Iron Man 3 made headlines this past weekend with the second biggest opening ever, right behind its bigger brother The Avengers. Marvel’s latest pulled an impressive $175 million in three days, and adding to its already massive $500 million haul overseas, the film is already poised to join the elite billionaire’s club. They include:
- Avatar - $2,782,300
- Titanic - $2,185,400
- The Avengers - $1,511,800
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - $1,341,500
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $1,123,700
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - $1,119,900
- Skyfall - $1,108,600
- The Dark Knight Rises - $1,084,400
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest - $1,066,200
- Toy Story 3 - $1,063,200
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $1,043,900
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace - $1,027,000
- Alice in Wonderland (2010) - $1,024,300
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - $1,017,000
- The Dark Knight - $1,004,600
Of those 15 films, nine came out within the past three years. While there’s no surefire way to cross into seven figure territory, there are a few things many of these films have in common.
BE AN ESTABLISHED FRANCHISE
This one probably goes without saying but being an established franchise dramatically increases your chances of making over $1 billion. Most every film on the list can be categorized as a sequel, prequel, or part of an existing franchise. Transformers, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and other franchises have spent years building a fanbase. The Harry Potter franchise has always been strong – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone just missed the $1 billion mark with $974 million – but it wasn’t until the 9th and final installment that it crossed the threshold. Even 2010’s Alice in Wonderland built off an existing franchise. The only exceptions on the list are Avatar and Titanic, which brings us to our second point…
BE JAMES CAMERON
Avatar and Titanic are the top two highest grossing films of all time. Both have amassed over $2 billion, and both happen to be directed by James Cameron. Clearly he’s doing something right. Cameron is very particular when it comes to projects he’s involved with. The 12 year gap between Titanic and Avatar, his past two feature films, speaks for itself. One reason Avatar can be credited with such success is Cameron’s revolutionary new 3D camera he created specifically for the film. Nowadays everything is in 3D, but Cameron was the one who catapulted the format into mainstream.
BE IN 3D (OR IMAX)
Like it or not, 3D is here to stay. The majority of today’s blockbusters are released in 3D and there’s no question that their higher ticket prices help contribute to the billion dollar success of the top grossing films. 10 of the highest grossing films were released in 3D and three more were released solely in IMAX (Skyfall, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises). The only films that didn’t benefit from extra ticket sales were Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 3D has clearly caught on with general audiences. It’s what propelled Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace past $1 billion and Titanic past $2 billion.