February 25th, 2013
Argo was the big winner at the Oscars last night, although arguably, there were no big winners, but a lot of films that shared in the glory. There were also some pretty interesting twists and a few events that stand out. Due to ongoing computer difficulties, I was unable to live-blog the Oscars this year. I will still be giving my reactions on a category by category basis, but not in the order they were handed out.
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February 6th, 2013
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Animated Feature Film, which is surprisingly competitive this year, especially compared to most years. There is a Pixar film nominated, but it isn't the overwhelming favorite. In fact, all five films have a legitimate shot at winning, although there are some with better chances than others.
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February 5th, 2013
This week is a little confusing on the home market, as there are two weeks of new releases to deal with. (Because Christmas landed on a Tuesday, new releases were spread throughout the week, including some the following Monday.) One of the old new releases topped the DVD sales chart, as Looper sold 553,000 units and generated $9.71 million during its first full week on the home market. This is better than I was expecting.
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January 29th, 2013
New releases were even weaker than expected and none of them reached the top 30 of the DVD sales chart. The top five were identical to last week with Ted earning top spot for the third weekend in a row. It sold an additional 714,000 units generating $12.44 million in sales giving it totals of 3.42 million units / $57.68 million after three weeks of releases.
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January 23rd, 2013
While there were a number of new releases to reach the to 30 of the DVD sales chart this week, Ted was able to remain in first place. It sold an additional 1.04 million units while generating $18.59 million, lifting its totals to 2.71 million units / $45.24 million after two weeks of release.
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January 22nd, 2013
Ted led a trio of new releases that placed high on the DVD sales chart. It earned first place with 1.67 million units and $26.66 million, which was better than I anticipated.
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January 20th, 2013
Batman was even more dominant on the Blu-ray sales chart than it was on the DVD sales chart with two new releases earning the top two spots. The Dark Knight Rises earned first place with 2.26 million units / $42.13 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 53%. Meanwhile, the Trilogy Box Set earned second place with 453,000 units / $12.68 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 58%. The combined totals are not quite as good as The Avengers' debut was, but was still a fantastic start.
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January 20th, 2013
New releases dominated the top of the December 9th edition of the DVD sales chart with four of them placing within the top six. Unsurprisingly, The Dark Knight Rises led the way with a stunning result of 2.03 million units / $26.96 million during its first week of release.
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January 17th, 2013
Men in Black 3 led all new releases earning first place on the Blu-ray sales chart with 241,000 units / $6.75 million during its opening week of release. Its Blu-ray share was just under 40%, which is low for this type of release.
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January 17th, 2013
There were a quartet of new releases to reach the December 2nd edition of the DVD sales chart, but none of them were able to challenge for top spot. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and Brave were in a battle for first place with the former winning if you go by units at 637,000 to 584,000. However, the latter wins in terms of revenue at $11.65 million to $8.09 million. Brave is still a little behind in terms of total units at 4.33 million to 4.75 million; however, after just three weeks of release, it has overtaken The Lorax's 17-week total revenue at $73.45 million to $72.32 million.
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January 16th, 2013
New releases did better on the Blu-ray sales chart than it did on the DVD sales chart, relatively speaking. Brave sold an additional 756,000 units generating $15.59 million more revenue for the week giving it a total of 1.80 million units / $37.33 million after just two weeks of release. This is a very strong start for a kids movie.
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January 16th, 2013
There were not many new releases to reach the top 30 on the November 25th edition of the DVD sales chart. This is not a surprise, as it was the Thanksgiving Sales weekend and holdovers tend to dominate the chart. Brave remained in top spot with 1.59 million units / $27.28 million during its second week of release. At this point, it had sold 3.75 million units and generated $61.79 million, which was enough for sixth place for 2012.
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January 15th, 2013
Catching up on the home market, we see that the top of the November 18th DVD chart was dominated by new releases, with three of them in the top five. This includes Brave with a very impressive opening of 2.16 million units / $34.51 million. This was enough to place in the top ten for 2012, and it has already climbed several more spots.
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January 14th, 2013
Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out their awards last night, and the trend of surprises continues. Les Miserables led the way with three awards, only one of which I was truly expecting. Meanwhile, Argo won more awards than Lincoln. I don't think anyone was predicting that.
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January 10th, 2013
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions.
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January 9th, 2013
There were quite a few new releases to chart on the November 18th edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. In fact, there were five in the top ten. Leading the way was Brave with 1.16 million units and $23.97 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 35%, which is lower than expected. Granted, it is a kids movie, but it is a 3D animated kids movie.
