July 29th, 2007
We finally saw a new release top the charts this week as Premonition was the number one renting and seller on the home market this week including taking in $7.29 million in rentals.
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July 21st, 2007
Once again, new releases were unable to top the holdovers leaving Shooter in first place with $5.40 million over the week for a three-week total of $19.70 million.
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July 13th, 2007
New releases were practically shut out this week with now new releases in the top five, or top ten, for that matter. This left Shooter with an easy path to first place adding $6.48 million for the week and $14.30 in total.
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July 7th, 2007
There were five new releases to reach the rental chart this week, and even more on the sales chart. The leader of both of them was Shooter; on the sales chart the film picked up $7.82 million during its first week of release, or about one sixth of what it made during its theatrical run.
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June 30th, 2007
There was a strong contingent of new releases this week, but it was a holdover that took top spot. Ghost Rider fell nearly 25%, but its weekly haul of $6.67 million was still enough to remain in first place while its two week total hit $15.53 million.
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June 22nd, 2007
Ghost Rider led this week's contingent of new releases capturing first place with $8.86 million. That wasn't a whole lot compared it its theatrical run, but it was a better one week total that the home market has been able to produce for a while.
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June 17th, 2007
300 returned to the international chart this week thanks entirely to its opening in Japan.
In that market, the film opened in second place with $2.71 million on 452 screens over the weekend and $3.39 million including last week's premiere in Tokyo.
This was enough for it to capture sixth place internationally with $2.75 million on 576 screens in 8 markets, while lifting its total to $236.89 million.
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June 11th, 2007
The Summer is traditionally the weakest time of the year for DVD releases and this is not surprising as the target audience is too busy checking out the latest theatrical releases to be bothered with the home market.
First-run releases are also weak because the delay from theater to home means we are not getting prime offerings here.
TV on DVD releases are likewise weak because it is too late to take advantage of season finales and too soon to take advantage of season premieres.
So, to find the best offering, one has to look to limited releases like Grbavica - Buy from Amazon, or TV movies like Masters of Horror - The Screwfly Solution.
But the DVD Pick of the Week goes to a classic, The Hustler - Two-Disc Collector's Edition
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June 10th, 2007
With no worldwide opening this weekend, several studios tried to open / expand smaller films hoping to take advantage of the lull. Despite this influx of competition, Fracture was able to hold strong dipping just one place with sixth with $2.25 million on 1018 screens in 16 markets for a total of $22.33 million internationally. The film wasn't able to top $1 million in any single market, but came closest in France with $671,000 over the weekend for a $7.20 million running total.
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April 29th, 2007
The Reaping climbed into sixth place this past weekend with $5.98 million on 2634 screens in 39 markets for a total of just $20.38 million. The film had a couple respectable openings including South Korea where it made $1.17 million on 129 screens over the weekend and $1.34 million in total while it took in $335,000 in Brazil. However, in most markets the film stumbled, like in France where is placed seventh with $684,000 or the the U.K. where it placed eighth with $622,000 on 282 screens. The film debuted in ninth place in Australia, ($405,000 on 133 screens); in Russia, ($261,000 on 111); and in Germany, ($247,000 on 201). Mexico became the film's best market as it has pulled in $4.45 million in three weeks, including $589,000 on 350 screens this past weekend; this is just ahead of the $4.25 million the film has earned in Spain, but it only managed $334,000 on 299 screens this past weekend and will quickly disappear there.
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April 22nd, 2007
Sunshine climbed into sixth place with $5.20 million on 1866 screens in 30 markets for a total of $10.20 million. However, while it nearly doubled last week's opening, this was entirely due to the film's expansion. Its biggest market of the weekend was France where it placed fourth with $1.36 million on 339 screens while it placed eighth in its debut in Australia with just $611,000 on 161 screens. On the other hand, the film only managed $508,000 on 192 screens during its debut in Japan and while likely see a sharp drop-off next weekend given its weak per screen average. Meanwhile in the U.K. the film suffered the worst week-to-week drop-off in the top ten down 57% to $879,000 on 409 screens over the weekend and a total of $4.45 million in total.
