Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Release!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thanks for reporting the box office numbers, madscntst. 

So, DS is back to being tracked daily, I guess.

Last week was such an odd week so far as reporting DS' numbers goes. I would possibly blame it on the Colorado tragedy and the fact that Warner Brothers had decided to hold off reporting the box office for its films if it wasn't for the fact that they resumed reporting the box office for every one of their other films long before they resumed reporting the box office for DS. It was all very strange. But thankfully reporting for DS is back on track again and up to date.

I think it may be possible for it to hit $80M but it'll really have to keep chugging away, and even then it could take a few more weeks, risking losing theaters with each new week.

I suspect it's all going to come down to how long Warner Brothers decides to keep DS in theaters. And that's something that's hard to judge from their other films this year. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island stayed in theaters for 20 weeks - but it's the big exception rather than the rule because, of their other films that have already closed, Chernobyl Diaries was in theaters for 8 weeks, Joyful Noise for 10 weeks, Project X for 11 weeks, and Wrath of the Titans and The Lucky One for 13 weeks. Though when it comes to all of those, in their final weeks they were each grossing far less than what J2:TMI was in its comparative period as well as far less than what DS is currently grossing. So, there is a possibility that DS could go 13 weeks and beyond.

I lost track of how MIB3 was doing, and it doesn't seem to be on BOM's list from yesterday

MIB3 has only been reporting on weekends for the past two weekends.

I don't see Avengers on the Tues. list (or actually the number hasn't been updated since the 29th) so I guess they stopped doing daily tracking on that one, too.

It will certainly be quite interesting if it turns out that they have.

82 days 22 hours 18 minutes 20 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

More on the DVD from WB

Thanks for the link, jimbo. 

It's nice to see that WB has updated the synopsis of the film to coincide with the dates that are in the actual film, as opposed to the dates we were originally given in their first synopsis prior to shooting. What would really be interesting to know is why the dates were changed. But who knows if we'll ever get that story?

It's also nice to get a description of each one of the Focus Points. Presumably the one that will include comments from David Selby, Lara Parker and KLS is the one called "THE COLLINSES: EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS DEMONS" - the only one to appear on the DVD.

So it looks like the deleted scenes will only be on the BR, and that the BR will only be offered with the DVD.  Who would have thought better of the same division that passed up the NoDS restoration?

Though as I said the other day, doing something like that is more the norm rather than the exception these days. And not just when it comes to Warner Brothers, but when it comes to a lot of the studios. Seemingly quite often the Blu-ray release is jam packed with extras - the DVD not so much. Well, unless the DVD release is multiple discs.

82 days 22 hours 43 minutes 57 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's also nice to get a description of each one of the Focus Points.

Getting back to these, the descriptions of most of them don't sound anything like the featurettes Warner Brothers released prior to the film's opening. Back then I was thinking those three or four featurettes were probably produced for the video releases but were being shared online early, but it doesn't appear that way. And not that I'm complaining that it seems like they aren't being included - I'd downloaded them all, so I already have copies - and it's much better that we'll have some new material to look forward to (though I'm sure at least some of the previous material will reappear in some form as well). But it is interesting that so many different featurettes have been put together for the film. With some films you're lucky to get even one or two featurettes, never mind possibly close to a dozen.

83 days 11 hours 14 minutes 18 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[KMR]

But it is interesting that so many different featurettes have been put together for the film. With some films you're lucky to get even one or two featurettes, never mind possibly close to a dozen.

Although, sometimes the emphasis in these is less "feature" and more "-ette", with each one lasting maybe a couple of minutes, and being of a promotional--rather than informational--nature.

I'm much more a fan of the Laurent Bouzereau long-form docs found on many Hitchcock and Spielberg DVDs.  (But maybe that kind of work is better done after the subject of the doc has aged a while...)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

That's all very true, KMR. And when it came to the pre-release featurettes, they were around the 3-4 minutes range. Though even if they're all about that length on the Blu-ray, I'll be happy because, with 9 of them, it will still total about 30 minutes altogether.

One thing that I didn't realize until after posting earlier is that it seems like we're not going to get any sort of commentary, which is disappointing because something like that might have proved quite illuminating - particularly when it comes to why the deleted scenes were cut. And it can't be because Burton and/or Depp don't do commentary because they have in the past. And I would have even taken a commentary from one or more of the producers and/or the technical personnel. But alas...

83 days 14 hours 36 minutes 27 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[madscntst]

And it can't be because Burton and/or Depp don't do commentary because they have in the past.

Well... not that often, though.  I'm trying to think of which ones Burton may have done- I can't really remember.  As for Depp, he usually does *not* do commentaries- there are indeed a few exceptions:  Pirates 1 and Fear and Loathing are the ones that come to mind; I remember being sorely disappointed that there wasn't one for The Rum Diary, despite Hunter S. Thompson being a very close friend of Johnny's.  I just think that Johnny is a little more comfortable doing some behind the scenes or interview snippets rather than a running commentary- during the Pirates 1 commentary with Gore Verbinski, it seemed like both of them ran out of things to talk about at certain points 

I for one am very happy with the list of features that are being described, and can't wait to see them.  I do feel for the folks who don't have blu-ray players as I myself didn't own one until about 6 or 8 months ago, and then I bought a pretty cheap one (~$70).  I think it's possible to spend even less, but for someone who doesn't have the cash, and already has a DVD and/or VCR (yes, I still have one of those, believe it or not!) it's money that shouldn't need to be spent.  I just wish they would offer the same features in both formats, so folks could choose

[madscntst]

DS will be losing 90 theaters next week, going down to just 132     Oh well, better than having nothing left!

