Now with extra rich Add On.
The early numbers per the Nikkster:
1. Rio 3D (Fox) NEW [3,826 Theaters] Friday $10M, Estimated Weekend $38M ...
2. Scream 4 (Miramax/Dimension/Weinstein Co) NEW [3,305 Theaters] Friday: $8.7M, Estimated Weekend $22M
3. Insidious (FilmDistrict) Week 3 [2,233 Theaters] Friday $2.3M, Estimated Weekend $7.1M, Estimated Cume $36M
4. Hop (Universal) Week 3 [3,608 Theaters] Friday $2.2M, Estimated Weekend $9M, Estimated Cume $90M
5. Soul Surfer (FilmDistrict/Sony) Week 2 [2,214 Theaters] Friday $2.2M, Estimated Weekend $6.3M, Estimated Cume $19M
6. Arthur (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,276 Theaters] Friday $2.1M, Estimated Weekend $6.4M (-48%), Estimated Cume $22M
7. Hanna (Focus Features) Week 2 [2,545 Theaters] Friday $2M (-53%), Estimated Weekend $6.5M (-48%), Estimated Cume $22.2M
8. Source Code (Summit) Week 3 [2,557 Theaters] Friday $1.8M, Estimated Weekend $5.7M, Estimated Cume $36.4M
9. Your Highness (Universal) Week 2 [2,772 Theaters] Friday $1.3M (-66%), Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $16M
10. The Conspirator (Roadside Attractions) NEW [707 Theaters] Friday $1.1M, Estimated Weekend $3M
Add On: Sayeth the Nikkster:
Rio 3D opened in the U.S. and Canada Friday and earned a top "A" CinemaScore. [T]he bird flew past the studio's mid-$30s target and even Hollywood's $38M projections. With not many schools out Friday, Saturday's kiddie matinees overperformed.
1. Rio 3D (Fox) NEW [3,826 Theaters] Friday $10.2M, Saturday $19M, Weekend $41M
I will go out on a limb here and say the market for CG animated features will keep getting hotter and hotter. And our fine entertainment conglomerates will want to make themselves even more animated movies to help them rake in the gold.
Add On Too: And the Reporter tells us:
Rio, a sizeable victory for Vanessa Morrison’s Fox Animation Studios and Blue Sky Studios, received an A CinemaScore in North America and is the biggest opening of the year. It’s also the best opening for a G-rated toon since Toy Story 3. On Saturday, Rio was up 65%. The movie is poised to do great midweek business, since kids are out of school for spring break. ...
Add On the 3rd: Box Office Mojo has Rio pulling down $40 million while third place Hop makes do with $11.1 million ... and an $82.6 million total. (The bunny rabbit pic takes a sizable hit, what with Rio coming into the marketplace.)
Posts
16 comments:
Rio was a very cute kid's cartoon. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I been a 5 year old kid. It doesn't have a lot to offer many beyond that age.
We have always managed to make our animated films for much less and because we are based back East, we don't succumb to the West Coast animation arms race that escalates prices,' a 20th exec tells me.
In other words, Blue Sky is a cheap ass studio who takes advantage of their artists and underpay what they're worth, even in a region where the cost of living is HIGHER than the west coast. This is not a good thing to be proud of, Mr. Fox executive
we don't succumb to the West Coast animation arms race that escalates prices,' a 20th exec tells me.
Indeed. By "prices," he means "wages."
I hope those Blue Sky animators have this quote printed on a giant banner in their hallways. Should make them feel really great as they enrich this executive.
On another note, congrats to the crew of Rio for making another successful movie. Looks great!
Rio looks great probably their creative best and with that production budget it should be profitable film.
Let's not forget this little gem either:
Made for just a $90M budget because of tax breaks in Connecticut where Blue Sky Studios is based
So, BS Studios pays less, gets animators to work in swanky Greenwich, CT and is also getting state subsidies? Maybe Fox took a lesson from an animation studio on Flower St? (err .. PDI?)
