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.
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…
I wonder, if they're going to greenlight SC, when they'll plan on doing so?
i know, i was waiting to bawl my eyes out at the end, and it was over in a blip. i practically blinked and missed 3/4 of the waterfall scene- i have visions in my head of how i would edit this, and add about a half hour.
OMGosh, it beat Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1!? That is shocking yet really good for the Narnia series!! I just got back from seeing Voyage of the Dawn Treader and I completely loved it! The action was amazing and Lucy was so grown up and fierce in this film! Also if Fox said that is had a "resurrection" of the franchise and were "excited", I definetly sense another Narnia film will be coming up, hopefully it is The Silver Chair!
well if they had done a normal job of advertising, i'm sure opening weekend audiences would have responded. 3/4 of america probably don't even realize it's been made, or opened yet.
it opened bigger overseas cause they advertised it better over there! why did thye give up on the US before it even opened? it's NOT just a european phenon! they get these ideas in their heads….
tell "them" it's not coincidence- its SUPPOSED to be divine intervention!!!
Who cares if it was lower than the other two on opening weekend…internationally it's doing amazingly well. Also, with PC everyone got excited right away because it had been so long, but I think it got fewer repeat viewers in the following weeks than LWW did. My guess is that VDT is going to get more repeaters than PC, which will keep it steady for as long as it's out. No doubt it will fall to Tron next weekend, but I have a feeling that it might make a comeback like LWW did over King Kong when it came out.
Anyway, I'm DEFINITELY seeing it at least 2 more times… 😉
The foreign totals are awesome!!! This is wonderful even though they didn't do the greatest in the United States, but if Fox says they have resurrected the franchise then that means there happy…meaning another Narnia movie in store???
pleeeeaase greenlight SC soon!!!!
That's insane ! How much is a loaf of bread ?
Great question, does anyone know ?
I wish that were so, but 205 million wouldn't even come close to recouping the costs. The film's budget was $155 million and its advertising budget was $100 million. Plus, they have to share a sizable amount of the profits with the theater owners. It really seems to me they will have to get around Prince Caspian's numbers to actually make any money ($400 million +).
That could certainly be possible if the film does really well in its overseas markets throughout its entire run and it has a whole lot of staying power in the theaters. However, this is still a very iffy proposition, so I hope nobody gets their hopes up too much (although I know it's hard not to).
I contributed 35 of those dollars!
/sigh that is such good news. The first time I saw VoDT in 3D only 15 people were there. Today I saw it again in 2D and a lot more were there. I loved it so much more in 2D. Do not see it in 3D. I cried at the end too.
it's actually considered to be a british classic, and we are just a small foreign market suppsedly to them. like we couldn't relate cause we are american, and it's not as famous here. over there it WAS the most famous kids classic( tll Potter)
i thought the change in the music was worse- so bland, and no continuity in the new music. the recording of it was really light and fluffy, and distant sounding . I thought it really did not help the movie at all, very bland-
Awww I know I so cried right there before they started to go back home. Just, Lucy and Edmunds faces and then Caspians just made it like, heartcrushing. Overall, the movie was amazing and I am glad at how much it has made SO FAR worldwide! And to think, it's only been out in the USA for 3 days!
I agree!!! why would you drop the traditional title sequence??!! it made it feel like just any other movie was starting! and the lame ballet music?! made a big break in continuity. Apted really should have respected what was established before more, then expounded on it, i think.
Oh wait, this is bad news??? =P If so, then that's sad, but I'm still hopeful…..
alot of book purists get a bug up their butt and don't support it, then that adds up.
I saw it on the day of its release! And it was great!!!! Go see it and I wouldn't worry about its opening. I mean its Narnia and the movie was great. It'll gross more than LWW!
Actually, that's not shocking. HP has been out for awhile now and just about anyone who wants to see it has already seen it. One industry commentator described HP as going through box office free fall.
Yeah, I know. I cried when Reepicheep began to get into the coracle and then again when Lucy ran to Aslan one last time and hugged him. It was hands down the best of the three movies.
sorry to make another post but I too did cry at the end and contributed 20 dollars!
One thing I thought was interesting is that, in Mexico, VDT made twice as much in it's second week as it did in it's first. That almost NEVER happens. It must be getting phenomenal word of mouth down there. Wonder if it'll work that way up here too? 😀
I hope this estimate is an underestimate. And that overall, Dawn Treader does well.
Was "resurrected" an intended pun on part of Fox?
The theatres today had good sized audiences at all the shows- even the 11AM one.
WhiteRider, you remind me of some friends we had a few years ago… were you WhiteRider44 when you posted a LWW review on the old site, and does Creative Spasms ring a bell? Texas?
Did you see it in 3D? I saw it in 3D first I could not get into the movie. I just saw it again tonigh in 2D and it was wonderful. I even cried at the end. Watching a second time and in 2D might be the charm.
Is this good news? This seems to be very poor showing. All we can hope is that people continue to see it over the Christmas holidays.
Don't expect to see the spitten image of the book on screen. However, the added plot along with the other additions make the story flow together and it is really beautiful.
I don't think it's really accurate for Yahoo to say that VoDT was "lambasted" by the critics. Most every review I read was 3 out of 5 stars at least. The Narnia series is never going to get a ton of critical respect, being that they are considered "family films" and not "serious" Oscar-winning dramas. But overall, the critcs have been generally positive. I liked how Roger Ebert grudgingly gave it his respect – he pointed out that Lucy was the real hero of the movie and that "she could teach Harry Potter a lesson in dialing down the self-importance!"
