Imagine if the kids for some reason pulled out of Deathly-Hallows or started demanding ridiculous salaries, they probably have no choice but to oblige.

Though don't you think they can put clauses into actors contracts to say that if there are subsequent franchises, each increase cannot be more than 20% or something? Or would that be prohibitive in today's world of enterprise bargaining.

I know that if I was a little kid and was asked to star in a big movie, I wouldn't really care what they paid me (of course, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions here)....more the fact that i'm in a big movie and can demand more from my subsequent movies...

Well, as much as I trust a director like Newell, a producer would know the budget more than a director in a single segment of a popular franchise. I dont know if these people are including advertising or not, a director like Newell could.

And Star Trek's budget was only 150 million telemachos, confirmed by multiple sources, which is a typical number now for expected blockbuster. And Spielberg has many connections in many departments, hence movies he produces are reduced compared to other similiar movies. Im wrong about Pirates I was thinking of he Matrix Sequels.

Well if we are already talking about what budgets are made of, here's a very interesting article in the subject. It explains the aspects of a movie's costs:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/jun/11/3

In the big three European markets...

UNITED KINGDOM - Opening Weekend

It's really here where you can see just how far the US$ has dropped against the pound. While it had the 2nd biggest launch behind the 7-Day opening of HP3 in local pounds, it was only the 4th biggest in US$. If HP6 had opened to this much back last year, that would translate to close to US$40m.

Though underlying the numbers is a drop in admissions. 3.2m over 5-Days vs. 3.3m over 4-Days for HP5.

If HP6 is to match HP5's end tally of US$102m...it will need at least 60m pounds. No Potter film since the first movie has managed to cross this mark. The only movie to do so since ROTK is of course the record-breaker Mamma Mia.

I think HP6, as big as this opening is will fall just short...time will tell.

1) Harry Potter 3: POA - $43,749,885 (£23,882,688/ €34,629,898 7-Day* or $17,478,583/ £9,346,002/ €13,787,106 3-Day - 535 TC)
2) Harry Potter 5: OOTP - $33,543,431 (£16,493,305/ 3.3m adms. 4-Day - 567 TC/1390p)
3) Shrek 3 - $33,513,478 (£16,671,727 incl. $12.7m p/v - 536 TC)
4) Harry Potter 6: HBP - $32.4m (£20m/ 3.2m adms. 5-Day - 584 TC)
5) Harry Potter 2: COS - $29,810,019 (£18,871,829 incl. $13,822,955/ £8.75m p/v or £10.7m 3-Day - 524 TC)
6) Shrek 2 - $29,591,472 (£16,220,752/ €23,520,090 incl. $10,225,144 p/v or $19,366,328/ £10,673,350 3-Day - 512 TC)
7) The Simpsons Movie - $27,579,140 (£13,626,853 - 499 TC)
8) Star Wars 3: ROTS - $27,501,871 (£14,361,469 4-Day or $20,155,733/ £11,029,267 3-Day - 490 TC) or $29,996,486 by Mon
9) Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End - $26,601,138 (£13,412,294 - 552 TC/12,050sc) or $34.2m ($7.6m Mon)*Bank Holiday
10) Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $26,521,471 (£15,021,761 - $20,672,672 4-Day - $16.8m/ £9.7m 3-Day - 494 TC/1299p)

11) Harry Potter 4: GOF - $25,593,661 (£14,933,901 - 535 TC)
12) Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest - $25,422,357 (£13,740,784 incl. £2.3m p/v - 512 TC)
13) James Bond: Casino Royale - $25,328,602 (£13,370,969 or $22m without p/v - 505 TC/988 SC)
14) James Bond: Quantum Of Solace - $25,309,345 (£15,384,217 - 540 TC/1150 SC)
15) Indiana Jones: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - $24,146,846 (£12,227,799 - 538 TC)
16) Spiderman 3 - $23,624,634 (£11,827,013 3-Day - 522 TC/1357p)
17) Harry Potter 1: PS - $23,049,154 (£16,335,627 incl. $9,334,343/ £6,665,818 2-Day p/v on 491 - 507 TC/1168p)
18) The Dark Knight - $22,232,467 (£11,191,824 or $17,257,277/ £8,687,313/ 2.1m adms. - 502 TC/1021p)
19) I Am Legend - $21,974,780 (£11,009,365 - 440 TC)
20) Lord Of The Rings: TTT - $20,921,781 (£13,063,560 5-Day - 501 TC)


GERMANY - Opening Weekend

Actuals may give it the record, but currently, HP6 is just behind ROTK with the 2nd largest overall US$ opening of all-time. However, over the 4-Days, HBP handily beats all competitors.

