As 2010 comes to a close, Hollywood will be boasting publicly about how the total box office will land around $10.3 billion, the second-highest yearly total of all-time (roughly $275 million behind 2009). Looking closer, however, 2010 has been incredibly tumultuous. The box office endured several slumps, resulting in approximately 1.3 billion tickets sold—a 9 percent decrease from 2009 and the lowest amount since 1995.
So, what’s keeping revenue so high despite record-low attendance? Not only are ticket prices steadily increasing 3-4 percent each year, but the boom in 3D releases has resulted in a massive increase of average ticket prices due to 3D surcharges. Competition from On-Demand and Netflix certainly isn’t helping matters of attendance when public opinion seems to agree that the quality of releases this year just wasn’t up to snuff.
Even still, there were a number of very successful films this year so here’s a rundown of the top ten grossing films of 2010:
10. The Karate Kid—($176.6 million)
Breakdown: The remake of the 1984 hit took advantage of a weak summer market that saw few films appealing to families. In June, the film surprised most in the industry when it opened to more than $55 million. Word of mouth carried the film as audiences responded well to the update, particularly the on-screen chemistry between Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith (Will’s son).
9. How to Train Your Dragon—($217.6 million)
Breakdown: DreamWorks Animation probably wasn’t thrilled when the film opened to only $43.7 million in March (nearly $20 million less than Monsters vs. Aliens one year prior). While 3D was an aide to its gross, exceptional reviews and a family audience that embraced the film ultimately gave it some of the best legs of any film this year and higher admissions than Monsters and the Madagascar sequel.
8. Shrek Forever After—($238.4 million)
Breakdown: On the flip side of the coin, DreamWorks Animation’s second release of the year proved that the green ogre’s appeal had waned. Due to weak word of mouth among adults from 2007’s third film, the final installment opened to a mediocre $70.8 million in May. The final film garnered better reception among audiences, giving it slightly better legs, but in the end lost over 35 percent of Shrek the Third’s ticket sales.
7. Despicable Me—($250.9 million)
Breakdown: Having only three $100 million films since 2008 and a number of financial flops, Universal was badly in need of a hit when Despicable Me finally delivered it. Thanks to “It’s so FLUFFY!” and strong marketing, the film came out of nowhere with its $56 million opening in July and went on to become the highest-grossing computer animation film not released by Pixar or DreamWorks.
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1—($275.8 million)*
Breakdown: The seventh installment delivered a franchise-best opening weekend with $125 million. While this was on par with previous entries’ ticket sales, the film had the disadvantage of releasing in the middle of the worst winter market since 1995. A depressed market and the lack of this being the actual finale may have held back the film’s legs (ultimately landing 10-15 percent below ticket sales of its predecessors), but a projected $290 million finish for a sixth sequel is impressive no matter how you slice it.
5. Inception—($292.5 million)
Breakdown: Christopher Nolan cemented his status as a blockbuster director with his follow-up to The Dark Knight. Following an intense marketing campaign, Inception opened to the tune of $62.7 million on opening weekend—one of the best launches of all-time for an original film. The mind-bender garnered critical acclaim, phenomenal word of mouth and became the “water cooler” talking point of the summer as it legged its way out to just shy of $300 million domestically and over $825 million worldwide—the third-highest ever for an original film.
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse— ($300.5 million)
Breakdown: The third entry of the vampire saga opened to $30 million at midnight alone (breaking New Moon’s own record) and proved that the first two weren’t flukes at the box office. Despite not enamoring itself to the mainstream much more than its predecessors did, Eclipse still edged out New Moon as the top-grosser of the franchise thanks to repeat viewings from the very loyal fan base.
3. Iron Man 2—($312.1 million)
Breakdown: Iron Man 2 opened to $128 million as it kicked off the summer season. While many in the industry expected the film to challenge The Dark Knight’s opening record, Paramount and Marvel delivered a lackluster marketing campaign that didn’t build the necessary hype. Word of mouth was decent, but most generally considered this sequel inferior to the first as admissions dropped about 8 percent in the long run despite a stronger start out of the gate.
2. Alice In Wonderland (2010) —($334.2 million)
Breakdown: Hot on the heels of Avatar and the 3D craze, Johnny Depp, Disney’s aggressive marketing, and 3D ticket prices helped Alice become the first film to ever open over $100 million outside the summer and holiday seasons. Strong overseas 3D appeal also helped carry it to become just the sixth $1 billion-grosser in history.
1. Toy Story 3—($415 million)
Breakdown: With or without 3D, Pixar’s second sequel to the beloved animated franchise packed a punch when it opened to over $110 million in June. Nostalgia played a big role as marketing targeted college and adult crowds that grew up with the original films, but a new generation of families also turned out. Boasting Pixar’s biggest opening yet, Toy Story 3 went on to sell the most tickets of any 2010 film and even crossed the $1 billion worldwide threshold—the first animated film to ever accomplish that feat.
* = still in release
Grosses accurate as of Dec. 28, 2010, via BoxOfficeMojo.com
