❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

For studios, Christmas Day is for opening movies

Amy Scott Dec 25, 2015
HTML EMBED:
COPY

For studios, Christmas Day is for opening movies

Amy Scott Dec 25, 2015
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Presents aren’t the only things being opened on this Christmas Day. Several big studios are releasing films Friday, among them “Concussion,” starring Will Smith, “Joy” with Jennifer Lawrence, and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.”

One of the earliest movies to open on December 25 was the Bob Hope, Bing Crosby buddy flick, “Road to Rio,” in 1947. Today nearly every studio unveils at least one movie on or close to Christmas.

Kids are home from school, and most people have a little extra free time, said Paul Dergarabedian, a media analyst with box office tracking firm Rentrak.

“Once the presents are open and the family is together, what better activity to engage in than everybody going out to the movie theater?” he said.

Along with big ticket sales, there’s another reason for the timing: the Academy Awards. 

“Voting begins on December 30, and over the holidays, all of the Oscar voters are catching up,” said Anne Thompson, editor-in-chief of Thompson on Hollyood.

Thompson predicted the biggest Christmas movie will be one that opened a week earlier. You guessed it: Star Wars.

 

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.