Click below to jump to a particular section:
Introduction
The term 'box office' refers to the quantity of tickets sold for a film during its cinema release.
Countries measure cinema box office in different ways. Australia measures dollar receipts, while other countries measure audience numbers.
Below is a list of websites and publications that offer a range of box office information. Some are entirely free to the public, some have free sections, some require the user to register, some require a fee-based subscription. To find the most up-to-date lists enter the term 'box office' into an online search engine, such as google.com or yahoo.com.
For information on video/DVD sales, see www.afc.gov.au/gtp/video
Australian sites and online publications
Encore Magazine
Film and TV production news and information service. Available in print and online versions to fee-paying subscribers, its online 'Audience' section includes weekly box-office lists from the MPDAA, weekly ratings figures from OzTam, and DVD Rental figures collected by rental chain Video Ezy.
www.encoremagazine.com.au
In Film Australia
Lists top 20 films for the last 3 weeks from the Motion Pictures Distributors of Australia Association.
www.infilm.com.au/boxoffice.htm
Inside Film (IF) Magazine
IF Magazine is available in print and online versions to fee-paying subscribers. IF publishes filmmaker interviews and information about new productions and technologies. It does not publish box office data, however articles often include reference to box office related issues.
www.if.com.au
Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA)
Founded in 1926, the MPDAA is a non profit organisation representing film distributors in Australia. It collects and publishes film exhibition information for Australia. Some reports are available free online, including weekly top tens at the box office and upcoming releases. Additional information available to members and subscribers includes all time box office reports, year to date reports, historical database search functions, theatre and screen breakdowns and custom research/reports, tailored to individual needs.
www.mpdaa.org.au
Nielsen EDI
Nielsen EDI has been collating box office figures in Australia since 1997. Nielson EDI publish a weekly top 15 highest earning films report, and as part of a fee-based service, publishes reports such as genre and release patterns, upcoming release schedules, and box office for films the current year compared to the previous.
www.nielsenmedia.com.au
Roy Morgan Research
Roy Morgan Research's Single Source Survey includes details about Australians, their product usage, intentions and their media habits. Profiles on customers can show their media consumption, preferences, involvement and interest in certain TV programs, Pay TV, movie genre and classification.
www.roymorgan.com
Urban Cinefile
Australian based publication with an international focus, this electronic weekly newsletter and website publishes reviews and articles, with an online archive. Australian Top 20 box office results from MPDAA figures are available to fee-paying subscribers.
www.urbancinefile.com.au
Back to top of page
International sites and online publications
Baseline Research
Baseline is a US company that provides production and contact information to subscribers. Baseline Custom Research offers Film Profit Reports, which include cost and revenue estimates, which compares negative and marketing costs with domestic US and international box office, Box Office Actuals and Estimates, for key box office data for current films, and a Box Office Extreme Report, which details the major studios and independent distributors' share of the total weekly box office.
www.blssresearch.com
Box Office Guru
CNN site that offers free access to an upcoming weekend's summary and post-weekend analysis with estimates and actuals, for US domestic box office and international.
www.boxofficeguru.com
Boxoffice - The Business of Movies
US site with articles on box office, distribuion and exhibition
www.boxoffice.com
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is a US based site that includes the weekly top earner at the Australian Box Office since 2000.
www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/australia
European Audiovisual Observatory's Lumiere database
The Lumiere database provides a systematic compilation of available data on admissions of the films released in European cinemas since 1996. The database is the result of the collaboration between the European Audiovisual Observatory and the various specialised national sources as well as the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. Details on Australian films released in Europe can be found by searching 'Australia' in the country field, or by title of individual Australian films.
lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/search
European Audiovisual Observatory's Yearbook of film, television and video in Europe
Since 1995 the Yearbook of the European Audiovisual Observatory has been providing a synthesis of basic data on film, television and video in 36 European countries as well as for Japan and the United States. The information is gathered from over a thousand sources. The Yearbook offers extensive graphs and a synthesis of recent trends in the audiovisual sector. Volume 3, Film and Home Video, includes data on theatrical distribution and exhibition.
www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/yb
Hollywood Reporter
US based and available to fee-paying subscribers, the Reporter database tracks international film and TV production, box office, TV ratings and other key industry indicators.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
This US based site offers free access to a range of box office charts, including a weekly chart, a weekend box office summary, top 10 and an archive for the USA and UK, and all-time box office for USA, international and world-wide, as well as charts for top rentals.
www.imdb.com/chart
IMDbPro
The fee-paying subscriber section of IMDb, IMDbPro publishes US daily and weekly grosses as well as international box office listings for 18 countries including Australia.
