Box office -- and attendance -- booming at home and abroad with fewer, smaller movies

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Amid recession, plummeting DVD sales, and other bad news, the major movie studios have been grinning all year at domestic box office revenues. As of this weekend they’re up a remarkable 8.5%, according to Hollywood.com, and have already surpassed the full year total of 2008. By year’s end they’re expected to hit about $10.5 billion, an all-time record.

Of course, box office revenue has risen fairly consistently, growing in seven of the past 10 years. Most of the time, however, higher ticket prices were behind the increase. Attendance has actually declined in seven of the past 10 years. But this year is different. Attendance is on track to grow nearly 5%, the biggest jump since 2002. Remarkably, that’s occurring despite the absence of a mega-hit on the scale of 2008’s ‘The Dark Knight.’ While the top three movies at the box office last year grossed a total of $1.169 billion, the top three this year collected a total of $997 million. The difference is a much greater number of big-but-not-blockbuster hits. Movies ranked four through 10, for instance, grossed $1.363 billion last year and $1.555 billion this year, with numerous potential hits still in theaters or yet to come.

The trend has been evident all year, of course, for anybody following the frequently updated domestic box office numbers. But it’s not just an American and Canadian phenomenon. While there aren’t any comprehensive worldwide box office figures compiled yet, year-to-date totals are up in nearly every major foreign market, including Australia, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom, according to data obtained by The Times.

For much more on why box office is booming and what it means for the entertainment industry, see the story in today’s Times as well as the accompanying graphic that demonstrates how studios are making more money from fewer, smaller movies.

-- Ben Fritz

Graphic: Paul Duginski, L.A. Times. Source: Hollywood.com Box Office.