This is also the first 2m+ adms. opening we've seen in a long time, not since 2006's Ice Age 2. Only 8 movies have managed to cross 2m+, and this one makes it 9. Out of the 8 only HP1, HP2 and HP4 have done this....and not surprisingly, all three currently occupy #1-3 on the record charts (in that order). HP6 with 2.1m looks to land somewhere around #6...behind (T)Raumschiff Surprises' 2.164.909 and above ROTK's 2.050.755. So we are talking about a monster opening here.

Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $23,248,457 (€18,819,626/ 2.666.776 adms. 5-Day or $17,750,498/ 2.050.776 adms. 4-Day - 1337 TC)
Harry Potter 6: HBP - $23m (€16.4m/ 2.1m adms. 4-Day - 1300 TC)
Harry Potter 4: GOF - $21,653,719 (€18,497,906/ 2,685,158 adms. incl. p/v - 1243 TC)
Lord Of The Rings: TTT - $19.8m (€19.4m/ 2.634.701 adms. 5-Day or $15.2m/ €14,918,968/ 2.021.239 adms. 4-Day - 1266 TC)
Harry Potter 5: OOTP - $19,308,800 (€14,080,331/ 2,086,806 adms. 5-Day or 1,682,806 adms. 4-Day - 982 TC/1300p)
Star Wars 3: ROTS - $17,791,749 (€13,614,242/ 1.964.960 adms. 4-Day - 1182 TC)
Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest - $17,340,730 (€13,583,514/ 1,924,778 adms. - 1330 TC)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - $17,149,317 (€14,157,790/ 2,395,588 adms. - 1061 TC)
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End - $16,576,890 (1,860,775 adms. - 975 TC/1585p)
Harry Potter 2: COS - $16.28m (€16,175,918/ 2.489.952 adms. - 1249 TC)
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs - $16,228,605 (861 TC)
(T)Raumschiff Surprise: Periode 1 - $15,832,093 (€13,064,093/ 2.164.909 adms. - 899 TC)
Harry Potter 3: POA - $15,273,992 (€12,477,782/ 1.987.285 adms. - 1204 TC)
James Bond: Quantum Of Solace - $14,884,633 (1109 TC)
Harry Potter 1: PS - $14.8m (€16,666,356/ 2.590.464 adms. - 1226 TC)
Lord Of The Rings: FOTR - $14.7m (€16.5m/ 2.239.864 adms. 5-Day or ~$12m/€13,526,170/ 1.813.898 adms. 4-Day - 1070 TC)


FRANCE - Opening Weekend

Takes over HP4 to become the largest Potter opening here in US$. In admissions, it's down on the first 4 Potters; however, on a good note it's above HP5 in both euro and admissions as well.

HP6 is only the 6th movie to cross US$20m on opening weekend. Only 2 other foreign release managed to do so (both slightly ahead of it in US$) is ROTS and Spiderman 3.

Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis (Welcome To The Sticks) (2008) - $36,579,354 (4,378,720 adms. 6-Day or $31,674,375 5-Day - 793 TC)
Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie - $24.2m (€20.06m/ 3,234,559 adms. - 950 TC)
Astérix At The Olympic Games (2008) - $23,354,658 (2,711,869 adms. 5-Day - 1078 TC)
Star Wars 3: ROTS - $22.6m (2,878,764 adms. 5-Day - 938 TC) or $24,462,339 by Mon
Spiderman 3 - $22,528,436 (6-Day - 967 TC)
Harry Potter 6: HBP - $20.2m (€14.4m/ 2.4m adms. 5-Day - 963 TC)
Harry Potter 4: GOF - $19.9m (2,802,259 adms. adms. - 950 TC)
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End - $17,835,565 (620 TC) or $21.6m by Mon
Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest - $17.8m (5-Day - 700 TC)
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre - $17.5m+ (2,960,046 adms. - 945 TC)
Taxi 2 - $17.5m+ (2,951,255 adms. - 831 TC)
Harry Potter 3: POA - $17,070,745 (€13,905,745/ 2,503,699 adms. 7-Day - 907 TC)
Harry Potter 5: OOTP - $17,004,294 (€12.4m/ 2.1m adms. 5-Day - 950 TC)
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs - $14,835,220 (783 TC)
Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $14,008,027 (2,160,462 adms. 5-Day or $11,055,224 4-Day - 975 TC)
Harry Potter 2: COS - $13.5m (€13.6m - 2,426,543 adms. - 1073 TC)
Indiana Jones: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - $13,450,931 (900 TC)
Finding Nemo - $13m (or $12.6m without p/v - 893 TC)
Spiderman 2 - $12,530,128 (€11,667,950/ 2.100.789 adms. - 900 TC)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - $12.5m (858 TC)
Shrek 3 - $12.5m (739 TC)
The Da Vinci Code - $11,973,127 (999 TC)
The Matrix: Reloaded - $11.6m (1,725,780 adms. - 894 TC)**
Ratatouille - $11.4m (5-Days - 535 TC)
La Verite Si Je Mens 2 (Would I Lie To You 2) - $11.3m (5-Day - 2.2m adms. - 827 TC)
Astérix & Obélix vs. Caesar - $11.2m (750 TC)
Coco (2009) - $11,197,103 (871 TC)
Star Wars 1: PM - $11.02m (793 TC)
James Bond: Quantum Of Solace - $10,885,928 (1,300,282 adms. or $10,620,181 5-Day - 807 TC)
The Matrix: Revolutions - $10.7m (902 TC)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand - $10.6m (756 TC)
War Of The Worlds - $10,246,000 (848 TC)
I Am Legend - $10,235,859 (5-Day - 621 TC)
Harry Potter 1: PS - $10.2m (2,091,061 adms. - 854 TC)

It would be good if someone is able to put together a list of the most expensive movies released of all-time.

It should be noted that the regular 4-day-weekend was 1.8m admissions, including "previews" which started Wednesday at 2pm it was close to 2.2m admissions.
I consider the so-called previews on Wednesday as the opening day because most movie theaters open here at 2pm...
For your statistics:
Opening day (so-called previews):
374,368 admissions, 2,684,505 Euro

ALL-TIME - Worldwide Openings

Sizeable lead over Spiderman 3. Actuals if it goes up, could well push this north of $400m. You never know.

1) Harry Potter 6: HBP - $159.7m + $237 = $396.7m (5-Day - 84/15,900)
2) Spiderman 3 - $151,116,516 + $230,544,376 = $381,660,892 (6-Days - 107/16,711)
3) Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End - $127,972,864 + $216,361,000 = $344,333,864 (5-Days - 102/17,600)
4) Harry Potter 5: OOTP - $139,715,157 + $193,000,000 = $332,715,157 (5-Days)
5) Star Wars 3: ROTS - $145,534,793 + $158,449,700 = $303,984,493 (5-Days - 105c/114t/10,489)
6) Indiana Jones: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - $125,178,907 + $146,388,656 = $271,567,563 (55/8427)
7) Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $126.8m + $124.1m = $250.9m (5-Days - 28t/14,000+)
8) The Da Vinci Code - $155,000,649 + $77,073,388 = $232,074,037 (57/12182)
9) War Of The Worlds - $110,085,902 + $100,561,125 = $210,647,027 (5-Days - 79/9955)
10) Harry Potter 3: POA - $113.51m + $93.7m = $207.21m (24/7804)

