TheHangover posts
FeedPosted Dec 31st 2009 5:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: General Electric (GE), Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World
Time Warner (TWX), whose colleagues include The Walt Disney Company (DIS), General Electric Corporation's (GE) Universal, and Sony Corporation (SNE), did an incredible job at the box office in 2009. It could even end up being the top studio, although there is currently some ambiguity on that count. This article over at Variety says that News Corp. (NWS) might come out ahead once all is said and done.
Nevertheless, according to Moviefone, Time Warner's movie operations captured an estimated $3.99 billion at multiplexes around the globe. Yes, it's an impressive feat, and it was done with the help of a major franchise. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed well over $900 million on a worldwide basis. Even more amazing was the performance of surprise comedy hit The Hangover. And to think, that one had an R rating, something that tends to limit the potential for big success.
Continue reading Thoughts on Time Warner's 2009 Box Office Performance
Posted Jun 26th 2009 5:30PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Viacom (VIA), Media World, Film
So, earlier in the week, I discussed Michael Bay and his freak-out with Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA) over the marketing quality on his latest film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Turns out Mike had nothing to worry about.
This film is doing great. At the time of this writing, the film was estimated to have grossed over $60 million on its opening day, which was this past Wednesday. Now, I hate talking about the breaking of this record and that record. Hollywood loves to point out that Movie X achieved the highest gross for a film released on a cloudy day in late September when the moon was full and a new supernova was spotted in the constellation of Cygnus. I'd rather talk about how much profit was achieved, and how much return on capital was recorded (too bad media companies don't have to reveal such data). Nevertheless, I'll give Viacom and Fallen credit. It apparently scored the biggest Wednesday opening ever, and it should theoretically have a great weekend, assuming word of mouth is good. So far, I've only heard superlative things about this particular piece of celluloid, and I know of one person who immediately consulted her cell phone to schedule a time to see the picture with her friends when she heard how awesome it was.
Continue reading Viacom scores with 'Transformers' -- good for Time Warner's 'Potter'?
Posted Jun 15th 2009 8:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: General Electric (GE), Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Film
If this weekend's box office results say anything, it's that success in the movie business resists predictability. How else do you explain the money that Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Hangover is grossing? I haven't seen the film, so I'm sure there's something to it. Nevertheless, it just didn't seem like it would be a big hit. Guess the word of mouth on it has been pretty good.
Hangover, as of early estimates at Boxofficemojo, took in $33 million at domestic theaters over the past three days, good for first place. It beat Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Pixar project Up, which took in about $30 million and came in second. Hangover actually was the number-one movie last weekend as well. So far, it's taken in more than $100 million.
Continue reading Time Warner's 'Hangover' beats Sony's new action flick