Variety reported today that Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, earned over $17 million in its opening day of release on Wednesday.  The film opened very strongly with an excellent one day per screen average of $5,104, and experts say that FOTR is on track to earn between $70 to $80 million during its first five days in release, which would give the film the biggest December opening in history.  Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace racked up the largest opening day box office in history with over $28 million, while Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone managed to gross some $23 million on its opening day. 

 

The Fellowship of the Ring runs a half-an-hour longer than Harry Potter, and is being shown on almost one third fewer screens, so New Line Cinema, the studio behind FOTR is not at all displeased with the film's opening.  'It's all about longevity with us' said a New Line spokesman quoted in Variety.  The extent of the success of FOTR will be measured over the first month of its release.  Will the strong opening day numbers translate into a $70 million first weekend, or will the film's box office total drop precipitously after the LOTR fanatics have made their pilgrimage to the cinemas during the first few days of release?  Will this dark fantasy attract mainstream audiences in large numbers, and will devotees return for multiple viewings?

 

Some indications as to the answers to those questions can be found in the postponement of the Meg Ryan romancer, Kate & Leopold, which was pushed back a week because the studio tracking service felt that there was considerable interest in FOTR even among the likely audience for the Meg Ryan vehicle.  FOTR has already earned a Golden Globe nomination for 'Best Picture' and the reviews have been outstanding (97 out of 100 reviews tabulated on the Rotten Tomatoes website have been positive).  Retailers should keep a close eye on the FOTR numbers over the next week.  So far all indications are that the film is a 'phenomenon' that could have a major effect in expanding and directing the market served by pop culture stores.