August 14th, 2012
It is an amazing week on the home market, almost. One of the biggest films of all time comes out on DVD and Blu-ray this week; however, fans of The Hunger Games will have to wait till a minute after midnight on Saturday morning to get a hold of the film. I hope my screener will arrive before then. As for releases coming out this Tuesday, there are some that should sell well, but for Pick of the Week, I think Jaws' Blu-ray debut it a top contender. The Hunger Games is also a contender for Pick of the Week. I'm going with Jaws, but it is a close race.
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May 10th, 2012
God Bless America is one of four limited releases opening in more than ten theaters this weekend, but of those four films, it is the only one earning overall positive reviews. In fact, it is one of only four films on this week's list earning overall positive reviews. The others are I Wish, Nobody Else But You, and Sleepless Night, all three of which are foreign language films, which tends to limit box office potential. Hopefully one will have breakout success, otherwise, new releases might not show a lot of strength on the per theater chart this week.
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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.
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