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April 15th, 2007
Wild Hogs had its best performance of its run so far climbing into sixth place with $3.33 million on 817 screens in 8 markets for a total of $18.43 million after a month of release. About half of that came from the film's number one debut in Mexico where it earned $1.33 million on 355 screens over the weekend and $1.67 million including previews while the film did reasonable business in Taiwan with $345,000 on 40. Its best market to date has been Australia where the film has earned $11.30 million, including $907,000 on 263 screens this past weekend.
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April 8th, 2007
Norbit saw its weekend haul sliced neatly in half landing in sixth place with $4.09 million on 2270 screens in 39 markets for a total of $49.38 million. The film wasn't able to crack $1 million in any single market, but Italy came the closest with $940,000 on 263 screens for a two-week total of $3.19 million.
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March 28th, 2007
300 was miles ahead of its nearest competition and dominated the international box office with $48.21 million on 4,435 screens in 32 markets for a total of $79.35 million.
The film opened in first place in a number of key markets including the U.K. where it took in $9.30 million on 369 screens while it was just as dominant in Spain with $6.71 million on 536 screens. Other multi-million dollar openings came in France ($5.6 million on 485 screens); Russia ($5.05 million on 417); Italy ($4.58 million on 459); and Mexico ($2.56 million on 526).
The film also held strong in holdovers remaining in first place for the second weekend in a row in South Korea with $3.67 million on 350 screens over the weekend and $12.68 million in total while it topped the Greek market for the third weekend in a row with $1.3 million for a total of $9.4 million.
In that latter market, 300 is now the fifth highest grossing film of all time.
The film has peaked at the box office, but should still have a very strong month before the summer blockbusters start opening.
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March 21st, 2007
It was a good week for international releases with a dozen of them charting, although none made it into the top five.
The number one film was 300 as the film expanded into its first major market, scoring first place with $6.3 million on 353 screens over a 5-day period.
The film was also a massive hit in Turkey with $1.5 million on 115 screens while just missing the $1 million mark in Thailand with $917,000 on 120 screens.
Other openings include $730,000 on 33 screens in Hong Kong, $582,000 on 161 screens in India and $546,000 on 73 in Puerto Rico.
Even more impressive were its holdovers, with it remaining in first place in all three, including a record-setting pace in Greece ($2.5 million for the weekend and $7.2 million in total).
Overall, the film made $14.17 million on 1,262 screens in 12 markets for a very early international total of $25.23 screens.
It's too early to tell if the film will be as big a hit internationally as it is domestically, but it is off to a great start.
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March 14th, 2007
It was a soft weekend in international markets, with no film topping $10 million.
Music and Lyrics was the closest, pulling in $9.67 million on 2,542 screens in 26 markets for a total of $44.45 million, which is just ahead of its domestic total so far.
Its biggest opening of the weekend came in Germany where it placed first with $3.12 million on 606 screens but it also placed first in Austria ($511,000 on 92 screens), and The Netherlands ($494,000 on 95 screens over the weekend and $637,000 in total).
The film wasn't as strong in Mexico where it made $678,000 on 319 screens, which was a distant second to a local hit, Ninas Mal.
Holdovers were led by South Korea, where is actually grew by 4% to $1.29 million on 136 screens for a two-week total of $3.96 million.
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March 12th, 2007
The weekend was rather predictable, with three of the top five landing within a rounding error of expectations and another finishing close enough to call it a victory. ...
OK, I got skunked on 300, but I think I know why.
That film's record-breaking opening helped push the overall box office to $153 million over the weekend, up 23% from last weekend and 39% from the same weekend last year.
As for the yearly trend, we have seeing a lot more massive hits coming out this year than expected.
