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.)
More...
October 30th, 2012
It's not a great week on the home market. The best first run release is The Campaign, but while the movie is good, the DVD and the Blu-ray Combo Pack don't have enough extras. There are a few limited releases that piqued my interested as far as Pick of the Week was concerned. Safety Not Guaranteed on DVD or Blu-ray, Ruby Sparks on DVD or Blu-ray, and Polisse on DVD were all contenders. However, in the end I went with Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection. The Blu-ray box set is awesome.
More...
October 26th, 2012
Prometheus was one of eight new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD Sales Chart. It led the way with 348,000 units / $5.92 million. This is lower than expected, but it did do much better on Blu-ray.
More...
October 21st, 2012
The Avengers remained in top spot on the Blu-ray sales chart with 824,000 units / $20.61 million for the week giving it totals of 4.21 million / $88.30 million after two. The number of Blu-rays that have sold more units can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
More...
October 21st, 2012
The Avengers remained on top of the DVD sales chart selling an additional 664,000 units and generating $12.69 million more in revenue. After two weeks of release, the film has sold 2.75 million units and generated $48.10 million in total revenue giving it fourth place on the 2012 chart.
More...
October 17th, 2012
The winner of our Marketplace of Predictions contest was determined and it is...
More...
October 12th, 2012
The Avengers became one of the best selling Blu-rays of all time after just one week of release. Its opening week sales were outstanding at 3.39 million units / $67.69 million. This was by far the biggest new releases of the week and it crushed the competition on the Blu-ray sales chart. In fact, it was easily the best single week on the chart and places the Blu-ray in the top ten on the all-time list. (More on that next week.) Its opening week Blu-ray share was 62%. I suspect by the end of the Christmas shopping season, a 60% opening week Blu-ray share will be the norm for any major release.
More...
October 5th, 2012
There are three wide releases coming out next week, and another opening semi-wide. Here Comes the Boom could win the box office race, especially if Kevin James returns to his earlier box office success. Sinister could be a low-level hit, especially if horror fans are excited by Halloween, but it doesn't have the hype to compete for first place. Seven Psychopaths might win an Oscar given its reviews, but it is opening in less than 2000 theaters and likely won't reach the top five. This leaves Argo as the most likely candidate for number one film next weekend. (Here Comes the Boom does have a shot, while Taken 2 might repeat on top of the chart during its second weekend of release.) Argo is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Argo.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or under, will win a copy of Dark Shadows on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
More...
October 2nd, 2012
The winners of our In the Loop contest were determined and they are...
More...
October 2nd, 2012
It's the first week of the month and there is a wide variety of releases worth checking out, but not exactly a strong selection of best sellers. The biggest first-run release is Dark Shadows and while I'm looking forward to possibly reviewing the Blu-ray Combo Pack, I don't think it will be a huge hit. New Girl: Season One and The Princess Bride: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray look great, but I'm waiting for the screeners to make final decisions. I won't get a chance to review Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection, but it is a contender for Pick of the Week. The winner of that honor is Cinderella Blu-ray, which is a classic, even if it is a little old-fashioned.
More...
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.
More...
June 13th, 2012
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted led the way on the international chart with $77.28 million on 10,877 screens in 28 markets. Its best single market was Russia, where it pulled in $9.80 million on 1,670 screens, which was easily enough for first place. It was also dominant in France with $7.96 million on 685 screens. A pair of Latin American markets also contributed to its overall success with it earning $7.53 million on 890 screens over the weekend in Brazil, for a total opening in that market of $10.85 million. In Mexico, it earned $6.98 million on 1,965. The studio is going with a spread out release schedule, so it doesn't have a whole lot of major markets in the coming weeks, while it doesn't end its international run till October when it debuts in the U.K.
More...
June 7th, 2012
Men in Black 3 held on extremely well during its second weekend of release on the international scene earning an easy first place with $78.67 million on 20,554 screens in 90 markets for a total of $275.17 million internationally. This is already more than Men in Black 2 made during its entire run. Worldwide the film has $386.25 million, which is higher than the high end of the film's reported budgets. It's on track to reach between $500 million and $600 million worldwide, which is enough to put it on track to earn a profit sometime on the film's home market run. Amazingly, the film actually held on well in China, where it was down less than 30% to $15.4 million on 5,200 screens over the weekend for a total of $51 million after two. Perhaps it will reach the century mark there. In Germany, it grew by 3% to $5.32 million on 742 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.44 million. It also grew by 3% in the U.K., but fell to third place with $4.69 million on 533 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.30 million after two. In Britain, it was the Jubilee Holiday, so that explains the growth.
More...
