Home Market Releases for December 17th, 2019

December 18th, 2019

There’s almost exactly a week till Christmas, which explains the slim number of new releases. That said, nearly every film on the main list is worth picking up with a few contenders for Pick of the Week. It was a close three-way race, but in the end, Abominable earned Pick of the Week. More...

Home Market Releases for December 3rd, 2019

December 4th, 2019

Tuesday is the day after Cyber Monday, also know as, “One of the worst days of the year to release something on the home market.” There’s not a lot to talk about, while the biggest release of the week is also one of the biggest disappointments of the year, but the less said about that, the better. As for Pick of the Week contenders, we have Big Trouble in Little China: Collector’s Edition and that’s it. There are a few other releases that are close to that level, but none that reach it. More...

International Box Office: Joker Takes on All of the Top Five and Wins

October 17th, 2019

Like last weekend, this weekend’s international box office was toped by Joker, while the nearest competition was a Chinese film. Unlike last weekend, Joker dominated the chart earning more than the rest of the top five combined. It managed a weekend haul of $125.3 million on 24,555 screens in 79 markets for totals of $354.7 million internationally and $548.3 million worldwide. The film hit half a billion dollars worldwide in just 12 days and given its legs so far, it is on pace to reach $1 billion. Joker had very similar openings in France and Germany with $10.6 million on 630 screens and $9.8 million on 1,003 screens respectively. It goes without saying that the film was the best Warner Bros. opening of 2019 in both markets. However, the film flopped in those markets when you compare how well it is doing in the U.K. In that market, Joker was down just 22% earning $12.0 million on 1,472 screens during its sophomore stint for a running tally of $36.9 million. It has earned more in the U.K. than it has domestically, relatively speaking, and I don’t think anyone was expecting that. On the downside, the film is done with openings and it will be coasting on holdovers from now on. That’s not much of a downside. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Joker’s Hold is No Laughing Matter

October 15th, 2019

Joker dominated the weekend box office, crushing expectations and setting records in the process. The Addams Family also beat expectations and this really helped 2019. Granted, the box office was still down 7.8% from last weekend to $138 million; however, this was 3.8% higher than the same weekend last year. More...

Weekend Estimates: Joker Setting October Sophomore Record with $55 million

October 13th, 2019

Joker is setting the record for the biggest sophomore weekend in October. It is estimated to earn $55.0 million over the weekend, which is nearly $12 million more than the current record held by Gravity. It is also nearly $20 million more than Venom earned during its second weekend of release. If this estimate holds, then Joker will have earned nearly $192.7 million after just ten days of release. Furthermore, its international numbers are just as potent with a weekend haul of $123.7 million on 24,000 screens in 79 markets giving it totals of $351.2 million internationally and $543.9 million worldwide. Given its legs so far, $1 billion worldwide seems like a safe bet. It would be nice to get a billion dollar hit from 2019 that isn’t from Disney / Marvel. The film had a pair of stunning debuts in France ($10.3 million on 630 screens) and Germany ($9.3 million on 912). However, its biggest weekend haul was in the U.K., where it was down just 22%, earning $12.0 million on 1,472 screens for a two-week total of $36.9 million. More...

Friday Estimates: The Joker Laughs at the Competition

October 12th, 2019

Joker remained in first place earning $17 million on Friday. This is 57% lower than the film’s opening Friday, which is a really good hold and puts it on pace for $58 million over the full weekend. This would lift its running tally to nearly $200 million after just 10 days of release and might even be enough to cover the film’s entire combined production and advertising budget. More...

Weekend Predictions: It Looks Like a Scary Weekend

October 11th, 2019

There are three wide releases coming out, two of which have terrible reviews, The Addams Family and Gemini Man, while the third film, Jexi, as no reviews. It’s one of those weekends. Joker is widely expected to earn first place and it should hold better than Venom did during its second weekend of release, which is great news for 2019. Furthermore, this weekend last year, there were three wide releases with a total opening of $40 million. We should be able to top that this year by a significant margin, but A Star is Born is the one reason why 2018 could win in the year-over-year competition. More...

International Box Office: Joker Wins Weekend, But China Has the Last Laugh

October 10th, 2019

Joker earned top spot on the international chart, but China was the big story this weekend. The DC Comics film opened in first place with $152.2 million on 25,090 screens in 73 markets for a worldwide opening of $248.2 million. Both the film’s international debut and its worldwide debut are records for an October release. Likewise, it set the October opening weekend record in a number of major markets, including Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Spain. South Korea was also the film’s biggest total opening with $16.18 million on 1,418 screens, including $9.58 million over the weekend. The film’s U.K. debut was better, if you just look at the three-day weekend, as it earned $15.45 million on 666 screens. It managed $13.48 million in Mexico, $7.4 million in Brazil, $6.59 million in Australia, and $4.8 million in Spain. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Joker Destroys Box Office, Nearly Reaches Century Mark

October 8th, 2019

Joker easily dominated the weekend box office crushing Venom’s October record in the process. The film’s $96.20 million opening was more than 60% of the $150 million total box office earned this weekend. Furthermore, the weekend total was 64% more than last weekend, which is great news for 2019, as it has been struggling. Unfortunately, this is still 15% lower than the same weekend last year when Venom had A Star is Born opening strong as counter-programing. Year-to-date, 2019 has pulled in $8.46 billion, which is a lot, but it is 5.2% or $470 million behind 2018’s record-setting pace of $8.93 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Joker Takes a Bite Out of Venom

October 6th, 2019

Joker is not only dominating the weekend, likely earning more than the rest of the films in release combined, but it will also top Venom’s October record by more than $10 million. Its domestic weekend estimate is $93.5 million, which is only dwarfed by its international debut. The film is projected to earn $140.5 million on 22,500 screens in 73 markets during its opening weekend. Highlights includes A $16.3 million debut on 1,418 screens in South Korea, which is a record opening for Warner Bros. in that market. It wasn’t able to break records in the U.K., but is still very impressive at $14.8 million on 669 screens, while it also cracked $10 million in Mexico ($13.1 million on 4,684 screens) and Russia ($10 million on 1,907. More...

