DEG Watched At Home Chart: Invisible Man Outruns Sonic The Hedgehog

June 25th, 2020

We have a new champ on the DEG Watched at Home chart, as The Invisible Man finally pushed Sonic the Hedgehog out of first place. That wasn’t the only change in the top five. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Hunting for New Entries

June 19th, 2020

There were some changes on the DEG Watched at Home chart this week; however, the top film was the same. Sonic the Hedgehog earned first place for the fourth week in a row, taking full advantage of the pause in new movies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are still rumors that Netflix is looking to buy Paramount. Maybe this success is enough to keep Paramount where it is, or perhaps it just increases the asking price. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Déjà Vu for the DEG

June 11th, 2020

There were no new releases in the top five of the DEG Watched at Home Chart this week. In fact, the top five were exactly the same as they were last week, right down to the order the were in. This isn’t a huge shock, as the new DVD / Blu-ray releases and VOD releases were far from stellar, so there wasn’t anything new to challenge those at the top of the chart. Sonic the Hedgehog remains one of the few bright spots in a movie industry that has been hit hard by the pandemic. More...

International Round Up: South Korea has a Welcome Intruder at the Box Office

June 10th, 2020

Although recovery from the pandemic varies widely around the world, and some countries are seeing worrying spikes in infections, this weekend saw some encouraging signs of growth at the box office. Here’s a round up of what we’re seeing in different territories. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Invisible Man Avoids the Spotlight

June 4th, 2020

The Invisible Man came out on DVD / Blu-ray / 4K last week, but that wasn’t enough to overtake Sonic the Hedgehog on the DEG Watched at Home chart this week. Sonic the Hedgehog has done so well at the box office and now on the home market that I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an army of interns at Paramount Pictures going over every Sega video game ever made to see what else can be turned into a movie. My top three choices are, in alphabetical order, Altered Beast, Arabian Fight, and Golden Axe. Streets of Rage did just get a new installment, so the property could be hot. I could see that video game franchise successfully turned into a Rumble in the Bronx-style film. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Sonic Sneaks into First Place

May 28th, 2020

Sonic the Hedgehog was released on DVD / Blu-ray / 4K last week and that helped it climb into first place on the DEG Watched at Home chart. The film was already in fifth place last week on the strength of its digital releases, so it has had a very profitable run on the home market already. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Preying for a Miracle

May 21st, 2020

Birds of Prey hit DVD / Blu-ray / 4K last week, and that helped it shoot up the DEG Watched at Home chart from eighth place last week to land in first place. It looks like Warner Bros. should break even on this film before too long. On the downside, the studio only had two other entries in the top twenty, leaving Sony in first place in that regard with five releases in the top twenty this week. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Sony Scores Again

May 14th, 2020

Sony continues to have a good year, given the circumstances. They just chalked up a win on the DEG Watched at Home Chart for the third week in a row. However, this week it was Bloodshot that topped the chart by rocketing up the chart 11 places. Why the massive jump? It debuted on DVD / Blu-ray. We haven’t seen an increase that dramatic since we’ve been tracking this chart; however, this is also a film that was still in theaters when Covid-19 forced it into VOD early, so there’s mitigating circumstances. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 12th, 2020

May 13th, 2020

It’s a good week for DVDs and Blu-rays with several that are worth picking up. This includes Birds of Prey, which is the biggest new release of the week and its DVD / Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD releases are loaded with extras. The Great Escape is a better movie and the Criterion Collection DVD / Blu-ray also has plenty of extras, but it is a double-dip. Both were in contention for the Pick of the Week title, but in the end, I went with The Great Escape. More...

VOD Releases: Will these VOD Releases Rescue the Movie Industry?

March 26th, 2020

With the COVID-19 outbreak causing mass shutdowns of non-essential businesses in a lot of places, theatrical releases are, for the most part, non-existent. However, the movie industry is trying to rapidly adapt to this and so are we. They are fast-tracking lots of theatrical releases to VOD and we will be expanding our coverage of VOD releases. Like last week, there are a lot of fast-tracked theatrical releases coming out this week, but we also have the more typical VOD premieres to talk about. Of the former category, Bad Boys for Life is clearly leading the way, although Birds of Prey is coming out on Friday rather than Tuesday, so it gets a jump on the action. Of the latter category, Banana Split is the film that I’m most interested in seeing. Sadly, there are so many major VOD releases this week that I fear it will slip between the cracks. More...

