Box Office

Check out this animation I made on animoto. I'll try to do another, better one next week.

Cool stuff!!

A brand back from the dead

In 1995, Toy Story was the most successful computer animated film.  In 1999, Toy Story 2 outperformed its predecessor.  Eleven years later, Toy Story 3 will be released.  But, have audiences moved on?  Can the Toy Story brand be re-awakened?

Enter social media, once again.  DisneyPixar is using Twitter to tease its followers, and Facebook to connect in an even more participative way.  (And because DisneyPixar has over 1,000,000 fans on Facebook, they're preparing pretty well.)

Now, I believe that Toy Story 3 will be wildly successful.  I mean, I'll go see it, and I'm 22.  But social media is certainly helping to prepare America for a re-vamp of the franchise.

Facebook is going to be a useful tool as they begin to showcase the new characters and increase buzz about the Toys that they're actually manufacturing for the movie.

The network is going to be a great way for fans to express their excitement over the movie.  So, with a summer release date and positive buzz, this movie should make about $350 million.

Opening this Weekend

Ok. I'll be honest. I'm really excited to see Valentine's Day. The star-studded cast is definitely helping the box office draw for this film, and I would not be surprised to see a $40 million opening weekend.

I'm not really excited to see The Wolfman. Why? Because its title sucks. And, they trailer is so dark that you can't see what's going on. Don't moviegoers want to see a movie... they can actually see?

My first prediction came true?

After watching "Channing Tatum" tweet about his new movie, Dear John, for the past two weeks, I expected the movie to pull in a lot more than my favorite analyst expected. (About the quotes: I can't decide if Chan's twitter is him all the time, or if it's some PR guy sometimes? What do you think?) More than just the social media, though, the movie is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, and his wildly successful A Walk to Remember and The Notebook probably bring great memories to its target audience. So I guessed a $30 million weekend, despite most analysts guessing $18-20 million.

This was my first prediction, basically. And I ended up being really close! And according to this article, my guess was closer than anyone's!

I think this Box Office Result confirms the power of social media like twitter and its impact on buzz. (oh, and confirms the power of teen fangirls and generally people who wanted to cry this weekend.)

Movies

Is 2010 a great year for movies? So far, 2009's movies have made 2010 look good. Like Avatar... with its $2 billion international gross so far, it looks like it will be the #1 spot in the US with $700 million. Whoa.

My blog will follow the Box Office -- and how it's covered in new media: twitter, facebook, and blogs.

I'd like to feature Grady Smith's "The Box Office Junkie" blog. Go check it out, guys!