The 2005 "Box Office Slump" owed a lot
of credit to 2004's Passion of the Christ. Fortunately
for Hollywood, 2006's Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest would be one of the films
to pull us out of such a slump.
2006 Ends Box Office Slump
With an estimated $9.42 billion, 2006's national
tally scores at 5% higher than 2005's $8.99.
Though many films had large theatrical runs in 2006, most of the credit
for this year's box office is being given to Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest. The film kicked off with an opening day and single
day record of $55.8 million when it bowed July 7; a record once held by
Revenge of the Sith.
It then went on to break the opening weekend record previously held by Spider-Man
with a take of $135.6 million. Not wanting to stop there, the second Pirates
installment went on to break a billion worldwide.
Pirates did have some help, however, thanks to the return of penguins in
Warner Bros' Happy Feet.
The animated musical has raked in $165 million so far.
Some skeptics may claim that the end of the box office slump in 2006 owes
most credit to the hike in ticket prices. Seriously, does anyone remember
a time when a matinee was under five bucks? Yes, ticket prices did go up,
but so did the sales. According to early reports, 2006 sold .04 billion
more tickets than 2005 with 1.44 billion. Just in case you aren't feeling
like doing the math, 1.4 billion were sold in 2005.
Add to Heffee!
