More than sheer spectacle is necessary if a film is to maintain some strength throughout its box office run. If it suffers from bad word-of-mouth, odds are that the numbers will experience percentage drops of more than 50% in subsequent weekends. More often than not, Pixar films have stayed strong in their third and fourth weekends and beyond, making the Pixar brand extremely bankable. Pixar’s Brave grossed an estimated $20 million in its third weekend, which now has it closing in upon the $200 million mark. [Read more...]

Box office success depends on more than the opening weekend, as those who are the most excited to see a film will go see it as early as they can. The real challenge for studios is bringing in the audience that is on the fence – a good film will usually accomplish that with the circulation of positive word-of-mouth. Last weekend, Brave took in over $66 million, and many box office analysts expected it to hold rather well in its second weekend, with two R-rated films opening. While it did not maintain the number one spot, Pixar’s latest was still up to the challenge and brought home an estimated $34 million. After the break, we take a closer look at how Brave is holding up against its Pixar brethren. [Read more...]