"Ghost Rider" makes $15.9m opening day!

Even if it does make $100 million, the studio has to split that with the theaters. And boxofficemojo had the "Ghost Rider" budget listed as $120 million.

So this movie would have to gross $240 million for the studio to break even. So I doubt there will be another one.

But then again, "Hulk" tanked -- even though in my opinion, it's one of the better comic book films in recent years -- but they're still going ahead with "Incredible Hulk". So you never can tell.

Plus, in that situation, I believe Universal took the loss for "Hulk" but Marvel Studios is funding "Increadible Hulk".

Studios don't split box office receipts evenly with theatres. Theatres take a small, small percentage and make most of their money on concession sales.

The movie wouldn't have to make much more than $120 mill to break even, so G.R. 2 is almost certain.

It works on a sliding scale,

I think George Lucas made precedent when "Phantom Menace" negotiated a 90/10 return for the first weekend.

I'm pretty sure the average is 70/30 for the first weekend. And then 60/40 for the second weekend. And then 50/50 for everything thereon out...

jamesdalton... can you back that sliding scale statement up? I have always heard the same thing mopeymatt said. That theaters hope to recoup the cost of the reels through ticket sales, and make the vast majority of their money through concessions. And my (albeit limited) google search found nothing to back you up.

Every time you read about box office earnings, the critical factor is ALWAYS whether the receipts exceed the budget, thus making the movie profitable.

And don't you think that when the story is about how much the movie has grossed for the studio, they would have already subtracted the theaters' percentage of profits?

Dalton's right about the amount taken by the theater. The overall average is 55/45 split, in favor of the distributor. Opening weekends vary depending on the expected ticket sales of the movie - the higher it is, the higher the percent for the distributor (as the Phantom Menace example above), then it gradually slides down to about 50/50 for the duration of the run.

I can imagine that GR had one helluve a marketing budget as well - I've seen the trailers and commercials on heavy rotation for weeks.

Of course, just as we look beyond the production costs alone to determine profit, one must also look beyond the domestic box office for revenue. Big action movies like this are usually released simultaneously to most of the world, so the studio will be looking at the worldwide box office (which we'll know in a couple days). Then of course there's the DVD sales, TV sales, and product licensing to consider.

These factors are no doubt what turned The Incredible Hulk into a movie that will be getting a sequel - plus, I believe Marvel will be working with a smaller budget. Although I think the primary reason is that they believe it the movie can be turned into a profitable franchise, if given the right re-launch. There's some major money to be made off the Hulk if they do it right (kids love those "Hulk Fist" toys).

As for GR - the Friday box office is strong, but the weekend box office will be more telling. If there's a significant drop-off within the weekend itself (Saturday is much lower than Friday), then that means the fanboys showed up, hated it, and told all their friends not to bother. And of course the second weekend box office will be even more telling. There's no new FX-laden, action movies scheduled for next weekend, so GR will either fall or grow legs based on its own merits.

VerbalKent, the key for profitability has never been just a matter of box office overtaking production costs. General rule of thumb is that the movie needs to make 2x to 2.5x the production costs before it's considered profitable. These days, that includes the foreign box office as well (there was a time it only included domestic box office, but studios have a more global outlook now with more simultaneous release schedules).

Here's an interview on IMDB that explains the distributor/studio split (check the second column):

http://us.imdb.com/indie/ask-archive?date=20010302

You are correct about the concession stand - that is the true profit center for the theater. But they still make significant money from box office receipts themselves.

Consider me enlightened. Thanks for the info.

I'm surprised by the high take in one day. I thought it would be hurt by the terrible winter weather we are having in the Northeast. Still, when a movie makes money, it makes money with domestic, foreign, DVD, and television. With Ghost Rider, you can also add in merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.

Don't underestimate the power of foreign boxoffice. Movies that flopped here such as Poseidon and Miami Vice did well overseas. There is also a sense of presteige that the movie makes money for the all involved.

I might add that National Treasure received some rather bland reviews and it did quite well. Must be the Cage effect. I have to ask though, with the showing of virtual hand raising, who really thought this would be a great movie? This is a "leave your brain at home and just enjoy the SE and popcorn" type of flick. That is so very obvious. It is kind of like the people that have hope for FF2 when the first one was on the same level as GR. I think some films are just obvious. To try to hold the comic up, like they do on AICN, as some type of great literature is just silly. The comic, in both incarnations, was often times silly and second tier. So, what comic book successes have there really been so far...Spiderman, Batman, Blade? Most of the mainstream super hero flicks have been a disapointment. Did someone really think Daredevil was great? Did they think the same director would do better with another comic book franachise? I guess there is always hope. Just don't expect too much from your comic book movies. Now, the graphic novel adaptations seem to have fared much better, but, then again, they were a much better source (I had high hopes for From Hell....too bad they didn't stay true to the book.) BTW, am I the only one that really doesn't want to see them bastardize the Watchmen? That book is just too layered for a two hour movie to do it justice. But, as long as we fork out money for GR...that is what they will give us.

Don't forget that the studio also makes money from DVD sales, rental, and TV.