Hot Movie Previews: Saw 5The UninvitedTwilightThe WrestlerQuarantineThe ReaderW.
FILED UNDER: Box-Office News

Who's Tops at the Summer 2008 Box-Office So Far?

And what is left to via for the top spot?

Photo: Paramount Pictures
Yesterday I get an email from some PR firm representing MovieTickets.com. It is about the tenth email I have received from them in the past two weeks telling me about ticket sales. It all started with Sex and the City and how great it was selling and then that damn film went on to open legs to the tune of $57 million. Well, I gotta hand it to them, their tracking seemed to show the film was going to do well and it did.

Taking that into consideration, what am I to think of The Incredible Hulk, which actually seems to have a much higher awareness rate than even Iron Man did? On top of that it appears the younger crowd is clamoring to see the film. The two strongest demos in terms of awareness are 24-&-Under and 25-34s, according to MovieTickets.com. Is Hulk a legitimate contender for the top five at the Summer 2008 box-office?

Here's a snapshot of the top five so far according to Box-Office Mojo as of 4:30 PST on June 5:

  1. Iron Man $278,733,064 after 4.5 Weeks
  2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $223,025,853 after 1.5 Weeks
  3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian $117,769,673 after 2.5 Weeks
  4. Sex and the City $68,056,238 after .5 Weeks
  5. What Happens in Vegas $67,341,818 after 3.5 Weeks
Back in April my guesses looked like this:
  1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  2. Iron Man
  3. Hancock
  4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
  5. The Dark Knight
This means Indy needs to do a little work for my top two to pan out, but it also means that along with Hulk, two of my top five are yet to even hit theaters. What else is out there?

How about we add WALL•E, Kung Fu Panda, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Tropic Thunder to that list.

Truth be told, it is still wide open for a major winner. Consider that last year the top four films all grossed over $300 million with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix barely missing that mark with $292 million. Will either Indy or Iron Man hit $300 million? Considering Indy made $44.7m just last week I think that is an obvious answer and Iron Man made $13.5m last week, which means it is going to be close. I don't think Narnia or Sex and the City have too much gas left in the tank and What Happens in Vegas is just a space filler for now.

Only time will tell, and I think I am in agreement with most folks out there thinking that The Dark Knight can't get here soon enough.

 
You are viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2 Comments for this article.
Post #1
Who's Tops at the Summer 2008 Box-Office So Far?
You are not lying, The Dark Knight can't come soon enough. I am going to the movies next week ( Though, Kung Fu Panda looks cute) to see either Hulk or Happening and I am leaning towards the Hulk( it's Edward Norton, so I feel obligated).

How do you think Get Smart will do? I think I am one of the few that think it will do quite well.
- BeautifulM [Posts: 124]
(Jun. 6, 2008 - 12:47:10 AM)
Post #2
Who's Tops at the Summer 2008 Box-Office So Far?
I can tell you Kung Fu Panda is really good, I gave it an A actually. As for Get Smart I am not sure about box-office take, but I think it might be a pretty good comedy. However, Tropic Thunder remains the main comedy I am looking forward to this summer.
- bradbrevet [Posts: 604]
(Jun. 6, 2008 - 1:54:51 AM)
 
 
ADVERTISEMENT
 
I have a list of 500 colors better than the color red, dare to disagree...
What fun a 'nightmare' can be...
Depressed yet? Well this should help if you aren't...
Russell gets in a 'Poseidon' zinger, but this is the only time you'll hear it
Sequels, money and Marky Mark talks to animals
Uh, Iraq? What Iraq? No terrorists here...
A couple of folks tell me yes, but I am not so sure
Bonham Carter and Hathaway join the cast
Hitchcock, Sleeping Beauty, 30 Rock and Shyamalan lead the way
Hard to live up to the first season, but this was good
ADVERTISEMENT
A Welles classic returned to form with an added bonus
I liked it, so there!
Golden eyes and white skin...
You never would have imagined the effect it would have
Paying homage from gold to black...
Boring for 45 minutes and intriguing for 10...
Chihuahua wins, conservative satire and Julianne Moore crumble.
First official look I should say...
Paramount Vantage is ramping up...
Universal Pictures preps us for what to expect