Box Office Slump 2011: Ticket Sales Drop to 16 Year Lows, Worldwide Amounts Increase

For Hollywood this season, it absolutely was the most effective of occasions as well as the worst of occasions. Worldwide, the film business was thriving: according to estimations, art galleries acquired $13.53 billion overseas this season, an increase of 6 to 8 percent from 2010 together with a brand new all-time record. Sadly, that success didn't extend to U.S. shores: ticket sales dropped to a single.28 billion this season, the least expensive total since 1995. Thank heavens for elevated prices and 3d taxes! Because of the higher costs, revenue this season will simply dip 3.5 % where it absolutely was this season ($10.2 billion from $10.58 billion), but which doesn't show a company in a few distress. This is actually the seventh straight year that ticket sales have declined since the lots of 2003 (that was the season 'Lord in the Rings: The Return in the King,' 'Finding Nemo,' and 'Pirates in the Caribbean' ruled el born area office). In line with the La Occasions, total box-office per film dropped some 13 percent this season, because -- as research signifies -- people are certainly going to restrain for movies striking DVD and video on-demand services. "Youthful individuals who're image-conscious wouldn't like to discuss movies that are each week old," mentioned Ben Carlson, leader of social media research firm Fizziology for the Occasions. "If you don't start to see the movie only at that first moment, then you want to notice begins to fall away." Clearly, the flicks themselves might be blamed. The most effective seven films laminator tl901 office this season -- 'Harry Potter as well as the Deathly Hallows Part 2,' 'Transformers: Dark in the Moon,' 'Breaking Beginning Part 1,' 'The Hangover Part II,' 'Pirates in the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' 'Fast Five' and 'Cars 2' -- were sequels, while 'Thor,' 'Rise in the Planet in the Apes' and 'Captain America' rounded their email list, films that may hardly be referred to as originals. Might U.S. audiences be revolting against unoriginality? Sadly, it in most probability won't matter: with foreign grosses overflowing and ticket prices rising, it seems the domestic moviegoer is of less concern than previously -- something the 2012 release calendar, full of sequels, prequels and reissues, seems as an example. Why didn't help with the flicks this year? What movies will you see along with your disposable earnings in 2012? Inform us inside the comments below and take part in our anticipation poll! What\'s Your Most Anticipated 2012 Movie?The Hunger GamesThe Dark Dark evening RisesThe AvengersThe HobbitThe Amazing Spider-ManDjango UnchainedThe Great GatsbyThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning Part 2Pixar's BraveOtherVote [via LAT, THR] [Photo: Warner Bros.] 5 Main Reasons Why You Aren't Going to the films See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

