For the second week in a row, Toy Story 3 from the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) led the pack in US box office receipts. Box office take dropped by about 50%, from $109 million last week to $59 million this week, but that was enough to keep Woody and Buzz and the rest of the crew on top. Worldwide, Toy Story 3 has grossed $226.6 million, fifth in receipts for movies released in 2010 just behind Shrek Forever After from Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) and Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) with $229.3 million.
Two new releases, Grown Ups from Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE
) and Knight and Day from News Corp. (NYSE: NWSA) finished in second and third place.
One company getting a boost from the latest Toy Story film is Mattel Corp. (NYSE: MAT), which has seen a higher expectation from one analyst and a ratings upgrade from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’. Disney itself has estimated that the movie will sell some $2.4 billion in related toys this year, bringing in more than $200 million to the company from licensing fees.
Theater owners may not fare so well. Depending on which estimate you look at, attendance is down 1%-2% or as much as 4%, while gross receipts are up 4%. Higher receipts are due to $3 premium that moviegoers are willing to pay to watch movies in 3D. Sixty percent of gross receipts for ‘Toy Story’ are coming from 3D screenings.
More 3D movies are coming, with particular attention being paid to Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), which has a 3D Harry Potter movie due this fall and a July 3D release of a popular sci-fi book, Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Both are expected to be hugely popular.
It appears that 3D is where it’s at this summer, and maybe going forward. Sony is pushing its 3D television sets as well as 3D movies. Even non-3D movies are getting a coat-tail effect as viewers get to see lobby posters and trailers promoting the coming films.
Still, the shrinking audience is not a good sign. Should the current enthusiasm for 3D entertainment cool — and if history is any guide, it will — movie makers will be left with smaller audiences that may be unwilling to keep paying premium prices just to watch buildings explode into their faces.