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January 6th, 2013
Producers Guild of America announced their nominations this week, including the three theatrical categories. There were a number of films on the list that have been mentioned time and time again this awards season, like Zero Dark Thirty, but there were also a few surprises.
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December 19th, 2012
There are only a few days left till Christmas and we are officially in the panic zone for gift shopping. This week we have our final installment of our annual Holiday Gift Guide. Part I dealt with first run releases, Part II dealt with TV on DVD releases, Part III dealt with limited releases, foreign titles, and classics. This week, we deal with some music, books, games, as well as releases from the first three parts that I forgot the first time around. As always, there are quite a few in that last category. (I also use this time to burn off some releases that arrived late. This way I can get through all of the late reviews quicker than normal and actually have enough time to celebrate Christmas.)
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December 13th, 2012
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the same list of films that have been mentioned since the beginning of Awards Season were rewarded today. Lincoln led the way with seven nods, while Argo and Django Unchained were close behind with five.
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November 13th, 2012
New releases this week are dominated by one title, Brave. The second best selling title according to Amazon.com is Lawrence of Arabia, which is a film that should be in everyone's collection, but as a catalog title, it likely won't sell a huge number of units. The third best selling title according to Amazon.com is Duck Dynasty: Season One. That's not a good sign. Fortunately, Brave is clearly Pick of the Week material with the Blu-ray Combo Pack or 3D Combo Pack battling for that honor.
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November 12th, 2012
Brave is the latest from Pixar, a studio that hasn't had a box office miss during its entire run and they've only had one film fail to win over the majority of critics. Brave was not the biggest hit Pixar has produced, but is it among the best?
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September 26th, 2012
Resident Evil: Retribution remained in first place on the international chart with $29.83 million on 7,250 screens in 73 markets for a total of $103 million internationally. It is already the second best in the franchise internationally and while it might not become the number one film, it has made enough to ensure another installment. The film opened in first place in Germany with $3.40 million on 475 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.74 million, while it also topped the chart in Mexico with $3.55 million on 1,218. Its best market of the weekend was Japan, where it added $6.35 million on 775 screens over the weekend for a total of $28.23 million after just two weeks of release.
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September 19th, 2012
Resident Evil: Retribution debuted in top spot on the international chart with $49.61 million on 6,154 screens in 65 markets. The film opened in first place in a trio of major markets with Japan pulling in $8.63 million on 774 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $11.17 million. Russia was close behind with $8.37 million on 1,100 screens. It was was able to grab first place in Brazil with $3.15 million on 391. On the other hand, the film had to settle for second place in South Korea with $1.99 million on 368 screens over the weekend and a total opening of $2.44 million. It debuted in third place in Australia with $1.50 million on 175.
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September 13th, 2012
The Expendables 2 opened in China and that helped propel it into first place with $41.62 million on 5,930 screens in 48 markets for an international total of $157.29 million. Unfortunately, as it is usually the case, no numbers for China were released, but were likely more than half the film's weekend haul. It also opened in South Korea earning third place with $1.58 million on 394 screens over the weekend for a total of $1.81 million.
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September 5th, 2012
Thanks to its opening in China, The Dark Knight Rises returned to the top of the international chart with $49.8 million on 10,000 screens in 64 markets. The film now has $577.7 million internationally and $1.009 billion worldwide, becoming just the twelfth film to reach that milestone. In China, the film earned $28.5 million on 4,100 screens, which was easily enough for first place. The film had to settle for second place in Italy with $4.95 million on 914 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $8.75 million.
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September 2nd, 2012
Labor Day weekend is traditionally the slowest holiday weekend at the box office, so it comes as no surprise that the overall chart looks fairly weak. However, Possession is set to produce a very credible box office number, with Lionsgate estimating $17.725 million through Sunday and comfortably over $20 million for the full 4-day frame. That's hardly blockbuster level, but is considerably better than consensus predictions coming in to the weekend. Another opener, Lawless, is well behind, with Weinstein predicting $9.7 million for the Friday-Sunday portion of the weekend. Far, far behind that is this weekend's other new wide release, The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure, which is headed for about $450,000 from 2,160 theaters and will end up in the record books for one of the poorest openings in history.
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August 29th, 2012
The Expendables 2 remained in first place with $25.96 million on 5,672 screens in 33 markets for a total of $66.76 million. It debuted in first place in Spain with $2.45 million on 459 screens, which is significantly more than the original made in Spain when it opened. Meanwhile, it added $3.13 million on 815 screens in Russia, for a total of $14.22 million after two weeks of release in that market. This is more than its predecessor earned in total in Russia.