CBS rolls to weekly ratings victory

Freshman powerhouse 2 Broke Girls performed impressively for CBS when it anchored Monday for the first time. The finale of "Survivor," original episodes of most of its hit shows and a sizable NFL overrun on Sunday lifted CBS to one of the most dominant ratings victories of the season. With many of the top shows on the competition preempted or airing in repeat, the Eye claimed seven of the week's top 10 programs in adults 18-49 -- as well as the top five scripted skeins. CBS wraps fall tied with Fox for the lead among adults 18-49 while holding comfortable leads in its strongest categories -- adults 25-54 and total viewers. While CBS is up slightly across the board, Fox is the only net to improve by double-digit percentages. Looking at the week of Dec. 12-18, Nielsen estimates that CBS averaged a 2.8 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 during primetime, comfortably ahead of NBC (2.0/6) and Fox (1.9/5), with ABC and Univision (both 1.3/4) well behind. CBS also cruised in adults 25-54 (3.8/9 to 2.5/6 for runner-up NBC) and total viewers, where its 11.4 million was nearly as much as the next two nets combined (6.2 million for NBC, 5.6 million for Fox). Highlights for CBS included "2 Broke Girls" (4.2/11 in 18-49, 12.50m), which still performed very well despite airing a half-hour earlier than usual (in place of "How I Met Your Mother"). The net also won in the 9 o'clock hour with "Two and a Half Men" (4.7/11, 14.88m) and "Mike and Molly" (4.0/9, 12.77m). "NCIS" (3.6/10, 19.13m), "Criminal Minds" (3.4/9, 12.88m) and "Person of Interest" (2.8/8, 12.93m) were among the Eye's timeslot-winning dramas, with the last drawing its largest audience since its premiere. And Sunday, following a hugely rated NFL game, "60 Minutes" surged (4.0/11, 18.47m), and "Survivor" (4.0/10, 13.07m) wrapped on par with the show's spring conclusion and down a bit vs. last year's fall finale. NBC was paced by "Sunday Night Football" (6.1/15, 16.58m), though the Baltimore-San Diego match was one of the franchise's least-watched of the season. The net also was boosted by the return of "Fear Factor" (3.5/8, 8.52m), which significantly improved its Monday timeslot and became the net's second strongest entertainment series telecast of the fall in 18-49. Fox was led by Wednesday's episode of "The X Factor" (3.4/10, 10.79m), though the new comedy that followed it, "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" (1.8/5, 5.06m), took a hit in its second week. Net fared better with its Tuesday rookie comedy "New Girl" (3.3/9, 6.82m), again building on its demo lead-in from "Glee" (3.0/8, 7.13m). And ABC, which didn't air any original scripted programs, had a very quiet week, seeing its best numbers from Wednesday spec "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" (2.3/6, 8.39m), though the annual event continues to see its popularity wane. ESPN's "Monday Night Football" was below average (3.7/10 in 18-49, 9.88m for St. Louis-Seattle) but was easily the top cable draw of the week. Top entertainment series among young adults were A&E's "Storage Wars" (2.3/6, 5.20m) and "Storage Wars: Texas" (2.1/6, 4.68m), Discovery's "Gold Rush" (2.1/7, 5.38m), History's "Pawn Stars" (2.1/6, 5.23m) and MTV's "Teen Mom" (2.0/5, 3.42m). Other than "MNF," the most-watched cablecast of the week was Fox News Channel's coverage of the Republican Presidential Debate on Thursday (6.71 million). It drew more viewers than ABC News' "The Year With Katie Couric" special that aired on the same night (5.54m). And on the pay cable side, Showtime was pleased with the numbers for its Sunday finales of "Dexter" (2.23 million) and "Homeland" (1.71m). When you add in a second showing that night, "Homeland's" audience (2.1 million) was the largest to date for the first-season finale of a Showtime series (Daily Variety, Dec. 20). Contact Rick Kissell at rick.kissell@variety.com

B.O. hosts quiet party for 'New Year's'

'New Year's Eve'A paltry $13.7 million opening for Warner Bros.' "New Year's Eve" party couldn't rouse what is the worst weekend overall at the domestic box office in three years. Overseas B.O. was far less dire, as Paramount-DreamWorks Animation's "Puss in Boots" rallied with a chart-topping estimated $45.6 million. Though the star-powered ensembler still managed to beat 20th Century Fox's new entry "The Sitter," which collected $10 million, Warners expected "New Year's Eve" to hit at around $20 million for the weekend. "The Sitter" performed in line with pre-weekend projections. Stateside B.O., totaling in the mid-to-high-$70 millions, was down even from last weekend's typically sluggish post-Thanksgiving frame, at $81 million. What's more, B.O. conditions haven't been this off since the weekend of Sept. 5, 2008, when overall totals reached just $67.9 million. "It's rare that this week would fall below last weekend," said Warner domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman, who added that big titles launching next weekend, such as "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," will be an important test for the industry. In advance of overseas school holidays, "Puss in Boots" added 16 territories this weekend, including top market Germany, which contributed $7.2 million. Toon has cumed $142.3 million internationally. While Stateside wide releases mostly fell short, the weekend's crop of specialty titles, led by Focus Features' "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," came in strong. "Tailor" scored the year's third-highest per-screen average for a traditional theatrical release, totaling an estimated average of $75,184 from four locations. ("Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life" hold 2011's best per-screen perfs, respectively.) Par, meanwhile, did well with Jason Reitman's black comedy "Young Adult," which launched limited for an estimated three-day gross of $320,000. That's an average of $40,000 from eight engagements. "Young Adult" should have a strong female fanbase, according to Par marketing and distribution head Megan Colligan. That's one reason why Par decided to launch the film limited, before expanding to approximately 1,000 locations next weekend. "It's always tricky with women in the weeks leading up to Christmas," Colligan said. "And with 'Young Adult,' I think it's important that we're not at 3,000 locations next weekend. "This is a film that needs room to grow." By comparison, "New Year's Eve" skewed heavily toward women, which repped 70% of the film's opening. The film stalled, however, with under-18 auds, at just 22%. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Courmayeur Noir in Festival Awards 'Headhunters' With Top Prize