http://boxofficemojo.com/counts/chart/?yr=2012&wk=31&p=.htm

In other news, DS made $40,338 yesterday, bringing the total to $79,475,235.  Ah well, even if it doesn't reach $80M, it should clear $79.5M by tomorrow, assuming that it makes somewhere in the vicinity of $40K, plus or minus a few K.

http://boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?view=1day&sortdate=2012-08-01&p=.htm

[KMR]

As for Depp, he usually does *not* do commentaries- there are indeed a few exceptions:  Pirates 1 and Fear and Loathing are the ones that come to mind; I remember being sorely disappointed that there wasn't one for The Rum Diary, despite Hunter S. Thompson being a very close friend of Johnny's.  I just think that Johnny is a little more comfortable doing some behind the scenes or interview snippets rather than a running commentary- during the Pirates 1 commentary with Gore Verbinski, it seemed like both of them ran out of things to talk about at certain points 

Seeing what Johnny's like in interviews, this doesn't surprise me at all.  He's basically a very quiet type, very private and seems to be really shy.  It appears that he would prefer to just let his work speak for itself.

[patrickm]

I attended the final showing of Dark Shadows at our $2 theatre last night. Wasn't well attended - I counted 13 people including me - but it was a late 10:30 showing, plus finishing a 5 week run there. In comparison, Rock of Ages finished same night after only 2 weeks. I wanted to complete the viewing circle - saw the first Orlando midnight showing and the last $2 showing - plus 2 club group outings and twice at a drive-in. So it was sorta like saying hello to the movie - then goodbye.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

For the first time it looks like DS is no longer playing anywhere in my immediate area - at least according to boxoffice.com. Though I haven't tried looking on the official Web site to see if it has any listing(s) for the broader area like it did the other day for the drive-in in Methuen, MA.

I finally got around to checking out how DS' 81st day gross fared against all of this year's other films on their 81st day. It's still performing very well, coming in 7th overall, however, once again its gross came in 2nd in its theaters range. But unlike last week where 21 Jump Street bested DS by about $4,500, this week it was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that bested DS $47,106 vs. $40,266 - though as with last week when there were extenuating circumstances given 21 Jump Street's 74th day fell on the Memorial Day Holiday, we have to remember that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel hadn't been playing in wide release for all of it's 81 days. That film didn't open wide until its 4th week in theaters. However, where DS still places 1st in its theaters range is with its per screen figure. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel's per screen was $171 - whereas DS' per screen was $181 because it was playing in 54 fewer theaters.    And when it comes to overall, DS' per screen places it 5th.

And when it comes to a comparison to Wrath of the Titans, well, what can we say because that film brought in $11,235 on its 81st day - $29,031 less than DS did. And considering that Wrath of the Titans brought in only $44,546 for its entire Monday-Thursday period in its 12th week, it's going to be very interesting to see how much DS bests it by once yesterday's gross is released and tallied with Monday-Wednesday's grosses. 

84 days 12 hours 2 minutes 46 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[David]

Still playing in a single Bay Area suburb.  Two shows a day. Probably won't go because I know the Castro theater will be showing it again down the road.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

DS will be losing 90 theaters next week, going down to just 132

Though those are still many more theaters than fellow WB films Wrath of the Titans and The Lucky One were playing in for their 13th week in release: Wrath of the Titans was in 70, and The Lucky One was in 41. In fact, 132 theaters is more comparable to each of those film's 11th week when Wrath of the Titans was in 150 and The Lucky One was in 115.

Plus, another thing to keep in mind is that very few wide released films are even still in theaters for a 13th week and beyond. Of the ones that have been lucky enough to have reached a 13th week, only 10 played in more theaters in that week:

The Hunger Games (593)
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (390)
Marvel's The Avengers (373)
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (303)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (276)
21 Jump Street (258)
Mirror Mirror (222)
Safe House (175)
The Vow (157)
John Carter (153)

and This Means War played in just as many.

Though of course, it's worth pointing out that when it comes to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Mirror Mirror, John Carter, and This Means War, none of those films have grossed as much as DS has to this point - and as I said earlier, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel didn't go wide until its 4th week. And also, even though they had been playing in more theaters in their previous weeks, DS has recently been pulling in numbers higher than what 21 Jump Street, Mirror Mirror, Safe House, The Vow, John Carter, and This Means War did in their comparable weeks.

84 days 13 hours 11 minutes 40 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[madscntst]

Yippee, DS has passed the $79.5M mark!  There was a slight rise in yesterday's box office compared to Wed., with $43,951 Thurs. vs. $40,338 Wed.  The total is now $79,519,186.  These #'s are from boxoffice.com, as BOM only seems to have Dark Knight Rises #'s so far:

http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/movies/dark-shadows-2012

[David]

 

Comment from an old, close friend of mine who's not a DS fan--no interest in the film or the TV series;
''for a little cult item, that film has done very well for itself. I'm impressed.''

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thanks so much for posting the numbers, madscntst. 

And yippee, indeed - DS' numbers were excellent this week. It brought in $168,657 for the Monday-Thursday period, and combined with the $287,229 it brought in over the weekend, that means it grossed $455,886 - and that's pretty comparable to what it had grossed in its 9th week when it grossed $485,291 in 303 theaters, not just 222. And that may not sound as impressive as it really is until one realizes that the per screen for the 9th was $1,602, whereas the per screen for this past week was $2,054 - and as with the weekend, with the exception of last week, we'd have to go all the way back to DS' 3rd week in release to find a higher per screen. 

And while we're on the subject of comparisons, in its 12th week in release DS did phenomenally better than Wrath of the Titans had. Not only did DS best that film by $209,773 over the weekend, it bested it by $124,061 during the Monday-Thursday period. So, for the overall week, DS bested it by $333,824 because Wrath of the Titans only managed to bring in $122,062 in its 12th week, which means that DS outgrossed it by almost 4 times. 

84 days 16 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!