Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

  • abraham lincoln: vampire hunter box office
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  • Directed By: Timur Bekmambetov
  • Written By: Seth Grahame-Smith
  • Release Date: June 22, 2012
  • Domestic Distributor: FOX
  • Cast: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie

Box Office Info:
Budget: $80.2 million Financed by: FOX; Dune Entertainment
Domestic Gross: $37,519,139 Overseas Gross: $78,952,441


Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was financed right in the middle of the Twilight vampire craze, with the idea that vampire on screen = profits.  FOX aggressively bid for this campy project, which producers Tim Burton and Jim Lemley and director Timur Bekmambetov were pitching to studios.  FOX won the auction that was getting high bids from Paramount, Sony, Summit and Universal.  The gross budget for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was $99,536,385 (figure from the Louisiana film commission) and after a large tax credit the net budget was $80.2 million.  FOX financed and additional coin was provided from Dune Entertainment’s slate funding deal at FOX.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was dated for June 22 and tracking was pointing to an opening under $20 million — troubling numbers for an expensive picture the studio hoped would spawn a franchise.   The movie was predictably piquing interest with only one quadrant — young males.

Reviews were mixed to poor and it bowed against Brave and Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World and came in below expectations with $16,306,974 — placing #3 for the weekend led by Brave.  Audiences gave Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter a terrible C+ cinemascore and the pic collapsed 63.1% in its second frame to $6,009,612.  It tumbled 67.6% in its third session to $1,944,534 and then promptly lost most of its theater count.  The domestic run closed with $37,519,139.

FOX distributed the movie overseas, where it fared a bit better with $78.9 million in theatrical receipts.  After theaters take their percentage of the gross, the worldwide tally would leave FOX with about $64 million — which was a bit below worldwide P&A costs and the theatrical revenue would not put a dent in the budget.

The 16th President of the United States saw box office success later in 2012 in Spielberg’s monster-free movie Lincoln.

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