Fox’s ‘Black Swan’ Overtakes VDT’s Domestic Box Office

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is no longer Fox’s highest grossing 2010 release domestically. Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, which released on December 3, has now grossed over $105m domestically, passing Dawn Treader’s $103.8m. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. Natalie Portman won for Best Actress.

32 Responses

  1. narnian resident says:

    well….thats not too much higher. i refuse to let this dwindle my Narnia hope 🙂
    (first comment!)

  2. Secrets of Excalibur says:

    It stinks that a rated R movie is getting more money than an awsome family movie.

  3. Shastafan says:

    Well… that's a sad thing, but VDT was the first film from to make it over $100m in a long time, so I think Fox won't stop making MN (or SC) because it's not their highest grossing film domestically. 😉

  4. The Lady Arwen Undómiel says:

    I agree, but if you click this link from the "Narnia, Christianity, and Movie Magic" article you'll feel much better. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/report-2010-box-office-favored-159622

  5. Skulblaka_Shur'tugal says:

    This really isn't that big of a surprise, but then again, it doesn't really matter in the long run anyway. Fox seems happy that Narnia grossed as much as it did. Besides, I don't see how this should be a big-news thing anyway.

  6. Krista says:

    aww that's too bad 🙁 (sniff sniff)

  7. glumPuddle says:

    AMAZING movie. 5/5

  8. reepicheep's_fangirl says:

    Yikes….
    oh well, i won't let the news get the best of me. 🙂
    Natalie Portman is the most amazing actress ever, and I'm sure she did a good job (despite the rating ;)) I totally forgot that Fox did The Black Swan, actually.

  9. reepicheep's_fangirl says:

    really? i'm glad you enjoyed it, glumPuddle, even though i bet there are a lot of us that are too young to enjoy the film 😉
    still, I'm glad that VDT made as much money as it did, even if it was surpassed.

  10. ChristProclamer says:

    Well that took…a long time, honestly, for a film with such critical acclaim and excellent reviews. The two came out at the same time, and Black Swan is only now making 105 million?

    I don't think this will make much of a difference in the long run for either film's success.

  11. WarriorOfNarnia says:

    What? Black Swan? First of all, I saw the trailer and was grossed and creeped out. Also, it looks like a demonic movie. The Dawn Treader wasn't the best, but it must be better than the Swan movie. Dawn Treader has lessons, morals, and stuff like that. Swan has….well I dunno what it has but that is just my opinion.

  12. Eustace says:

    Really? Hmm… I heard it wasn't that great of a movie. First dumb name, second it wasn't doing well in the box office, Narnia was higher on the list for weeks and months. It also dropped off the list before Narnia. Any movie that is not higher on the list than Narnia can't be that great can it. Otherwise, more people would watch it right? Thirdly, I didn't hear anyone wanting to go and watch around me. Fourthly, wasn't it about ballet? (I am not discounting ballet it's just the movies aren't usually well made that are about ballet.)Lastly, it looked all gothic and creepy.

  13. glumPuddle says:

    Both “Transformers” movies grossed over $700m. “It’s a Wonderful Life” flopped when it first came out. I would not use the box office as a standard for good story-telling.

    'Black Swan' is a psychological thriller that explores the nature of artistic expression. One one hand, an artist must acquire certain skills and be conscious of certain details…and on the other hand, he/she must forget the details and just feel something. Just express. We experience a similar conflict when we go see movies. The best film experiences are the ones where we forget on some level that we are watching a film and just "let go." As an extension of this theme, the film explores the loss of innocence, and the tension between wanting to hold onto old things and move on. It's a dark, complex, multi-layered mind bender, and a beautifully told and thought-provoking story. Top-notch acting and gorgeous cinematography.

    … VDT is a generic fantasy movie about believing in yourself.

  14. Peter's BFF says:

    I must admit that I'm feeling quite grossed out that a rated R movie got more money. Really, I'd go for a 50's or 60's movie before one of these new ones. The only "new" movies I watch are the Narnia films. I'm just old-school I guess. Can anyone comment? :'(

  15. narnian says:

    wow!!! Black Swan is a low budget film!! Narnia is a High Budget movie!! and Black Swan is a Borring Movie!! Narnia is doing very good!!! And by the way!! Narnia is way but way better than that garbage of Swan!! i saw it once!!! horrible!! lol ( thats my opinion)

  16. Louloudi the Centaur says:

    Oh well. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was the first to cross $100 million domestically for Fox after 13 months.