The Matrix: Revolutions - $119,037,452 + $83,790,000 = $202,827,452 (5-Days - 80c/109t/10,013tc/18,013sc)
Lord Of The Rings: TTT - $99.8m + $102m = $201.8m (5-Days - 27c)
Iron Man - $102,118,668 + $98,588,581 = $200,707,249 (5-Days - 56/7588)
The Dark Knight - $158,411,483 + $40,664,197 = $199,075,680 (20/4064)
Spiderman 2 - $43,755,772 + $152,411,751 = $196,167,523 (5-Days - 34t)
Harry Potter 4: GOF - $85.5m + $102.7m = $188.2m
Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest - $135,634,554 + $46,636,000 = $182,270,554 (7/1552)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand - $76,262,125 + $102,750,665 = $179,012,790 (95/8531)
Star Wars 2: AOTC - $110 + $69m = $179m (4-Days - 72c)
The Simpsons Movie - $74,036,787 + 96,854,197 = $170,890,984
The Matrix: Reloaded - $134.3m + $31.6m = $165.9m (4-Days - 13c)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - $85,058,003 + $73,154,892 = $158,212,895 (101/9364)
X-Men 2: X-Men United - $69.27 + $85.558 = $154.8m (5-Days - 93c)
The Day After Tomorrow - $85.4m + $68.7m = $154.1m (110c) or $109.1m + $85.8m* Mon = $194.9m
King Kong - $83,338,788 + $66,181,645 = $149,520,433 (5-Days)
Angels & Demons - $46,204,168 + $102,060,465 = $148,264,633 (67/10,284)
Harry Potter 2: COS - $59.5m + $88m = $147.5m (3-Days - 9c)


ALL-TIME - Overseas Opening

Didn't really think that it'll grab the 5-Day record from AWE seeing as it didn't open in as many markets...however, this just blows me away.

Up until this point there were arguments on whether SM3 was really the opening champion or AWE....but HP6 has squashed all arguments with this number.

Harry Potter 6: HBP - $237m (34m adms. - 84/15,900)
Spiderman 3 - $230,544,376 (6-Day - All Markets - 75/107/16,711) or $292.5m week
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End - $216,361,000 (5-Day or $172.5m 3-Day – All except China/India – 102/17,600) or $251,041,000 by Mon or $295m week
Harry Potter 5: OOTP - $193,000,000 ($185,215,578 5-Day or $148,768,692 3-Day incl. $2.1m on 35 - All except Japan/China - 44/13317) or $254m week
****Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen - $162m (60/9910)
The Da Vinci Code - $155,000,649 ($152,447,236 - All markets - 57/12,182) or $212m week
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs - $148m (101/11,652)
Star Wars 3: ROTS - $145,534,793 (All except Japan/SKorea - 105c/114t//10,489)
Indiana Jones: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - $146,388,656 (55/8427)
Lord Of The Rings: ROTK - $126.8m (UK/Germany/France/Scandinavia/Latin America – 28/7403)
The Matrix: Revolutions - $119,037,452 (Most markets - 80+/10,013)
Harry Potter 3: POA - $113.51m (UK/France/Germany/Italy/LatinAmerica/Netherlands - 24/7885)
War Of The Worlds - $110,085,902 (5-Day - All except France/SKorea - 79/9955)
Angels & Demons - $102,060,465 (or $90,640,130 3-Day - 67/10,284)
Lord Of The Rings: TTT - $99.8m (UK/Germany/France/Scandinavia/Latin America - 27/5400)
The Simpsons Movie - $96,854,197 ($82,488,432 3-Day - 71/5527)
Iron Man - $98,588,581 (56/7588)
Harry Potter 4: GOF - $85.5m (UK/Germany/Mexico - 19/5300)


ALL-TIME - Overseas Print Count

Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End – 17,600 (102) – Wk. 1
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End – 17,500 (103) – Wk. 2
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End – 17,500 (103) – Wk. 3
Spiderman 3 – 16,711 (75/107) – Wk. 1
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End - 16,221 (104) – Wk. 4
Spiderman 3 – 16,200 or 13,799 (73/105) – Wk. 2
Harry Potter 6: HBP – 15,900 (84) – Wk. 1
Spiderman 3 – 15,850 or 13,491 (73/105) – Wk. 3
Harry Potter 5: OOTP - 13,317 (44) – Wk. 1
The Da Vinci Code – 12,182 (57) – WK. 1
The Da Vinci Code – 12,179 (58) – Wk. 2
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs – 12,049 (102) – Wk. 2
Lord Of The Rings: ROTK – 11,700 (38) – Wk. 2
The Da Vinci Code – 11,676 (66) – Wk. 3
Harry Potter 5: OOTP - 11,647 (56) – Wk. 2
Harry Potter 4: GOF – 11,513 (57) – Wk. 3
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs – 11,652 (101) – Wk. 1

LOL, where were you all morning...darnit...LOL

Though I had a look at the charts and you had the following for Potter...

