THE RANKING
| Rank | Title | Release Date | Distributor | Opening Weekend | Lifetime Gross (Domestic) | Production Budget (Estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iron Man 2 | May 7, 2010 | Paramount | $128,122,480 | $312,128,345 | $200,000,000 |
| 2 | Red | Dec 26, 2010 | Summit Entertainment | $21,761,408 | $88,891,000 | $58,000,000 |
| 3 | Kick-Ass | Apr 16, 2010 | Lionsgate | $19,828,687 | $48,071,303 | $30,000,000 |
| 4 | Marmaduke | Jun 4, 2010 | Fox | $11,599,661 | $33,644,788 | $50,000,000 |
| 5 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World | Aug 13, 2010 | Universal | $10,609,795 | $31,524,275 | $60,000,000 |
| 6 | The Losers | Apr 23, 2010 | Warner Bros. | $9,406,348 | $23,591,432 | $25,000,000 |
| 7 | Jonah Hex | Jun 18, 2010 | Warner Bros. | $5,379,365 | $10,547,117 | $47,000,000 |
WINNERS AND LOSERS
There was a lot of talk on the Intardwebz that 2010 marked the beginning of the end for comic book movies. It does indeed look like a downer year for comic book based movies, with more taking a hit in the United States theaters than bringing in the big bucks. The biggest loser of the year is Warner Bros. who took a gamble on two properties that had the potential, but simply failed on launch. This is a big turnaround for the company that still holds the number one spot with The Dark Knight, which brought in $533 million in 2008. On the plus side, one of the bigger news items this year was the reorganization of Warner Bros. and DC Comics and the time spent in coming up with a plan to market and use the company’s comic book properties going forward.Are audiences tired of comic book movies? Based on numbers, signs point to a definite “maybe”. However, when you dig a little deeper, titles and characters audiences are not familiar with, and stories that were not handled well are the bigger reason viewers shied away from the box office.
One of the other things to make note of is ticket cost. Movie tickets rose an estimated eight-percent in 2010 to $7.95 for traditional movies, with prices for 3-D movies averaging $19.95 per ticket. With DVD sales and rentals coming in as close or better than opening weekend sales for many of the titles in our ranking, audiences may be sending a signal to theater chains that their tired of overpriced seats, and would rather sit in the comfort of their own home to watch movies, even if it means waiting a couple of months after the initial release.
The big winner for 2010 is Marvel, who raked in the money for Iron Man 2, which ended the year only $6 million shy of the first Iron Man movie. Marvel is betting audiences aren’t tired of comic book adaptations, as the company has three movies (all Avengers tie-ins) set for 2011. And as of this posting, the number of comic book adaptations is on par with the number of releases for 2010.
Upcoming Releases for 2011
- The Green Hornet (January 13, 2011)
- Thor (May 06, 2011)
- Priest (May 13, 2011)
- X-Men: First Class (June 03, 2011)
- Green Lantern (June 17, 2011)
- Captain America: The First Avengers (July 22, 2011)
- Cowboys and Aliens (July 29, 2011)
MOST COMICS SOLD THIS YEAR
2010 was a year of ups and downs for the comic industry, and when it comes to comics in the direct market, there were plenty of downs. In a year that saw several months where the top selling comic sold fewer than 100,000 copies, it’s time to pick through the year to discover what were the top selling comics of 2010.NOTE: Yes, we are aware that the sales figures for 2010 have not been released, and we’ll update this table as soon as that data is released. When it comes to the Top 10 Comics for 2010, we’re fairly confident that those rankings will hold, and any changes will come to the final three or four in our list.
| RANK | TITLE | PRICE | PUBLISHER | UNITS SOLD | MONTH RELEASED | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AVENGERS #1 | $3.99 | MAR | 163,867 | MAY | ||||||||||
| 2 | X-MEN #1 | $3.99 | MAR | 140,332 | JUL | ||||||||||
| 3 | BLACKEST NIGHT #8 | $3.99 | DC | 135,061 | MARCH | ||||||||||
| 4 | BLACKEST NIGHT #7 | $3.99 | DC | 130,613 | FEB | ||||||||||
| 5 | BRIGHTEST DAY #0 | $3.99 | DC | 129,446 | APRIL | ||||||||||
| 6 | NEW AVENGERS #1 | $3.99 | MAR | 129,084 | JUNE | ||||||||||
| 7 | SIEGE #4 | $3.99 | MAR | 113,752 | MAY | ||||||||||
| 8 | SIEGE #3 | $3.99 | MAR | 113,071 | MARCH | ||||||||||
| 9 | BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 | $3.99 | DC | 108,534 | MAY | ||||||||||
| 10 | SIEGE #1 | $3.99 | MAR | 108,484 | JAN | ||||||||||
| 11 | SIEGE #2 | $3.99 | MAR | 108,429 | FEB | ||||||||||
| 12 | SECRET AVENGERS #1 | $3.99 | MAR | 106,750 | MAY | ||||||||||
| 13 | GREEN LANTERN #50 | $3.99 | DC | 106,444 | JAN | ||||||||||
| 14 | BATMAN #700 | $4.99 | DC | 104,755 | JUNE | ||||||||||
| 15 | WOLVERINE #1 | $3.99 | MAR | 104,414 | SEPT | ||||||||||
| 16 | BRIGHTEST DAY #1 | $2.99 | DC | 103,326 | MAY | ||||||||||
| 17 | FLASH #1 | $3.99 | DC | 100,903 | APRIL | ||||||||||
| 18 | GREEN LANTERN #53 | $2.99 | DC | 100,356 | APRIL | ||||||||||
| 19 | Batman: The Return #1 | $4.99 | DC | 99,545 | NOV | ||||||||||
| 20 | AVENGERS #2 HA | $3.99 | MAR | 98,788 | JUNE |
With comics going through a transition period, 2011 will be a year to watch to see if sales in the direct market decline or if things perk up with a slowly improving economy. Digital distribution, event fatigue, and customers being drawn away from comics to video games and movies, will certainly play a part in the success in comic sales going forward.
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