1/8/06 Rental & Sales Chart Update

POSTED BY: LoveThatFireFly
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 00:22
VIEWED: 18830
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LOVETHATFIREFLY

Friday, January 13, 2006 12:31 AM

SERENITY RENTALS:

http://www.dvdexclusive.com/charts_renters_weekly.asp

This week: 23
Last week: 17
Weeks in release: 3
Weekly Revenue DVD: 1.31 million
Weekly Revenue VHS: 0.03 million
Total weekly Revenue: 1.35 million

Revenue decline compared to last week: 56% drop

DVD/VHS Rental Revenue to date: 8.05 million
US Box Office Gross: 25.50 million
Rental revenue as a % of Box Office: 31.60%

SERENITY SALES:

http://www.dvdexclusive.com/charts_sellers_weekly.asp

(I have noticed that not all retailers report sales of this DVD each week. Some of them sell previousy owned - not sure how that it counted.)

This week:14
Last week: 6
Weeks in release:3
Amazon:3
Buy.com: 3
DVD Empire: 6
Half.com:14 Tower:8

I will post this weekly as I find the updates. As soon as it drops off the top charts, I am sure it won't be available...

ASIMOV

Friday, January 13, 2006 2:21 AM

Okay, let's take a look at the numbers, shall we?

Serenity cost around $39 or $40 million to make. (Those numbers almost surely don't include all the advertising costs, but they're the commonly reported figures.)

Let's tally the reported box office and rental gross:

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $25.5 million
OVERSEAS BOX OFFICE: $13.3 million
+ DOMESTIC DVD/VHS RENTAL: $8.05 million
____________________________________________

= TOTAL REPORTED GROSS: $46.85 million

That's probably not correct: Surely not all of that money actually goes back to Universal. For instance, Universal presumably won't get all of that $8.05 million from rentals. But if most of that money does go to Universal, what can we conclude? Some thoughts:

(1) Even including advertising costs, Serenity must be out of the red by now, or at least close.

(2) The tally above, if I'm understanding LoveThatFireFly's post correctly, does not include DVD purchases. The addition of those DVD purchases would surely drive total gross much higher, especially considering the high ranking of the DVDs at Amazon and elsewhere.

(3) That total gross also doesn't include international sales of the DVD, which are just about to get underway in most places.

(4) Nor does it include the sale of the TV rights.

When all is said and done, Serenity will have made a decent profit for Universal.

More importantly, the movie has created a huge new fan base hungering for more. Look at how the gangbuster sales of the Serenity DVD have dragged Firefly -- a cancelled TV show that was released on DVD more than two years ago! -- back into the top ten sellers on Amazon:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/amazon.asp

All in all, it seems to me that it would be a great business move for anybody who can to bring Firefly back to TV to do so.

Of course, I may be looking at this whole situation through roseate glasses -- especially given the fact, repeatedly established with steaming heaps of empirical evidence, that TV execs aren't exactly burdened with an overabundance of brains.

So maybe we shouldn't assume the numbers will speak for themselves. Maybe we're approaching the time for the next phase of fan action.

If the perseverance and hard work of the fans helped to turn Firefly into Serenity, then maybe we can turn Serenity back into Firefly.

- A new website for a new fan campaign?

- A letter-writing campaign to TV execs, pointing out the great numbers?

- A petition?

I don't know. But the time to act is now -- while momentum is still building, while millions of people are being introduced to the 'verse for the first time. We have a great opportunity here, an opportunity to do the impossible. We shouldn't squander it.

SNOZZAMAN

Friday, January 13, 2006 9:40 AM

Just a quick and simple reply, Why take it of the air in the first place after what was it? 8 episodes? C'mon, even friends was'nt popular for the 1st 10 episodes or so(mid table ratings. So why not give a great show like this a chance. Hell even Star Trek TNG(a show that wenmt on for 199 episodes) was given a chance even though that languished near the bottom of the charts for ages.

So all I have to say to Universal, Warner, MGM, and whoever else. Stop thinking about profit all the bloody time and for once think about the fans!!

(sorry about going on like that!)

and yeah lets start a petition!!

CAUSAL

Friday, January 13, 2006 1:04 PM

Much as I hate to be the voice of cynicism...

Quote:
Originally posted by snozzaman:
So all I have to say to Universal, Warner, MGM, and whoever else. Stop thinking about profit all the bloody time and for once think about the fans!!

Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen.

________________________________________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.

SITTINGDUCK

Friday, January 13, 2006 2:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by asimov:
Serenity cost around $39 or $40 million to make. (Those numbers almost surely don't include all the advertising costs, but they're the commonly reported figures.)

Don't forget that the budget also doesn't include costs of distribution. Or for that matter the production, advertising, and distribution of the DVD.

