Disney’s Digital 3D “A Christmas Carol” enjoyed a nearly 30% increase in boxoffice revenue Nov. 27-29 from the previous weekend, its fourth since the Nov. 6 premiere. It was one of only two of the top ten films in wide release to do so, the other being “The Blind Side” with a smaller 18% uptick.
The bump was even bigger at IMAX theaters where the Robert Zemeckis motion-capture production had a big 53% jump during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend Nov. 27-29 with a gross of $3.3 million from 182 IMAX theatres domestically. That represented 21% of the film’s $15.9 mil. total weekend domestic gross from just 3% of the screens.
The movie, which will run for three more weeks in IMAX theaters, has thus far generated a cume of $20.8 million from IMAX theaters worldwide, according to a joint announcement today from IMAX Corporation and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
“We have been watching IMAX releases demonstrate strong box office legs over the years and it’s great to be a part of it for this wonderful holiday movie,” said newly-promoted Walt Disney Studios Distribution president Bob Chapek.
The holiday success pushed the Robert Zemeckis motion-capture production over the $100 million mark to nearly $105 million domestically, with $16.5 million of that coming from IMAX theaters.
The 53 percent increase over last weekend demonstrates how The IMAX Experience(R) can add event status to an already exciting movie,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “It’s great to see momentum continue as we head into the final three weeks of the run, and we’re pleased that this momentum includes international markets — particularly Russia, which has grossed an estimated $600,000 on three screens in just ten days.”
This weekend’s significant box office increase is encouraging as we head into the final stretch,” added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment.
– by Scott Hettrick