2005 200.000.000 Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch Mike Newell
2007 150.000.000 Harry Potter und der Orden des Phönix David Yates
2001 130.000.000 Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen Chris Columbus
2004 130.000.000 Harry Potter und der Gefangene von Askaban Alfonso Cuaron
2002 120.000.000 Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens Chris Columbus

Is this accurate? HP2 lower than HP1?, Huge jump from HP1-3 to HP4...then a drop from HP4 to HP5?

Seems iiffy to me...

Has any blockbuster movie had a similar release for comparisons...

Well, I don't believe the official $150m budget for HP5.. But I didn't find any other source, that's why tI posted the $150m budget...

Almost every movie has Wednesday evening previews at 8pm. Since the distributors never release those previews numbers they (and I) add them to the opening weekend gross.
But if the previews start earlier than 8pm which happens from time to time, I count them as an extra day even though most distributors just add the numbers to the regular 4-day-weekend...

That's a very strange way of opening a movie....just save everyone the trouble and open over 5-Days like France or something.

We'll never have a "confirmed" budget unless we actually see a line-item breakdown of it (which rarely gets leaked, but I remember T3's budget getting posted online). In general, the studios lowball the public figures they announce. And rival studios might try to leak numbers far higher. So Star Trek's budget (which I've heard from various people was much closer to $200m, with even some outliers saying way above $200m) will be "officially" put at $150, which is a more sensible figure. Truthfully, we'll never know. In any case, I was pointing out that most of the major tentpole releases now have budgets near or above $200 million. (You can add T3 and Terminator Salvation to the list of $200 million budgets).

One last note regarding Star Trek: it was widely reported on many film/geek sites in late 2007 that the ST budget had already ballooned to $160m. Obviously there was still a lot of work to be done on the project.

More random examples of why you should take every listed budget with a huge grain of salt. Shrek had an announced budget of around $60-70 million (BOM says $60 million). Yet its budget was in fact about double that, as was discovered when Dreamworks became a public company. But has BOM adjusted its info? No. (I'm not trying to rag on BOM, it's not their job to determine a movie's "true" budget.) Most of the time the estimates you see on most sites are the studios' official PR budgets, which again generally run low (and sometimes ridiculously low).

Winding this all the way back to the beginning: a $200m+ budget is perfectly reasonable for the latest HP movie (although if the studio says $200 it's a good bet its higher.)

edit: I should add that Spielberg's connections probably don't do much for a film's budget overall. The vast majority of dollars spent are through union shops and companies; salaries and rates are determined by bargaining agreements, and while it's certainly possible that a small company might be willing to take a financial hit by providing a low-ball quote in exchange for the exposure, that's probably the exception rather than the rule; such small companies also probably account for only a small percentage of the film's overall budget. Where Spielberg can (and does) save money is probably through his shooting style and his ability to convince major stars to defer salaries in exchange for back-end agreements (although this ends up hurting a film's bottom line). And, of course, deciding where to film -- tax breaks might help offset some of the production's expenses.

Also The-numbers.com have 1 higher than 2:
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/recor ... udgets.php

Great for Harry Potter.
Anyone able to post Varietys international report? surely other films made money last weekend.

We really need an INTL BO thread, instead of these individual film ones.

1. Internet and Geek fansites are not a good source of studio financing, people on sites like that make up most of what they are saying.

2. You do know studios have a 5.6% line of error that they have to be right within when they are reporting the amount of money they are actually spending in a given year, otherwise they can be sued for Fraud. Studios can't just withhold 75 million dollars because it looks bad for them. There is some creative financing as 5.6% is big enough for some fudging here and there, but when spread across over multiple big films a year it makes little difference. WB is a studio that is known for being accurate with their numbers. For instance Superman Returns budget was 245 million, but the 45 million had to do with projects including Burton's failed one in the mid 90s, and the 45 had already been consumed back into the studio, but they still reported it even though the budget for the film was only 200 million. Star Trek films are always known for the their smaller budgets and Paramount would be stupid to greenlight a budget so big for it. After all, they've never had a film cost 200 million for them, with TF2 being the first and the caliber is much more understandable.