Home Market Releases for March 24th, 2020

March 23rd, 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak had basically ended the theatrical market with most theaters closed. Only drive-ins are showing any signs of life. Unfortunately, this is having an effect on the home market as well, some of it positive, some of it very negative. There is a rush to get movies from theaters to the home market and that’s helping improve the list this week. On the other hand, uncertainty with supply chains and stores being open means we could have a very short list next weekend, and next month. There are some big releases this week, including 1917, while Birds of Prey leads the VOD list. However, for Pick of the Week, I went with a much older film, Leave Her to Heaven, which is getting a Criterion Collection release this week. More...

Weekend Estimates: Invisible Man Appears at Top of Chart

March 1st, 2020

The Invisible Man will debut this weekend with $29 million, according to Universal’s Sunday morning projection. That’s enough to make it the highest-grossing horror movie of 2020 after just three days in release, and is well ahead of predictions. The result is helped considerably by strong reviews, with the film earning a B+ from CinemaScore, and a 90% critics’ score and 89% audience score from Rotten Tomatoes. More...

Friday Estimates: Invisible Man Makes Its Presence Felt

February 29th, 2020

The Invisible Man opened with $9.8 million on Friday, which means it is the sixth-biggest horror film released in 2020 so far after just one day in theaters. It is projected to be in first place by the end of the weekend with $26 million, topping predictions, albeit by a very small margin. The film’s reviews remain excellent and it earned a B plus from CinemaScore. That is stellar, for a horror movie. It would be okay for an action movie and terrible for a family film / faith-based release, but it is amazing for a horror film. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will the Invisible Man be Seen this Weekend?

February 28th, 2020

It is the final weekend of the month and there’s only one wide release, The Invisible Man, which is the eighth horror film released in 2020 so far. This is going to hurt its box office potential; however, its reviews will be a major selling point, assuming audiences like the movie as much as critics do. This weekend last year was the first weekend of March. The box office was led by How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, while Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral made it a close race. Unless The Invisible Man is a surprise $40 million hit, 2020 has almost no chance of matching last year’s box office. More...

International Box Office: Sonic Runs Another Lap in First Place

February 27th, 2020

Sonic The Hedgehog remained in first place on the international chart this past weekend earning $38.3 million in 56 markets for totals of $96.5 million internationally and $203.0 million worldwide. It’s only major market opening of the weekend came in Russia where the film earned fourth place with $3.84 million on 2,042 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $6.62 million. I think Paramount would have been relatively happy had the film finished with just over $200 million worldwide, so this is a fantastic run so far. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Sonic Repeats on Top, Call Makes it Close

February 25th, 2020

It was a mixed weekend, but at least there was a relatively close race for top spot. This close race happened in part because The Call of the Wild beat expectations by a huge margin, but also because Sonic the Hedgehog fell faster than anticipated. This left the overall box office down 34% from last weekend to just $102 million, but drop-offs like this are normal for post-holiday weekend. Unfortunately, this was also 19% lower than the same weekend last year and this isn’t normal. Year-to-date, 2020 still has a lead over 2019, but it has shrunk to 6.2% or $82 million at $1.41 billion to $1.33 billion. Hopefully this recent weakness is only temporary. More...

Weekend Estimates: Sonic Outlasts the Sled Dog

February 23rd, 2020

Sonic the Hedgehog will remain in first place over the full weekend, albeit with a weaker-than-predicted sophomore stint of $26.3 million. That said, the film already has $106.6 million after just two weeks of release, which is likely more than Paramount thought it would earn in total. It is still too early to tell where the film will finish internationally, but there is also reasons to be optimistic there, as it has nearly $100 million in just two weeks of release, including $38.3 million in 56 markets this weekend. This includes a first place opening in Russia with $6.3 million on 1,800 screens, which is an impressive debut for that market and this time of year. More...

Friday Estimates: Call has a Wilder Start to the Weekend than Anticipated

February 22nd, 2020

The Call of the Wild really bounced back from Thursday’s previews to earn $8.05 million on Friday. The film is projected to earn $24 million to $25 million over the weekend, which is much better than predicted and puts it in a virtual tie with Sonic the Hedgehog for top spot. It is likely to have better legs than most new releases, because of its target audiences, which is a mix of families and older moviegoers who would be fans of the original novel. Additionally, its reviews are good, but not great, and it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, which is also good, but not great, for a family film. Unfortunately, it still has that $125 million production budget to deal with, so breaking even is very unlikely. Maybe it can save face though. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Audience Answer the Call?

