March 13th, 2019
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It’s not a good week on the home market. There are some big releases, like Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, but none of them are good. There are a couple of contenders for Pick of the Week, but the The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends: The Complete Series DVD is a re-release at a more reasonable price, while it is worth waiting to get the The Miseducation of Cameron Post: Special Edition Blu-ray. In the end, I went with a late screener, The Forbidden Photos Of A Lady Above Suspicion: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. It is definitely the best bet for fans of Giallo and / or Film Noir.
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January 12th, 2019
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The BAFTA nominations were announced and The Favorite led the way with 12 nominations. Sometimes the BAFTAs are a really good indicator for who will do well on Oscar night. Other times their bias to British films is too much. I think this year will be an example of the latter and I don't think The Favourite is suddenly an Oscar favorite. That said, there’s still some things you can learn here.
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December 12th, 2018
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Aquaman debuted in China dominating the market with $92.98 million over the weekend for a total opening of $94.28 million. This is roughly as much as the rest of the top five made combined. It is also certainly more than it will open with domestically.
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December 11th, 2018
There were no new releases / expansions / re-releases in the top five over the weekend. In fact, there were no such films in the top ten. Not a single film in the top five even switched positions, so there’s almost nothing to talk about. Ralph Breaks the Internet held on a tiny bit better than predicted, but that didn’t stop the overall box office falling 27% from last weekend to $84 million. This is still ahead of the same weekend last year, but by a tiny 1.5% margin. Year-to-date, 2018’s margin over 2017 barely changed and currently sits at 10.7% or $1.04 billion at $10.82 billion to $9.77 billion.
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December 9th, 2018
Both animated films are doing great at the box office with Ralph Breaks the Internet matching our prediction nearly perfectly with a studio estimate of $16.1 million over the weekend, which would give it a running tally of $140.9 million. Internationally, the film has barely opened in half the world earning $18.0 million over the weekend for a total of $117.3 million. This includes a first place debut in Spain with $4.6 million over the five-day weekend. Its next major market isn’t until December 21st when it opens in Japan, while it is a Boxing Day release in Australia.
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December 8th, 2018
It looks like it will be another soft weekend at the box office. The lack of new releases is not helping holdovers too much, but most of the top five is on pace to match expectations, more or less. For example, Ralph Breaks the Internet pulled in $3.52 million on Friday, putting it on pace for $15 million over the weekend. This is within a rounding error of our prediction and nothing to panic about. Granted, the film is falling behind Coco’s pace, while $200 million domestically is becoming a more difficult goal, but Disney could give it a push over the top if it wants to.
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December 6th, 2018
The first weekend of December is usually a terrible weekend to release a new film. However, that’s because it is usually the first weekend after Thanksgiving long weekend. This year this is not the case, but there are still no wide releases to talk about. The closest to a new release is Schindler’s List, which is getting a semi-wide release. It has a slim chance at reaching the top ten, but I wouldn’t bet on it. This means the top five this week will be identical the top five from last weekend with Ralph Breaks the Internet leading the way. This weekend last year, Coco remained in top spot with $18.45 million, while the only wide release was Just Getting Started, which missed the Mendoza Line. I think 2018 will win in the year-over-year competition, but not by a lot.
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December 5th, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald remained in first place on the international chart with $40.8 million on 18,922 screens in 80 markets for totals of $386.9 million internationally and $521.4 million worldwide. Its biggest market of the weekend was Japan, where it added $7.5 million to its running tally, which now sits at $25.6 million. Its biggest market overall is China, where it has $56.65 million, including $2.37 million this past weekend, followed by the U.K. with $33.8 million, including $3.5 million this past weekend.
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December 4th, 2018
The post-holiday weekend matched expectations, more or less. Ralph Breaks the Internet led the way with $25.57 million over the weekend. The Possession of Hannah Grace opened better than expected and earned more than it cost to make, so if it can find an audience on the home market, it could break even. Overall, the box office fell almost exactly $100 million from last weekend, but it is a post holiday weekend, so this 47% drop-off is not unexpected. More importantly, this is 9.5% above the same weekend last year, which continues 2018’s winning streak. 2018’s lead over 2017 is basically within a rounding error of where it was last week at $10.8 million / $1.05 billion at $10.70 billion to $9.65 billion.
