Hollywood box-office record dependent on Tron, Yogi Bear

A weak November put chances for another record in jeopardy.

Ticket sales for holiday movies including Walt Disney Co’s Tron: Legacy and Time Warner Inc’s Yogi Bear will decide whether Hollywood posts a second consecutive year of record revenue.

A weak November has put the chances for another record in jeopardy. Even with the drop, 2010 is Hollywood’s second-highest grossing year, with $9.9 billion in the US and Canadian ticket sales, as of December 12, according to Hollywood.com box-office. That leaves $700 million to go for total box office to pass last year’s $10.6 billion. While Tron and Yogi Bear will benefit from the added revenue that 3D surcharges generate, they’re up against comparisons with 2009’s surprise hit The Blind Side and Avatar, the top-grossing movie of all time.

“Even with higher ticket prices, it’s going to be really tough” to exceed last year’s sales, Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com’s box-office unit, said in an interview. “We may end up a little shy.”

Tron took in $3.6 million from midnight showings, according to Hollywood.com. That includes a $1 million, or a record 28 per cent, from Imax screens, the researcher said. The film may take in $55 million over the weekend, Dergarabedian said. Gitesh Pandya, editor of Guru.com, predicts a $40 million. In August, Dergarabedian predicted that 2010 sales may reach $11 billion, helped by the 24 three-dimensional movies planned for release this year. Studios released 14 3D movies in 2009.

Declining sales
After five straight weekends of declining sales, another record year was too close to call, Dergarabedian said. Movie attendance fell 14 per cent from November 5 to December 12, according to Hollywood.com. Sales fell 9.2 per cent to $1.08 billion, compared with $1.19 billion in the same period last year.

Tron, a 3D sequel to the 1982 film about a man trapped inside a video game, and Yogi Bear, based on the television cartoon character, open today. Movies opening next week include the Jack Black comedy Gulliver’s Travels and Little Fockers, the third in the series starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.

This year, 3D movies including Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland have helped lift total revenue 1.5 per cent. During the same period, attendance is down 3.5 per cent. The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock, was made for about $29 million and generated $256 million in the US and Canada. “We don’t have a big surprise that goes over $200 million,” Pandya said, referring to this year’s films.