Tell Me Again Why "Coraline", The Number Two Weekend Movie Has To Be Dumped?
Jim here. I am disgusted at the current scenario facing theater owners. Currently their 3D investment is paying off with CORALINE hauling in $11,432,124 over the past weekend - a whopping $8.8m of it generated through 3D screens. In fact, 74% of all of CORALINE's gross has been 3D!
Now take that away. Yes, that's right. The second highest grossing movie of the weekend is going to be losing about half of its theaters (and supposedly 74% of its future earnings) in favor of bringing in a limited time engagement of JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE. Disney says it will only be one week - but we all know what happened last year with the 3D Hannah Montana concert - it stayed, and stayed. Sure CORALINE will gain back some 2D screens probably, but that is not the point.
What I want to stress here are two items:
1. I am NOT anti-JONAS BROTHERS. To the contrary, their concert is going to kick some serious butt because they used top notch 3D technology to get it done. I will be going to check it out.
2. The 3D screen conversions are taking FAR TOO LONG. Credit crunch or not, there is such a thing as financial wisdom and clearly the movie industry is in for a great year this year and it is most likely recession fueled. Yet there is no money around to be used for making more money? Strange indeed. Perhaps Mark Cuban can kick start things with a rapid rollout of 3D for the Carmike chain if he can brandish his new power there (at last look, he had 9.4% ownership)
Anyway, as Neil Gaiman lamented last week if you have not seen CORALINE in 3D yet - which is by far the better way of seeing it - then get your butt to your local 3D theater pronto. You have until Friday - JONAS BROTHERS takes over then.
Some theaters could actually split screen time between them but there is no guarantee of this happening at all. I am saddened that the 3D screens are being treated like two kids fighting over a game controller. Enough of this idiotic dragging of heels for 3D screen deployment. Get it done - money is being thrown away.
Stats courtesy of Box Office Mojo
