Tim Burton has always been considered a niche filmmaker — directing movies that rely on his uniquely skewed perceptions. It comes as a surprise, then, that his latest endeavor, the 3-D reimagining of Alice in Wonderland, has set box office records in its first weekend of release.
According to Box Office Mojo, Alice made an unprecedented $116.3 million domestically and $94 million overseas for a three-day total of $210.3 million. To give you an idea of the stratospheric nature of these numbers, the film crushed the previous record for an opening weekend in March, which was the $70.9 million made by 300 in 2007. It’s also far-and-away the largest opening for a Tim Burton film, the previous best being his Planet of the Apes remake, which topped out at $68.5 million.
It’s unlikely that Alice will maintain these numbers in the way that Avatar has, but it’s worth noting that the film also scored the biggest 3D release ever, beating the $77 million made by Avatar in its first weekend. The film also broke Avatar‘s IMAX record of $9.5 million by gaining $11.9 million on 188 large format screens.
In light of the monstrous box office, and by all accounts because of it, ABC Family has wasted no time in purchasing the rights to televise the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In a deal with Disney-ABC Domestic TV, the network will premiere the film sometime in 2012, but has not yet decided whether it will be telecast in 3D or 2D.
That’s right, for everyone doing a double take, we are in fact entering an era of 3DTV. Samsung adverted a model during the Oscars, and Panasonic is known to have a huge investment in similar technology. It’s unlikely that they will be mainstream in households by the time the film’s DVD is released, four months from now.
The abbreviated release recently got Disney in a few terse negotiations with theater-owners who were miffed that such a huge film would only be screening for three months.
There’s no telling whether the knowledge of a shorter shelf life drove more fans to the theater to catch the film while they could, but don’t be surprised if this type of distribution method becomes the norm for these big releases. With the proliferation of digital screens, VOD, streaming HD movies, and the potential for 3DTV, it’s a rapidly changing market that could still go in a number of directions.
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