Chris Hyde/Getty Images In the old days, superstar recording artists used to get together and warble for causes like humanitarian aid to Africa, world hunger and AIDS. Now a bunch of musicians and other celebrities are singing an ode to a popular file storage site that has often gotten under the skin of the movie and record industries.our editor recommends54th Annual Grammy Nominees: Kanye West, Adele, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Katy PerryTweeting With the Devil: How the Grammys Launched a Misinformation Campaign in 140 Characters (Opinion)Kim Kardashian Attends THR's Women in Entertainment BreakfastFoo Fighters' Six Grammy Nominations Put Analog Recording Back on the Map Move over Band Aid and USA for Africa. It's time for the "Megaupload Mega Song," from Will.i.am, P Diddy, Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Lil John, Jamie Foxx, Mary J Blige, Floyd Mayweather, The Game and more. Over a simple electro-beat, the various stars sing how much they love the service. Torrent Freak says the music video is a "stunning PR coup" for Megaupload, which has been attacked by the MPAA and RIAA. And on Friday the video was taken down from YouTube, a move that TechDirt says might be due to a copyright infringement claim from Universal Music Group. PHOTOS: 54th Annual Grammy Nominees The servicehas reportedly garnered Kanye West's support because it's "the fastest and safest way to send files," gotten Keys on board because it proves she's serious about music, and earned Snoop's endorsement because "it keeps the kids off the street." The Game adds that even his lawyers know he uses it, noting "...and I got plenty of them." Megaupload is based in Hong Kong and is run by a guy named Kim Dotcom (bornKim Schmitz). The company has only been sued one time in the United States for copyright infringement. In January, adult entertainment company Perfect 10 accused the company of encouraging users to upload its copyrighted material on the service. VIDEOS: The Best (and Worst) Moments of AMAs 2011 Many industry folks probably figured it would be tough to litigate against a company that operates outside U.S. jurisdiction and is cloaked in mystery, but Megaupload surprised Hollywood by responding to the lawsuit. In July, a federal judge turned down Megaupload's motion to dismiss the suit, finding: "Megaupload serves as more than a passive conduit and more than a mere 'file storage' company: It has created distinct Web sites presumably in an effort to streamline users' access to different types of media. It encourages and in some cases pays its users to upload vast amounts of popular media through its rewards programs. It disseminates URLS for various files throughout the Internet. It provides payouts to affiliate websites who maintain a catalogue of all available files and last at a minimum, it is plausibly aware of the ongoing rampant infringement taking place on its Web sites." In September, however, Megaupload settled the lawsuit with Perfect 10. Terms of the agreement haven't been revealed, but the parties submitted a motion so that the judge's July decision would be vacated. PHOTOS: 20 Best and Worst Music to Movie Crossovers The content industry has continued to attack Kim and the storage locker. Two weeks ago, Creative America, a coalition of major studios, networks, labor unions, and others, released an anti-piracy advertisement that includes among its targets "the infamous founder of Megaupload," alleging he makes up to $300 million in profits off of piracy. The creators of"Megaupload Mega Song" are now rallying support of Megaupload. Besides the video below, there's also a club remix of the song in circulation. MEGA UPLOAD SONG!!!! BROUGHT TO YOU BY OKFOCUS! from OKFocus on Vimeo. E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 54th Annual Grammy Nominees: Kanye West, Adele, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Katy Perry Alicia Keys Chris Brown Kanye West Kim Kardashian Mary J. Blige Snoop Dogg Will.i.am Lil Wayne P. Diddy

