This graph shows Maisie Williams’s score on our annual analysis of leading stars at the box office. The Star Score represents points assigned to each of the leading stars of the top 100 movies (based on box office) in the current year and two preceding years. For appearing in the number one movie in a year a star gets 100 points, the number two movie 99 points and so on..
Latest Ranking on Selected Box Office Record Lists
It’s a busy week on VOD, especially if you are a fan of horror. Blood Quantum, Followed, and Z are all worth checking out. There are also some smaller horror releases or ones with weaker reviews that might be worth it for more hardcore fans. If you are not a fan of horror, then The Wind Rises is your best bet.
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It has been a long time since we’ve seen a theatrical release from a major studio in North America, but that grim record may finally change in August. While there are only three major releases still on the calendar, and things remain in flux, it seems likely that at least one of them will open on their current release date.
That assumption is based partly on Warner Bros.’ decision to go ahead with Tenet’s release on September 3, and United Artists’ release of Bill and Ted Face the Music in theaters and VOD on September 1. With theaters steadily opening internationally, the pressure to release new films has become too great, even while the pandemic continues to rage in the United States. Even if expectations are very low domestically, it makes sense to start releasing films that have some international appeal, can lure moviegoers back to theaters in small numbers in the US, and then can make back more money from domestic video releases.
In the first part of this month’s preview, we look at the films that are lined up to open in August. Tomorrow, we’ll analyze what it’ll take to get box office earnings close to normal, and how long we can expect that to take, at least in countries that are bringing the pandemic under control.
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It is not a great week for limited releases. There are some that are certainly worth checking out, like Braid and The Wild Pear Tree. However, the film earning the loudest buzz, Velvet Buzzsaw, is only earning good reviews and not great reviews, but that should be good enough for Netflix.
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Early Man bombed in theaters, even compared to the average stop-motion animated film. The critics liked it, but audiences stayed away. Why is that? Is it too British, like many Aardman Animations movies?
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2018 got off to a good start and January more or less held its ground when compared to 2017. There were some misses, but surprise holdovers made up the difference. Looking forward, February will be dominated by Black Panther. In fact, it will very likely make more during its opening weekend than the second place film, Fifty Shades Freed, will likely make in total. Black Panther likely won’t break records, but it could come close, while Fifty Shade Freed and Peter Rabbit both have a 50/50 shot at $100 million. Last February, The Lego Batman Movie both earned $175 million, while Fifty Shades Darker earned over $100 million. Black Panther will easily beat any film from last February; in fact, it could earn more than the top two films earned combined. As long as the rest of the box office isn’t a complete disaster, February should help 2018 earn a significant edge over 2017 in the year-over-year comparisons.
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Game of Thrones is one of the biggest TV shows of all time. It was considered a hit right away with an average viewership of just over 2.5 million during its fourth season. Its most recent season had an average viewership over four times that. It holds the record for most Emmy wins by a scripted show at 38. (This past season wasn’t eligible for this year’s Emmys because it started too late in the year, but I suspect it will earn a ton of nominations next year.) However, there is bad news, as season eight, the final season, won’t begin airing until 2019. Will season seven leave viewers aching for more? Or has the show finally started to show its age?
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This is a terrible week on the home market, mostly. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and the competition has clearly scared away any other top-level releases. The only other first-run release is Office Christmas Party, which is worth a rental, if you like anti-Christmas movies. As far as Pick of the Week contenders are concerned, there’s Rogue One... and really that’s it. There are a couple of other releases I highlighted, but they wouldn't be contenders during an average week. Don’t Kill It looks good for a low-budget horror movie, while Paterson is coming out on a featureless DVD / Blu-ray. They are worth picking up if you are a fan of their respective genres.
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Long time fans of Game of Thrones have just one question on their minds... Why is Season Six coming out this week and not in spring just before Season Seven comes out, like they’ve done every year before. Well, I have some bad news for you. Season Seven isn’t coming out in the spring. It’s coming out in the Summer. So will this Blu-ray holdover fans until the next season comes out?
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Season Six of Game of Thrones starts on the 24th of April. Still a full month away. On the other hand, Season Five comes out this week and to celebrate we have a Contest and a review. How was Season Five compared to the previous seasons? Is it still engaging? Or now that the show is running out of source material to pull from, is it starting to show cracks?
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The home market release report is a little late this week, because in our ongoing attempt to improve our site, we are looking at the format of this column and it will change shortly. (Also, this week both Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes were acting up. I had to download a script blocker and block all scripts on Rotten Tomatoes. Certain things no longer work, but at least it doesn't cause Firefox to freeze every ten minutes.) The biggest release of the week is The Avengers: The Age of Ultron, sort of. It came out last Friday, not this Tuesday. I'm waiting for my copy to arrive so I can do a full review. Meanwhile, the best new release of the week is When Marnie Was There in Blu-ray Combo Pack.
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It could be a really good week in limited release, as there are several films earning great reviews and loud buzz. Leading the way in raw size is Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection "F", which could become one of the biggest Anime hits of all time, at least Stateside. Other films with a shot at thriving in limited release include Cop Car and The Diary of a Teenage Girl, but they are not the only films worth checking out.
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It has been a horrendously busy week at work, so much so that I just got a chance to watch the few TV shows I bother to watch on a weekly basis. I still haven't had a chance to watch the season finale of Modern Family or this week's episode of iZombie, but I finally got a chance to see the most recent episode of Game of Thrones. I know I'm late to the party, but I would like to talk about the show's most controversial scene of the season and tropes.
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It is a busy week with several releases spread over three days. Unfortunately, most movies opening this week are earning weak reviews and many of them have almost no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The lack of buzz and the weak critical response will likely prove fatal. Fortunately, there is an exception as Life Itself is earning amazing reviews. A Hard Day's Night is also worth checking out, as it is getting a 50th anniversary.
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