14 DAY TRIAL // Critics were not exactly feeling Tim Burton’s adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s classic story “Alice in Wonderland” shortly after release. Many of them continue to feel the same, while many moviegoers can’t but agree. Be that as it may, figures indicate that the majority of the public loved the film, as it registered sales of close to $1 billion, which literally places it as the tenth biggest selling movie in the history of cinema, Entertainment Weekly informs.
Clearly, “Alice” was a wild card even for quirky director Tim Burton. A big budget production literally packed full with A-list stars, the film could have taken quite a hit in sales precisely because it aimed to get so high. Nevertheless, despite negative reviews, it made nearly $200 million in its opening weekend alone, which prompted some analysts to venture to say that it could actually pass “Avatar.” “Alice” is far from that – but tenth place on the best-selling list should suffice, one may say.
“Do you think Tim Burton ever imagined his adaptation of Alice in Wonderland would have become such a behemoth? Well, it’s certainly become one: The director’s seventh collaboration with Johnny Depp is officially the most successful film of Burton’s career – and the tenth highest-grossing film of all time. As of this morning, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland reached $928.9 million worldwide, surpassing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which, back in 2002, topped out at $925.3 million,” EW writes.
While numbers don’t lie, there’s also the context in which they were registered that should be taken into account, the publication further says. “Of course, that was a whole eight years ago and the second film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy didn’t have the benefit of 3-D to give it that extra jolt at the box office. Still, it’s quite a feat for Burton and Alice. One that Burton will have a hard time topping, no doubt,” goes the explanation.
And that’s one of the reasons why “Alice” made so much money: it was released in 3D, which means a ticket for it cost more. Though many say that the entire film could have done without the 3D treatment because few were the instances in which it brought any depth to it, the fact that remains is that the higher ticket price helped “Alice” secure a place in cinema history. That, and Tim Burton’s genius, of course.