LOS ANGELES â€" It was gridlock on the yellow brick road over the weekend as “Oz the Great and Powerful,†backed by a megawatt marketing campaign, took in about $80.3 million in North America and $69.9 million overseas.
That strong result represents one of the biggest March debuts ever. Still, the weeks ahead remain crucial: “Oz the Great and Powerful†cost an estimated $325 million to make and market and will need to continue selling tickets at a sizzling pace to turn into the kind of financial juggernaut that Walt Disney Studios wanted. Disney had hoped for another “Alice in Wonderland,†which sold more than $116 million in tickets on its opening weekend in March 2010 and ultimately took in about $1 billion worldwide. “Oz†is clearly no “Alice.†But a hit is hit; Disney’s live-action label has struggled of late, and “Oz†indicates a turnaround may finally be taking hold.
Disney said that 53 percent of ticket sales in North America came from premium-priced 3-D viewings, including Imax. The audience was about evenly split between men and women, and 46 percent of ticket buyers were under 25. The movie played in 3,912 theaters in North America. “Oz the Great and Powerful,†a prequel to the 1939 classic that focuses on the wizard’s back story, got sharply mixed reviews, although it did squeak out a “fresh†rating on RottenTomatoes.com. Audiences gave the movie, directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco in the title role, a B-plus score in exit polls.
Hollywood is not known for its collegiality, but rival studios were nearly unanimous in their praise of the advertising campaign for “Oz the Great and Powerful.†The! man behind that curtain was Ricky Strauss, Disney’s president for movie marketing, and he generated interest with stunts (a hot air balloon tour of the United States) and theme park tie-ins (an Oz topiary garden at Epcot).
There was also a Super Bowl commercial and an unusual takeover of the Google home page. Disney dispatched Mr. Franco to serve as grand marshal of the Daytona 500 and staged premieres in Tokyo, Moscow, London and Paris.
For the weekend, “Jack the Giant Slayer†(Warner Brothers) was second, taking in about $10 million, for a dismal two-week total of $43.8 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. “Identity Thief†(Universal Pictures) was third, with an estimated $6.3 million in ticket sales, for a five-week total of $116.5 million. “Dead Man Down†(Film District), a crime drama starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace, was dead on arrival, selling about $5.4 million in tickets, for fourth lace. “Snitch†(Lionsgate) placed fifth, with about $5.1 million in sales, for a three-week total of $31.9 million.
