Question about Dawn '78 US box office

[nycbsn]

Just curious... I had heard from a source that when this film opened in the US in Spring 1979, it held the top #1 spot until "Alien" knocked it out a few weeks later. Is there any truth to this? I tried to find some "Week/Weekend box office numbers online for this period but couldn't get anything.

On a side note, even though this film was successful, it's too damn good of a film and I think it deserved to do "Alien" and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" numbers, but I figure that the lack of rating played a part in this.

[shootemindehead]

'Alien' (released May 27th) knocked 'Beyond the Poseidon Adventure' (released May 18th) off the top spot, which it had taken from 'Manhattan' (released April 25th), which took it from 'The Champ' (released on April 8th).

I don't think 'Dawn of the Dead' (released April 20th) got to the No.1 spot at all in 1979.

[bassman]

With the film being unrated or "X" in some cases, it never stood a chance of going to number one against the large studios...

[nycbsn]

'Alien' (released May 27th) knocked 'Beyond the Poseidon Adventure' (released May 18th) off the top spot, which it had taken from 'Manhattan' (released April 25th), which took it from 'The Champ' (released on April 8th).

I don't think 'Dawn of the Dead' (released April 20th) got to the No.1 spot at all in 1979.

Wow, where did you get this info from?

So what's the furthest Dawn went? Did it crack the top 10 at all during any of those weeks?

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With the film being unrated or "X" in some cases, it never stood a chance of going to number one against the large studios...

Yeah. Totally sucks too. This is a grand sequel that I see as being on the same level as "Aliens" and "T2" IMO

[shootemindehead]

Wow, where did you get this info from?

So what's the furthest Dawn went? Did it crack the top 10 at all during any of those weeks?

Sorry, I should have just posted the wiki.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1979_box_office_number-one_films_in_the_United_States


Over all 'Dawn of the Dead' made about $5 million (on a $2 mil budget) in the US, but I don't think it ever broke into the top 5 at any stage. The Europeans loved it more. Especially the Gerries. They lapped it up.

Ironically though, wiki's page for '1979 in film' doesn't even list it! WTF?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_in_film

Ahem...that may have to change. :lol:

And Bassy is correct. The unrated nature of the film hurt its box office. It could have made much more in BO receipts if George went for an R certificate.

We're all glad he didn't though. :D

[EvilNed]

Sorry, I should have just posted the wiki.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1979_box_office_number-one_films_in_the_United_States


Over all 'Dawn of the Dead' made about $5 million (on a $2 mil budget) in the US, but I don't think it ever broke into the top 5 at any stage. The Europeans loved it more. Especially the Gerries. They lapped it up.

Ironically though, wiki's page for '1979 in film' doesn't even list it! WTF?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_in_film

Ahem...that may have to change. :lol:

And Bassy is correct. The unrated nature of the film hurt its box office. It could have made much more in BO receipts if George went for an R certificate.

We're all glad he didn't though. :D

It's listed in the 1978 section. (European release)

[MinionZombie]

It's listed in the 1978 section. (European release)

Yep. The reason it's a 1978 film is that that is when it was first shown theatrically (in Italy/Europe) - whereas with the issues with the MPAA and whether or not to go Unrated meant that Dawn's US release was delayed until 1979.

While it probably would have made more if it was R-Rated, it would have been so compromised on the violence front that I think its reputation would have been damaged - perhaps it wouldn't have made such a splash culturally in a softer cut. Might that have also affected the amount of on-screen violence for years to come? Dawn has extraordinary longevity to it. Had it been cut it's status as a cinematic milestone would have been diminished.

[shootemindehead]

It's listed in the 1978 section. (European release)

Oh well, that makes sense.

[bassman]

Dawn had a two million dollar budget? I know very little about the numbers side of the production, but even with the large scale of the film, that seems high to me? With it being so long ago, the "lets make a movie" style of Romero's productions, and mostly taking place in one location, I would have guessed somewhere around 3/4 to 1 million.

[JDP]

Dawn had a two million dollar budget? I know very little about the numbers side of the production, but even with the large scale of the film, that seems high to me? With it being so long ago, the "lets make a movie" style of Romero's productions, and mostly taking place in one location, I would have guessed somewhere around 3/4 to 1 million.

Dawn actually had more locations than the other 2 films in the zombie trilogy. Night takes place mostly at the farmhouse and brief moments in several other locations (mostly on the countryside.) Day only has two (or three if you want to get technical) locations: the decayed zombie city (only for the opening sequence) and the military base. Dawn has some 7 different locations, plus the main one is an entire shopping mall, where lots of people go to on a daily basis, even at late hours of the night, which makes shooting schedules a bit more complicated, unlike the main locations in the other two films.

[shootemindehead]

Dawn had a two million dollar budget? I know very little about the numbers side of the production, but even with the large scale of the film, that seems high to me? With it being so long ago, the "lets make a movie" style of Romero's productions, and mostly taking place in one location, I would have guessed somewhere around 3/4 to 1 million.

It was Stephen King who mentioned that the budget of 'Dawn of the Dead' reached $2 mill, which I think may be too high. It stuck in my head when I read 'Danse Macabre' over 25 years ago :confused:. Google says $500,000 which I think is actually too low. Wiki says $1.5 mil. So take your pick.

[EvilNed]

Dawn actually had more locations than the other 2 films in the zombie trilogy. Night takes place mostly at the farmhouse and brief moments in several other locations (mostly on the countryside.) Day only has two (or three if you want to get technical) locations: the decayed zombie city (only for the opening sequence) and the military base. Dawn has some 7 different locations, plus the main one is an entire shopping mall, where lots of people go to on a daily basis, even at late hours of the night, which makes shooting schedules a bit more complicated, unlike the main locations in the other two films.

