History Repeats Itself

[kimberlyknits]

When Spider-Man opened to a record-setting $114M estimated box office weekend in 2002, a total that was $20M higher than the #2 all-time weekend (Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone), many executives in the movie industry scoffed. That total wouldn't hold up, some said, once the actuals came in late Monday afternoon. It's customary for studios

Comments

[raging_apathy]

It was kind of the same thing with Batman in 1989, Batman Returns in 1992, and Batman Forever in 1995. For the record, the record-breaking weekend grosses for movies exceeding 25M were:

All-
time
rank
Date
Title
Total Gross
# of Theaters

347
5/25/1984
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
$25,337,110
1,687

340
5/24/1985
Rambo: First Blood Part II
$25,520,843
2,074

321
5/22/1987
Beverly Hills Cop II
$26,348,555
2,326

254
6/16/1989
Ghostbusters II
$29,472,894
2,410

119
6/23/1989
Batman
$40,505,884
2,194

92
6/19/1992
Batman Returns
$45,687,710
2,644

71
6/11/1993
Jurassic Park
$50,159,460
2,404

54
6/16/1995
Batman Forever
$52,784,433
2,842

20
5/23/1997
Lost World: Jurassic Park
$72,132,785
3,281

10
11/16/2001
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
$90,294,621
3,672

3
5/3/2002
Spider-Man
$114,844,116
3,615

2
7/7/2006
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
$135,634,554
4,133

1
5/4/2007
Spider-Man 3
$151,116,516
4,252