The 2014 holiday box office continues to be better than average but now falling behind last year’s pace.
The top 10 films on Monday December 29, 2014 totaled $34.9 million, somewhat below the average $39.8 million for the days since 2002 when December 29 landed on a weekday. The last time December 29 fell on a Monday (2008), the day’s top 10 films added up to a very similar $35.4 million.
The 14 days December 16-29 total $522 million this year, now +6.9% ahead of the average for this period the last 12 years, although the pace has fallen behind this season’s high reached just a few days ago (+10.8% for December 16-27). Compared to the same December 16-29 period in 2013, this year is now significantly behind (-3.6%) last year’s pace.
| Box Office Volume — Top 10 Films North America | ||||||
| ($ millions) | Past 12 years — 2002-2013 | |||||
| # days | 2014 | 2013 | Average | Peak Year | Low Year | |
| Dec 16-22 | 7 | 196 | 193 | 181 | 223 (’03) | 112 (’08) |
| Dec 16-23 | 8 | 222 | 226 | 214 | 247 (’03) | 128 (’08) |
| Dec 16-24 | 9 | 238 | 248 | 234 | 266 (’09) | 138 (’08) |
| Dec 16-25 | 10 | 309 | 315 | 290 | 349 (’09) | 205 (’08) |
| Dec 16-26 | 11 | 376 | 373 | 347 | 445 (’09) | 268 (’08) |
| Dec 16-27 | 12 | 440 | 432 | 397 | 521 (’09) | 329 (’08) |
| Dec 16-28 | 13 | 487 | 494 | 444 | 579 (’09) | 375 (’08) |
| Dec 16-29 | 14 | 522 | 541 | 488 | 637 (’09) | 408 (’04) |
| Dec 16-30 | 15 | 580 | 531 | 693 (’09) | 442 (’04) | |
| Dec 16-31 | 16 | 616 | 568 | 742 (’09) | 475 (’08) | |
| Dec 16-Jan 1 | 17 | 664 | 616 | 820 (’09) | 525 (’08) | |
| Dec 16-Jan 2 | 18 | 690 | 652 | 901 (’09) | 558 (’04) | |
| Dec 16-Jan 3 | 19 | 733 | 679 | 947 (’09) | 571 (’04) | |
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s box office, December 30 has averaged $39.0 million when it has fallen on a weekday in the last 12 years, as it does this year (while the date has averaged $48.1 million when it has fallen on a weekend). The last time December 30 was on a Tuesday (2008), the day totaled $34.6 million for the top 10 films, and the time before that (2003) Tuesday December 30 added up to $33.7 million.
Come back tomorrow for a look at the actual results for December 30 and a preview of New Year’s Eve.
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