Thanks to an increase in 3-D releases and a general rise in ticket prices, Hollywood studios have already earned $10.4 billion at the domestic box office, eclipsing the previous record of $9.68 billion set in 2007.  With an increasing number of theaters adding expensive 3-D projection equipment, a rise in ticket prices was inevitable. Avatar, Up, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, were all aided by 3-D showings, while the pricey IMAX venues have become an important source of income for most of the top-grossing films.  So far in 2009 28 films have passed the $100 million mark, while 7 films have surpassed $200 million. 

In spite of tough economic times, Hollywood has prospered at the box office where the number of tickets sold rose 5% over 2008 to reach a total of 1.4 billion.  Still the total is well below the record 1.6 billion admissions registered in 2002, which demonstrates the key role of higher ticket prices in the record grosses that modern films are earning.  Determining the average price paid by moviegoers attending films such as Avatar, where at least 10% of the grosses are generated by IMAX showings where ticket prices range from $15 and up, while another 50% plus comes from 3-D showings, and the rest is the result of cheaper 2-D showings, is an extremely difficult process especially since ticket prices also vary by time of day.

The big increase in theatrical revenue for Hollywood has been accompanied by a decline in earnings from DVD releases, something that has surely not been lost on the studio bosses.  If Avatar continues its present financial course and becomes a serious money maker, big event movies that take advantage of all the latest theatrical technology will get the nod over smaller films appealing to the home DVD audience.

Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is currently the #11 movie released in 2009, was the top-grossing comic book based movie with a domestic total of $179,883,157, followed by Warner Bros.’ Watchmen ($107,509,799) at #28 and Disney’s Surrogates at #72 with $38,577,772.  Top properties with major comic book tie-ins include the #1 film of the year, Transformers: Revenge of the Fall ($402,111,870), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (#4, $281,930,000), Star Trek (#6, $257,730, 019), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (#16, $150,201,498),  and Coraline (#39, $75,286,229).