June 17th, 2009
There was a short list of new releases this week, but four of them were still able to reach the top five on this week's sales chart.
Leading the way was He's Just Not That Into You with 1.03 million units sold and $17.57 million in consumer spending at retail.
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June 17th, 2009
On the one hand, there were three new releases to reach the top five on the rental chart this week. On the other hand, there were only three new releases to reach the top thirty on the rental chart this week. Leading the way was He's Just Not That Into You with roughly 50% more rentals than second place Defiance.
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June 1st, 2009
Summer might be the busiest time of the year at the box office, but it is the slowest on the home market. This week we have a couple of Summer TV series coming out on DVD, a few late stragglers from Awards Season '08, and an early surprise at the '09 box office.
However, while there are a few worth picking up, none jump out at me as obvious contenders for the DVD Pick of the Week.
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March 1st, 2009
Confessions Of A Shopaholic expanded this past weekend jumping into sixth place with $6.13 million on 1365 screens in 10 markets for a total of $10.05 million. This includes a second place, $2.80 million opening on 424 screens over the weekend in the U.K., for a total of $4.14 million there. The film also held well in Russia down just 42% with $1.04 million on 415 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.41 million after two.
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February 22nd, 2009
Recep Ivedik opened in its native Turkey and a few other markets scoring sixth place with $8.32 million on 483 screens in 4 markets. Of that total, $6.10 million was earned on 390 screens during a first place opening in its native market, which is above the pace of its predecessor. The film managed fourth place in Germany with $1.75 million on just 75 screens. An excellent start for the film.
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February 19th, 2009
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 Female Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
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February 18th, 2009
Gomorrah led the way on the per theater chart this weekend with an average of $15,540 in seven theaters. Second place went to Two Lovers with an average of $13,569, proving yet again there is no such thing as bad publicity. Under the Sea 3-D opened with $13,490, and it should be in theaters for at least a year, if not two. The final film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, Friday the 13th, which opened with an average of $13,066 in more than 3,000 theaters.
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February 11th, 2009
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button earned first place on the international chart with $32.57 million on 4,939 screens in 42 markets for a total of $75.41 million. The film opened in first place in four major markets, led by France where it made $5.45 million on 566 screens, while it made $5.05 million on 459 screens in Spain. It was not as potent in the U.K. with $3.29 million on 425 screens and in Russia with $1.62 million. It had to settle for second place in Japan, but earned a strong $3.42 million on 427 screens. As for holdovers, the film remained in first place in Germany with $3.82 million on 605 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.27 million after two weeks of release. Benjamin Button isn't done yet and it will hit $200 million worldwide shortly, if it hasn't already, while it should top its domestic total before too long.
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February 5th, 2009
Valkyrie remained in first place with $19.37 million on 4,298 screens in 25 markets for a total of $38.88 million internationally. The film opened in first place in Spain with $3.25 million on 397 screens and in Russia with $2.02 million on 520 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in Italy ($2.31 million on 394 screens) and in France ($2.17 million on 450). As for holdovers, the film fell from first to third in Germany, but still added $2.44 million on 695 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.39 million after two.
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February 4th, 2009
There was only one film with a per theater average of more than $10,000 this week, and that film was Medicine for Melancholy, which opened with $12,625 in its lone theater.
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February 2nd, 2009
The Very Best Film 2, the sequel to The Very Best Film opened in Russia and a handful of other markets this past weekend. It scored first place in its native land with $8.38 million on 948 screens, while it earned sixth place in total with $9.29 million on 1072 screens in 4 markets. This is a serious decline from its predecessor's opening weekend, but still a strong start otherwise.
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January 28th, 2009
There wasn't a single film to reach $10,000 on the per theater chart at the weekend.
Slumdog Millionaire led the way with $7,562, which is a better average than the film has earned in three of the five past weekends, despite expanding to the widest it has ever been by a large margin.
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January 26th, 2009
New releases missed expectations, but enough of the holdovers excelled that that overall box office was still strong. Granted, it was down 17% from last weekend, but given the post-holiday slump, this is not bad. Also, $160 million is 14% more than the same weekend last year and it keeps 2009 well ahead of 2008 $861 million to $707 million, or 22%.
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January 25th, 2009
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa fell from second to sixth with $9.07 million on 5601 screens in 48 markets for a total of $380.42 million. No openings hurt the film this past weekend, and its only $1 million markets this past weekend were South Korea at $1.20 million on 432 screens and Poland at $1.09 million on 130. The film has made $3.76 million after two weeks in the former and $7.72 million after three weeks in the latter.
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January 25th, 2009
The theatrical market continued to perform strongly this weekend, with Sony in particular having good reason to cheer.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop followed up its amazing opening weekend with a very solid hold, down just 33% to an estimated $21.5 million for the weekend and $64.8 million after two.
Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans couldn't top that performance, but did a creditable $20.7 million, which will almost certainly translate into a continuation of the franchise.
Inkheart was the biggest disappointment of the weekend, earning $7.725 million for seventh place.
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January 23rd, 2009
2009 looks to continue its winning streak with two wide releases and a lot of high-powered holdovers. It is unlikely that any of them will live up to last week's number one film, but the overall effort should live up to last year's overall box office and maintain 2009's winning streak.
