It’s the ultimate box office battle. The special effects male type driven ‘Indiana Jones 4′ against the pink chick flick ‘Sex and the City.’ Last weekend ‘Sex’ won, but this weekend Indy managed to beat ‘Sex and the City’ in the US. Internationally? Not so much. As in the US this weekend, it was a close call. ‘Sex’ grossed an estimated $38.1 million, while ‘Indiana Jones’ couldn’t get past $36 mill. But remember, ‘Sex and the City’ has yet to launch in some territories. Sex’ box office result came from 25 territories, while Indy’s came from 60.

‘Sex and the City’ now stand at $91.3 million overseas and will likely pass $200 million worldwide this Monday. It is turning out to be one of the most successful female driven movies of all time. Meanwhile, ‘Indiana Jones 4′ has an overseas total of $326 million, making a worldwide total of $580 million. It has now passed ‘Iron Man’ as the most successful movie of 2008 worldwide.

Continue reading ‘Indiana Jones 4′ can’t beat ‘Sex’ overseas

The weekend ended as expected. $60 mill for ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and $40 for ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,’ the studios reported earlier today. Both DreamWorks Animation and Adam Sandler can be pleased. DreamWorks only opened higher with ‘Shrek 2′ and ‘Shrek the Third’ and Sandler had his usual $40 million opening. Nothing to be ashamed of, I’d say.

We noted how ‘Indiana Jones 4′ and ‘Sex and the City’ swapped places yesterday, and they didn’t swap back this Sunday. Indy did $6.7 million on Sunday, while ‘Sex’ grossed another $6 mill. Their totals were respectively $22.8 million and $21.3 million. A close call and I expected a higher second weekend for ‘Sex and the City,’ after it held up so well during the weekdays. Monday and Tuesday will show its definite staying power. I personally expect it to hop to the third place again, maybe even passing ‘Zohan.’

‘The Strangers’ came in last, but not least. Considering the $9 million budget, it had an amazing second weekend. It topped its budget with $9.3 million and now stands at a total of $37.5 million. This must give Liv Tyler a lot of credit at the box office.

Next week is another big one. Will ‘The Incredible Hulk’ smash into the box office? And does ‘The Happening’ even stand a chance?

Marvel isn’t shy about updating us on their business plan, as we saw in the past. And this time they’re sharing their brand expansion plan. “We’re not in the business of simply making films; we’re in the business of building brands,” Marvel Entertainment president Paul Gitter said. The comic book company is planning to have an even bigger merchandising campaign for their ‘Iron Man’ DVD release this fall, than the theatrical release last month.

Gitter even wants to “create specific programs for each retailer,” he said. “Our strategy is to place product into the marketplace prior to a film’s releasing and to keep it [there], then to freshen up the product with new styles and new art in time with the DVD release.“

But not only that. Marvel has a three-year strategy for all their currently planned films. 1. Release the movie in theaters and on DVD, with marketing well in advance. 2. Expand with a supporting animated release. 3. Release the sequel to the first movie.

With ‘The Incredible Hulk’ coming up, Marvel seems to be hitting the gold by making their own movies. But can they keep it up? And are they expecting ‘Thor,’ ‘The First Avenger: Captain America,’ ‘The Avengers’ and all their sequels to be a success?