3. Archangel, it makes perfect sense. COS had same crew, same everything, sets didn't have to wait on hold typical multiple years like other franchises. COS had the same effects crew that continued working from the earlier film, and the 30 million of the first film could have been obtaining rights and other things. POA had new director, new style of sets and CGI and a halt in production between films so its increase is natural. GOF was so huge in scope that its increase is also understandable, OOTP and HBP were much smaller in scope, but HBP also had a much longer wait than normal so I understand an increase, but like said I think HBP may have been 185 million and then 50 million for marketing, Potter films are known for their soft advertising thanks to their audience. For the next installment, I don't see for both of them costing more than 300 million to make. I'll say 275 million, and then an additional 50-60 each for marketing films.

In response to this you're also quoting internet fansites! Look, we're sort of arguing the same thing at this point, just that you prefer to take the studio's official word and I don't.



Providing an "estimated budget" for promotional purposes, the daily trades, and sites like BOM is not the same thing as the financial information provided to shareholders at the end of the year.



Studio execs, being stupid? Perish the thought! The fact remains, while Trek films historically have been modestly budgeted affairs, Abrams demanded -- and got -- a top-of-the-line budget for a major tentpole movie. Paramount would like everyone to think it was prudent and modest, but... it wasn't. And look, even at $200 million it's worth it for Paramount, in the long run. Even if the movie won't break even until DVD/Blu-Ray/video, it's boosting the sales and value of the entire Trek library, which is almost literally priceless for Paramount. Same thing with the Pirates movies: their absurdly high budgets were *still* worth it for Disney, since they rake in the major dollars from theme park rides, merchandise, etc.



Major tentpole films cost *waaay* more than $50-60 million in marketing worldwide. A more realistic figure would be double that, and triple wouldn't be unusual either.

Not films with back end deals and built in fanbases like Potter. It doesn't need a big marketing campaign to have a big opening. I agree that a film like Transformers, Wolverine, and T4 had huge marketing campaigns, but not Potter.

And BOM, Variety, IMDB, and many other credited websites confirm the same data for budgets. Saying you heard something on a StarTrekIsInTrouble.com is not the same thing. I'm not going to keep saying the same thing. I'll take 5 places reporting the same thing as at least closest to the truth you'll get over small fanboy sites. And for the Record 200 million would have been more than worth it for Star Trek, it was fantastic, it doesn't change the fact that its budget was more likely in the 140-160 range.

No Actuals released as of yet...but BOM has it's Intl. gross slightly lower than estimates

Domestic: $158,022,354 40.1%
+ Foreign: $236,000,000 59.9%

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

= Worldwide: $394,022,354

It's official. TTT's 7-year opening weekend record has been defeated....I'm sad, though it wasn't by much. Of course, Adjusted for inflation TTT would've blown HP6 out of the water. One other thing, I don't really consider TTT's or Hp6's opening to be the strongest start....that title belongs to ROTK which had a 3-Day opening but managed to gross in excess of AUD$12m. so with an extra day, it will surely get around the AUD$14.5-15m mark.

Still HP6's opening is superb. The franchise has been growing in openings each time. Expect Deathly Hallows to become the first movie to clear AUD$15m when it opens next year. HP6 sent Transformers crashing 55%...not bad really, that movie is on the verge of $40m but is slowing fast now that the school holidays has finished, needs a good week next weekend. Ice Age 3 held quite well and is itself on the verge of surpassing Ice Age 2's total gross of $24.5m. Bruno as expected was crushed badly.

