web counter
 

The 20 Highest Grossing Prequels of All Time and the Box-Office Performance of The Worst Movie Ever

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Box Office Round-Ups | Comments (28)

3042592375433529-.jpg

Big news at the box office this weekend, as Paranormal Activity 3 put up huge numbers, opening at number one with $54 million. That’s the biggest fall opening of all time (September and October only, besting Jackass 3), the highest opening for a horror film of all time (beating out Paranormal Activity 2), the eighth biggest opening for a prequel, and the biggest box office opening since Rise of the Planet of the Apes back in August.

There’s clearly no Paranormal Activity 2 fatigue, and what’s remarkable about the series is that it opened with $54 million on a $5 million budget. Compare that to the number four movie this weekend, Three Musketeers, which opened with $8.8 million on a $90 million budget. Someone’s doing something right, and it’s not Paul W.S. Anderson. Whatever you think of Paranormal Activity and sequels/prequels, it is a victory for low budget film, and that’s something for which we can all be grateful (it helps that I happen to like the franchise).

Speaking of prequels, the $54 million gross of Paranormal Activity puts it immediately in the top 20 for prequels of all time. However, these films have a short shelf life: Paranormal Activity 2, which opened with $40 million only made $84 million overall, and you can expect the same trajectory for the third film because they basically expire after Halloween. It will probably end up with $100 - $105 million, which is not enough to land in the top ten sequels overall.

Here’s the Top 20 Prequels of All Time.


1. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace: $431 million

2. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith: $380 million

3. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones: $310 million

4. Star Trek: $257 million

5. Batman Begins: $205 million

6. X-Men Origins: Wolverine: $179 million

7. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: $179 million

8. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: $175 million

9. Casino Royale: $167 million

10. X-Men: First Class: $146 million

11. Red Dragon: $93 million

12. The Scorpion King: $91 million

13. Alien Vs. Predator: $80 million

14. Paranormal Activity 3: $54 million

15. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans: $45 million

16. Exorcist: The Beginning: $41 million

17. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning: $39 million

18. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas: $35 million

19. Hannibal Rising: $27 million

20. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd: $26 million

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

Speaking of Three Musketeers, do you guys remember last year when Doug Liman was briefly attached to a competing Three Musketeers movie? I think the wrong person got the go-ahead. As for other openers, Johnny English Reborn also tanked, landing at number eight with $3.8 million. But fret not, it’s already made $104 million overseas. These Johnny English movies are huge overseas, proving that America is not the only country with a weakness for stupidity. The other opener, Mighty Macs, scored a tepid $1 million, good for number 12.

There were several movies that opened in limited release, and the head of the pack was Martha Marcy May Marlene, the Oscar-contending indie starring Elizabeth Olsen. It put up $138,000 in only four theaters, while Kevin Spacey and Zachary Quinto’s Margin Call made $582,000 in 54 theaters (it also debuted on VOD). The wonderful Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey also made $25,000 in one theater.

The rest of the the box office was unexceptional: Real Steel held on to the two spot with $11 million, Footloose held to number three with $10 million, and The Ides of March rounded out the top five with $4.9 million. All three of those films are performing decently versus expectations.

Also of note, The Worst Movie Ever! continues to perform as one would expect of the worst movie ever. It made $12 this weekend, to bring its six-week total to $323. And yes, this movie does exist. The logline? “A robot alien. Angst-ridden teens. Cleavage-wielding soul takers. A dark overlord. A cross-dressing retard. A pregnant 14-year-old cougar. Macho scientists. Santa Claus. Yeah, this movie has it all.” I gotta put TK on that one.









Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance

← 5 Shows After Dark 10/23/11 | This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitin →









Comments

Hannibal Rising?

Why are you including porn on this list?

Posted by: Johnnyboy at October 23, 2011 11:09 PM

Wasn't the Dark Knight one of the highest grossing films ever?

Posted by: Lucas at October 23, 2011 11:25 PM

I liked Red Dragon.

Posted by: googergieger at October 23, 2011 11:28 PM

"The 20 Highest Grossing Prequels"
"Speaking of prequels"
"Here’s the Top 20 Sequels of All Time"

So is it a sequel, or a prequel?

Posted by: Matt at October 23, 2011 11:35 PM

Ok, I just went and looked up The Worst Movie Ever. It's budget is estimated at $1,075. Not million. Dollars.

One of the actresses is quoted as saying, "I want to do all kinds of movies, but mostly drama because I want people to take me and my work seriously. I want to be known around the world for doing something good."

Posted by: Matt at October 23, 2011 11:45 PM

I care not for what it may bring me, but I WILL SEE The Worst Movie Ever!

Posted by: Shane at October 24, 2011 2:54 AM

It's debatable whether Batman Begins was a prequel, since it was really the start of a new franchise. Casino Royale is in a similar boat, given that it was set in the present.

Posted by: Arran at October 24, 2011 4:03 AM

Oh prequels. Yeah. I knew that.

Posted by: Lucas at October 24, 2011 4:29 AM

Why all the Johnny English hate? Rowan Atkinson is wonderfully amusing and the movies never claim to be anything more than spoofy, fluff, whacked out tomfoolery. I'd rather watch that than any of those Star Wars prequels or any Paranormally Numbered Ghosty Boo! Extreme Movie Extravaganza of Fear.

