p2pnet news | Movies:- Hollywood’s MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) says the major studios are being constantly ravaged by the depredations of evil file sharers and wicked counterfeit crooks.

Support workers are being laid off in droves and the studios which, according to MPAA boss Dan Glickman, are struggling to survive on a “fragile fiscal base,” are being forced to cut back on production, etc, etc.

Nonetheless, “In its annual theatrical market statistics report, global film audiences, ‘boosted the worldwide box office to an all-time high of $25.8 billion, compared to 23.3 billion in 2005,’ an 11% increase, crows Hollywood’s MPAA delightedly, as p2pnet reported, going on:

The US box office, ‘rebounded in 2006 to finish the year at $9.49 billion in revenues compared to $8.99 billion in 2005 – a 5.5% increase from the previous year, with 1.45 billion movie tickets sold in the U.S., ending a three-year downward trend in ticket sales … In 2006, 63 films grossed more than $50 million at the box office, a 12.5% increase from the previous year.

Then, in March, “Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney reported record revenues and, “Summer box office takings in North America have broken the $4bn (£1.98bn) barrier for the first time,” said the BBC, going on:

Box office analysts Media By Numbers say the $4bn figure outclasses summer ticket sales of $3.95bn (£1.95bn) set in 2004.

Their estimates suggest that this summer’s box office returns will stand at $4.15bn (£2.05bn) by the time the season officially ends on 3 September.

Now, shouts a Reuters/Hollywood Reporter story, “studio executives are hoping for a fourth-quarter bounty from a parade of high-octane theatrical hits and pricey collectable gift sets.

It goes on:

The box office value of titles coming to DVD between October 1 and December 31 is about 17% above last year’s fourth-quarter lineup, according to Adams Media Research numbers.

The fourth-quarter action kicks off October 2 with 20th Century Fox’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” with $131.8 million in box office receipts, and the horror hit “1408″ ($71.8 million box office), from the Weinstein Co. and Genius Products.

The next Tuesday, October 9, comes Universal Studios’ “Evan Almighty” ($100 million) and Sony Pictures’ “Surf’s Up” ($59 million). On October 16, Paramount/DreamWorks will release the quarter’s first monster hit, “Transformers,” whose $312 million box office haul makes it the year’s No. 3 movie.

Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons” ($97.8 million) hits shelves October 23, followed October 30 by Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man 3,” the year’s No. 1 movie, with a $336.5 million theatrical pedigree.

The action continues in November with Disney’s “Ratatouille” ($202.6 million) coming November 6, the same day Universal hits with “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,” which has $118.5 million in theatrical earnings.

The November slate continues November 13 with Paramount/DreamWorks’ “Shrek the Third” — at $321 million, the year’s No. 2 movie — and Warner’s “Ocean’s Thirteen” ($117.1 million).

20th Century Fox will release the $134.1 million actioner “Live Free or Die Hard” on November 20, a date shared with New Line’s “Hairspray” ($116.4 million) and Disney’s “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” ($84.5 million).

The action picks up again in December, beginning with Disney’s December 4 release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” the year’s No. 4 movie with $309.1 million in theatrical revenue.

Warner strikes a week later with “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” at $289.3 million the year’s No. 5 movie, accompanied by a gift set of all five “Harry Potter” films priced at $149.99.

Also hitting stores December 11 is Universal’s “The Bourne Ultimatum,” which has grossed $216.2 million to date and so far is the year’s No. 6 movie.

20th Century Fox announced last week that “The Simpsons Movie,” which earned $181.2 million in theaters, will be released December 18 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

Stay tuned.

Slashdot it!

Also See:
p2pnet – Hollywood reports record revenues, March 6, 2007
broken the $4bn (£1.98bn) barrier – Hollywood’s eye-popping summer earnings, September 1, 2007
BBC – First $4bn summer for US cinema,, August 27, 2007
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter – Studios hope for DVD bonanza in fourth quarter, September 27, 2007
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