February 20th, 2020

It’s a post-holiday weekend, so we are not expecting much at the box office. The Call of the Wild is earning good reviews, but not great reviews, while its buzz is far too quiet for its massive production budget. On the other hand, Brahms: The Boy II is a low-budget horror movie earning terrible reviews and frankly I’m sick of talking about these movies. Seriously. We are less than two months into the year and we’ve already at least four other low-budget horror movies to come out. I don’t want to hear anyone complain about too many super hero movies ever again. … Moving on. Neither of these two films are expected to challenge Sonic the Hedgehog for top spot on the box office chart. In fact, I’m not convinced Brahms will open in the top five. This weekend last year, the final installment of the How to Train Your Dragon opened with just over $55 million. There’s no way the box office will match that this year and 2020 is going to lose in the year-over-year competition unless the holdovers hold on a lot better than anticipated. More...

International Box Office: Sonic Speeds its Way to $100 million Globally

February 20th, 2020

Sonic The Hedgehog opened with $43 million in 40 markets for an early worldwide total of just over $101 million. This is a fantastic start for a film that cost $90 million to make and there’s already talk of not just a sequel, but a Sonic Cinematic Universe. The film’s biggest individual market was Mexico, where it opened with $6.82 million, while the U.K. was right behind with $6.17 million on 619 screens. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Sonic Sets Records and Returns 2020 to the Top

February 19th, 2020

The long weekend turned out to be a lot more lucrative than many predicted, especially on the top. Sonic the Hedgehog broke records for a video game adaptation opening with $58.02 million over the three-day weekend and $70.00 million including Monday. It wasn’t the only success story of the weekend, as Fantasy Island did well for a low-budget horror movie and The Photograph did well enough to break even, eventually. The overall box office rose dramatically from last weekend, up 64%. However, it was a holiday weekend, so impressive growth was expected. More importantly, the box office was up 26% from the same weekend last year. And while the misalignment in Valentine’s Day did have an effect, this is still a good result for the box office. 2020 has opened a nearly $100 million lead on 2019, up by $99 million or 8.4% at $1.28 billion to $1.18 billion. A few more weeks like this and I will start to become optimistic. More...

Weekend Estimates: Sonic is Faster than a Speeding Pikachu

February 16th, 2020

Sonic the Hedgehog was in a close race with Detective Pikachu for the best weekend by a video game adaptation of all time, based on Friday’s estimates, however, that has changed. The film’s opening weekend estimates are $57 million over three days and $68 million over four, which is well above Detective Pikachu’s three-day opening weekend of $54.37 million. That said, this film’s reviews have slipped just below the reviews Detective Pikachu earned and Detective Pikachu didn’t open on a holiday, so that does make a difference. Regardless of whether or not you consider Sonic the Hedgehog to be the true video game box office champion, it is smashing predictions. Interestingly, the films demographics was 56% general audiences and only 44% families. Perhaps adult fans of the video game franchise decided to check out the movie for themselves. Boys under 12 outnumbered girls under 12 by a 69% to 31% margin, so this one is definitely leaning male. We have no international details, but the film is reportedly earning $100 million globally, which is a fantastic start for a movie that cost $90 million to make. I suspect Paramount is already working on a sequel. More...

Friday Estimates: Sonic Laps the Competition

February 15th, 2020

Love is in the air and it is moving fast. Sonic the Hedgehog decimated the competition, and predictions, earning $21.0 million on Friday. To put this into perspective, the next-best film is projected to earn just over $21 million over the four-day weekend. The film’s reviews have slipped, but they do remain in the overall positive level, while its A from CinemaScore is going to be a big help going forward. Paramount is projecting $60.0 million for the four-day weekend, but I suspect they are being overly cautious. Either way, it is clearly the studio’s biggest hit in over a year and will become their first $100-million movie since Bumblebee.

If the estimate holds, it will also be the best single day for a movie based on a game, bettering the $20.575 million earned by Pokémon: Detective Pikachu on its opening day back in September. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Audience Love Sonic and the Other New Releases?

February 13th, 2020

Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day combine into one long weekend. It’s a great early weekend of the year and there are four films hoping to take advantage of the holiday to get off to a fast start. Unfortunately, four films is too many for all of them to succeed and it looks like one or two will fall between the cracks. Sonic the Hedgehog is the biggest release of the week and will likely earn more during its opening weekend than any of the three other films will earn in total. This includes The Photograph, the only new release that is earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. It looks like Fantasy Island will have some of the worst reviews of the year. Finally, Downhill has the quietest buzz and that’s going to kill it more than its mixed reviews will. Meanwhile, this weekend last year, Alita: Battle Angel opened with $28.5 million, while The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part earned $20.8 million during its sophomore stint. Sonic the Hedgehog should top that with ease. In fact, there are some who think it will top those two films’ combined weekend hauls. If so, then 2020 will return to its winning ways. More...

