Dawn Treader Grosses $24.5m Opening Weekend

In its first three days, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader grossed an estimated $24.5 Million in the U.S. and Canada. 54% of that came from 3D showings. This total falls short of the $55m earned by Prince Caspian (May 2008), and the $65m by The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (December 2005). Dawn Treader‘s worldwide total is at $105m.

Estimated weekend results:
1. $24m – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2. $17m – The Tourist
3. $14m – Tangled
4. $8m – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One
5. $4 – Unstoppable

Box Office Mojo writes:

It was hoped that a return to December along with marketing that pushed the first movie’s lion, witch and Christian angles and the addition of the 3D illusion would rekindle interest, but the third Narnia mustered a weaker start than fantasy also-ran The Golden Compass, let alone the other Narnias.

Read the full report here

The domestic total is certainly below expectations. But it fared better internationally. Yahoo writes:

[Dawn Treader and The Tourist] were lambasted by critics, and both carried hefty price tags — $150 million and $100 million, respectively — requiring strong overseas sales to make them profitable. The two previous “Chronicles of Narnia” films did most of their business overseas, where Depp and Jolie are also more popular.
[…]
Fox said it succeeded in its aim of resurrecting the franchise, and was “excited” about its overall prospects.

Dawn Treader will face some big competition from Disney’s Tron: Legacy when it releases this Friday.

Now, it is time to wait and see if another Narnia film is green-lit…

382 Responses

  1. Christina says:

    That seems very small. Well, what will happen will happen.

  2. The Servant says:

    That totally stinks. Oh well, we'll just have to make up for it. Maybe the weather was involved with it's shortcoming.

  3. starkat says:

    It seems like it was a bad weekend all around. So we'll see what it does when school gets out.

  4. Edward C. says:

    The LA Times is reporting that Dawn Treader grossed $81 million overseas this weekend.

  5. Moonwood says:

    Fox sais the franchise is saved !!

    'Fox said it succeeded in its aim of resurrecting the franchise, and was "excited" about its overall prospects.'

  6. Queen C The Gentle says:

    Has anyone seen this movie yet? I haven't yet so I would know like to what is happening b/w Lucy and Caspian b/c I'm hearing rumors that Caspain mistaked Lucy for Susan and Lucy has a crush on C.

  7. Moonwood says:

    Am I invisible ?

  8. Louloudi the Centaur says:

    That would be about $105.5 million worldwide. I think we would be able to pass the filming budget, but I'm not sure about the promotion budget. I read on Wikipedia Fox may have spent $100 million on marketing. But you can't fully trust Wikipedia. Does anyone have info to confirm this?

  9. Moonwood says:

    Am I invisible ? Am I dreaming ?

  10. glumPuddle says:

    Correction made, whoops.

  11. eustacegirl says:

    sweet

  12. Louloudi the Centaur says:

    I have. When I saw it, I didn't hear any line about this. There was absolutely NO crush in the movie.

  13. glumPuddle says:

    Corrected.

  14. Moonwood says:

    How much did LLW and PC make internationally the opening week-end ?

  15. 8SilverSky says:

    That sounds incredibly awesome! Yes!

  16. faunforaslan says:

    Just 2 million short??? I don't think that's bad. Not bad at all…

  17. Shastafan says:

    Hmm, I'm concerned, but at the same time, I'm hopeful. May VDT beat out Tron: Legacy next week! 😉

  18. Moonwood says:

    I know, right ?!!!

  19. Caspian X says:

    Well, Let"s see in about a week. Maybe the weather DID affect the movie.

  20. Moonwood says:

    Just 2 million short , that's awesome !
    Of course they will greenlight SC

  21. glumPuddle says:

    The domestic total does stink. Just added international numbers.

  22. faunforaslan says:

    That's what I'm thinking(:

  23. glumPuddle says:

    Yeah, looks like the franchise is not dead after all.

  24. WarriorOfNarnia says:

    Does this mean the Silver Chair will be made????

  25. Queen Su says:

    Even though the Voyage didn't make as much here in the U.S., it sounds like the film is rather popular elsewhere. 🙂
    I know a bunch of people that are not going to the movie until later on in the month. I'm sure the Voyage will pull this number way up over time.

  26. Moonwood says:

    I'm sure now that they are going to make the rest of the movies, and I think we have to remind ourselves not to take what critics write too seriously ( though unfortunately it affects ticket sales )
    Let's not forget that critics gave ' The Wisard of Oz ' terrible reviews, and critics HATED Charles Dickens at the time…

  27. Timo says:

    Yea! I told ya guys! Just a little faith! Let's hope things get better and better!

  28. Quinlin says:

    Praying that the numbers continue to rise and that the Dawn Treader is not overthrown by Tron. If it at least maintains a top spot for some time longer, it may make up for the comparably low earnings it earned this weekend.

  29. Moonwood says:

    They said his stories has too many coincidences

  30. The Rose-Tree Dryad says:

    I'm so thrilled about the worldwide numbers, and about Fox's positive comments regarding the franchise. Looks like there is hope for Silver Chair after all. Very exciting. 😀

    . . . Of course, I haven't seen the film yet, and don't yet know if I *want* them to make SC, which is one of my favorites in the series. 😉 Here's to hoping I'm going to love VDT. 😀

  31. Puddleglum says:

    Actually going in little under an hour.
    If it's as good as I hope I will go more than once.

  32. Puddleglum says:

    I'm sure it did in the mid-West. Minnesota had a nasty blow. Even the local football stadium had a roof collapse.

