26 May 2011
Could this be a new record for the widest opening film in Singapore?
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES premiered on 100 screens and grossed a total of US$2,123,292 (S$2,628,423). That's also the highest first weekend gross for any film in Singapore this year so far.
Just for the record, PIRATES is the eighth film to open with 40 or more prints in Singapore this year. The others being THOR (70 screens), THE GREEN HORNET (64), RIO (46), SHAOLIN (43), SUCKER PUNCH (43), PRIEST (41) and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 5 (40). The local film with the widest opening this year is THE GHOSTS MUST BE CRAZY (34).
So why did I choose the number 40? Just to keep the club exclusive :)
The last time any film grossed more than US$2m in its opening weekend was back in April 2010 when CLASH OF THE TITANS made US$2,191,177 (S$3,067,494). That's marginally less than PIRATES in US$, but significantly higher in S$ due to the stronger Singapore dollar this year.
CLASH was also available in 3D but was released on only 75 screens. Its per screen average of US$29,216 - the highest for any film last year, was also way ahead of PIRATES' per screen average of US$21,233.
It'd be interesting to see how much of each film's gross came from 3D sales, just to track how audiences in Singapore are responding to 3D movies. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the information. In the US, it's reported that 3D accounted for less than half of total ticket sales for PIRATES [1].
So far, this year's top earners in Singapore are:
1. THOR (3D) * (US$4,221,908)
2. THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 5 * (US$3,212,376)
3. THE GREEN HORNET (3D) (US$2,222,872)
4. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (3D) * (US$2,123,292)
5. SHAOLIN (US$1,969,435)
6. IT'S A GREAT GREAT WORLD (US$1,902,926)
7. RIO (3D) (US$1,878,218)
8. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (US$1,635,954)
9. I AM NUMBER FOUR (US$1,463,707)
10. THE GHOSTS MUST BE CRAZY (US$1,133,837)
* denotes still in release
UPDATE: The last PIRATES movie PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END could be the previous record holder with an opening on 98 screens back in 2007. It grossed an estimated US$1,652,539 (S$2,524,914) with a screen average of US$16,863 (S$25,765). This is just marginally less than the latest PIRATES' flick.
Sources:
Notes:
The box office figures reported are just estimates based on the above sources.
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