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August 23rd, 2012
The Expendables 2 earned first place during its international debut with $23.01 million on 3,741 screens in 19 markets. It was led by Russia where it made $8.12 million on 804 during its opening weekend. It also topped the chart in Mexico ($3.32 million on 1,249) and in Italy ($1.91 million on 379). It only managed fourth place in the U.K. with $3.12 million on 451 screens. By comparison, The Expendables earned much less in Russia, Mexico, and Italy, but much more in the U.K. Overall, the sequel has made a little more than its predecessor, but it is too soon to tell where it will end up.
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August 15th, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises remained in first place with $35.1 million on 12,000 screens in 58 markets over the weekend. After nearly a month in release, it has $446.6 million internationally and $836.2 million worldwide. It became just the 33rd film to reach $800 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, but has yet to open in Italy, while it should have enough left to get to $900 million with relative ease, getting to $1 billion will be a whole lot harder.
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August 8th, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises held onto first place with $66.7 million on 15,400 screens in 58 markets lifting its totals to $378.1 million internationally and $732.0 million worldwide. Since last week, it cracked $300 million internationally and became just the 49th film to reach $700 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, but still finished in first place in Mexico with $5.38 million on 2,370 screens and in Brazil with $4.76 million on 904 screens. In those two markets, it has two-week totals of $21.28 million and $15.28 million respectively. It was forced into second place in the U.K., but earned $6.67 million on 567 screens over the weekend for a total of $63.53 million after two. The film still has a few markets left to open in, including Italy, so it isn't quite done yet.
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August 2nd, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises overall numbers are still limited to studio estimates, but it was clearly the best film of the weekend with $126.2 million on 17,200 screens in 57 markets for a total of $252.0 million internationally and $539.1 million worldwide. Its best new market was France, where it made $10.91 million on 892 screens. It also dominated the box office in Mexico with $9.75 million on 2,765 screens and in Germany with $9.40 million on 718 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $11.40 million. Russia was close behind with $8.33 million on 1,312 screens. The film also earned first place in Brazil, but with $6.70 million on 944, which is a little more subdued, while it missed top spot in Japan with $4.76 million on 546 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $5.82 million. The film remained in first place in the U.K. with $11.42 million on 589 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $47.96 million. It also remained champion in Australia with $7.77 million on 628 screens over the weekend for a total of $28.00 million after two. On the other hand, it was pushed into second place in South Korea with $5.93 million on 807 screens over the weekend for a total of $27.67 million after two. So far, The Dark Knight Rises has been about on par with Ice Age: Continental Drift, maybe a little behind that film's pace, and it is on track to earn close to $600 million internationally and about $1 billion worldwide. This is a fantastic result, but still below expectations.
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July 26th, 2012
Some international numbers were late in reporting, others are still limited to studio estimates, but it is clear which film came out on top. The Dark Knight Rises only opened in 17 markets, but that was still enough to earn first place during its first weekend in international release. It managed $88 million on 7,173 screens in those 17 markets, with the U.K. leading the way with $22.23 million on 594 screens. South Korea was next with $15.65 million on 1,210 (including $12.90 million over the weekend proper), while Australia was right behind with $15.50 million on 628. It was not quite as potent in Spain, but it still earned first place with $4.17 million on 624 screens. The film will more than triple its market count this coming weekend with debuts in France, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and many smaller markets, so it should rise even further.
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July 23rd, 2012
There was tragedy over the weekend at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, which is clearly a more important story than any box office numbers. However, we try to avoid politics here, and try to stick with the numbers, but the two stories might be hard to untangle. As expected, The Dark Knight Rises led the box office, but with a more subdued opening. It failed to match The Avengers's opening from earlier in the summer, but was the biggest from the franchise. It helped propel the overall box office to $230 million, which was 39% higher than last weekend and 21% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2012 now leads 2011 by 6.7% at $6.37 billion to $5.96 billion.
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July 19th, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises looks to crush the competition at the box office this weekend. No one is wondering if it will be the number one film this weekend. People are wondering if it will have the number one opening of all time. At the beginning the year, I would have put the odds of that happening at about 80%. However, after The Avengers opened with more than $200 million, the chance of The Dark Knight Rises breaking that record is now very slim. It has a better shot at earning more than the entire box office this weekend last year, or about $191 million. The odds of 2012 winning in the year-over-year comparison is nearly 100%.
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July 16th, 2012
Ice Age: Continental Drift opened on the low end of expectations. The rest of the top five did better than predicted, but that wasn't enough to compensate and the overall box office fell 16% from last weekend to $165 million. This was 37% lower than the same weekend last year, and less than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II opened with. 2012 is still ahead of 2011, even if the margin is down to 6.6% at $6.05 billion to $5.68 million. The box office should bounce back next weekend with the release of The Dark Knight Rises.