  33. David Sutton says:

    If the fans join together we can make sure that the low domestic opening doesn't set the trend. If fans will give this movie great word of mouth we could end up with a long term success. Here are 10 things fans can do to ensure the movie is successful enough for a sequel.

  34. StBrianofMinneapolis says:

    Maybe all that international promotion paid off. =) We shouldn't be so shocked though. The global market place will soon be a bigger deal than the oldschool thought of America first. Maybe this is one of the first steps towards that.

    Plus in the midwest we got 20 inches of snow. That is quite a bit for even us to deal with. Luckily I saw the movie twice before the storm hit. 😉

  35. Lyle says:

    I just hope they'll get a better director for Silver Chair… Apted makes Adamson look like Spielberg! Dawn Treader should have been the best of the 7, but right now (to me) it ranks well below Caspian. If Apted stays I hope he'll realize his follies with this adaptation (poor dialogue and choppy pacing).

  36. faunforaslan says:

    Very happy with the numbers so far. I don't think we have anything to worry about 🙂

  37. CEP Paul T says:

    Have not seen the green-light for SC just yet. Some sort of green mist is getting in the way.

    *does not hold breath*

  38. graycsc says:

    This is starting to look better, but we have to remember we're not out of the woods yet!! We need to keep getting as many people as possible to go see this movie as many time as possible! Let's show these filmmakers just how much we love narnia and want this to continue!!!!!

  39. Musgrave says:

    Wow! This is just the opposite of what I thought that Fox and Walden would say. I thought that they would be kind of disappointed with the box office numbers. Well, that's good news!

  40. Bulgy Bear says:

    You should change the story title to include the current worldwide total as well. Not because it makes Narnia look better, but because I really dislike tendency to consider the US boxoffice in a higher regard than any other nation or amalgamation of regions when calculating a movie's popularity.

  41. Pepper Darcy says:

    Does this hold any hope for Silver Chair? After seeing Dawn Treader, I'm DYING to see Apted direct Silver Chair and Last Battle! I hope he does the next two! Please, please, please, please, please, please!!

    Is this good news? There were lots of people besides us last night, and for our area that's a big deal! And I know we're planning on seeing it in a week or so from tomorrow with about 20 people plus whoever else will be in the theater! 🙂

  42. Pepper Darcy says:

    and I might go see it a third time! 🙂

  43. Caspian X says:

    Your kidding !!! Really ? Wow !!!! So, Do you agree with me ?

  44. DanielmyBrother says:

    In the LA Times article it sounded like Fox would have been happy with a 30 million dollar opening week-end . 81 million overseas is good sign too. It was really cold where I live. Nasty weather might kept people at home.

  45. Northernranger says:

    Didn't do as good as I had hoped but it still did pretty good. Look how much better it did then the other movies.

  46. Timo says:

    Im going to see it again with my girlfriend in 2 weeks, and then again in the hollydays with the church.. Went yesterday with my family, and my dad's going to take his classes (bout 50 children) to the film because of me (he could choose between Narnia and a bunch of other movies, and I begged him to go to Narnia) 😀 spread the word! It's in our hands 🙂

  47. Kevin Gale says:

    yea, but keep in mind the $105M, internationally, in essence they probably only need another $100M, to pay the way.

  48. Kevin Gale says:

    It just goes to show that Narnia is a true international film and not just a US one.

  49. Daredevil says:

    It's probably not that the movie is doing any "better" in the rest of the world compared to America, its just that there are only 300million people in the USA, and there are some 6 and a half Billion people outside the USA. Quite why the movie industry insists on such an arbitrary delineation of the world's population into two such disproportionate groups when determining box-offices for movies which are internationally produced always baffles me.

  50. Melody says:

    Not the 'local' football field — the Metrodome in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. 17" of snow up there!

    I for one wanted to go this weekend to the theater, but it was most definitely too dangerous to travel. 😛

  51. narnian resident says:

    well, i'll be seeing it again some time this week with several people, so…yeah, im contributing. alright Narnia fans, this is what we were made to do: help make Narnia movies successful! so, lets get out there and watch some Narnia 😀
    (i feel like a nerdy cheerleader)

  52. Luke Reynolds says:

    Well, I'm happy that Fox says they're excited, but I'm not going to trust that statement until they officially greenlight The Silver Chair. And, while I see why the change in direction alienated some people, I liked this one the best so far. It had a cool, British feel… like Dr. Who or something.

  53. Pepper Darcy says:

    Hwin, I know you asked for my review. Here it is: http://ithilwensfaerietale.blogspot.com/2010/12/voyage-of-dawn-treader.html

    Did you post one? Anyone reading my review is free to comment on exactly what they think. I don't mind. You can say whatever you feel like 😉

  54. Well there's still hope.
    *Mild spoiler*

    For those who have seen the movie; do you remember near the end that Eustace's mom said that Jill Pole was at his house to play?
    If that isn't a hint from FOX that they are still planning to make SC despite some disappointments,then I don't know what a hint is.

  55. Pepper Darcy says:

    good. You cleared up my confusion. So this *does* look good! Hopeing for Silver Chair now! 🙂

  56. narnian resident says:

    also, one must keep in mind that this wasnt exactly the best weekend to do it. its the weekend before finals in high school and just before school's out, so its a weekend when kids are studying and parents and adults are working or getting their kids to study. i think they should have rather done it next weekend, but oh well. just a fact. it was successful anyway 🙂