March 3rd, 2010
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out which films are the favorites and which should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Animated Feature Film, which is the least competitive category that we will be dealing with this year.
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February 2nd, 2010
Oscar nominations were announced at 5:38 this morning, continuing a tradition that have never been adequately explained to me. (Why so early in the morning? Does earning an Oscar nomination become sweeter if people have to wake you up to congratulate you?) Leading the way in nominations were Avatar and The Hurt Locker, both of which pick up nine nods each, many of them in the same categories.
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January 6th, 2010
The Producers Guild of America announced their nominations this week, and while there are only three categories for theatrical releases, they tend to be quite accurate predictors for the Oscar nominations.
This is great news for Up, which picked up nominations in two of the three categories.
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December 16th, 2009
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations this week, but looking over the list of films chosen, it is hard to declare any one film as the big winner. Up in the Air did pick up six Golden Globe nominations, including several of the most prestigious nominations, but it is far from the only major player.
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December 8th, 2009
According to Amazon, there are about 300 DVDs and Blu-ray being released or re-released this week and about half of them are Harry Potter releases. Well, maybe not, but it almost feels that way. The only one of these that is really worth picking up is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Blu-ray; in fact, it is the DVD Pick of the Week. Also sharing that honor is The Cove on DVD, Julie & Julia on DVD or Blu-ray, and Lost - Season Five on Blu-ray. My bank account is going to take a big hit this week.
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August 13th, 2009
On the one hand, there were a lot of new releases that charted this week. On the other hand, not a lot of them were particularly strong in terms of units sold. But that doesn't include Fast and Furious, which sold 1.72 million units and generated $27.90 million in consumer spending at retail.
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August 13th, 2009
While there were five new releases to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week, only one of them reached the top ten. That new release was Fast and Furious, which placed first with roughly two thirds more rentals than Watchmen.
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August 5th, 2009
This was arguably the best week for new releases since summer began with eight reaching the top 30, including two new releases that finished first and second. Number one was Watchmen with 1.23 million units sold generating $25.60 million in sales.
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August 5th, 2009
New releases were not as plentiful on the rental chart as they were on the sales chart, mainly due to the fact that TV on DVD dominated the lower half of sales. The top two films were the same with Watchmen opening in first place with roughly 50% more rentals than Coraline had.
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July 20th, 2009
Two of the most anticipated home market releases of the summer come out this week, and both of them are contenders for DVD Pick of the Week.
The Watchmen and Coraline Blu-ray releases are both worth picking up, and must-haves for their fans.
Also in the mix is The Middleman - The Complete Series, which despite its short run packs a lot of entertainment.
If I were forced to choose just one to buy, it would probably be Coraline, but all three are DVD Picks of the Week.
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July 5th, 2009
The Hangover climbed into second place with $11.14 million on 2091 screens in 28 markets for a total of $47.81 million. This was actually 2% lower than last week's performance. Its only major market opening came from France where it placed second with $3.31 million on 251 screens, but that was for the full week. (This is still impressive.) In the U.K. it was down just 15% to $3.15 million on 425 screens over the weekend and $18.50 million after three. It is a couple of weeks away from overtaking Terminator Salvation in that market. Over in Australia it managed to dip just 30% to $1.80 million on 227 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.07 million. It will also top Terminator Salvation in this market, and could beat out Angels and Demons as well. Massive. On the other hand, I'm not sure the film will do as well in most non-English speaking markets, as comedy tends to be harder to translate into other cultures.
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June 28th, 2009
Terminator Salvation fell to second place with $18.94 million on 9263 screens in 71 markets over the weekend, for a total of $200.84 million internationally and $320.57 million worldwide. The film has been troubled by sharp drop-offs internationally, and that was certainly the case this past weekend, as it was down 65% in Japan. Japan. It was down 65% in Japan, which is a market known for its strong holds. It still added $3.72 million on 697 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.70 million after two, but that's a sharper decline than anticipated.