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January 22nd, 2009
For a year without an obvious front-runner for the Oscar race, there were not a whole lot of surprises when it came to the nominations. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations today and leading the way was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with thirteen while Slumdog Millionaire was second with ten.
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January 21st, 2009
The Golden Globe bounce wasn't exactly overwhelming after the winners were announced, but many of the winners have been in theaters too long to really benefit from the added publicity.
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January 21st, 2009
Notorious opened in fourth place overall, but in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $12,514, which was just a fraction above The Wrestler and its average of $11,824. Revolutionary Road remained strong earning an average of $10,427 in 171 theaters. The overall number one film, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, was next with $10,125. Finally, Slumdog Millionaire saw amazing growth and returned to the $10,000 Club with $10,050.
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January 13th, 2009
It is very rare for a film to repeat as champion on the per theater chart, but that's exactly what Defiance did this past weekend, as it earned an average of $34,092 in two theaters. The Wrestler climbed into second place with an average of $14,140 in 60 theaters, which suggests serious room to expand, especially if it continues its winning ways during Awards Season. Made in U.S.A. was the best of the new releases, as it pulled in $11,125 in one theater, while Revolutionary Road was right behind with an average of $10,558 in 135. Finally, Gran Torino earned an average of $10,500 during its first week of wide release.
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January 12th, 2009
The first of the major awards ceremonies were held last night as the Hollywood Foreign Press handed out the 66th annual Golden Globes awards. There were very few films that earned more than one award, but the big winner was Slumdog Millionaire with four wins. It is instantly an Oscar favorite.
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January 6th, 2009
Despite earning mixed reviews, Defiance topped the per theater chart with a massive average of $61,757 in two theaters, and that's over the weekend. In total the film made more than $200,000 in 2 theaters over five days. Gran Torino's per theater average grew by 26% to $34,957 in 84 theaters. At this point, it would be fair to say it has earned some measure of mainstream success, and it expands wide this weekend. Revolutionary Road saw its theater count grow from 3 to 38, while it still managed a per theater average of $25,946. The Wrestler also saw growth with an average of $24,323, and it should expand over the coming weeks. I'm not sure it will expand wide, but it should do reasonably well. Che continues its Oscar qualifying run earning an average of $17,742 in 2 theaters. Last Chance Harvey saw small growth to $17,034 in 6 theaters, but I'm not sure how far it will expand. Waltz with Bashir was the final film in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,713 in five theaters.
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January 1st, 2009
Happy New Year!
If it's January 1, it must be time to take a look at this month's releases, and analyze how 2009 at the box office will compare to 2008.
2009 is looking to get off to a fast start, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. For one thing, 2008 stumbled down the stretch, which means the box office is relatively soft at the moment. Also, 2008 got off to a great start, which means it will be harder for 2009 to keep pace early on. (On a side note, if the box office is sluggish as expected, it could set the tone for the box office coverage and bad news tends to beget more bad news.) While there are a few films that are aiming for $50 million or more, none have the advance buzz that Cloverfield had, and it is unlikely that any will match its box office.
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December 30th, 2008
Revolutionary Road was nothing short of fantastic on the per theater chart earning a stunning $190,000 in just three theaters for an average of $63,304. Gran Torino saw both is theater count and per theater average grow earning more than $2 million in 84 theaters for a stunning average of $27,652; the film might not earn as many awards as some were expecting, but its box office potential is as high as ever. The Wrestler slipped to third place during is sophomore stint with an average of $21,529 in 18 theaters, but it too should earn some measure of mainstream success. Che continued its Oscar qualifying run with $35,000 in 2 theaters for an average of $17,252. Last Chance Harvey opened with nearly $100,000 in six theaters for an average of $16,210, which would have been very impressive though most of the year, but we've hit such a winning streak recently that is feels merely average. The overall box office leader, Marley & Me earned an average of $10,448, while Waltz with Bashir barely managed to enter the $10,000 club with an average of $10,004 in five theaters.
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December 28th, 2008
The Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced last Friday, but in the holiday rush, they fell through the cracks. Perhaps that's because most SAG talk these days revolves around possible strike action. The big player here is undoubtedly Doubt, which picked up four individual nods and one for its primary cast.
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December 28th, 2008
There are almost as many wide releases this week as there were total release last week. However, while there are several effective sites, and none that feel sub-standard, none rise to the level of the Weekly Website Award.
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December 24th, 2008
There's not much time for limited releases to come out if they want to qualify for this year's Oscars, and while most of the potential Oscar have already come out, this week there are a few film that have a shot at earning Oscar nominations at the very least.
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December 12th, 2008
The latest set of Awards Season nominations were handed out today as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations. There was not much in the way of surprises, and it is hard to look at one film and say it was the big winner, but Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button come the closest.
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December 1st, 2008
We end the year with a winning streak, one that will hopefully continue right through the New Year holiday. It seems nearly every film released this month is either an Oscar contender or a potential $100 million hit. Sometimes both. If all six films with box office potentials of $100 million or more reach that milestone, and Bolt and Four Christmases have the legs to make it there as well, we could set the record for most $100 million released in a single year. (It is currently at 29 films set in 2003.)
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October 2nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Paper Man, Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more!
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May 11th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Spirit, Iron Man 2, The Avengers and more!
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March 28th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Crazy on the Outside, Two Lovers, W., and more!
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June 3rd, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and more.
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