Oscar.

Jan 19 - 08:37 AM

Derrick Ford

Tedstriker you are a no name shmuck, you have no evidence. And i am talking about 10000 sources because i have yet to ever see a source side with you. You are wrong, and not just wrong, but dead wrong. Just stop talking.

Jan 19 - 09:09 AM

Paul Barrett

Oh gosh, Douchehound, that hurts my feelings, coming from a misanthrope like you who hasn't even seen any of my films. I'm going to have to go cry in a corner now, since you've made me feel so bad.

I'm totally not serious, in case you didn't get that.

And I'll gladly put the three films I've produced against the, I'm sorry, how many have you made? Yeah, that's what I thought.

(And to those of you who know me, I'm not trying to say I'm any better than you because I've made movies, and the ones I've made are certainly not Oscar caliber. I'm just saying I'm better than Douchehound because, well, I am.)

Jan 19 - 11:28 AM

Paul Barrett

Whoops, I've gone and ignored the suggestion I made about ignoring the troll. What a hypocrite I am. So, Douche, consider this me now ignoring you. I will no longer respond to your comments, unless they suddenly become civil.

But I will say in all seriousness that your dog looks like a cute fellow (girl). I really like those dogs. And at least he (she) loves you.

Jan 19 - 11:39 AM

Derrick Ford

Jonas he is not saying just single release, he is saying that Sound of Music is the highest grossing EVER, maybe you should learn how to read

Jan 19 - 12:33 PM

dethburger hates Flixster

here is what he said Pixar...

Contrary to this, The Sound of Music was first released in 1965. Its total gross from 1965 until today has been about $158 million, of which ~$151 million was attributed to its initial 1965 release and ~$7 million was attributed to its single subsequent re-release in 1990. Thus, the vast majority of the entire all-time gross of The Sound of Music can be correctly calculated in 1965 dollars. When you do the correct calculations, as I have laid them out here, you come up with The Sound of Music being #1 by quite a substantial margin.

As you can see, he WAS talking about the initial release.

Jan 19 - 03:24 PM

Kevin Reider

just saw book o eli. I have to say that I think this move was underrated.Sure it wasn't all that original but it was entertaining and nice to see a relgious person revered instead of laughed at

Jan 19 - 04:19 PM

Charlie Smith

I saw Avatar for the 2nd time today at an IMAX screening. The very few naysayers that I've come across are missing the fact that this film grabs and holds in an emotional way that to me is profoundly different from other movies that I count among my favorites. I feel like I've been to Pandora and I can't wait to go again.

Jan 19 - 06:45 PM

Derrick Ford

He was saying that because Gone with the Wind was released multiple times that the figure was wrong and thus Sound of Music was the highest grossing. That is wrong, so you guys need to learn how to read.

Jan 19 - 07:22 PM

Bruce Blank

...most of Avatar's film public seem to be, either intentional or not, drawn to the story of an Eden-like planet and an intelligent species living in relative bio-harmony. It's like the hope for Shangri-La or Utopia. I think humans are all feeling that we are rapidly nearing a turning point on Earth: that the consequences of our technology and need to dominate are about to lead to our own extinction.
Yes, It's ironic that Cameron has employed computers to generate a new world that we embrace precisely because it looks so primitive. None the less, Jim has succeeded precisely because he appeals to this deep and continuous longing to return to a pre-patriarchal state of existence.

Jan 24 - 11:06 AM

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Feb 5 - 08:01 PM