Posted by: Agogagogo at October 24, 2011 7:16 AM

Batman Begins was not a prequel but the start of its own franchise (did you really think it was showing us what Clooney or Kilmer went through?).

Alien vs. Predator was not a prequel either; it was a spin off from both series and existed in their own universes

Casino Royale was also not a prequel but the start of its own franchise. Not a prequel to the Brosnen Bond films...

Posted by: Your Daddy at October 24, 2011 8:52 AM

I am also not sure if "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is a prequel.

Posted by: KV at October 24, 2011 9:02 AM

Alien vs. Predator takes place before the Alien movies, but after Predator. Same for Episodes II and III. True, they're prequels, but they're also sequels. Doc Brown has something to say about this, but it's early on a Monday morning.

Posted by: ShagEaredVillain at October 24, 2011 9:03 AM

When did Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom become a prequel????

Posted by: PissBoy at October 24, 2011 9:15 AM

You're definitely on some shaky ground on the prequel definition here. Case in point: Red Dragon which is from a book that predated the Silence of the Lambs book, and which is a remake of Manhunter which preceded Silence of the Lambs movie.

Star Trek is a weird case as it is not only a franchise reboot like Casino Royale and Batman Begins, but also takes place in an alternate timeline so aside from the first 5 seconds before the Romulan ship arrives is probably not really a prequel either. The action that takes place in Star Trek does not lead to the action in nor takes place in the same reality as any of the other Star Trek movies.

And where does Godfather II fall? A good 30+ minutes of that movie is a prequel of The Godfather.

Posted by: ed newman at October 24, 2011 9:21 AM

Raiders was set in 1936. Temple of Doom was 1935. It's a prequel.

Posted by: TylerDFC at October 24, 2011 9:22 AM

pissboy and others:

Temple of Doom takes place many years prior to Raiders. No one really called it a prequel at the time or really thinks of it as a prequel, but it's hard to get around the fact that it is indeed a prequel.

The first 15 minutes of Last Crusade could potentially qualify it as a prequel as well though I would probably classify that opening as a flashback.

Posted by: ed newman at October 24, 2011 9:25 AM

Just as a corollary on the Paranormal Activity facts, each of the three films have earned the production budget back on opening weekend. The first earned 5.19 times its budget on twelve screens. The second earned 14.79 times its budget opening nationwide. The third earned 10.8 times its budget opening nationwide. Those are some amazing returns.

And for full nerd effect, if you count the original film based on the first week it opened wide rather than the slowly expanded "You demanded it!" release schedule, it earned 104.7x its production budget in one weekend.

Posted by: Robert at October 24, 2011 10:21 AM

I gotta put TK on that one.

Asshole.

Posted by: TK at October 24, 2011 10:29 AM

Dustin loves feeding TKs rage Im sure that will end well

Posted by: mrcreosote at October 24, 2011 10:43 AM

I would think TK would be put to better use with some real time reviews for Lifetime, but Dustin knows best, so whatever I'm happy with whatever he decides.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at October 24, 2011 11:06 AM

I'm willing to go with TK to see "The Worst Movie Ever", if only to conduct experiments on him in the aftermath.

And also to keep tabs on the body count as he unleashes his rage.....

Posted by: frank_247 at October 24, 2011 11:13 AM

Also for TK:

Serial Bunny 3: Splitting Hares

There's only ONE Trix joke in the entire movie. Promise.

Its budget was $323, IIRC.

Posted by: lubeg at October 24, 2011 11:27 AM

Batman Begins is not a Prequel

Posted by: Jetpackman89 at October 24, 2011 11:40 AM

H/T ed newman.

The more we know!!

I think that actually adds to my enjoyment of the first 3 movies then in that they were just telling stories that happened over the course of Indy's career...as opposed to say...Crystal Skull which they made every effort to puke into your face that it was a sequel.

Posted by: PissBoy at October 24, 2011 12:35 PM

Ooohh...we're making TK do real time Lifetime reviews? Awesome! Isn't there a new Valerie Bertinelli / Jaclyn Smith movie airing soon? "While My Vagina Gently Weeps" or something? This'll be GOLD!

Posted by: NateS1973 at October 24, 2011 12:42 PM

As much as I adore TK's vitriolic rampages, I would hate to see his talent wasted on a film that even the creators know is pure crap. He is best when reviewing things that are promoted as being worth our $8-15. Anyone who sees The Worst Movie Ever! has been forewarned and deserves what they get. Save your big guns for big targets that truly do need to be taken down.

Or don't, as pleases you. I'll read either way.

Posted by: Reba at October 24, 2011 12:48 PM

These Johnny English movies are huge overseas, proving that America is not the only country with a weakness for stupidity.

Actually, check out the international on most "stupid" movies, and you'll see that, as much as we love beating the "American's are stupid" drum, the globe is just as fucking retarded.

Jump on the "People are stupid" bandwagon.

The Smurfs
Domestic - $140,037,807
International - $410,100,000

Vampires Suck
Domestic - $36,661,504
International - $43,886,362

Little Fockers -
Domestic - $148,438,600
International - $162,211,985

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Domestic - $352,390,543
International - $766,850,500

etc. etc. etc.

Posted by: Brian at October 24, 2011 2:08 PM

Not that I want to pile on the US, Brian, but your theory is flawed...

For most of those, the US accounts for about 30-50% of the total combined gross.

But we're only about 5% of the world population. Meaning we spend a craplotta money on lousy movies.

Posted by: Ghisent at October 24, 2011 4:36 PM