As hard as this may be to believe, but one of those diamonds was Gnomeo and Juliet. Kicking off 2011 with a small bang, the film earned $25 million over its' debut weekend and replicated that gross over the four-day President's Day weekend. The film went on to become a sleeper hit, with just under $100 million domestically and nearly $200 million worldwide. That may not sound like a strong number, but considering the fact that it didn't come from a big-name animation studio such as Pixar or DreamWorks, and thats' a remarkable accomplishment. The film also earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song ("Hello Hello" by Elton John). According to sources, the budget was just over $10 million and was distributed by Touchstone Pictures/Disney.
Aiming more for adult audiences, Rango took advantage of its' intense promotional campaign and lack of entertainment for families to become a success. The non-3D animated adventure starred Johnny Depp and earned a solid $38 million on its' opening weekend, on its' way to just under $125 million domestic and over $240 million worldwide. The gross was on the low-end for a high-budget animated film and Depp's career, but it still was able to do successful enough that Paramount is opening its' own animation studio in 2014. The film was given positive reception from critics and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature. It was produced for $130 million by distributor Paramount Pictures.
The following weekend, sci-fi motion-capture 3D film Mars Needs Moms was released. However, due to competition, the film was a failure at the box office, tallying just $7 million on its' opening and finishing with $20 million domestically and $40 million worldwide, all against a $150 million budget. It also caused Disney to pull the plug on the studio that produced it, Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers Digital.
The end of March brought Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, which although opened higher than its' predecessor with a $25 million start, it was very front-loaded and ended up closing with just over $50 million domestic and $70 million worldwide. However, it was still successful enough that a follow-up Dog Days, is set for August 2012. April 1 brought the next film from heavily promoted Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me), Hop, which benefited from big promotion and earned a strong $38 million opening, on its' way to nearly $110 million stateside and becoming a second-straight win for the studio. The following week brought family/Christian drama Soul Surfer, which also was a success, with around $45 million domestic despite being an independent release.
The following weekend brought Blue Sky Animation's next film, Rio, which became another big success for 20th Century Fox. Raking in $39 million for its' opening, it would go on to gross over $140 million stateside and nearly $500 million worldwide, ranking as the 10th biggest film of the year on that term. The film was given mainly positive reception and was produced for $90 million by distributor 20th Century Fox.
Disneynature's next documentary African Cats followed on Earth Day (April 22), and did modest business, but still kept the downward trend for Disney's nature division going, opening with $6 million and ending with just over $15 million.
With all the competition around, there was no room for Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil. The sequel to 2005's Hoodwinked! bombed with just a $4 million opening, on its' way to just over $10 million domestic and $15 million worldwide, off a $30 million budget by distributor The Weinstein Company.
Disney's attempt at teenagers also failed that same weekend, Prom opened to just $4 million and ended up with $10 million domestic.
Releasing for the Memorial Day Weekend, Kung Fu Panda 2 had high expectations, and it seemed like a movie that audiences were clamoring to see. But, it didn't quite become a domestic blockbuster, despite a $66 million five-day opening, it only managed $165 million stateside (or about $50 million short of its' predecessor). But, it was given positive reception from critics and was a huge blockbuster internationally, tallying over $660 million worldwide and currently places it in the Top 50 highest-grossing movies ever, as well as the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson). It was produced for $150 million by distributor DreamWorks Animation/Paramount Pictures.
Two weeks later, childrens' book adaption Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer tried to be the Diary of a Wimpy Kid for girls, but it failed to get more than a fraction of those films' numbers. It opened to $6 million, but would crash to a $15 million finish. Faring much better the next weekend, Jim Carrey did children's book adaption Mr. Popper's Penguins, which was a success at a $18 million start and a $65 million finish domestic along with close to $200 million worldwide.
The relatively disappointing stateside performance of Kung Fu Panda 2 allowed Cars 2 to once again get Pixar to be on top for all animated films this year domestically. But, it didn't quite live up to recent Pixar flicks, as the sequel to 2006's Cars opened to $66 million, but crashed to a finish just north of $190 million, and marking the first Pixar film since A Bug's Life to miss the $200 million milestone. But, it did improve from its' predecessor signifigantly overseas, with over $550 million worldwide, ranking as the years' ninth-biggest film. Despite being the first Pixar film to actually recieve negative critical reception, it still earned a Golden Globe nod for Best Animated Feature. The film was produced for around $200 million by distributor Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.
Selena Gomez's family romance comedy Monte Carlo and Kevin James' comedy Zookeeper followed with solid numbers. Gomez's international vacation earned $9 million over the four-day 4th of July weekend and would go on to gross nearly $25 million stateside, or around the same as her last family flick Ramona and Beezus, along with $40 million worldwide. Kevin James' talking-animal comedy did average business for the genre, starting off with $20 million and going on to gross just over $80 million domestic along with $170 million worldwide.
