So, I know that typically the big popcorn action movies get released in the summer. That's why they moved HP3 to the summer. I also realize that pretty much the only time dramas get released are heading into Oscar season, so October and onwards. Comedies? Thrillers? I'm pretty sure the boxoffice is affected equally by genre and timing. But when they fiddle its often surprising. After X2 got pushed up to May, summer-blockbuster kicked up earlier, and Elf! That was released months before X-mas and did fabulously. I wonder why more dramas don't get released earlier in the year. Oscars means nothing if you don't get a nod, and it didn't seem to do anything fabulous to the box office numbers anyways. As far as people's moods go, you'd think winter would be when people least liekly want to watch heavy dramas. They're already feeling more down than usual. And now isn't X-mas release really coveted for big Action movies? I've noticed that certain genres have seasonal sort of release dates in expectations of boosting box office numbers, but I'm starting to question how smart those selections are.

There are certain months that serve as dumping grounds, others that studios want to cash in on Holidays (November and December), horror fans (October) and no school ( the summer movie season). It's all about maximizing profits. You aren't going to do that if you release a horror movie in January, or an Oscar contender in July. Sometimes they miss, but a romcom like Hitch (generally speaking) wouldn't clean up as much if it didn''t get released during Valentine's Day.

January - Seasonal leftovers and wide releases for oscar contenders.
February - Romcoms to take advantage of the sweethearts across the nation.
March - filler stuff.
April - Filler stuff and warmups to blockbusters.
May- Summer movies
June - Summer movies
July - Summer movies
August - Summer Movies
September - Worst month of the year.
October - Horror and potential Oscar movies.
November - Blockbusters on holiday weekend releases and Oscar contenders.
December - Blockbusters for Holiday releases and Oscar contenders.

Yeah, but did you see how good ALong Came Polly and Butterfly Effect did last year in Jan? Polly from everyone I heard, was terrible, Butterfly was ok but in theory had limited appeal beyond genre fans. Polly almost outgrossed Starsky and Hutch for goodness sakes! So what would a passably fresh on rt S&H gotten in Jan? I just thing if a couple studios went against the grain, they'd actually make more money. Look if all the movies in Jan are horrible, and you put in a good one, everyone will flock to see you in theatres. Oscar leftovers? I don't see them grossing that much more. Maybe the winner, but not the other ones. And Why did LOTR do so well in winter instead of being a summee movie? Maybe because everything else is a tear-jerking oscar drama by that time of year, and people are ready for something else. Same goes with summer action. If everything is action, sneaking in a quality drama gets alot of attention. Wasn't Punch Drunk Love then? And people jumped on it and said Sandler might get an Oscar? How about Eternal Sunshine? I get horror for October, but actually, this year it was so successful its the one genre that left its prescribed month and still did well. Ring 2 is coming out now, not in October.

It's that desperate comedy audience that you always here me speeking of. They are wanting to laugh so badly, they are easy targets of manipulation by studios, and exploit them they do. Put 2 minutes of laughs in a trailer, and the sheep are herded in with their money.



The Aviator and Sideways are still making impressive amounts. They both have had really good drops. I've often thought that they could benefit by putting one great movie out in September, with no competition to stand in it's way, but it comes down to being able to predict what will be a hit, and none of us are right all the time.



The length of the LOTR movies would have killed it as a summer movie. They may have lost 50-100 million alone, just due to competition and people not wanting to spend 3 hours indoors on a beautiful summer day or night. They were able to take advantage of releasing it for the long holiday when kids are off school from Christmas til after New Years, and not have to face any real competition coming out every weekend.



Amityville Horror is coming out now too. Since this is a filler month, that doesn't say a lot about it's chances, but they both will open decently. You can always open a sequel to a successful movie or a remake of a successful movie.

If a drama was snuck in a summer weekend, nobody would see it. It would never be able to compete with the latest special FX fest that's wowing people, and hype hype and more hype from those loud movies would destry the quiet film's chances, where if it waits til all is quiet, a lot more people will notice it.

The Notebook was released in July of last year and did fairly well for a drama...

In my opinion, the reason why all the big popcorn picks are in the summer is because that is a time when studios try to force to get people into the theaters. In early times, summer has been a dead zone for theaters, considering that it was tourist seasons and all of the outdoor activity. You see, unlike the Holiday season, a time when people most like to go to the movies, summer was used to try to get people into the theater. All studios tried to avoid putting their must see movies in the summer, until a man named Speilberg released Jaws in the midst of summer, and became the highest grossing movie of all time. This proved that summer was about roller coaster rides, and Jaws provided one. Meaning that if you excite a moviegoer, then off to the theater they go. Then all the sudden, all the roller coaster rides were released in the summer, and midweek business is higher because there was no school, that must have help midweek grosses of Jaws alot. That is why you see alot of big popcorn action flicks in the summer because it is a time when people don't usually like to go, and you have to exicte them, or you just wasted your time and money.

Hey Scott, good to hear form you, since I don't usually come in here.

Well that's the point, crowds are recruitable. Summer used to be a waste and they created a market. Couldn't that pretty much always be the case. There's the arguement of *counter-programming* right? That when everything else is Jaws, people like my mom are going to go see Finding Neverland. And vice-versa, when everything is depressing (right before the oscars hehe) than people pounce at anything even Polly.

Anyhow, Mavs general trend holds true, but I'm wondering if films that fall outside of their designated time-frames might actually do better because they are considered counter-programming to everything else that season?

Usually, it has been pretty mixed. If you move a movie from summer to fall, the advantage is less stiffer competition and usually better legs, but the disadvantage is lower midweek business. If Sky Captain stayed in it's June slot, and still got a $15 million opening weekend, it could have gotten another $10 million than it got. There have some times it has worked, like Double Jeopardy and Rush Hour for example. These movies where potential movie outside the summer slot that hit big because of lack of competition. If you move a spring to summer, then yes, you do have to be careful that you are counter-programming the movie is an un-similar movie. Like Notting Hill vs. Star Wars. American Sweethearts vs. Jurassic Park III, and T3 vs. Legally Blonde 2, just to name a few. But sometimes, a delay can hurt a film, like if people knew when the movie was out, then they find out it is not out, and when it does come out, they forget it. In my opinion, I say, pick a date and go with it.

some of these do fall out side,
Forrest Gump for example you would think would be a December movie, but it was released in July.
While the upcoming King Kong sounds like a Summer movie, but its comming out in December.

The worst movies come out in september?

(Remember the Titans, Rush Hour...)