This could be a portent of things to come, and that would mean we might have more than a dozen films top $200 million this summer alone.
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March 8th, 2007
One of the most talked about March movies opens this weekend, but there are some concerns regarding 300's ability to turn this talk into box office dollars.
Should it fail to do so, Wild Hogs will be right there looking to become the second biker movie in a row to repeat at the top of the charts.
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March 7th, 2007
Ghost Rider was relatively flat this week as it earned $16.63 million on 4008 screens in 47 markets for a total of $61.49 million internationally. Its biggest market in terms of raw dollars was the U.K. with $3.56 million on 342 screens, but it could only managed second place behind local smash hit, Hot Fuzz. On the other hand, it opened in first place in Brazil with $1.8 million on 278 screens and remained in first place in Germany with $1.44 million on 369 screens for a two-week total of $4.25 million. On the opposite end was its opening in Japan; there the film could do no better than fourth with $1.16 million on 256 screens and will likely disappear very quickly after this weekend.
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March 6th, 2007
March came in like a lion, with Wild Hogs earning the third best opening ever for the month.
Even with the other new releases missing expectations, the overall box office still climbed to $124 million.
That's up nearly 6% from last weekend and 20% from the same weekend last year.
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March 1st, 2007
March starts off this weekend with three releases, two of which are currently earning overall positive reviews. However, it is the third wide release that is tracking well above the other two and is the clear favorite to win the weekend box office race.
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February 28th, 2007
Ghost Rider weekend haul grew by 2% to $16.92 million on 3039 screens in 40 markets for a total of $40.06 million internationally. New openings include $3 million on 426 screens in France, $2.37 million on 362 screens in Germany, and $820,000 on 250 screens in India. Holdovers were mixed with high percentage drops in many markets; for instance, the film fell 51% during its second weekend in Spain but still came out on top with $1.54 million on 417 for a two-week total of $5.28 million. On the other hand, the film held up better in Mexico down just 44% but was knocked out of first place with $1.16 million on 403 screens for a total of $5.63 million. The film has yet to open in a number of markets, including the U.K. and Japan, and has likely not yet peaked at the box office.
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February 26th, 2007
Practically every new release missed expectations this weekend, some by small margins while others were significantly off the mark. On the other hand, holdovers held as well as expected, which helped the box office total reach $117 million.
This was a 25% drop-off from last weekend; however, that can be explained by the holiday last weekend and the Oscars this weekend.
Year-to-year the drop-off was a much more reasonable 3%.
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February 22nd, 2007
Another busy week for wide releases with three or five such films, depending on how you define wide.
Only three of the new releases have a theater count of 2,000 or more, which is a higher threshold than most require to call a movie wide, but probably the most accurate definition.
On the other hand, there are two other films opening in just under 1,000 theaters and both have a shot at entering the top ten.
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February 22nd, 2007
Ghost Rider debuted in first place internationally, which is even more impressive when you think about it as
super hero movies tend to not do so well internationally. During its debut the film managed $16.60 million on 1748 screens in 26 markets while nearly cracking the $10,000 per screen average. The film had first place openings in 21 of those 26 of markets including $3.67 million on 401 screens in Russia, $3.12 million on 415 screens in Spain, $2.10 million on 403 screens in Mexico, $1.92 million on 208 screens in Australia, and $1.5 million on 120 in Taiwan. It's a little early to given predictions about the film's final box office, but this was a great start and if it can duplicate its run next week when it opens in France, Germany, and other markets it will be on track to top $100 million internationally and may even reach $200 million worldwide. There's no official, official word that a
sequel has been given the go-ahead, but the evidence suggests that is a mere formality now.
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February 21st, 2007
Avenue Montaigne intersected with the per theater chart in first place with an average of $14,689 in its two theaters.
Second place went to the overall box office leader as Ghost Rider averaged $12,542 in its 3,619 theaters.
Next up was last week's winner, The Lives of Others, which showed very strong potential for mainstream success as it expanded.