Opening the same weekend as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Winnie The Pooh was Disney's attempt at trying to revive the franchise. But it didn't succeed, tallying just an $8 million start and going on to gross just over $25 million stateside and $40 million worldwide. Especially when traditional animation has become almost extinct, it had a limited audience. The film was produced for $30 million by distributor Walt Disney Pictures.
The true rare family gem this year, The Smurfs was able to take advantage of its' familiar characters and good advertising to get it strong numbers. The live-action/CGI-animated film took in $36 million for its' debut, on its' way to nearly $150 million domestically and over $550 million worldwide, ranking as the eighth-biggest film of the year. Due to its' strong success, a sequel is already in the works for a Summer 2013 release. The film was produced for $110 million by distributor Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation.
Only one family film was released in August, with Robert Rodriguez trying to bring back his famous franchise with Spy Kids: All The Time in the World. Despite not much competition, it didn't come close to replicating those films successes, but it still turned a nice profit with nearly $40 million domestic and $75 million worldwide, against just a $27 million budget.
September brought the first Disney classic to be re-released in 3-D, as The Lion King was able to bring in audiences as a special event. The film earned close to $30 million on its' debut and would go on to gross close to $100 million stateside and $170 million worldwide, bringing the films' lifelong gross to over $950 million worldwide. The following weekend, another success came along with Dolphin Tale, which was critically-acclaimed and earned nearly $20 million on its' debut and over $70 million when it ended its' run.
Two attempts at trying to be family movies followed, as The Big Year and Johnny English Reborn were unable to take in the family audience, with grosses of just $7 and $10 million domestic, but at least the latter was a worldwide smash.
Getting a jump on the holiday movie season, Puss in Boots did its' best to at least try to get DreamWorks Animation out of its' slump. Earning $34 million on its' debut seemed a bit disappointing, but it saw strong legs throughout November and is currently sitting at $144 million, and will likely finish close to MegaMind with nearly $150 million domestic. Intenational grosses have been stronger, as the worldwide gross is approaching $400 million. The film was produced for $130 million by distributor DreamWorks Animation/Paramount Pictures and earned positive reception from critics, along with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Adam Sandler tried to be family-adjacent with his latest cross-dressing comedy Jack & Jill, and although it was one of his lowest-grossing efforts, it still did modestly with a $25 million opening and a finish of around $75 million, along with close to $100 million worldwide.
Being literally trapped between lots of competition, Happy Feet Two was unable to come anywhere near the success of the 2006 original. Opening to $22 million, its' set to finish with just over $60 million stateside, or less than one-third of the original film, besides the fact that its' already grossed close to $120 million worldwide. The film was produced for $130 million by distributor Warner Bros. Pictures.
Meanwhile, over Thanksgiving, Disney tried to revive the classic Jim Henson franchise with The Muppets. Unlike other films, it did succeed, with over $40 million for the five-day extended period. But, despite being the best-reviewed movie of the year, it isn't holding like a crowd-pleaser, with $77 million earned in a month. The film will likely max out at around $90 million, with it yet to open in many international markets. Unadjusted for inflation, it is the highest-grossing Muppet film in its' franchise history. The film was produced for $45 million by distributor Walt Disney Pictures.
Also releasing over Thanksgiving, Arthur Christmas was the first Aardman Aniamtions production done without DreamWorks, and it was unable to secure a strong audience. Despite being the best-reviewed animated film of the year (recieving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature), it only earned just over $16 million over the five-day extended period, and while it has held well, its' only gotten $45 million so far, and will likely max out at just north of $50 million stateside, marking the British animation studios' lowest-grossing domestic effort by far. However, its' done wonders overseas, with over $130 million worldwide so far. The film was produced for $100 million by distributor Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation/Aardman.
The other Thanksgiving release, Martin Scorcese's first attempt at making a family movie, Hugo, did moderate business. The Eurocentric flick earned $15 million over the five-day extended period and currently has earned $45 million through today. Unfortunately for the critically-adored film (which has earned three Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture), it had a price tag of $150 million, and will likely max out at $55-$60 million through an awards season bump.
Onto the current releases, Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is doing a fraction of the business of the first two Alvin films, and it doesn't look like its' going to come anywhere near the $200 million mark even with it making up ground over this week. The last animated release this year, Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin struggled on its' opening weekend despite positive critical reception and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature. However, it is still looking for a strong New Year's weekend and might finish with moderate results. Cameron Crowe's first attempt at a family movie (may not technically count if examined closer), We Bought A Zoo, is also off to a soft start, but is looking for strong holds in the weeks ahead due to positive word-of-mouth.
Part IV coming tomorrow...
