CZ12 closes the year on a high note

31 Dec 2012

SINGAPORE - Jackie Chan's CZ12 (a.k.a. CHINESE ZODIAC) (十二生肖) holds the top spot for the final two weeks of 2012. It has collected US$2,810,093 to date and is the top grossing Hong Kong release this year, a feat which it achieved during the first four days of release. It's the highest grossing Hong Kong film since IP MAN 2 (叶问2: 宗师传奇) finished with US$3,291,610 in 2010.

CZ12 also the year's top Mandarin language film (not counting AH BOYS TO MEN (新兵正传), which is actually a mix of Mandarin, English and other languages). Released on 44 screens, the film's screen average for the 2 weeks stood at US$25,172 and US$20,270. Only one other film - AH BOYS TO MEN, managed to maintain a screen average above US$20K for two consecutive weeks for 2012.

LES MISÉRABLES is the top new film for the final frame of 2012, grossing US$548,749 during the weekend from 33 screens for a screen average of US$16,629 and US$845,785 since its sneak previews of Christmas Eve and release on Christmas Day.

THE GUILLOTINES (血滴子), the new period action flick from Andrew Lau opens with US$217,721 from 26 screens and a screen average of US$8,374. The film is available in both 2D and 3D versions. Last year during the same frame, Tsui Hark's 3D extravaganza FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (龙门飞甲) started with a slightly higher US$313,082 from 30 screens and an average of US$10,436.

ARBITRAGE, the Richard Gere headlined finance drama thriller starts with US$38,542 and an average of US$5,506 from 7 screens, while the award-winning AMOUR by Michael Haneke starts with US$5,217 from a single screen.

Opening with a disastrous results in the educational drama WON'T BACK DOWN which starts with US$3,180 from 2 screens for a screen average of US$1,590.

Last week, WRECK-IT RALPH started with US$489,065 on 44 screens for a screen average of US$11,115. The film has since grossed US$1,277,970. It has now overtaken HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, which has grossed US$1,200,522 to date, but is trailing behind RISE OF THE GUARDIANS (US$1,983,303). All three animated flicks were released two weeks apart during this busy holiday season.

JACK REACHER starring Tom Cruise started with US$390,083 on 29 screens with a screen average of US$13,451 and has grossed US$980,162 to date. Last year around this time, Tom Cruise was storming the box office with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL, which was launched on 64 screens with US$1,677,761 and a screen average of US$26,215. GHOST PROTOCOL was of course a more well-known franchise, and did not have as much competition.

The thriller 388 ARLETTA AVENUE starts with a disastrous US$6,657 from 5 screens for a terrible US$1,331 screen average, while the Gerard Butler drama PLAYING FOR KEEPS scores one of the worst debuts of the year with US$1,714 from 2 screens fro a miserable US$817 screen average.

Despite the crowded market place, several long running films continue to sell tickets. AH BOYS TO MEN, the biggest domestic hit ever grossed a further US$28,608 to boost its total tally to US$5,039,572 in its 8th week of release. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is the oldest film in the chart, grossing another US$446 to push its total to US$490,176 in its 12th week. Other long running films include ARGO (7th week/US$1,652/US$1,000,120), PITCH PERFECT (8th week/US$1,178/US$996,502) and SKYFALL (9th week/US$2,221/US$5,255,215).

Each of the final two weekends of 2012 showed an improvement over the same frame from a year ago. The top ten films from week 51 grossed a total of US$2,887,618 against US$2,711,708 from the same frame in 2011 (+6.48%). Week 52's US$2,766,182 is a improvement over 2011's US$2,401,170 (+15.20%).

Sources: Box Office Mojo (Week 51) and Box Office Mojo (Week 52)