Legendary picks newcomer to experience Jackie Robinson

BosemanRobinsonFordLegendary Pictures is swinging for that fences using its Jackie Robinson biopic "42," tapping relative newcomer Chadwick Boseman to experience the Brooklyn Dodgers infielder and Harrison Ford to experience baseball executive Branch Rickey. John Helgeland will direct from the script he composed. Pic follows the legendary story of Robinson, the very first African-American to participate in the major leagues. Rickey, the innovative Mlb executive who's most widely known for breaking MLB's color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to some minor league contract in 1945. 2 yrs later, at the beginning of the 1947 mlb season, Robinson was signed towards the Brooklyn Dodgers mlb team by using Rickey. While Rickey continues to be the role most thought in recent days, the role of Robinson was desired by a number of stars including "Friday Evening Light"'s Michael B. Jordan and "Stomp the Yard"'s Columbus Short. Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce, with Dick Prepare professional creating. No distributor is placed for that pic. Legendary labored in early stages in development with Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson, to guarantee the movie adaptation from the famous player's story is authentic. Ironically, Boseman also made an appearance in "The Express," which took it's origin from the real story of Ernie Davis (performed by Take advantage of Brown), the very first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. He repped by Greene & Affiliates. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

25 Stuff You didn't Find Out About 'Ocean's 11'

Showing that even passion projects to find the best-grossing company company directors set you back one pound of flesh, Vulture reviews that Michael Bay may return for just about any fourth 'Transformers' film -- provided the studio enables him make 'Pain and Gain.' "Without 'Pain & Gain,' there is not tit for tat," mentioned an origin to Vulture. "That's Paramount's leverage." Bay remains searching to produce 'Pain and Gain,' with various quantity of articles inside the Miami New Occasions, since 1999. (The film -- known to as 'Fargo'-esque -- follows two bodybuilders who end up involved in the kidnapping and extortion plot to progressively terrible results.) Per Vulture, once the deals for 'Pain and Gain' and 'Transformers 4' are showed up at, things could move very quickly 'Gain' could shoot in the year, with 'Transformers' headed to cameras by winter of 2012. While there's nothing official yet, apparently Bay as well as the studio are "just a little wayInch from the contract. Through the press for 'Transformers: Dark in the Moon,' it absolutely was thought that Bay ended while using series (Shia LaBeouf, who's finished with the franchise, mentioned as much), nevertheless it appears that's not the problem. What plot 'Transformers 4' uses remains to look, nevertheless it likely won't be considered a prequel. Vulture thinks this might all become official inside the coming week considering what went lower with Benicio Del Toro, however, don't hold your breath for too extended. [via Vulture] [Photo: Vital] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Charlize Theron and the 'Young Adult' Crew Talk High School and 'Staying Off the Pole' (VIDEO)

Moviefone - Young Adult - Cast Interviews - High School .post-content img {display:none;} In the new comedy-drama 'Young Adult,' Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, an author of YA books who returns to her hometown during a bout of creative ennui to win back her high school boyfriend -- who happens to be a happily married new father. Whoops! Mavis is a former high school queen bee whose life hasn't turned out the way she had hoped -- a fact she manages to hide from everyone except a former classmate-turned-drinking companion, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt). Brought to life by Team 'Juno' (director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody), 'Young Adult' serves as a reminder that in the grand scheme of life, high school is but a blip. Which is a good thing for Theron, since as she told Moviefone in this exclusive video interview, her biggest dream in high school was to "stay off the pole. The stripper pole." Above, watch Theron, Oswalt, Cody, Reitman and the cast of 'Young Adult' look back on high school and reveal how their former selves would react to the fact that they're all part of Hollywood's cool inner circle. 'Young Adult' Photos See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Under Fire: Journalists in Combat: Film Review

