Talk about an oldie but goodie.
Over the Feb. 25-27 weekend, Paramount booked The Godfather in 156 theaters across North America in honor of the movie’s 50th anniversary.
Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic mafia pic earned $970,000 for a per location average of $6,218, the best of any film for the weekend. (The next closest was Uncharted‘s $5,438 average from 4,275 theaters and The Automat‘s $5,004 from three locations.)
The Godfather 50th Anniversary was No. 1 or No. 2 in 50 percent of the theaters where it played, and among the top three in all 156 locations. It came in first in AMC Lincoln Square, one of the country’s busiest cinemas, as well as AMC Metreon in San Francisco and AMC Georgetown in Washington, D.C.
“These results are extraordinary,” says Paramount domestic distribution president Chris Aronson. “Most people have seen The Godfather, but not in the theater.
Last week, Paramount threw a bash in Los Angeles in honor of The Godfather‘s anniversary.
“A couple of times, I thought I was finished,” Coppola told The Hollywood Reporter in regards to his fear of being fired during filming. He wasn’t, of course, and the movie adaptation of Mario Puzo’s mafia novel would go on to win three Oscars, including best picture, and become a cultural phenomenon.
The 50th anniversary rerelease also did well overseas, earning $1.4 million from a handful of markets.
The Godfather has grossed a total of $248.2 million at the global box office, not adjusted for inflation.
Source: Hollywood