Quote:
Let's tally the reported box office and rental gross:

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $25.5 million
OVERSEAS BOX OFFICE: $13.3 million
+ DOMESTIC DVD/VHS RENTAL: $8.05 million
____________________________________________

= TOTAL REPORTED GROSS: $46.85 million

That's probably not correct: Surely not all of that money actually goes back to Universal. For instance, Universal presumably won't get all of that $8.05 million from rentals. But if most of that money does go to Universal, what can we conclude?

The percentage I've heard is about half, which sounds right. Much as we might like to bitch about the prices, surely no one who is thinking clearly believes the movie theaters run entirely on the revenue from the concession stands.

Quote:
When all is said and done, Serenity will have made a decent profit for Universal.

With the more pessimistic percentages, it looks more like breaking even or a marginal profit. At best only warranting a direct-to-video sequel.

Quote:
More importantly, the movie has created a huge new fan base hungering for more. Look at how the gangbuster sales of the Serenity DVD have dragged Firefly -- a cancelled TV show that was released on DVD more than two years ago! -- back into the top ten sellers on Amazon:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/amazon.asp

I wouldn't gauge the size of the fan base from DVD sales. Keep in mind the number of posts here proclaiming the intent of buying multiple copies of the Serenity DVD. Sure some of those multiple copies are going to be gifts, but I'm reminded of something C.S. Lewis said regarding The Screwtape Letters. He noted that while sales were quite good, it didn't necessarily mean that anyone was actually reading them. He commented that The Screwtape Letters was the sort of book that godparents gave as a confirmation gift and was frequently used as a dust collector in the guest bedroom.

I hope you'll pardon my pessimism, but I tend to find that sort of thinking is all too warranted.

The rabbit is cuddly. Kids like little cuddly sidekicks. I mean... The rabbit... It's a time-tested... Okay, the rabbit bites.

ZEEK

Friday, January 13, 2006 5:05 PM

I think it's at least a good sign here. I mean this doesn't even include international sales right? Which should be especially interesting considering some of those countries didn't even get the film in theaters.

I also think that this should point out to the potential studios who might want to produce more Serenity that the fans are more into the small screen. Perhaps a mini-series, return to TV, direct to dvd somethingorother, etc. I really liked the previous idea of the series being revived as an online only production where each episode costs a couple bucks to download or something.

WILDHARE

Friday, January 13, 2006 5:20 PM

What we dont see in any of the numbers is Video sales. I can find no place that shows what the numbers are on video sales gross. We get numbers. #2 #6 whatever but I can't find anyplace where that is converted to dollars.

If you take 2 million copies world wide which I think is likely to be a low number and multiply that by 19 dollars a pop your talking 38 million dollars.

That takes it somewhere around 75 to 80 million gross. 25 million over cost to produce.

Now my numbers could be off but I don't believe they are way off.

BOWIE

Friday, January 13, 2006 5:40 PM

(Quote)The percentage I've heard is about half, which sounds right. Much as we might like to bitch about the prices, surely no one who is thinking clearly believes the movie theaters run entirely on the revenue from the concession stands. (end Quote)

Actually I work at the theator, and they do. If you want to bitch about the prices of tickets, bitch to Holywood. The movie theator buys the movie. It only buys movies it thinks will bring peeps in, which is why somtimes movies arent shown, but the movie peeps have a rule that only they get the profs from the tickets. The movie theator must keep itself going off of popcorn and soda, which is why prices there have risen. The sad thing is the theators always get the blame for the high prices, no the people who actually get the money.

GOSHDARNSTUD

Friday, January 13, 2006 6:58 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the take by the theater dependent on how long the movie has been out. The first couple weeks almost all of the money goes to the studio, then down the road the theater gets to keep most the cash. Hence why you can't use free passes the first couple weeks or release, the theater would still have to pay for your seat to the studio. Maybe that's why Serenity lasted so long in some theaters, Browncoats were still filling up seats, and making the theater money, if contributing very little to the total take of the movie.

STORYMARK

Friday, January 13, 2006 9:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by goshdarnstud:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the take by the theater dependent on how long the movie has been out. The first couple weeks almost all of the money goes to the studio, then down the road the theater gets to keep most the cash. Hence why you can't use free passes the first couple weeks or release, the theater would still have to pay for your seat to the studio. Maybe that's why Serenity lasted so long in some theaters, Browncoats were still filling up seats, and making the theater money, if contributing very little to the total take of the movie.

From the time I spent working in a theatre, that sounds about right. Back then (about 7 years ago) the Studio got 80-90% of the gross for the first 2 weeks, and then the percentage shifted more toward the exhibitor's benefit.

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

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