Image Credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace
Thanks to the release of Oz: The Great and Powerful, Disney is seeing green this morning, or, more accurately, emerald. Oz earned a robust $80.3 million from 3,912 theaters in its first three days, which gave the 3-D adventure a tremendous $20,251 per theater average — not to mention bragging rights as the highest debut since The Hobbit‘s $85.8 million bow in December. A solid 53 percent of Oz‘s gross came from 3-D showings, while 10 percent ($8.2 million) came from 307 IMAX screens.
Oz‘s daily grosses suggest it played very well with families. After a $24.1 million Friday, Oz ticked up 37 percent to $33 million on Saturday (for comparison, Disney’s 2010 fairy tale Alice in Wonderland increased 8 percent on its first Saturday), and then held well with $23.1 million on Sunday. Family viewing typically drives ticket sales during early showtimes on Saturdays and Sundays. According to Dave Hollis, Disney’s head of distribution, the film was absolutely a hit with families, but it played across all demographics effectively. He says that 46 percent of Oz‘s audience was under 25, while 54 percent was older. Teens made up 16 percent of the opening weekend crowd. Couples accounted for 43 percent of business, and families accounted for 41 percent. Male/female viewing was fairly evenly split at 48/52 percent. READ FULL STORY »