Yes, Blue Sky isn't the top payer in the business, but it's better than it's been. And the success of yet another high profile animated feature means the market sails higher.
Yes, the market sails higher. In fact, in the last several years, animated films have consistently performed better than live-action on a per-capita basis.
SO...
why haven't animator wages exploded through the roof?? The successes we're seeing today vastly, vastly exceed the "2nd Golden Age" of the early 90s. Disney, Dreamworks, Fox, and Universal have all seen big profits from animated movies.
We know there have been collusion agreements between the studios in the past. Do we know there aren't still going on now? According to the free market, folks working in animation should be among the highest paid in the industry.
Why haven't wagers gone up?
Because CG has leveled the talent pool for the most part. There are no star CG artists.
Directors - yes.
Story people - some.
Designers - some
Animators (and everyone else down the ladder) - no or very rarely. All animators and other artists can be replaced by some fairly talented kid coming out of school willing to work for min scale - so it's kind of hard top push for better wages.
All animators and other artists can be replaced by some fairly talented kid coming out of school willing to work for min scale - so it's kind of hard top push for better wages.
I know there are plenty of producers who believe that, but it simply isn't true. It's the studios that keep their crews together, and who nurture their talent, who produce the best and most successful animated films.
It's not the kids coming out of school who are keeping wages down, it's the depth of the domestic talent pool. The animation boom of the 90's pulled a lot of talent into animation, and that pull has continued. But its the talented vets who are competing with each other to keep wages flat, not overseas animators or green kids just out of school.
why haven't animator wages exploded through the roof??
Because there's a different dynamic.
The CG talent pool is far larger than the handful of skilled, experienced hand-drawn animators who were at the top of their game in 1995.
Added to which, CG has been growing over sixteen years. The hand-drawn feature explosion happened over 24-36 months. Studios (then) were scrambling to find talent, and bidding against each other.
Less of that going on now.
Animation Mentor graduates 400+ animators every year, Ringling College another 100, SCAD and Full Sail another couple of hundred every year. While they are green they are also very teachable and willing to do whatever it takes to make it in the animation biz. In short they were like a lot of us were 20+ years ago. I was one of 40 that made it out of Sheridan and that school and CalArts were the only schools teaching animation back in the day. Today many more students have a bite at the apple. Its simple economics - the supply has outgrown the demand.
There's one comment that was made earlier that seems to be getting overlooked:
There are no CG animation superstars. Sure there are CG animators that are better than others, but in general they don't stand out like 2D superstar animators did. A lot of what made some 2D animators better than others was the talent of draftsmanship and that's no longer an issue. Sure acting, posing and timing are all still important, but it's not as easy to get a handle on and not as easy to discern who is more talented than others after a certain quality level is reached.
I'm sure all the major studios know who are their strongest animators, but if one of them left I doubt they'd be too heartbroken - at least, not to the degree where a bidding war would happen.
I sort of agree...but after half a dozen CG films (at multiple studios) I can tell you that there are indeed CG Superstars, but maybe just not publicly known. And when and if those animators leave the studio, it creates a ton of turmoil...
And the studio leadership DO fight to keep them.
Also, Animation Mentor graduates 400 a year, but only 10 or so are ready to walk into any given feature studio.
Also, Animation Mentor graduates 400 a year, but only 10 or so are ready to walk into any given feature studio.
Actually, a huge percentage of people going into AM are already working professionals who go to AM to improve their skills and marketability. They've already gone to a bricks and mortar school and are working in games or on low-level projects. So there are many more than 10 AM graduates a year who are ready to walk into feature studios.
Now, if you look at how many AM grads, whose ONLY experience and training are through AM, finish the program and walk into a feature studio, then yes, the number is small.
And by the way, the 10:30 AM commenter is right on. I've seen the same thing at several top studios. There are stars in CG, it's just less evident from the outside.
Post a Comment