1 1 HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE (M), WARNER BROS [510/ $28,100] 14,330,931 N/A 18,705,212 2 3 ICE AGE 3: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (PG), FOX [387/ $8,128] 3,145,535 -43% 23,898,497
3 2 BRUNO (MA15+), UNIVERSAL [335/ $6,099] 2,043,080 -65% 11,234,139
4 4 TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (M), PARAMOUNT [380/ $4,451] 1,691,196 -55% 36,838,571
5 4 HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE (G), WALT DISNEY [225/ $4,655] 1,047,455 -43% 8,846,972

I don't disagree, but that doesn't mean the money isn't being spent. Billboards, TV spots, print media, etc etc for a worldwide campaign is huge, and costs a lot as well. I don't think WB sets a record marketing HP, but they're not low-balling themselves, either.



Most of the credits pull the data from each other, or they'll talk to a source either within the studio (who'll usually quote a lower number) or a source within a rival studio (who'll quote a higher number). I think you also misunderstand me. I'm not a Trek basher at all. I loved the reboot. I'm happy with the job Paramount did. I think they spent their money wisely, even if it was $200 million. I'm just saying there's an inclination here (not just you, on web forums in general) to pick the announced budgetary number and use that to determine how profitable a film is. My points are simply (a) that number is frequently wrong, sometimes surprisingly so and (b) we'll never know the actual budget anyway. If you want to be as accurate as you can, it's probably worth compiling a range of rumored budgets and then averaging it out.

It's just a question of cost versus return. For Terminator Salvation or even Star Trek, $400m or so is the best you can get worldwide, so it'd be best for them to try and keep costs down a bit... although Star Trek is special because of how it influences the huge Paramount library. They can take a loss on the Trek feature and still rake in the ancillary money. BTW, as much as I like Trek, it's gonna struggle to break even, no matter how successful it's been. Let's take Paramount's word for the $150m budget, and lets even assume a low prints&advertising cost of $75m (it's almost assuredly much greater). That's $225m spent on the film. Right now, Trek's worldwide gross is $378m. Let's say it gets to $400m. Paramount's gonna get somewhere in the ballpark of 55-60% of that back. That's $220-240m back to them. So right now, assuming the most favorable scenario, it either makes a small profit or breaks even. With more realistic numbers ($175m budget, $100m P&A) it actually loses money theatrically. But even with that, it's still worth it for Paramount because this movie revived the entire franchise, providing more opportunities to re-sell *all* the old series and films; it'll sell well on DVD and Blu-Ray, and Paramount can reap the benefit of future films.

Getting back to the topic (sort of), each Harry Potter film is a shoo-in for $800m-1b worldwide in theatrical grosses. Given those numbers, WB could spent $300m on a production budget for each film and another $100m in prints & advertising and still make bank. So for them to spend $200-225m or whatever, it's a steal. A slam dunk. Why wouldn't they? Why cheap-skate yourself and run the risk (for whatever reason) to not market an HP film to the best of your ability, when you can spend the premium dollars and essentially guarantee $100m+ in profits?

Um No, Star Trek will make a big profit for the studio and already has. Marketing is a different department and is deferred many times through other resources, hence why they are never added to the official budget. Of its 380 WW gross, Paramount will get about 200 million, already 50 million ahead (Stop saying its not 150 million, it hasn't been confirmed by any other credible site not to be), not including the merchandising and tie ins it already made with the film, as well probably at least 400 million WW just in DVD sales, not Rentals which could be another 200 million WW and TV Distribution deals. Star Trek looks to at least earn 300 million for Paramount, and given the fact the sequel should pull 500+WW theatrically its as good of an investment as Iron Man was last year.

I appreciate your points, but they are based on assumptions and not fact. Unless you know people in the studio finance system, your thoughts that at 30% of every film's budget is a lie and are always unannounced is absurd and unreasonable to believe. Again its illegal for studios to hold back that much revenue, and those that look for it would notice if Paramount holds back 300 million from ST, TF2 and GIJOE combined. Saying they're lying and just adding 50 million to a budget is silly.

I'm more inclined to think maybe they aren't bullshitting. Afterall, if every single one of there films didn't make money they wouldn't have any left.

Well total week has fallen Its first week Wed-Tues should be over 22mil beating previous ROTK's record 1st week figure 21.0mil (Fri-Thu), Trans2 with 19.7(wed-Tues) and HP:OOTP 19.6(wed-tues)