June 4th, 2012
Snow White and the Huntsman not only earned first place on the weekend box office chart, it did so with ease, topping all but the most bullish predictions. In fact, it even topped last year's opening of X-men: First Class, which means the film nearly helped 2012 back in the winning circle. The overall box office did fall 7% when compared to last weekend, but it was the post-Memorial Day weekend, so that's a very strong finish. The year-over-year decline was 11%, which normally would be really disappointing, but the previous weekend, the decline was over 30%, so this represents a huge recovery and bodes well for the next few weeks. 2012's lead over 2011 has shrunk to just under 10% at $4.47 billion to $4.07 billion, but even if the overall box office is flat for the rest of the year, a $400 million increase over the full year would be worth celebrating.
More...
May 31st, 2012
Snow White and the Huntsman is the only new wide release of the weekend and it is looking to overthrow Men in Black 3 on the top of the chart. It should have a pretty easy time winning, if not, the box office is in serious trouble. It is more important to compare its opening to that of X-men: First Class, which opened this weekend last year. Asking Snow White to make $55 million is probably asking too much, while the holdovers won't be able to match last year's crop, so June will likely start off on a low note when compared to last year. After an amazing start to the year, 2012 is starting to really struggle. Hopefully it is just a minor bump in the road.
More...
May 30th, 2012
After Men in Black 3 missed expectations domestically, its international numbers became a lot more important. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, it opened in first place with $126.31 million on 22,195 screens in 103 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $135.29 million earning first place in 101 of those markets. The bad news is, it has nowhere else to go. It's going to need to rely on strong legs to keep going. In a lot of international markets, films tends to have better legs than they have here. For instance, Japan. But the opposite is true in places like Russia and China, where pump and dumps rule. Speaking of which, the film's best single market was China where it made $20.6 million on 6,073 screens, which was just ahead of The Avengers' opening there, but that film had to deal with a massive local hit. MiB3's second biggest market was Russia, with $16.92 million on 1,549 screens, which was also more than The Avengers managed. Unfortunately, those were the only two major markets where that was true.
More...
May 29th, 2012
While the latest installment of the Men in Black franchise topped the box office over the Memorial Day long weekend, it was The Avengers that continued to be the big story of the year. Men in Black 3's opening was merely average given the release date, and well below average given the film's production budget. On the other hand, The Avengers continued to break records. Overall, the box office was up by 7% from last weekend reaching $153 million over the three day portion of the weekend. However, that's 31% lower than Memorial Day last year. Ouch. Over four days, the weekend pulled in $194 million, which was 30% lower than last year. Again, ouch. Year-to-date, 2012 is still ahead of 2011, but the lead is down to 12.5% at $4.28 billion to $3.85 billion.
More...
May 23rd, 2012
The Avengers remained on top of the international chart for the fourth weekend in a row and that helped it reach fourth place on the all time worldwide chart. Over the weekend it pulled in $59.1 million giving it totals of $726.4 million internationally and $1.18 billion worldwide. To put this into perspective, if the film had earned $700 million worldwide, it would have been considered a smash hit and it would have broken even before the home market. The film was pushed into second place in the U.K. with $4.45 million on 496 screens over the weekend, but it has $71.11 million in that market, making it the film's biggest single intentional market. China is right behind with $69.3 million. It has also topped $50 million in Mexico ($3.27 million on 1,757 screens over the weekend for a total of $53.53 million) and in Brazil ($5.40 million on 915 screens over the weekend for a total of $50.49 million). The film has yet to open in Japan and by the time it does, it will likely have overtaken Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II for third place on the all-time chart.
More...
May 21st, 2012
The Avengers continued its monster run and it crushed Battleship, The Dictator, and What to Expect When You're Expecting. In fact, The Avengers made more than the three new releases made combined. This is partially due to the film's strong hold, but in large part due to the newcomers' weaknesses, and this led to a 16% decline from last week to $143 million. Unfortunately, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides didn't show this weakness when it opened and the overall box office was a 15% lower than this weekend last year. 2012 still has a massive 16% lead over 2011 at $4.03 billion to $3.49 billion. Hopefully this is just a momentary blip and 2012 gets back to its winning ways very soon.
More...
May 20th, 2012
The Avengers will continue as the undisputed hit of the Summer this weekend, as it has proved to be too much competition for another contender. After defeating Dark Shadows last weekend, the superhero movie has crushed Battleship in its domestic debut. The nautical action movie will earn an estimated $25.35 million this weekend, according to Universal, a drop in its $209 million (according to the studio) production budget. With $55 million, Avengers will pass $450 million in its 17th day in release, marking another record.
More...
May 17th, 2012
For the first time all month, there is more than one new release coming out. However, despite this, it looks like The Avengers will still reign on top of the box office chart. Only Battleship has a real shot at beating it, while The Dictator and What to Expect When You're Expecting combined probably won't make as much as The Avengers will over the weekend. This is a little worrisome, as last year saw the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which opened with $90 million. There's almost no chance any film will make that much this weekend. In fact, the top two films might not make that much combined. So will 2012 lose on the year-over-year comparison? Probably not, as this year has a little more depth. It could be uncomfortably close though.
More...
