For the 13 days December 16-28, top 10 films in North America have totaled $831 million, now +71% ahead of the same period last year, +83% above the average since 2002, and +44% ahead of the previous record for this period (2009, the year of Avatar). Each of the comparisons are down five to ten percentage points since our last update (for December 16-27). The effect of Star Wars: A Force Awakens has diminished slightly, but it remains an incredibly powerful engine at the box office.
| Box Office Volume — Top 10 Films North America | |||||||
| ($ millions) | Past 13 years — 2002-2014 | ||||||
| # days | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | Average | Peak Year | Low Year | |
| Dec 16-22 | 7 | 415* | 196 | 193 | 179 | 223 (’03) | 112 (’08) |
| Dec 16-23 | 8 | 467* | 222 | 226 | 214 | 247 (’03) | 128 (’08) |
| Dec 16-24 | 9 | 503* | 238 | 248 | 234 | 266 (’09) | 138 (’08) |
| Dec 16-25 | 10 | 599* | 309 | 315 | 295 | 349 (’09) | 205 (’08) |
| Dec 16-26 | 11 | 700* | 376 | 373 | 355 | 445 (’09) | 268 (’08) |
| Dec 16-27 | 12 | 776* | 440 | 432 | 407 | 521 (’09) | 329 (’08) |
| Dec 16-28 | 13 | 831* | 487 | 494 | 455 | 579 (’09) | 375 (’08) |
| Dec 16-29 | 14 | 522 | 541 | 501 | 637 (’09) | 408 (’04) | |
| Dec 16-30 | 15 | 560 | 580 | 546 | 693 (’09) | 442 (’04) | |
| Dec 16-31 | 16 | 593 | 616 | 584 | 742 (’09) | 475 (’08) | |
| Dec 16-Jan 1 | 17 | 640 | 664 | 633 | 820 (’09) | 525 (’08) | |
| Dec 16-Jan 2 | 18 | 691 | 690 | 671 | 901 (’09) | 558 (’04) | |
| Dec 16-Jan 3 | 19 | 738 | 733 | 699 | 947 (’09) | 571 (’04) | |
Note: * represents a new record high
Monday December 28, 2015 ended up with $54.7 million for the top 10 films, well above the $42.3 million average when December 28 falls on a weekday but closer to the December 28 weekend average ($47.2 million).
Similarly, Tuesday December 29 and Wednesday December 30 this year will probably perform more like weekend days ($50.8 million and $48.1 million on average for those days on weekends, respectively). December 31 historically is about the same whether it falls on a weekday ($35.2 million average) or weekend ($37.9 million average). Star Wars: A Force Awakens might stretch December 31 to around $39 million, but the New Year’s Eve parties and the two semi-final college bowl games should bring the box office back to Earth for the first time in weeks.
Come back over the next few days for updates on this historic holiday period at the box office.
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