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July 12th, 2012
This weekend, Ice Age: Continental Drift has the weekend to itself, at least as far as new wide releases goes. It will still have to deal with holdovers, but The Amazing Spider-Man will likely be in a distant second place. Last year, the number one release was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, which opened with a then record $169.19 million. Ice Age won't match that. In fact, there's a chance Ice Age won't make that much during its entire run. 2012 box office is going to take a tumble this weekend.
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July 9th, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man started faster than expected, but stumbled a little bit over the weekend. Additionally, the other two wide releases, Savages and Katy Perry: Part of Me, were mixed and weak respectively. This left the overall box office down 6.5% from last weekend to $196 million. However, this was 26% higher than the same weekend last year. 2012 increased its lead over 2011 to 8% at $5.78 billion to $5.36 billion, so even if the rest of the year is completely flat compared to last year, it would still be a solid win.
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July 8th, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man has continued its strong performance through the weekend, adding another $65 million to the $75 million it accumulated through Thursday. Its $140 million total is ahead of Sony's pre-release prediction, but mostly in line with independent analysis. With only Ice Age: Continental Drift opening next weekend, it will have a clear couple of weeks to pick up the teenage crowd and something over $200 million, before being blown away by The Dark Knight Rises on July 20. The weekend's other two debutantes are less amazing.
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July 5th, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man opened on Tuesday to better than expected numbers and should cruise to victory over the weekend, but it is not the only wide release this week. Katy Perry: Part of Me opens tonight while Savages opens tomorrow. They are not going to compete for top spot. In fact, very few people think they will compete with last week's winner, Ted, for second place and one or both could miss the top five entirely. Fortunately, the combined strength of the new releases, plus healthy holdovers, should help 2012 easily win over last year.
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July 5th, 2012
Ice Age: Continental Drift started its international run a little earlier than its domestic run, and if this is any indication, its box office chances here are fantastic. The film pulled in $80.31 million on 9,653 screens in 35 markets. This includes $12.23 million on 2,617 screens over the weekend in Mexico for a total opening there of $13.87 million, which was the third biggest opening of all time in that market. It also made $11.31 million on 841 screens in France, which was the biggest opening of the year. The film dominated Brazil with $6.56 million on 1,004. Its opening in Australia was not quite as strong with $5.02 million on 490 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $6.43 million, but that's still equivalent to $60 million here, given the relative size of the two markets. It broke the record for biggest opening in Argentina at $4.1 million on 284 screens, and did the same in a number of smaller Latin American markets ($3.2 million on 296 in Colombia, $3.1 million on 252 in Peru, etc.). I think its chances of reaching $1 billion worldwide are better than I previously thought.
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July 2nd, 2012
The box office wasn't as close a race as some had predicted, as Ted ran away with things breaking records in the process. That's not to say the competition was weak. Both Magic Mike and Tyler Perry's Madeas Witness Protection beat expectations and this helped the overall box office grow 61% from last weekend. It also grew 4% from last year, which normally wouldn't seem like a big deal, but this weekend last year was the Independence Day long weekend. For 2012 to win despite the misalignment is amazing and hopefully this is a good sign for the coming weeks. Year-to-date, 2012 still holds a solid lead over 2011, $5.43 billion to $5.06 billion. Percentwise the lead is now 7%, which is a great position to be in at the halfway mark of the year.
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July 1st, 2012
A huge opening for Ted and better-than-expected starts for both Magic Mike and Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection will add up to an impressive weekend for the industry, based on Sunday's studio estimates. Even with a tough comparison (July 4 fell on a Monday last year), the total for this weekend should be about on par with the same weekend last year.
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June 28th, 2012
There are three new releases and a holdover looking to battle for top spot over the weekend. Magic Mike will likely be the best of the new releases, but Ted could be close behind. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection is a wild card and could earn first or could struggle to reach $20 million. The only one of the four new releases that will not have a shot at first place is People Like Us, which at its lowest might not reach the top ten. Brave will also be in the race for first place and many believe it has the advantage over the newcomers. As for the year-over-year comparison, forget about it. This weekend last year was the Independence Day long weekend and the misalignment will result in 2012 taking a beating. In fact, the combined openings of the four wide releases will likely not be as much as Transformers: Dark of the Moon opened with last year. June is going to end on a really soft note, but July should start strong due to the same holiday misalignment.