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June 21st, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian remained in second place adding a solid $18.53 million on 8300 screens in 67 markets for a total of $175.90 million. The film opened in first place in Mexico, no surprise there, but with $3.34 million on 1150 screens its per screen average is not that impressive and being booked on more than 1000 screens, you think the studio was expecting a bit more. The film did hang on better than most in South Korea down just 50% to $2.13 million on 576 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.57 million after two. It also added $1.77 million on 506 screens in the U.K. for a total of $27.96 million, which is its best single market of its run so far.
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June 14th, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian was pushed into second place in the international chart, but still added $27.88 million on 8350 screens in 66 markets while it lifted its international total to $149.55 million. The film opened in first place in South Korea with $4.33 million on 669 screens over the weekend and $4.75 million in total. It also remained in first place in China with $2.1 million on 818 screens over the weekend and $12.2 million in total, but that was a huge drop-off from last week. On the other hand, the film improved by 18% in the U.K. with $3.96 million on 509 screens over the weekend for a running tally of $25.31 million after three. That's better than the film's performance here, if you take into account the relative size of the two markets. The film opens in Mexico this weekend, and in Japan in August. It has likely reached $300 million worldwide already, and could make it all the way to $400 million before it is done. This is a drop-off from its predecessor, but the film is still well on its way to profitability and will get there before it reaches the lucrative home market.
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May 31st, 2009
Star Trek slipped to third place on the international chart with $11.34 million on 5069 screens in 56 markets for a total of $87.68 million. It has now made more internationally than the previous film made worldwide. The film's best market was the U.K. where it has made $24.37 million, including $2.60 million on 474 screens this past weekend. As for future releases, it opens in Japan this weekend, while it has yet to open in Mexico, India, and other markets.
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May 24th, 2009
Star Trek's second weekend of release on the international chart was not as strong as it was domestically as it dropped 44% to 20.02 million on 5782 screens in 55 markets, but it lifted its total of $67.89 million internationally and it became the first in the franchise to reach $200 million worldwide. The film opened in China, but box office numbers were not released. We do have details on most holdovers, including the U.K., where it added $5.27 million on 498 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.42 million after two. The only other multi-million market was Australia, where it earned $2.04 million on 317 screens giving it a total of $6.66 million.
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May 17th, 2009
Wolverine was pushed into second place on the international chart with $28.95 million on 8982 screens in 93 markets for a total of $121.58 million. This was a 60% drop-off, but that was better than it was domestically, and it appears $300 million worldwide is a sure bet. The film was pushed into third place in the U.K., but still managed a healthy $3.39 million on 484 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.47 million. It remained in first place in France with $3.95 million on 700 screens, but that was for the full week giving the film $11.80 million after two. It also finished in first place in Brazil with $2.11 million on 609 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.81 million after two. Next up for the film is Mexico, where it opens at the end of May, while it ends its run in Japan in August.
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February 26th, 2009
There won't be much of a race for the top of the box office chart with The Jonas Brothers being the only film with a legitimate shot at number one.
There is a question whether the trio can live up to Miley Cyrus's box office triumph with Best of Both Worlds.
And then there's the question of 2009 maintaining its blistering pace over 2008.
I think the latter is more likely than the former.
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February 24th, 2009
The Oscars combined with the post-holiday weekend left the overall box office dramatically lower this weekend compared to last. In fact, it was down 24% to $142 million; however, compared to the same weekend last year, that was up by just under 30%. Year-to-date, 2009 has pulled in $1.65 billion, which is 23% above last year's pace of $1.34 billion. There's no way 2009 can keep up this pace for too much longer, but each weekend it does will help future box office scores. After all, a lot of people see trailers, posters, and other advertisements for the first time when going to the movie theaters. More free advertising now will turn into more people going to the theaters later on.