International Box Office: Prey for Birds’ International Chances

February 13th, 2020

Birds of Prey debuted in first place on the international chart with $46.5 million on 23,010 screens in 78 markets. This includes some impressive openings, like its first place debuts in Mexico, where it earned $4.18 million on 3,915 screens. It also earned first place in Russia with $3.81 million on 1,881 screens and in Brazil with $2.8 million on 1,506. On the other hand, the film had to settle for second place in the U.K. with $3.7 million on 1,260 screens and in South Korea with $1.30 million on 946 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.98 million. The film could still break even, if it has long legs in some of the major markets, and if it can increase the home market revenue of some of its other D.C.E.U. films. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: 2020 Suffers Its First Loss

February 11th, 2020

It was bound to happen, I was just hoping it wouldn’t happen this soon, but 2020 suffered its first loss in the year-over-year comparison. Birds of Prey failed to live up to the very low end of expectations opening with just $33 million. On the positive side, the holdovers held on really well and that helped limit losses. In fact, the overall box office was $95 million this weekend, up 18% from last weekend. That said, this is still down 16% from the same weekend last year and this number is a lot more important. Year-to-date, 2020 is still ahead of 2019 by $62 million or 6.2% at $1.07 billion to $1.01 billion, so we clearly shouldn’t be panicking this early on, but there are some troubling signs at the box office. More...

Weekend Estimates: Harley Quinn Can’t Lead Her Film to Box Office Success

February 9th, 2020

Birds of Prey is missing even the very low end of expectations with an estimated opening weekend of $33.25 million. The film is earning good reviews and a decent B plus rating from CinemaScore, and it is also the cheapest installment in the D.C.E.U., so this start isn’t disastrous. On the other hand, it is struggling more internationally with just $48 million on 22,362 screens in 78 markets. Part of this has to do with the coronavirus, which has caused major disruptions in many Asian countries. And I’m not just talking about the entertainment industry. So far close to 1,000 people have died, which is a major disaster. Although to put this into perspective, this flu season, about 10,000 people have died in the United States alone. More...

Friday Estimates: Are We Witnessing 2020’s First Loss?

February 8th, 2020

Ouch. Birds of Prey only managed $13.03 million on Friday, putting it on pace for just $32 million to $33 million over the full weekend. This is miles below expectations; it’s even lower than projections based on Thursday’s previews. However, it isn’t a bad opening for a film that cost $75 million to make. Add in the film’s reviews and its B plus from CinemaScore and it should have decent legs, especially with the holiday next weekend. It will be the weakest installment in the D.C.E.U. and I think this is clear evidence that making the film R-rated was a mistake. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Harley Hardly Sets the Box Office on Fire

February 7th, 2020

Birds of Prey started its box office run earning $4 million in previews on Thursday. This isn’t great. I was really hoping for closer to $5 million. That said, matching our prediction isn’t out of the question, as the film’s audience is tilting heavier towards women and women are less likely to race out to see a movie during previews, or even during its opening weekend. The film’s reviews are still in the mid-80% range and assuming audiences like it as much as critics did, it will earn enough to cover its production budget sooner rather than later. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Quinn Capture Audience’s Attention?

February 7th, 2020

It’s the first weekend of February and the only wide release is Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the latest installment in the D.C.E.U. There is no question that it will earn first place over the weekend. There is some question about how well it will do during its opening weekend, as ticket pre-sales have been weaker than anticipated. This weekend last year, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part opened with $34.12 million. Birds of Prey will top that; however, it needs to come close to matching the combined openings of last year’s top two films, The Lego Movie 2 and What Men Want, in order to have a real shot at leading 2020 to a victory in the year-over-year competition. That doesn’t seem as likely as it did last week. More...

2020 Preview: February

February 1st, 2020

We had a great start to the year, sort of. Most films that opened / expanded wide in January are going to miss expectations; however, Bad Boys for Life and 1917 are so much stronger than anticipated that they alone will more than make up the difference. Looking forward, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is almost guaranteed to be the biggest hit of the month. There are two questions. Firstly, is it going to top Bad Boys for Life and become the biggest hit of the year so far? Secondly, is it going to be the only $100 million hit of month? Hopefully the answers to those questions are yes and no respectively, but no to both is would still be good news overall. Sonic the Hedgehog is looking better than before and frankly Paramount needs a hit after a very troubling 2019. Meanwhile, there are several midlevel hits that could help the overall box office. Last February was a mixed month with some hits, like How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, but some disappointing results as well, like from The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. I think it will be a close race in the year-over-year competition with 2020 winning some weeks and losing others. More...

Birds of Prey Trailer 2

January 10th, 2020

Action movie starring Margot Robbie opens February 7 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Birds of Prey Trailer

October 8th, 2019

Action movie with an ensemble cast led by Margot Robbie opens February 7 ... Full Movie Details. More...