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June 27th, 2012
For the third weekend in a row, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted earned top spot on the international chart, this time pulling in $35.43 million on 9,499 screens in 43 markets for a total of $214.17 million internationally and $371.26 million worldwide. Its best market of the weekend was Mexico, where it remained in first place with $3.81 million on 1,612 screens over the weekend for a total of $20.78 million after three. Meanwhile in Russia, the film has amassed a total of $43.05 million, including $3.41 million on 1,485 screens this past weekend. The film's next major market is Spain, but it doesn't open there till the end of July. It doesn't finish its run till October when it opens in the U.K.
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June 26th, 2012
The winner of our Feeling Brave contest was determined and it is...
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June 26th, 2012
To Rome With Love topped the per theater chart with an outstanding average of $72,272 in five theaters. While this is an amazing start, there are some reasons to not get too excited. First of all, Moonrise Kingdom opened with more and did so in fewer theaters. Also, Sunday's estimates were a bit higher, so it fell faster than expected over the weekend. Finally, the reviews were split, so it likely won't have as strong legs as some of Woody Allen's films have in the past. The only other film to top the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart was Brave with an average of $15,928. Kumare came very close with $9,601 in one theater over the weekend, while it earned $19,972 from Wednesday through Sunday.
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June 25th, 2012
Turns out the weekend was rather predictable, with nearly every film earning roughly what they were expected to do. More films topped expectations than missed them, and this includes Brave, which earned more than last year's winner, Cars 2. This helped the overall box office grow 26% from last weekend to $164 million. Unfortunately, the other two new releases, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, were not as strong compared to the counter-programming from last year, Bad Teacher, and this meant 2012 lost to 2011 by 7%. Worse still, next weekend will be a disaster, as there are four middling releases that will have to compete with Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
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June 24th, 2012
Pixar will celebrate its 13th consecutive number one opening this weekend, with Brave cruising to first place with about $66.7 million, according to Disney's Sunday estimate. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, meanwhile, is DoA with only $16.5 million, not enough even for second place. That honor will go to Madagascar 3 with $20.2 million in its third weekend and a total over $157 million.
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June 21st, 2012
This is not a fun time to be a box office analyst, as there has been a lot of unpredictability recently. Predicting the number one film is easy, as Brave is the only film earning any real buzz. In fact, people will be comparing it to Cars 2 more than any other film playing in theaters this weekend. This is partially because Cars 2 opened this weekend last year, but also because that was Pixar's most recent film. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has generated a lot of buzz on the internet, but that means little at the box office. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World will need to connect with more mature moviegoers, and while they haven't had a lot of wide releases to check out, the film is opening in less than 2000 theaters, which will hurt its box office chances. Unless we have some pleasant surprises, we could see another loss in the year-over-year comparison.
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June 15th, 2012
There are two films opening wide next week, two and a half if you count Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which is opening in less than 2000 theaters. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is earning a lot of internet buzz, but I think it is safe to say Brave will win the race to the top of the box office chart. It is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Brave.
We have two DVDs to give away, but they are first two volumes for Power Rangers: Samurai, so splitting them up to two different winners seemed wrong. So, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or not, will win a copy of each of Power Rangers: Samurai - The Team Unites and A New Enemy on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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June 1st, 2012
As May ends and we look forward to June, we have some good news and some bad news to report from last month. First the bad news. Nearly every film missed expectations, sometimes by massive levels. The good news? The Avengers was a record-breaking hit and it managed to compensate for every miss of the month and May of 2012 was just as strong as May of 2011. Unfortunately, the month has ended on a low note and The Avengers is shedding theaters, so new releases will be really important for June's chances. There are two films that were supposed to open wide this month that are no longer doing so, although we did have one film moved up to replace G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but that still leaves just twelve films opening wide over the five weekends in June. This does include six films that have a real shot at earning $100 million or more at the box office, and three of those have a shot at $200 million. Prometheus is earning a ton of buzz and there are some that think it will be the biggest hit of the month. It might even be a $300 million hit. However, you can't count out Brave in the race to become the biggest hit of the month, as Pixar's average is over $250 million and $300 million is also not out of the question. It's hard to compare last June, because there were only four weekends last June, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon opened on the Wednesday before the July 1st long weekend, which throws off the numbers. If you consider Dark of the Moon a June release, then there were six $100 million movies and one $300 million this month last year. We will need nearly every film to match expectations in order for 2012 to continue to strengthen its lead on 2011.
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April 13th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Valkyrie, The Wolf Man, Public Enemies and more!
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April 10th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Bride Wars, I Love You Phillip Morris, New York, I Love You, and more!
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April 9th, 2008
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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