  17. Fire vien says:

    How could 'The Black Swan' over take Narnia!? Narnia has good morals and wonderful characters, whilst 'The Black Swan' is immoral and a abomination to ballet!!!!!!

  18. Fireflower says:

    Booooooooo on Black Swan! At least Narnia got to $100 million FIRST!

  19. Not Of This World says:

    I haven't seen the Black Swan, but it seemed a little weired. But I can't belive it did better then VDT. That was one of the best movies ever 🙂

  20. Arvan says:

    WarriorofNarnia, no offense, but your opinion is really invalid unless you've actually viewed the movie itself.

  21. Arvan says:

    Ahh, well said, glumPuddle. Your comments, though sometimes depressing, are a breath of fresh air with your wisdom.

  22. Arvan says:

    Tells you something about our culture, doesn't it?

  23. WarriorOfNarnia says:

    I'm still not convinced…Arvan, sorry I offended you

  24. WarriorOfNarnia says:

    HAHA!!!! YEAH!!!!

  25. Keyaan says:

    Why all the hate for Black Swan??? It was amazing! Narnia 3 was just ok.

  26. 220chrisTian says:

    @glumpuddle: VDT isn't about "believing in yourself." It's about finding your identity in Christ. Here's my movie review. http://www.aslanscountry.com/2011/02/dawn-treader-movie-review-living-in-another%E2%80%99s-shadow/

  27. glumPuddle says:

    chris, be sure to listen to the next podcast (which should be online tomorrow and post a comment. It is abut this very topic. 🙂

    The major problem with VDT is that they have externalized the enemy. Consider Goldwater, for example. In the book, Edmund and Caspian get in each others faces because they are overcome with greed upon discovering the water turns things into gold. It is their own internal flaws that cause this conflict. Thank goodness Aslan was there to make them forget their greed.

    In the movie, the reason they argue is because an evil green mist puts them under some kind of spell. "This place as tempted you!" Lucy says. (Aslan was removed from this scene entirely). Edmund and Caspian are victims of the mist in the movie. The source of their flaws was an external force.

    After Lucy's dream, Aslan tells that she is valuable because of something SHE did. "You discovered Narnia first." Aslan says Lucy should find her value in HER own actions. He finishes by saying "don't run from who YOU are."

    The VDT film is consistent on this point: The problem is outside us, and the solution is inside us.

    The book is the exact opposite: The problem is inside us, and the solution is outside is.

    This is why I say this is an anti-VDT film. It spits on everything Lewis was talking about.

  28. Farsight1 says:

    Black Swan, even though it was terrible in terms of morals, was a well executed movie and you could tell the filmmakers behind it strongly believed in the story they were telling. The Narnia movies made so far, on the other hand, often feel like they're being made 'in spite of' the message of C.S. Lewis instead of 'because' of it.

    However, I don't think it's fair comparing the two in terms of box office. Black Swan is benefiting from the hype it got after being nominated to the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and a bunch of major others while Dawn Treader had to reach those numbers all by itself, having both die-hard fans and critics against it.

  29. reepicheep's_fangirl says:

    man, i'm sorry I even said anything! Yes, it did look a bit creepy, however, i do see Aravan's point. you really only saw just the TRAILER, and you can't judge something based entirely on a trailer.

  30. stateofgreen says:

    I agree. You cannot compare two radically different in genre movies like those. Doesn't make any sense.

  31. BLACK SWAN: Forget the trailer, which I haven't even seen. I read the detailed plot summary, with lots of spoilers, on IMDb = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/synopsis . And I repeat, I will never watch this movie. Are most ballet dancers mentally or emotionally unstable? Do they all sleep with their trainers? I think not. Except for a strong work ethic and perseverance, this movie portrays the ballet world rather poorly.

    @glumpuddle: I'm disappointed that you would like a movie about a person getting in touch with her morally dark side, yet dislike (and ridicule) a family film with Christian values – even if you disagree with that second label.

  32. IvaN says:

    Oh yes, it's not correctly to compare SO different films.
    As to me, I never appreciate a movie by it's box office or budget. For me it's more important moral and spiritual values of the movie.
    I think if there's a lot of "adult" scenes in movie, it's director simply hadn't any more to show.