May 16th, 2012
The Avengers reached the $1 billion worldwide milestone in a mere 19 days, tying the record set by Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II. However, this is even more impressive, as The Avengers opened domestically one week later than it opened internationally. Over the weekend the film added $93.8 million on 17,104 screens in 54 markets for totals of $635.1 million internationally and $1.01 billion worldwide. It is the first Marvel film to reach this milestone, but amazingly the fifth Disney movie to do so. There have only been twelve films to reach $1 billion worldwide, and Disney have made five of them.
More...
May 15th, 2012
The winners of our Hiding in the Shadows were determined and they are...
More...
May 15th, 2012
No new releases managed to earn a spot in the $10,000 club on this week's per theater chart. That doesn't mean it was empty, as The Avengers remained potent with an average of $23,696 during its second weekend of release. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was arguably even more impressive, as it expanded into more than 150 additional theaters, but its per theater average only fell to $15,012. It did well enough to grab eighth place overall, and with this average, it will certainly expand more. On the other hand, the best new release was Dark Shadows with an average of $7,906. This is good, but not great. The best limited release was Girl in Progress. That was was playing in more than 300 theaters and managed an average of $4,298. That's a good start, but I don't think it will expand greatly.
More...
May 15th, 2012
For the first time ever, a film earned more than $100 million during its sophomore stint. The Avengers again led the way at the box office and again broke records. It wasn't all good news as Dark Shadows missed modest expectations and the overall box office slid 34% from last weekend to $171 million. That is still 22% higher than the same weekend last year, while 2012's lead over 2011 grew to 17.5% at $3.83 billion to $3.26 billion. I don't know how long The Avengers can keep 2012 ahead in the year-over-year comparison, but it sure is helping build up its lead in the short term.
More...
May 13th, 2012
A second-weekend drop-off of 50% for a major release is considered a very respectable performance these days. But when it occurs for a film that opened with over $200 million, that puts the performance into a different league. Those legs will mean The Avengers will cruise to another major record this record, with its predicted $103.2 million the biggest second weekend in history. The film will have $373 million by the close of the day on Sunday, according to Disney, and about $1 billion worldwide.
More...
May 10th, 2012
There is one wide release this week, Dark Shadows, plus a busy slate of limited releases. However, the only film most people are talking about is The Avengers. There is a chance that by the end of business this weekend, it will be the biggest hit of the year, overtaking The Hunger Games. Even if Dark Shadows makes $50 million over the weekend, it will be a mere footnote at the box office compared to The Avengers' sophomore stint. Dark Shadows probably won't match the combined openings of last year's two wide releases, Bridemaids and Priest 3D (about $41 million), but it could be close. However, since there are some that are predicting The Avengers will earn more than last year's top five earned (about $110 million), 2012 should easily walk away with the win.
More...
May 7th, 2012
Expectations for The Avengers were high, record-breakingly high among some people. However, as high as they were, reality was higher. Records were not just broken, but destroyed beyond recognition. The overall box office was in the top five combined biggest weekends with $258 million, which was 134% higher than last weekend. 134%. It was 55% higher than the same weekend last year. Like I've said before, this kind of year-over-year change usually only happens when there is a misalignment in holidays. The victory erases all of the losses from April, and then some, giving 2012 a $500 million lead over 2011 at $3.58 billion to $3.08 billion. This is an amazing start for the summer and with with roughly 25 million people seeing movies this weekend, upcoming films got a ton of free publicity and added hype.
More...
May 4th, 2012
The only wide release opening next weekend is Dark Shadows, which could be a huge hit, or one of Tim Burton's rare misses. (I'm a little worried it might be a little too strange for mainstream audiences and it could have a Sweeney Todd-like run.) Despite my concerns, it is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Dark Shadows.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Spongebob Squarepants: Vs. The Big One on DVD, which features Johnny Depp.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Spongebob Squarepants: Runaway Roadtrip on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
More...
May 1st, 2012
There's good news / bad news going forward into May. First the bad news, April was really weak. It was weak compared to the previous month and weak compared to last year. For the first time all year, we had losses for a month on the year-over-year comparison. As for the good news... it could have been worse? Maybe there wasn't good news with regards to April, but there is certainly good news going forward. Every weekend in May has at least one film with the potential to hit $100 million, while there are a couple that could hit $200 million, and one that, pie in the sky, could reach $400 million. That one film is The Avengers, or as it is officially called, Marvel's The Avengers. I guess they don't want people reminded of the 1998 TV adaptation. While there are four films that should reach $100 million, there are only three other films opening wide, maybe two, maybe four. (More sources have Chernobyl Diaries opening wide than in limited release, but it is not a sure thing either way. Meanwhile, the opposite is true for LOL.) Additionally, there are a couple films opening in limited release this month with a real potential to expand wide: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and God Bless America. By comparison, last year had no film reach $300 million, but it had five films reach $100 million. If we are going to earn the win this year, we need strength from the top.
More...
