As much as I don't prefer to run typical box office numbers, the end results for 2007 are quite impressive. The total box office receipts add up to a record-breaking $9.57 billion, which is up 4.2% over last year's earnings ($9.21 billion). However, the most impressive feat from this year is Paramount's box office dominance. When ranked by how much each studio made, Paramount takes the top prize with a total of $1.48 billion with 20 movies released. In comparison, Warner Brothers came in second with $1.41 billion and 34 movies and Sony (last year's top studio) came in fourth with $1.24 billion and 28 movies.
1 - Paramount / DreamWorks (20 Movies) - $1.48 billion
2 - Warner Brothers (34 Movies) - $1.41 billion
3 - Disney / Buena Vista (21 Movies) - $1.35 billion
4 - Sony Pictures (28 Movies) - $1.24 billion
5 - Universal (20 Movies) - $1.09 billion
At the end of last year (2006), Sony had topped the charts with $1.71 billion and 34 movies, which is actually higher than this year's Paramount total, but that is irrelevant. We posted a retrospective last year looking at all of Sony's big films which can be read here. The last time Paramount was the top studio was back in 1998 when Titanic made more money than any other film ever.
This marks the first time that four films made more than $300 million in one year. The films that crossed that line were Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. That's proof alone for the movie studios that trilogies work. On the other hand, that's not the best thing to see, because besides Transformers, most of those movies weren't considered "good" by most people.
Paramount's biggest titles this year, in order of their earnings, were: Shrek the Third, Transformers, Bee Movie, Blades of Glory, (sadly) Norbit, Beowulf, Disturbia, and Shooter. Although I'm not happy to see every single one of these up there, Transformers and Disturbia were the prime performers this year, both becoming huge hits. I've said it again and now it's confirmed, Paramount has got their marketing and publicity down. They're an impressive studio that has been gaining momentum more and more every year. And this finally confirms what they're actually capable of.
I originally mentioned it in an article back in April, but Warner Brothers and Paramount have been consisntenly impressing me with their marketing and film choices. They've both got solid releases (most of the time) and really know what they're doing. It baffles me when some studio that stumbles over itself releases a film that makes so much money - I wonder how when WB and Paramount are doing such a better job! However, the year end results prove that for both studios it has paid off.
For more information, you can head to Box Office Mojo or The Numbers. Both are great box office earnings websites. I'm looking forward to an even more competitive year this year and with Paramount and Warner Brothers still showing off their strengths.
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