Synchronized HK-US release dates means more money than delayed HK release dates...generally
Take your pick of almost any movie released alongside the US release date, you'll find that most moneymakers come from this area. Life of Pi, Les Misérables, The Dark Knight Rises made huge bucks that would not have happened had they been delayed.
On the other side of the spectrum, the whole Twilight series was a constant abuser of "the Christmas release date". In an effort to cater toward the teens, almost all of the Twilight movies was delayed by 1 month so that it could open on Christmas week when there was no school. Results turned out to be good but not spectacular. As a whole, the last Twilight only saw a 18% increase from the first
Twilight. While HK was stagnant throughout the whole series, other Asian markets had already surpassed what Twilight 5 did in HK. In the end, HK was one of the worst Asian territories for Twilight 5. What Twilight 4 underscored is that it would play strongly for 1 weekend and majorly collapse following opening Sunday. I couldn't understand how the holidays would have helped much in this regard as this performance continued into the last Twilight movie. Had Golden Scene scheduled Twilight 5 earlier, this would have done a lot better despite the negative stigma in HK surrounding vampires and horror movies in general.Sometimes weaving through dreams and changing release dates works out in your favor
Inception is an interesting case study to look at. Back in 2010, before Inception's incredible run in theaters, WB was unsure of where to best place it. It changed release dates 3 times and at one point, it was set to go head to head against Toy Story 3. The final release date of July 29 turned out to be fruitful with viewers implanting over $1.67m into Inception's dream box opening weekend and Inception expelled all worries about its performance in HK. Had it gone up against Toy Story 3, it would have been a major disaster for both films.Blinking first is for losers
The winter animation season of 2012 was all about 3 films: Hotel Transylvania, Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It Ralph. All 3 had coveted the Christmas release date and because no one wants to delay their release until Chinese New Year 2 months later, this is what happened at first. Rise of the Guardians was the first to mark down December 20 followed by Hotel Transylvania and finally Wreck-It Ralph. It also was the first to leave the Christmas slot instead opting for a day-date release with US.
Hotel Transylvania, meanwhile, felt the buzz of Wreck-It Ralph and decided to postpone by another 2 months to Chinese New Year. It opened after its DVD release date which was terrible news. It did not get off to a great start either with very slow weekend sneaks the week before Chinese New Year. Altogether it made $230,000, a weak opening weekend. It finished with over a 4 multiplier and just off $950,000, a disappointing sum overall but much better than initially feared after its move to Chinese New Year.
After Rise of the Guardians and Hotel Transylvania checked out, Wreck-It Ralph was left all alone with the plum spot. It did not disappoint, displaying strong weekend sneaks the week before (it even cleared Rise of the Guardians' biggest day with its Sunday previews) while taking out Rise of the Guardians in the process. It surprised that weekend with more than $600,000 accumulated combined with the previews. It clinched first place for the winter in the animated department and became the first animated film released on Christmas week to hit 2.5m total and the biggest winter animated release ever. Wreck-It Ralph proved that if you stick to your guns, you will be rewarded.
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