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December 2nd, 2018
Ralph Breaks the Internet will retain top spot on the weekend box office chart with an estimated $25.8 million for a two-week total of $119.3 million. Granted, this is lower than we predicted, but not so much lower than anyone at Disney should be panicking. Internationally, the film added an estimated $33.7 million in 27 markets, lifting its international total to $87.7 million after two weeks of release. Its only major market opening of the weekend was the U.K. where it reportedly earned $5.2 million. This is less than Wreck-It Ralph opened with, but that film debuted during the school holidays, so it got a boost. Ralph Breaks the Internet should have longer than average legs thanks to Christmas, but I don’t think it will match its predecessor in this market.
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December 1st, 2018
Ralph Breaks the Internet remained in top spot on the box office chart on Friday earning $5.74 million. This is 74% lower than its opening Friday; granted, that was a holiday, so a sharp decline was practically guranteed, but this is still sharper than anticipated. Look for $25 million over the weekend, which is weaker than our prediction and puts $200 million in jeopardy. It will need help over the Christmas break to get there.
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November 29th, 2018
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It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving long weekend, which is one of the worst weekends for a wide release. This weekend, The Possession of Hannah Grace is the only new release and it is only opening in 1,700 theaters. This means Ralph Breaks the Internet will have no trouble remaining in first place. In fact, the top five from last weekend will remain nearly the same. A couple might switch places, but that’s it. This weekend last year, Coco remained in top spot with just under $28 million, while there were no new releases / semi-wide expansions that managed to grab a spot in the top five. Its holdovers vs. holdovers, which gives 2018 a small advantage.
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November 28th, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald fell more than $100 million to $83.3 million on 27,922 screens in 80 markets for totals of $322.2 million internationally and $439.2 million worldwide. Its only new market was Japan, where it debuted with $13 million on 1,008 screens. By comparison, the first Fantastic Beasts earned $15.5 million during its debut in that market. The film’s best holdover was Germany, where it added $7.5 million on 1,460 screens lifting its running tally to $23.2 million after two weeks of release. On the other hand, it plummeted 82% during its second weekend in China down to just $6.44 million for a two-week total of $52.11 million. The film likely won’t reach $500 million internationally and its worldwide total might be as much as $200 million shy of its predecessor. This is still enough to be profitable, but there is reason to be concerned about the franchise going forward.
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November 27th, 2018
The weekend box office was more lucrative than predicted with both Ralph Breaks the Internet and Creed II breaking records. Depending on how technical you want to be. Ralph Breaks the Internet led the way with $55.67 million over the three-day weekend and $84.47 million over five. This is technically the record for biggest Thanksgiving opening, as Frozen had a prestige opening the weekend before and only expanded wide on Thanksgiving. Nearly every other film on this week’s list also topped predictions helping this weekend to rise 26% from last weekend hitting $216 million over the three-day period. This was also 15% higher than the same weekend last year, which is a more important result. I was really expecting 2018’s lead over 2017 to be down significantly from its peak; however, instead it has stretched its lead to $1.04 billion or 11% at $10.53 billion to $9.49 billion.
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November 25th, 2018
While Thanksgiving long weekend wasn’t as lucrative as earlier figures suggested, estimates are still better than our predictions. For example, Ralph Breaks the Internet should open with $55.67 million over the three-day weekend for a five-day opening of $84.47 million. This is technically the record for biggest Thanksgiving opening, as Frozen had a prestige opening the weekend before and only expanded wide on Thanksgiving. Internationally, the film reportedly made $41.5 million during its opening weekend. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is only playing in about a third of international markets, and only three major markets. It opened with an estimated $19.5 million in China, while it was also dominant in Mexico ($6.3 million) and Russia ($5.7 million). Overall, the film nearly tripled Wreck-it Ralph’s openings in the same markets. The film won’t have the same legs, as sequels almost never do, but this is still an amazing start and it is clearly on pace for $600 million worldwide.
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November 24th, 2018
Ralph Breaks the Internet again led the way on Friday with $21.74 million for a three-day total $50.54 million. Good news: It is still on pace to top our prediction; in fact, depending on when you read this on Saturday, it might have already done so. At this point, a five-day opening of $85 million seems like a safe bet. Bad news: it has fallen behind Moana’s daily pace, despite a much faster start, so it will definitely have weaker legs. It should still have no problem getting to $200 million domestically and still is in a race with Dr Seuss’ The Grinch for biggest hit of November. It’s just no longer a record-setting opening.