Friday Estimates: Another Day, Another Record for Joker

October 5th, 2019

Joker opened with an outstanding $39.9 million on Friday, topping the previous biggest October day record of $33.08 million set last year by Halloween. This film does have weaker reviews and only a B plus from CinemaScore, which means its word-of-mouth won’t be as great. Additionally, a larger percent of its opening day came from previews, which is another sign it likely won’t have great legs. That said, it would really have to stumble to not get at least close to $100 million over the full weekend. It is not doing quite as well internationally, but close enough that it could earn enough during its opening weekend that it will cover its entire production budget. It will break even before Halloween. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Joker Have the Last Laugh?

October 4th, 2019

Joker is the only wide release of the week and this should help it thrive at the box office. In fact, there are many who think it will top Venom’s October record. Venom set that record this weekend last year, so if it breaks the record that’s good news for 2019 in the year-over-year comparison, right? It’s not that simple, as A Star is Born also debut this weekend last year and that depth will likely prove too much for 2019 to overcome. More...

International Box Office: Ad Astra Shines on Top of the Chart

October 3rd, 2019

Ad Astra spent a second weekend on top of the international box office earning $18.0 million in 50 markets for totals of $53.5 million internationally and $88.9 million worldwide. The film had an elite opening in Russia with $3.16 million on 1,337 screens, earning first place in the process. On the other hand, it failed to crack $1 million during its debuts in both Brazil ($900,000) and Italy ($898,000). More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Abominable Leads Small Box Office

October 1st, 2019

Abominable led the way at the box office this weekend, but there wasn’t a lot to celebrate. That film merely did okay for this time of year, while there were no other new releases to boost the box office. This led to a 25% drop-off from last weekend, down to a mere $92 million. Worse still, this is 13% lower than the same weekend last year when Night School and Smallfoot were a strong one-two box office punch. We’ve had a couple of winning weeks in a row, so this loss doesn’t hurt 2019’s chances too much and the deficit is practically the same as it was last week at 5.6% or $490 million at $8.28 billion to $8.77 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Abominable Earning Average-Sized Opening

September 29th, 2019

It is a mixed bag at the box office this weekend. None of the films are bombing, there are also no wild success stories either. Abominable is leading the way with an estimated $20.85 million opening. This is a little below expectations, but still a fine opening for this time of year. Additionally, its prospects have improved over the weekend, so it is clear its reviews and its A rating from CinemaScore have helped its word-of-mouth and that should help its legs going forward. The film also earned an estimated $8.8 million internationally in 30 markets for an early international total of $10.2 million It is still too early to judge how the film will do overseas. More...

Friday Estimates: Abominable Grows on its Opening Day

September 28th, 2019

Abominable bounced back a bit during Friday to earn $5.69 million. This is still behind Smallfoot’s opening Friday, but it is better than its previews. This is strong evidence that the film’s reviews and its A rating from CinemaScore is already having a positive effect. $20 million is now much more likely than it was yesterday at this time, while with a little luck, it will match our $22 million prediction. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Smallfoot Towers over Abominable

September 27th, 2019

Abominable opened with just $650,000 during its previews on Thursday, which is significantly lower than the $850,000 Smallfoot opened with this time last year. Both films have nearly identical reviews, so they will likely have nearly identical legs, which is bad news for Abominable, as it means it will only make between $17 million and $18 million. This is well below expectations, but not a disaster. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Abominable Live Up to Its Name or will it be ... Bominable?

September 26th, 2019

The last weekend of September has been a great week to release a second-tier animated film and there have been several $100 million hits released this week in the past. This year, Abominable is hoping to succeed in this role. It does have a lot going for it, including no competition, direct or otherwise, and reviews that are, while not spectacular, certainly a selling point. On the other hand, the buzz hasn’t grown the way it should. This weekend last year, Night School led the way with Smallfoot having a strong second place opening. Unfortunately, it looks like 2019’s small winning streak will come to an end, because it is unlikely Abominable will match last year’s number one film. It might not even match last year’s second place film. More...

Abominable Trailer

September 11th, 2019

Animated adventure from DreamWorks Animation opens September 27 ... Full Movie Details.

When teenage Yi encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin and Peng, name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish, a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara, to help Everest get home. More...

2019 Preview: September

September 1st, 2019

Summer ended on a thoroughly mediocre note, with more August releases missing expectations than topping them. That said, it wasn’t a complete mess, with Hobbs and Shaw doing extremely well internationally, and some others heading towards profitability, if not becoming spectacular hits. September, on the other hand, should be one of the best months in the year, at least on the year-over-year competition. The month starts with It: Chapter Two, which could open with more than $100 million. By comparison, last September, only one film, The Nun, earned more than $100 million in total. Additionally, Abominable has a slim but realistic chance at reaching the $100 million milestone, so it should be a great month on the year-over-year comparison. 2019 isn’t going to catch up to 2018, but it should narrow the gap considerably. More...