Despite seeing its theater count grow from 13 to 32, it per theater average fell just 33% to $10,965.
The final film to top $10,000 was Bamako, which barely made it with $10,183.
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February 21st, 2007
It was a record-breaking President's Day weekend as 2007 produced it first blockbuster.
Overall, total box office hit $158 million from Friday to Sunday, $188 million including Monday.
That 3-day figure represents a 40% increase over last week and 22% over the same weekend last year.
In addition, the 4-day portion was 20% higher than last year.
This is great news for a year that hasn't gotten off to a fast start.
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February 19th, 2007
It's President's Day today and that can only mean one thing, millions of Americans are celebrating by cutting down cherry trees and lying about it. I think. Truth be told, I'm not exactly sure what people do to celebrate President's Day. But I do know it will cause a slight delay in a couple of weekly columns. For instance, the weekend wrap-up and the per theatre charts will both be pushed back one day while the DVD Release column will be a bit late. It might still be published late today, but it might not come out till sometime after midnight. In the meantime, here are the studio estimates for the weekend numbers...
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February 18th, 2007
Ghost Rider made a fiery box office debut this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
Its $44.5 million opening makes it the new record holder for the best President's Day opening weekend, and if the estimate holds, it will record the 3rd-best February weekend (see Best February weekends).
The opening was considerably ahead of most predictions, and the weekend as a whole looks very healthy.
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February 17th, 2007
While the big summer blockbusters are sill M.I.A., there are plenty of other films to pick up the slack. This includes this week's winner,
Bridge to Terabithia -
Official Site.
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February 15th, 2007
Now that romance is out of the way, we have a big-budget action flick looking to take advantage of Presidents' Day long weekend to score the biggest opening of the year so far.
But Ghost Rider isn't the only new release this weekend; along with the two romantic comedies that opened on Wednesday, there are three films opening wide, or at least wide-ish, this Friday.
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February 9th, 2007
Still waiting sites for the big summer blockbusters to come online. In the meantime, this week is relatively busy, but with only a couple sites that look like they could be award-worthy once the features are added. The best of the best, and I use that term loosely, is
Norbit -
Official Site with a site that could be more entertaining than the movie it promotes.
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February 3rd, 2007
Busy week for limited releases and a busy week for websites, which explains why I'm wrapping things up at midnight. There wasn't a whole lot on this week's list that really attracted my attention, but I'm giving the Weekly Website Award to
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters -
Official Site, mainly for their ... extracurricular activities of the viral marketers in Boston. And remember people, real bombs are meant to be inconspicuous, they won't sing you a song or make rude gestures at you.
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February 1st, 2007
February is the shortest month of the year, but not the slowest at the box office. It doesn't have the stigma of being a dumping ground, and with Valentine's Day fitting nicely in the middle,
romantic comedies have a leg up at the box office. However, for the most part, movies released during this month are aiming for midlevel hit and there are few, if any, that will become blockbusters.
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January 20th, 2007
Another slow week, but its been that way for a while. I'm hoping that will change when the summer blockbusters start launching their full sites soon, in fact,
Spider-Man 3's
Official Site did go live this week, but it is mostly marked coming soon and too soon to give it the award just yet.
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January 6th, 2007
Big list as I try to catch up after the holidays. I think I caught all the updates. Not only are there a lot of sites on this week's list, several of them are potential award winners with the best of the best being
Smokin' Aces -
Official Site.
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December 9th, 2006
Good week for websites with a number of candidates for the top spot. In the end I went with
Ghost Rider -
Official Site, but there's a few others here that will undoubtedly win in the coming weeks.
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December 2nd, 2006
Good week with plenty of strong site, but there was not a whole lot of competition at the very top as
The Good Shephard -
Official Site took home the Weekly Website Award.