NBC After several days of dealing with the fallout from attending mothering sunday celebration for Chechnyan dictator Ramzan Kadyrov in October, Hilary Swank states she's learned an excellent lesson -- ought to be more alert to where she's going.our editor recommendsNew Particulars Emerge After Hilary Swank Fired By Her Publicity FirmHilary Swank Giving Costs From Chechen Leader's Special Birthday to CharityHilary Swank Apologizes for transporting on Chechen Leader's Birthday PartyHilary Swank, Jean-Claude Van Damme Condemned for transporting on Birthday of Chechen Leader She mentioned round the Tonight Show With Jay Leno Friday, "I will know where I'm going. I truly didn't know Chechnya was outdoors of Russia. Now everyone knows everything however i really didn't know.Inch Jean-Claude Van Damme and Seal also attended the soiree nevertheless it was Swank that received fire from human rights groups for involved in the large event for just about any guy that's been connected with torture, murder and human-rights abuses. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Memorable Mea Culpas Swank led the charge received on her behalf appearance to charitable organization. She told Jay Leno the knowledge also had an positive outcome, "I led the cash. There's always a silver lining on things which i've many userful stuff here in regards to the incredible items that people are actually doing, like I mentioned, with Human Rights Watch, I'm working carefully together.Inch Publicity firm 42 West dropped the Big Baby and Conviction star just like a client because she'd declined to just accept responsibility for your ill-advised trip. She rather fired her manager of eight years, Jason Weinberg, and axed a couple of her team at CAA, Amie Yavor and Josh Lieberman, for role in booking the appearance. Hilary Swank Seal Jay Leno The Tonight Show Jean-Claude Van Damme

Hilary Swank Discusses Her Ill-Fated Trip To Chechnya: I Should Know Where Im Going

Hilary Swank tonight kicked off her image-rehabilitating campaign after the disastrous paid appearance at tyrannical Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday party with a visit to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The backlash from the Oct. 5 appearance in Grozny led to Swank firing her manager and most of her agents. The fallout also included her PR firm 42West reportedly dropping her over disagreement how the aftermath of her embarrassing stint should be handled, so it’s unclear who booked her appearance on Leno tonight. In in, Swank tried to repair some of the damage by claiming ignorance. She ultimately took responsibly for her blunder but left some blame for her representatives too. “Human rights organizations had reached out to warn me before I went but I did not get those warnings, they werent shared with me,” she said in a subtle jab at her reps. “The bottom line is I should know where I’m going and should do better research.” Watch Swank’s account of the events in the video clip below. Curiously, the clip stops just before the end of the conversation, which, in typical Leno fashion didn’t include a single tough question. In the left-out part, after talking about how little she knew about Chechnya and its government before the incident and how much she has learned since, Swank said, “I actually didnt know that Chechnya was separate from Russia.” The statement is somewhat puzzling because, while being its own republic, Chechnya is still a member of the Russian Federation.

Glee Star Mark Salling Suffers Fractured Pelvis

First Released: December 1, 2011 1:45 PM EST Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Mark Salling gets to the launch of Activisions Guitar Hero: Players of Rock with Soundgarden at Vital Galleries in La on September 27, 2010 Well, this may hamper Pucks romantic liaisons together with his new teacher ladylove! Glee star Mark Salling includes a damaged pelvis, the actor revealed on his Twitter page on Wednesday. So apparently ive fractured my pelvis. among the issues to be a basketball occasional athlete. and you know what i'm able to do about this? NOTHING! Mark Tweeted around 4 PM PST on Wednesday. Regardless of the injuries, Mark whose Glee character (SPOILER ALERT!) seems to possess rested with Idina Menzels Shelby Corcoran on Tuesdays episode appears to stay in good spirits. Its not too shabby, i'm able to still walk as well as run but sitting and getting out of bed is excruciating, he published in another Tweet. can one acquire some crylenol? or possibly some sadvil? The injuries also does not seem to be supporting production on Glee. Late Wednesday evening, Mark published a photograph of themself laying on the table on which made an appearance to become the shows set, using the line Pelvic injuries are glamourous. A repetition for FOX wasn't immediately readily available for comment when approached by Access Hollywood on Thursday on whether manufacture of the show could be affected by any means. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.