I think you guys are reading into it wrong. 'Resurrected the franchise' can mean anything – from just being able to pick it up from Disney for example or creatively getting it to a place they're happy. I think the boxoffice is incredibly poor and would be shocked if they ever make another one. The GOlden Compass did incredible overseas too – so thats not as great a sign as it appears.
Don't mean to be pessimistic but its also just facing the facts. I think Tron is going to make things even worse.
I watched the movie again today and it was more amazing the second time around.
It has a 50% on Rottentomatoes.
I was discouraged too when I saw the low turnout in the theater. But also, it has been very bad around here weather wise with snow, freezing rain, and winds that feel like they're "beating you up." Yet if Dawn Treader can make more than what was spent on production, the Silver Chair will be good as made. Regardless, I would love to see a film rendition of "The Last Battle" because of it's prophetic significance.
*crosses fingers* yes…please!!!!!
I'm just waiting for that post – Silver Chair is a go. Please!
I can't believe they actually had Lucy ask if Caspian had found anyone else. Was that really neccesary. I haven't seen the film yet though so Can someone tell me when this part is? So I know when to be watching.
Iffy start in the U.S., but super-strong overseas. Interesting. So it's not a complete failure after all. Of course this is only the opening weekend, but we'll have to see how it plays out.
Did it really cost $150 million to make Dawn Treader? Wow.
Thats O.K. I'll watch it again on Friday.
She asks if he has found himself a queen those past three years and he says, "Not one to compare with your sister." That's it.
I think the first week's returns are very promising. The reason Fox is probably stating that the franchise has been resurrected is because the production budget was considerably lower than both previous films (only $155M as opposed to $200+ for PC and $180 for LWW) and they are well towards reaching breakeven after just the first week.
wowzers! epic!
I saw this movie and it's epic!
I love it! it's so epic!
After only one weekend (and a bit more in a couple of countries), Voyage has gained $105 million in returns. That really is quite phenomenal – although most websites (such as those linked to IMDB) all talk about how Narnia is "sinking" due to low domestic box office returns, the truth is that about 80% of the profits have come from outside of the United States. They never seem to mention that. Narnia has already gained back WAY more than half of its budget, and it's only been a few days in most countries. That is amazing! Take heart! If God wants these movies to be made, trust me, they will be! Let's hope Voyage can pull through so that we Silver Chair can be greenlit! I definitely liked the first two Narnia films much better than Voyage (I think I just like Adamson's style, Gregson-William's music (i.e. the One Day theme), the normal main title sequence at the beginning of each movie and how well made the first two were – I really felt like I was in Narnia and wanted to be there), but I LOVED the Christian themes found in Voyage just as much, especially the crucial lines which were included in the scene on the beach. Long live Aslan! Spread the word about Dawn Treader!
I am so with you! Can't wait for Silver Chair; one of my favorites. I'll miss Ed and Lu though 🙁 Nevertheless, the sooner they get started on it the better!
Sorry to be a wet blanket, but the 105 million is the ticket sales, not Fox's cut of it, so they haven't made nearly half of the expenses back yet. It's a good start though, so there's hope.
OMG Did you guys see how tore up Edmund was about it being there last time? I don't normally cry in movies, but this scene broke my heart. I just wanted to go and hug them all! So Samuel, 3d wasn't good? I saw it in 2d and thought it would be even better in 3d, but I've never seen a 3d movie in theaters before either.
Numbers aside, fox saying resurected makes me wonder…if they're so dang happy, does that mean they're going to give us the silver chair? I hope so! VDT WAS AWESOME; IT'S MY NEW FAVOURITE MOVIE EVER.
Definitely. I truly believe that by the time fox is saying it was a success, then I think we can rest assured that we will see them make Silver Chair.
After that, though, I think they should probably bail and hope for a better reboot team in the future.
Oh gosh I just realized something; you two are guys. I've like never heard of a guy crying about a movie. That is so cool; I'm not the only one whose heart was gripped!
Hear! Hear! I loved the VDT movie so much, and I might as well see Narnia on the big screens again while the franchise is still alive.
YES The Last Battle would be awesome! It would be so creepy cool to see how they'd do Tash. Oh, and I also love Jewel, and then we could see Will M. and Skandar and Georgie again! YAAYY!
Haha! There needs to be a like button here on Narniaweb, both for names and comments 😉
That's true! But yes, you're right, definitely a great start!
No.
faith!!!!!!!!! THIS MOVIE WILL BE A TOTTAL SUCCES!!! I HAVE FAITH AND IM GONNA SEE IT FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS SATURDAY AND FOR THE 4 TIME NEXT WEEK!!!! AND IM PULLING ALLOT OF PPL TO GO SEE IT WITH ME!! I WILL MAKE MY BEST TO HELP THIS FRANCHISE!!!
LOMG LIVE ASLAN!!!! FOR NARNIA AND FOR US FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are aware of the fact that there are less than 2000 people signed up for accounts on NarniaWeb and less than half of those are even close to active? In contrast, there is well over 6 billion people on this planet, with over 300 million in the United States. I can totally see how a few dozen people on one website made a movie flop. Next thing we're going to do with our awesome power is make the execrable Yogi Bear movie earn 5 billion dollars.
Who made you God that you have the power to see into people's minds and determine who is a "true fan" or not? I could turn that around on you and claim you aren't a "true fan" because you're choosing to spend your money on a sub-par version of Lewis' magnificent book. I suspect you wouldn't like that very much. Perhaps you might want to think twice before you post hateful passive-aggressive comments about people who've done nothing to you.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chronicles_of_narnia_the_voyage_of_the_dawn_treader/#top-critics-numbers