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November 18th, 2006
A lot of trailers on this week's list of websites. Not only were there a lot of site with just trailers, there were a few trailers without sites. On the other hand, there were also a few contenders for the Weekly Website Award. In the end it was
The Children of Men -
Official Site that took home that prestigious award.
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November 11th, 2006
There was a clear winner amongst this week's batch of websites as
Stranger than Fiction -
Official Site took home the Weekly Website Award.
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November 3rd, 2006
Slow week for websites with only one real contender for the weekly website award, (not counting those sites that have already won). Fortunately, that site,
Flushed Away -
Official Site, truly deserved to win.
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October 20th, 2006
Strange week with very few site featuring updates, but several very strong contenders for Weekly Website Award. In the end I went with
The Prestige -
Official Site, but several others on this list should win awards in the coming weeks.
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October 14th, 2006
With more and more Oscar contenders getting ready to start their theatrical runs, it is fitting that a satire of such films,
For Your Consideration -
Official Site, takes home the Weekly Website Award.
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October 7th, 2006
Good week for websites, but most were smaller updates or new sites with just a few features. Two sites,
Happy Feet -
Official Site and
The Prestige -
Official Site, stood out above the crowd, but both will need a few more update to take home the Weekly Website Award.
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September 23rd, 2006
Slow week with just over half a dozen sites on the list. Of them,
Renaissance -
Official Site is clearly the best with a few others showing promise.
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September 16th, 2006
High quantity on sites this week, but many of them were for new releases, most of which haven't had any updates in a while. Those that did have updates were generally quite small, but one site stood above them all,
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny -
Official Site, which is easily the winner of the Weekly Website Award.
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September 8th, 2006
After a very busy month, the number of site on this week's list dropped off dramatically. The decline in quantity was accompanied by a decline in quality with no site jumping out as the obvious choice for the Weekly Website Award.
The Guardian -
Official Site came the closest, but it will have to wait till more features are added for that honor.
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September 2nd, 2006
Another busy week with plenty of top-notch films to chose from In the end, however, it was a two-way race between
The Black Dahlia -
Official Site and
Stranger than Fiction -
Official Site with the former site winning out by a narrow margin.
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August 26th, 2006
It's another busy week with nearly three dozen films being represented here. Taking top prize is
Invincible -
Official Site, although there were a few others that could take that claim before all is said and done.
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August 11th, 2006
The torrid pace of website updates continues with more than 30 films on this week's list. There were a few sites that really caught my eye, but it was
Trust the Man -
Official Site and its interactive map of New York City and its more than 2 dozen clips that won the Weekly Website Award.
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August 4th, 2006
Third week in a row where the number of sites featured on this list has topped 30. With such a busy week it would take something different to win the award, and that's something
Michel Gondry excels at delivering giving
The Science of Sleep -
Official Site the Weekly Website Award.
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July 28th, 2006
Another big week for movie sites with several excellent entries. In this crowded field there were a lot of sites that showed promise and could be just one big update away from winning the award. But this week the best of the best was
World Trade Center -
Official Site. Let's hope that the movie can live up to the site.
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July 21st, 2006
Another busy week, but unlike last week there was no massive blockbuster launching its flash site. Two sites stood out this week, (not counting past winners), and they are wildly different both in terms of style and in terms of the movie they are selling:
Accepted -
Official Site and
World Trade Center -
Official Site. The former is goofy and seriously immature, while the latter is one of the most emotional sites I've ever seen. In was nearly a coin flip, but in the end I went with
Accepted -
Official Site, but I would be willing to bet the other site will win before the movie comes out.
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May 26th, 2006
Not much this week in terms of new sites or updates and all the ones that are award-worthy have already won the weekly website award. The best of the rest is
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift -
Official Site, but it certainly doesn't deserve to win the awards.
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January 5th, 2006
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Not the busiest of weeks, but there were a few contenders for the Weekly Website Award with
The Pink Panther -
Official Site taking the prize.
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May 26th, 2005
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner,
Cinderella Man -
Official Site.
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