Big Picture
Kim & Kourt Take Bev Hills Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (698)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (606)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (504)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (398)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (396)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (222)
- Blind Vice! Nevis Divine's Sad Past (214)
Top 10 Stories
- Colbert Report Mystery Shutdown: Production Suspended Due to "Unforeseen Circumstances"
- Kevin Costner? Aretha Franklin? Bobby Brown? Latest Details on Whitney Houston's Funeral
- Diddy Remembers Whitney Houston: "She Was So Full of Life"
- Royal Feud Shocker! Sean Penn Slams Prince William's "Unthinkable" Deployment
- Real Housewives' Michaele Salahi & Journey's Neal Schon: Tareq Salahi Is the One Tormenting Us!
- Angelina Jolie Tears Up—Watch Her Get Emotional
- Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!
- Spoiler Chat Daily: A New Girl Baby on the Way?! Plus, Scoop on Vampire Diaries, Glee and More
- Jersey Shore Sneak Peek: Pauly D Pulls a Fast (and Dirty) One on Deena
- American Idol: Did Tent Girl Get Better? Who Passed Out Onstage? And Who's Headed to Vegas?!
Fashion Police
Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
Sony's Record Year of the Spider
Heck, just about everything at the studio is tingling because its coffers are jingling with an unprecedented amount of money, thanks in large part to a little movie called Spider-Man.
The studio announced Monday that it has shattered its own record for biggest domestic box-office gross in a single year, accumulating an astounding $1.29 billion in North American ticket sales.
The previous standard was $1.26 billion set by Sony in 1997--the year the studio released Air Force One, My Best Friend's Wedding and the original Men in Black.
"This has been a dream year for the studio," says Amy Pascal, chair of Sony's Columbia Pictures. "Years of effort went into assembling this slate, and, while we always believed our hard work would be rewarded, we never imagined we would enjoy this kind of success."
Even more amazing is that the money mark was achieved with a full four months left on the calendar. As Sony distribution chief Jeff Blake says, "This is a milestone that is usually determined on December 31, after we've counted every last dollar, not the middle of August."
The studio has tallied six number one hits this year, most recently Vin Diesel's extreme actioner XXX, which has held the top slot the past two weeks.
Much of the credit for Sony's banner year, of course, goes to the stunning popularity of Spider-Man, which spun a record $114.8 opening weekend on its way to grossing $404 million Stateside (and another $400 million overseas).
Spidey got a big assist from a couple of Men in Black. MIBII has taken in $188.5 million so far, making it Sony's second biggest hit of the year. The studio also got a nice surprise when its critically panned Adam Sandler feel-good vehicle Mr. Deeds took in an impressive $122.9 million. There's the $108.4 million tallied by Black Hawk Down, which was actually in limited release last December to qualify for the Oscars but didn't open nationwide until January. The Jodie Foster thriller Panic Room debuted at number one and grossed more than $95 million. And XXX has taken in nearly $84 million in just 10 days.
That kind of lineup can even make up for an underperformer like Stuart Little 2 and keep Sony ahead of rivals like 20th Century Fox, which has generated $800 million in ticket sales largely due to Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones.
All told, Sony has accounted for about a 20 percent stake in overall box-office marketshare this year.
"It's truly an outstanding achievement," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. "It's such a cyclical business. You can have an incredible year followed by a down year. But Sony is on such an upward trend it's unprecedented. Summer's technically not even over and they've already achieved full market share. This raises the bar in terms of what a studio can achieve in a single year."
The feat is all the more remarkable given Sony's underwhelming track record over the last five years.
And the studio will continue to add to its record in coming months. XXX should dominate for another week or two. The studio also has high hopes for Punch Drunk Love, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) and starring Sandler, the Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan (fomerly The Chambermaid) and the Eddie Murphy-Owen Wilson comedy remake of the classic TV series I Spy.
0 Comments
Now loading...