Day has the beach at the end and the bunker exterior too. So that's actually 4.

[JDP]

Day has the beach at the end and the bunker exterior too. So that's actually 4.

I was counting the exterior of the base as the "third" location, since it was really a different location than the underground facility. However, within the context of the movie, it is supposed to be the same location.

If I remember correctly, the beach was just right there next to where the exterior shots of the base were made, so I am not sure if it should count as a different location. But within the context of the movie it is obviously supposed to be somewhere else.

[MinionZombie]

I seem to recall Romero himself stating in recent years that the '$2 million' figure was inaccurate - and might have even been artificially inflated to make the film 'look and feel' like a bigger production to potential distributors/markets etc (perhaps when negotiating rights etc?) ... IIRC the real figure is somewhere between $750,000 and $1.5 million (so let's say 'about a million').

As for Dawn's production in the mall, they'd shoot during the hours it was closed at night, but I think they had a staging area somewhere 'off the shop floor', if you will, at that location so they could get some preparation done for the night's shooting. However, they'd have to get the public parts of the mall cleaned up before opening time - but would sometimes stray a little bit (so you had mall walkers encountering people made up as zombies, haha!). It's doable - because, well, they did it - but it's certainly not ideal. You're shooting hours are limited, so to me at least, it seemed a little like a 'run and gun' affair - not in a negative way - but they had to get it done in the time they had.

I'm cobbling this together from things I remember being said in interviews, audio commentaries, behind the scenes footage, Document of the Dead, et al.

[bassman]

Of course they filmed at various other locations, but Monroeville Mall was the majority of the production, meaning they wouldn't have to travel quite as much as most films, and in turn it would help keep the budget down. I was just listing off a few various things that lead me to believe 2 million is an inflated number.

Now that I mention it, I seem to recall Rubenstein's dvd commentary talking about the true budget versus the budget that they would give to the media? Might have to give that a new listen.

Either way, 2 million seems to high IMO. I think somewhere between 750,000 and 1,000,000 is probably closer to the actual number...

[EvilNed]

I was counting the exterior of the base as the "third" location, since it was really a different location than the underground facility. However, within the context of the movie, it is supposed to be the same location.

If I remember correctly, the beach was just right there next to where the exterior shots of the base were made, so I am not sure if it should count as a different location. But within the context of the movie it is obviously supposed to be somewhere else.

If we're discussing production budget, we should be discussing production locations. That means that the Florida exterior is very much a different location from the interior, shot in Philly.

As for Dawn and the cost of production;
Shooting at night is expensive. You have to pay crew extra because of the nasty working hours.
I'm not saying I think Dawn was that expensive, but the biggest cost of any production are wages.

[MinionZombie]

Also, $2 million in 1977/1978 was a much larger sum of money then than it is now.


As for Dawn and the cost of production;
Shooting at night is expensive. You have to pay crew extra because of the nasty working hours.
I'm not saying I think Dawn was that expensive, but the biggest cost of any production are wages.

This is true, but was Dawn a 'union shoot' though? If not (and being an indie production out there in Pittsburgh far away from Hollywood it may very well not have been), you don't have to pay the same rates and can therefore get people to work cheaper - or for free (e.g. many of the zombies).

[EvilNed]

Also, $2 million in 1977/1978 was a much larger sum of money then than it is now.



This is true, but was Dawn a 'union shoot' though? If not (and being an indie production out there in Pittsburgh far away from Hollywood it may very well not have been), you don't have to pay the same rates and can therefore get people to work cheaper - or for free (e.g. many of the zombies).

No idea.

[Doc Foster]

Just curious... I had heard from a source that when this film opened in the US in Spring 1979, it held the top #1 spot until "Alien" knocked it out a few weeks later. Is there any truth to this? I tried to find some "Week/Weekend box office numbers online for this period but couldn't get anything.

Roy Frumkes' "Document of the Dead" features an insert shot of "Variety" magazine's "50 Top-Grossing Films" list from early May 1979 (about three weeks prior to the American release of "Alien"), with "Dawn" ranking at #4 behind "The Deer Hunter", "Love At First Bite", and "The China Syndrome". I would assume that this was the highest it ever went in the U.S.

As for the film's budget, both Richard Rubinstein and George Romero himself over decades used to spread the myth that "Dawn" cost around $1.5 million to make, although DP Mike Gornick had already stated that it was "actually closer to $400,000" during a 1979 interview conducted by Kevin Hyde for "Questar" magazine. In an even earlier article that appeared in the Winter 1978 issue of "Cinefantastique" magazine, writer David Bartholomew (who BTW also appeared as a zombie extra in "Dawn") mentioned the same number, but pointed out that "Rubenstein (sic!) would not confirm it although he suggests that if the same film were being made in Hollywood (read "union"), it would cost about $2 million." In his audio commentary recorded for the "Extended Version" from Anchor Bay's 2004 "Ultimate Edition" four-disc DVD box set, Rubinstein would eventually reveal in public for the first time that the budget had in fact been in the range of just around $640,000 "on paper" (with an actual physical cash flow of half a million), and that he merely blew up the figures to make the film look "bigger", thus being able to sell it to distributors at a higher price.

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Of course they filmed at various other locations, but Monroeville Mall was the majority of the production, meaning they wouldn't have to travel quite as much as most films, and in turn it would help keep the budget down.

I think it's safe to say that travel costs on the production have been reasonably low since pretty much all locations outside of Pittsburgh (where many of the cast and crew members either lived anyway or were accommodated during the filming) actually are in spitting distance of the city. ;)

[bassman]

^ I thought I'd remembered Rubenstein saying something like that in his commentary!