www.imdbpro.com
Media Salles
An initiative of the European Union Media Programme, supported by the Italian government, Media Salles promotes European cinema distribution and exhibition. The website includes a Cinema Research Library with papers on Cinema Exhibition Worldwide, in Europe and the US as well as Cinema and Finance Papers. The European Cinema Journal is also available to download from the site.
www.mediasalles.it
Nielsen EDI
US company (parent company to Nielsen EDI Australia) that collects box office data from approximately 50,000 screens in 14 countries; USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Australia and New Zealand. These figures are available to fee-paying subscribers, although some information such as the Weekend Top Ten, is published free.
www.nielsenedi.com
The Numbers
A free access US based site that promotes itself as a source of box office data, movie stars and idle speculation. It publishes box office data for films released in the US, world-wide box office grosses including US and selected international markets, comparative tables on budget, box office and profit as well as a section on the box office earnings of Imax films.
www.the-numbers.com
Screen Digest
UK based Screen Digest has tracked the development of the world's media markets for more than 30 years. It provides a range of research services, accessing a database of global audiovisual market research information. The company also publishes regular research reports and a monthly subscription based publication, which includes annual distribution and exhibition data from around the world.
www.screendigest.com
Screen International
UK based Screen International offers free daily headlines, with in depth articles and box office reports including Australia, available to fee-based subscribers.
www.screendaily.com
UK Film Council
The Research and Statistics Unit (RSU) of the UK Film Council provides research data and market intelligence on the UK film industry and film culture. The RSU publishes an annual Statistical Yearbook and two research and statistics bulletins per year. Box office information available online includes weekly box office figures for the top 15 films, all other UK releases and newly opened films. Theatrical, exhibition and audience data is also available online, including commercial release of feature films in cinemas in the UK and overseas, the genre of films on release, the success of UK films and the trends in film distribution.
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Variety
US based fee-paying subscriber publication, offering print and online versions. Variety includes industry articles, reviews and information. It has an online searchable archive and its business section includes Global Box Office Charts of weekly, weekend and foreign box office data back to the early 1980s.
www.variety.com
World Wide Box Office
A free access US based site that lists the domestic, overseas and world-wide box office grosses of films between 1905 and the current year.
www.worldwideboxoffice.com
Yahoo Box office
A free access site that reproduces US Daily, Weekend and All Time US Box Office lists from Box Office Mojo.
www.movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice
Back to top of page
Box Office information available on the Screen Australia site
The following information is available free on the Screen Australia website
Policy & Research: Box Office
Screen Australia undertakes an annual analysis of the release of Australian films in cinemas including Box Office share.
www.afc.gov.au/policyandresearch/policy/box_office
Policy & Research: Statistics: Get the Picture Online
Get the Picture is Screen Australia's comprehensive reference publication on the Australian film, video, television and interactive digital media industries. The online information, which is updated regularly, includes extensive data on box office drawn from various sources including the MPDAA, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Screen Digest, as well as Screen Australia's own analysis. Examples are listed below.
What Australians are making: Release success of Australian productions
www.afc.gov.au/gtp/release
This section includes information relating to the performance of Australian productions at the box office in Australia and overseas. For example:
Australian feature films:- The importance of cinema release
- Proportion of features released in cinemas in Australia, the UK and the US, and on TV in Australia
- Number released in cinemas, on TV and on video
- Cinema release titles by country 1998 - 2006
Australian documentaries and short films:- Number released in cinemas and on TV
- Cinema release titles, 1998-2006
Cinema box office:- Australian films' share of Australian box office each year
- Top Australian feature films at the Australian box office, top all time and top 5 each year
- Top Australian documentaries at the Australian box office
- Overseas box office for Australian films, Germany, UK and the US.
What Australians are watching: Cinema industry
www.afc.gov.au/gtp/cinema.html
This section includes information about the Australian cinema industry and Australian cinema audiences. For example:- The cinema industry in Australia, structure and key players, trends in cinema-going
- Overview of the exhibition industry including income, employment and expenditure
- Historical data, covering the early years of cinema in Australia (pre-1900), and cinema admissions since 1901
- Number of screens and theatres in Australia, by location, exhibitor, size etc.
- Number of films screened in Australia, by country of origin and classification
- Box office, including annual data on admissions and gross box office, Australian films' share of Australian box office and distributors' market share
- Top feature films at the Australian box office each year and of all time
- Top documentaries at the Australian box of all time
- Cinema attendance and audience data, including breakdowns by state, age group and gender
Australia and the world: International comparisons
www.afc.gov.au/gtp/intcomp.html
This section includes comparisons between Australia and other countries in terms of:- Number of films released
- Cinema screens
- Cinema admissions
- Admissions per capita
- Cinema ticket price index
- Box office
- Top films' box office share
- Domestic films' share
Back to top of page |
