This section is dedicated to the year's biggest surprises (not biggest blockbusters), and the year's biggest duds...
Animated hits Wreck-it Ralph, Hotel Transylvania and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted do count in this, as do Underworld: Awakening and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, but I've already covered them once or twice...
It may have gotten a rare "F" CinemaScore, but nobody counted on The Devil Inside earning $36 million on its' debut weekend!!! It would crash to a finish north of $50 million, but on a budget of $1 million, that's the clincher. In fact, January was a month of hits (which is rare). Contraband also managed to earn more than expected, with over $65 million on a $25 million budget. Liam Neeson's critically-acclaimed The Grey was also a success with over $50 million on a $25 million budget.
February also was a month of unexpected hits. Chronicle and The Woman in Black both had low budgets, and in the end earned nearly $65 million and $55 million. The next weekend brought huge hits The Vow and Safe House, which both brought in more than $40 million on their debut weekends on their way to finishes above $120 million. On a smaller scale, Act of Valor benefited from its' military theme to a $25 million debut, on its' way to a strong $70 million finish. Party flick Project X managed nearly $55 million on a $5 million budget.
Then came 21 Jump Street, which benefited from Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum to a huge $36 million opening. And despite a "B-" CinemaScore, it actually had strong legs, on its' way to nearly $140 million domestic, ranking as the second-biggest R-rated comedy of 2012. Fast forward to the end of April, book adaptation Think Like A Man took in the Tyler Perry audience, and opened huge in the low-30's millions, on its' way to over $90 million.
Despite having low expectations, Snow White and the Huntsman opened much bigger than expected in the high-50's millions, on its' way to $155 million domestic and over $400 million worldwide. While it wasn't a blockbuster, it was still a pretty good-sized hit. June 29 brought three surprise hits. But the biggest surprise hit of the year (on the box office front) was Seth McFarlane's theatrical debut, Ted. Originally expected to do just respectable business, it opened to over $50 million, and was loved by audiences, on its' way to close to an incredible $220 million, and overseas was even bigger, with over $500 million worldwide.
Driven by females, Magic Mike also debuted hugely to nearly $40 million on its' way to just north of $110 million domestic, and becoming a bigger-than-expected hit. Finally, Madea's Witness Protection gave Tyler Perry his biggest hit since Madea Goes To Jail with a $27 million opening and $65 million finish. The Campaign was another R-rated comedy success, with $90 million domestic against a $60 million budget. August sleepers Hope Springs and The Odd Life of Timothy Green opened softly, but wound up surprise successes with grosses near $65 million and above $50 million.
Sam Raimi's horror flick The Possession opened strongly over Labor Day Weekend, and even sustained well for its' genre, closing with near $50 million. Recently expanded, police-themed flick End of Watch shockingly debuted on top with $13 million even though it had low expectations. Its' at $40 million, against just a $7 million budget. Also surprising was horror flick House at the End of the Street, which had The Hunger Games' Jennifer Lawrence. It had just a $10 million budget, and grossed a better-than-originally-expected $30 million. The next weekend, Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt's critically-acclaimed Looper opened to over $20 million, and grossed over $65 million domestic and $165 million worldwide.
Musical Pitch Perfect also had modest expectations, but managed a $15 million debut and finished with over $60 million, becoming a crowd-pleaser. Oscar contender Argo showed the best word-of-mouth for a movie all year, and as a result, after a $19 million debut, earned over $100 million in its' entire run. Sinister was another horror hit, opening to $18 million on its' way to nearly $50 million benefiting from better-than-expected word-of-mouth. On a much smaller scale, Red Dawn and Life of Pi had limited expectations, but both opened strong and have had good legs. The latter is an Oscar contender and earned $30 million in its' first five days and may squeak $100 million. Dawn is approaching $45 million and is turning into a minor hit.
Now lets' get to the biggest duds of 2012....
I wouldn't call it a huge dud, but Red Tails seemed doomed from the start despite opening better than expected. In the end, it fell short of its' $58 million budget. Another one that fell just shy was One for the Money which had Katherine Heigl, but in the end only earned 60% of its' $40 million budget. I had mentioned how Big Miracle bombed in the family/animation section (and Oogieloves). Amanda Seyfried's Gone was only a $10 million grosser, Wanderlust was less than $20 million, while Won't Back Down and Chasing Mavericks fared even worse as I had already mentioned.
Out of all of them, there were a few big financial losers. John Carter looked impressive, but it just had very little fanbase and as a result, with a massive $200 million budget, it only earned $75 million domestic. It did do fair business overseas but considering Disney's many dollars in marketing, it was a major financial disappointment. Faring even worse (on the domestic front) was the action gamble Battleship, which was hoping to be the next Transformers. The war flick had a $209 million budget and only had a $65 million domestic gross (but over $300 million worldwide did save it a bit). Also disappointing domestically was Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows, which was only a $80 million grosser domestically against a $150 million budget (it did earn $240 million worldwide, but its' not enough to save it considering the marketing). The remake of Total Recall had a hefty $125 million budget, but earned less than $60 million stateside. Finally, Cloud Atlas had a hefty $100 million budget, and it just earned $65 million worldwide.
Other misfires include A Thousand Words, Fun Size, The Man with the Iron Fists, Seven Psychopaths, Dredd, The Words, Premium Rush, Hit and Run, The Watch, People Like Us, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Chernobyl Diaries, Safe, The Raven, The Five-Year Engagement, Lockout and Silent House...but to go over them individually would mean writing another six to eight paragraphs...
