Box office review 2010

Avatar was, not unexpectedly, the most successful film at the worldwide box office in 2010, raking in nearly $2bn. Its influence was massive: it’s no coincidence that the second and third biggest films, Toy Story 3 and Alice In Wonderland, were the featured 3D trailers screened before Avatar in most cinemas in the world. How else do you explain Alice pulling in $1bn???

In the UK, Avatar’s monstrous success was not enough to hold off TS3 – a whopping £73.4m for the kids film that made men cry. Although Avatar did take another near £30m at the end of 2009, meaning it is the most successful film at the UK box office ever.

Shortly before Xmas, the boy wizard overtook Alice, which may sound good, but it’s clear that Potter fatigue is setting in: HP7 has not yet reached the levels of HP6.
Inception showed tremendous legs, powering ahead of Shrek 4.

The third Twilight movie was 10% than the previous instalment, significantly ahead of the World Cup counter-programming success of the year: SATC 2, which while falling short of the $26m of the original two years before, dragged hordes of women to the cinema while the men watched football. Iron Man 2 and Clash of the Titans round out the UK top 10.

Tony Stark maintained his US focus, coming in fourth at the domestic box office, but crucially didn’t beat the $318m haul of his first instalment. The Twilight saga continued to grow, while Inception showed great legs in the US too. HP 7 disappointed and bodes relative ill for the final final instalment of the franchise.

Despicable Me performed notably well in the US, having been released in the summer holidays rather than the autumn and winter for the rest of the worldwide (although that release strategy was necessary to avoid the TS3 steamroller); it only just missed the UK top 10.

Shrek 4 only just beat How To Train Your Dragon; the latter emerged as the year’s most surprising hit (and most surprisingly well reviewed too).

The international market produced few surprises: Avatar, then Alice and TS3. HP 7 ranked fourth, ahead of Inception. The unwelcome Shrek 4 still crossed the $500m barrier, while Eclipse only just, er, eclipsed New Moon’s take of $391m. Clash of the Titans was one of the big hits to skew heavily towards the international market (ie it didn't perform as well as it should in the US) with 67% of its take coming from the rest of the world. Iron Man 2 was fully 20% more successful than its predecessor. Despicable Me rounded out the top 10.

Overall, the top three films in the world – and many of the other big hits – were powered by the premium ticket prices charged for 3D and/or IMAX screenings. Since Avatar, producers of event movies have been wrestling with the conundrum of 3D, especially those that were already in production while Avatar was on release and realising those big numbers: complete the production in 2D and then transfer to 3D, or continue the 2D production, but shoot some scenes in 3D, or stick with 2D? Chris Nolan, who used IMAX to such dramatic effect in Dark Knight, has already declared that Bats 3 will be 2D IMAX, but not 3D; meanwhile, Thor – shot in 2D – will be presented in 3D…

UK
Toy Story 3 £73.4m
Avatar £66.5m
Harry Potter 7 £48m
Alice In Wonderland £42.2m
Inception £35.2m
Shrek 4 £31.1m
Twilight: Eclipse £29.3m
Sex And The City 2 £21.6m
Iron Man 2 £20.9m
The Clash of the Titans £20.1m

US
Avatar $454.7m
Toy Story 3 $415m
Alice In Wonderland $334.2m
Iron Man 2 $312.1m
Twilight: Eclipse $300.5m
Inception $292.5m
Harry Potter 7 $280.1m
Despicable Me $251.2m
Shrek 4 $238.4m
How To Train Your Dragon $217.6m

International
Avatar $1495.7m
Alice In Wonderland $690.2m
Toy Story 3 $649.2m
Harry Potter 7 $610m
Inception $531m
Shrek 4 $503.5m
Twilight: Eclipse $394m
The Clash of the Titans $330m
Iron Man 2 $311m
Despicable Me $290m

Worldwide
Avatar $1947.4m
Toy Story 3 $1064.2m
Alice In Wonderland $1024.2m
Harry Potter 7 $890.1m
Inception $823.5m
Shrek 4 $741.9m
Twilight: Eclipse $694.5m
Iron Man 2 $623.1m
Despicable Me $540.8m
How To Train Your Dragon $495.1m