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February 20th, 2009
The Oscars are being handed out this weekend, which means a lot of moviegoers will be more interested in watching the ceremonies on TV than going to the theaters. Studios know this, which explains the weak slate of movies coming out this week. In fact, there's only one film opening truly wide this week, and only one other that comes close. That said, it's still better than last year and 2009 should continue its amazing pace.
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February 17th, 2009
Another record breaking weekend! President's Day long weekend smashed the previous record with a total of $188 million over three days and $220 million over four. To put this into perspective, the previous record was set in 2007 when the box office pulled in $187 million in four days. That's right, this year we earned more in three days than the previous record was over four. It goes without saying that there were huge increases over last weekend (up 22%) and over the same weekend last year (up 37% over three days and 33% over four).
Year to date, 2009 has pulled in $1.47 billion, 22% ahead of last year's $1.20 billion pace.
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February 16th, 2009
The theatrical market continued its remarkable run with another record-breaking weekend, based on studio estimates released on Monday.
Friday the 13th led with a four-day estimate of $45.2 million, the second-best Presidents' Weekend opening ever.
He's Just Not That Into You fell 29% from its opening and earned $23.4 million Friday-to-Monday, giving Warner Bros. a one-two finish.
Taken lands in third place with an estimated $22.2 million, while Coraline takes fourth with $19.1 million; both movies fell less than 10% from last weekend, based on a three-day comparison
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February 15th, 2009
Bride Wars continues its bridesmaid run just missing the top five this week after just missing the top ten last week. It did ad $5.88 million on 2485 screens in 30 markets for a total of $32.11 million after a month of release. Openings this week include Germany, where the film placed second with $1.62 million on 455 screens, which is a mixed debut.
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February 12th, 2009
It might be hard for the box office to keep pace with last year, as the three new releases from this week don't seem as strong as the four new releases were last year. Perhaps with Valentine's Day landing on a Saturday in 2009 will help the year continue to expand its lead over 2008.
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February 9th, 2009
2009 returned to its winning ways after a tiny 1% drop-off last week. Not only did the number one film beat expectations, but five of the six films on Thursday's column beat expectations. This led to a 22% jump at the box office to $155 million, which is 38% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has now pulled in $1.22 billion vs. $1.02 billion for the same time last year, which is an outstanding 19.6% increase.
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February 8th, 2009
Once more, moviegoers defied predictions and visited movie theaters in big numbers this weekend.
He's Just Not That Into You overcame mediocre reviews to top the weekend with an impressive $27.465 million, according to Warner Bros. Sunday estimate.
Taken fell only 18% from its opening to score $20.3 million.
Coraline also had a very strong debut with $16.3 million and clearly managed to find its audience in spite of being a challenge to market.
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February 8th, 2009
There was an equal mix of wide and limited releases on this week's list, but as usual, it is the wide releases that dominate the top end of the websites for this week. But it was the smallest wide release for the week, Coraline, that had the best Official Site, and it is this site that wins the Weekly Website Award.
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February 6th, 2009
There's a quartet of new wide releases coming out this week, with two coming out at saturation level theater counts, and two coming out that are barely opening truly wide. Additionally, only one of the wide releases is earning overall positive reviews, and most analysts seem to think that won't be enough to save it at the box office. Overall the new releases seem stronger than last year, as are the holdovers, which should help 2009 to expand on its lead, while overcoming last weekend's momentary dip at the box office.
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February 1st, 2009
2009 got off to a great start and February hopes to continue that run, but I don't think that's likely. First of all, none of the releases coming out this month look like they have what it takes to reach $100 million. Or even $80 million. This means the best film of this month will likely be lower than the biggest-earning film of last month and the biggest earner of this month last year.
Hopefully there will be fewer outright misses and more mid-level hits, which will help 2009 keep pace with 2008.
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March 9th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Hell Ride, Hamlet 2, Burn After Reading and more!
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January 13th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Spiderwick Chronicles, Doomsday, Coraline and more!
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