Did Summer Come Early?

300 Opening Weekend = $70 Million

Industry insiders are saying summer may have come early after the biggest March movie weekend in history. 300 brought in $70 million this past weekend. Truly amazing.

I haven't had the chance to see the movie myself, but online reports from many fans are positive. I hear it is quite an experience, with all the riveting visuals of Sin City and then some.

It looks like the year of the Comic Book Movie is a growing crescendo that may climax with Spider-man 3 or Fantastic Four. My bet is on Spider-man, but no matter what, the comic book hobby is the real winner this year!

Comic Sales are Up!

I constantly hear about comics sad state of affairs from many people in the industry, but the latest numbers are in and comic book sales are increasing.

Now I'm not going to fool you and lead you to believe they're great. Let's face it, they're off from the highs of over a decade ago, and far from their high points in the Golden Age. But this is good news.

Due to the lag in processing, the latest numbers we have are from November 2006. According to Diamond Distributors, unit sales for the top 300 comics are up 23% vs. 2005, and dollar sales for the top 300 comics are up 27% over 2005.

Hopefully the industry can keep this upward momentum going.

Why 300 Matters

On the heels of Ghost Rider we now have the 300 release. Although it was a graphic novel, it's still important to Comic Book Secrets readers.

If you've read past newsletters or any of the e-books I've released, you've read about supply and demand. It's economics 101 - and comic book values 101.

Demand Up = Price Up (okay there is a supply issue, but you get the idea).

Even though it's a graphic novel and won't have a direct impact on any single comic, increased comic press is good. Graphic Novels are a great way for many people to get back into the comic scene without having to find a comic store or scour E-bay for comic deals. Heck, my local B+N had this graphic novel featured!

If 300 increases readership, it's a good thing. Who knows, they may even start collecting those back issues they remember from years ago! With the stream of comic book movies coming out in the next few months, this could really increase momentum in the hobby.

Speaking of momentum, exactly how are comic book sales doing? Check back tomorrow for an update, you may be surprised.

It has begun....

Ghost Rider, a second tier character in many opinions, opened up to $44.5 million in box office revenue. As of last weekend the worldwide take was over $160 million.

This is only the beginning...

2007 is the year of the comic book movie, and oh what a year it will be.

Let's look at the coming lineup -

• Ghost Rider (already out)
• 300 (opens this weekend)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (March 23)
• Spider-man 3 (May 4)
• Fantastic Four 2 (June 15)
• Plus several projects in development making big gains!

What does this mean to you? Stay tuned because there are some major changes coming in the next 3 weeks.

Keep checking the blog for updates on this banner year for comic book collectors.