2006 Box Office revenues climb

Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 at 11:18 AM Central

by John Couture

The total receipts at the U.S. box office for 2006 was $9.13 billion, up 3.4% from 2005's final tally. The slight gain in revenue is big because 2005 was the first year since 1991 where the total dollars taken in by the cinemas decreased over the previous year.

2006 also marked the first time since 2002 in which the total number of tickets rose. Most of the gains in box office dollars over the past decade has been attributed to skyrocketing ticket prices which have increased between 15 and 20 cents each year.

Sony took the studio crown with $1.69 billion (18.6%) in ticket sales buoyed by the strong performances of Casino Royale and The Da Vinci Code. The year's top grossing movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($423.3 million), helped Disney climb to second place with 16.1%.

2007 looks poised to set new highs at the box office with such mega-blockbusters as Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Live Free or Die Hard, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Simpsons Movie and National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets all slated for release this year.