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November 23rd, 2018
Yesterday was Thanksgiving and some studios were closed for the day, but we have a full list of box office numbers today. Ralph Breaks the Internet continued to lead the way at the box office with $10.3 million on Thursday for a two-day total of $28.8 million. The film is still well above Coco and Moana’s two-day pace, but it fell 44% from its Wednesday debut, which is a sharper decline than either of those two films suffered. It is on pace to dominate the five-day weekend with $85 million, which is below yesterday’s pace and below Frozen’s record-setting wide expansion, but I can’t imagine there are many people at Disney that are disappointed with this result. The film’s reviews and its A minus from CinemaScore, plus its family friendly target audience should help it last in theaters till the new year and it should be profitable enough that the studio will want to turn the franchise into a trilogy.
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November 22nd, 2018
It’s Thanksgiving long weekend, which means many studios are closed and are not reporting official numbers. However, one of the studios that is reporting numbers is Disney and they are reporting record-breaking numbers. Ralph Breaks the Internet earned $18.5 million on Wednesday, which is significantly more than either Coco or Moana managed the previous two years. In fact, this is more than Frozen managed during its record-breaking wide expansion back in 2013. This film’s reviews are great and it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, so it should have good legs and could top Frozen’s $93.59 million five-day opening. In fact, some studios think it has a real chance of $100 million during its five-day opening. I’m not that bullish, but even if it only earns $90 million over five-days, it will still be a monster hit and way more than we predicted.
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November 21st, 2018
It’s Thanksgiving long weekend, which means it is officially the start of the holiday blockbuster season. This year, three films are opening wide hoping to become hits. One of them, Ralph Breaks the Internet, could become the biggest hit of the month. Creed II is expected to top its predecessor during its five-day opening. Robin Hood is just hoping not to bomb in theaters. Both Green Book and The Front Runner were scheduled to expand wide, but neither will. In fact, The Front Runner isn’t even expanding semi-wide. This weekend last year, Coco opened with nearly $73 million during its five day weekend. Ralph Breaks the Internet likely won’t earn that much over the weekend, but it should come close. Additionally, Justice League earned $60 million during the five-day frame, which is very likely better than Creed II will perform. However, after that point, 2018’s depth becomes stronger than 2017’s depth and we should earn the small win in the year-over-year competition.
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November 20th, 2018
At Eternity’s Gate led the weekend chart with an average of $23,214 in four theaters. The overall box office leader, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was next with an average of $14,932. Green Book debuted with an average of $12,817 in 25 theaters. This would normally be a good start for a limited release, especially one playing in 25 theaters. However, it isn’t good enough to justify a wide expansion on Wednesday.
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November 20th, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald started its international run with $191.5 million on 50,865 screens in 79 markets for a worldwide debut of $253.7 million. Its largest opening was in China, but it had to settle for second place there with $36.68 million on 22,008 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $37.53 million. It had more impressive debuts in the U.K. ($16.3 million on 1,823 screens) and in Russia ($12.36 million on 1,623). The film had the best opening in the Harry Potter franchise in 21 markets, but overall, it was only 3% ahead of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the same markets. Its much weaker reviews will likely lead to shorter legs, but even so, it should still have no problem getting to $600 million worldwide and becoming Warner Bros.’ biggest hit of the year. If the next installment in the franchise falls just as much, then the studio will have reason to be concerned.
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November 19th, 2018
As expected, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald topped the weekend box office chart; however, it failed to meet expectations by about 10%. Additionally, neither Instant Family nor Widows matched expectations and this hurt the overall box office, which fell 2.9% from last weekend to $172 million. More importantly, this is 14% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2018 has reached $10 billion and now has a running tally of $10.18 billion. This is 11% or $1.01 billion ahead of last year’s pace.
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November 18th, 2018
As expected, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald topped the chart over the weekend. However, the opening is weaker than expected with an estimated $62.2 million. Additionally, it has weaker reviews (40% vs. 74%) compared to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; a worse CinemaScore (B plus vs. A); and a lower internal multiplier (2.43 vs. 2.51), so this film's legs will likely be much shorter and getting to $200 million might be asking too much. On the other hand, the film has an estimated $191 million internationally, so there’s no reason to worry for Warner Bros., as this movie will be fantastically profitable in the end.
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November 17th, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opened in first place with $25.7 million on Friday. The film actually had better previews than Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but its Friday was 13% below its predecessor. This is a bad sign for its legs. Additionally, its reviews fell to just 40% positive, while it only managed a B plus from CinemaScore. On the positive side, the film is doing much better internationally and the film already has $74.3 million in just two days of international release. It will break even on just its international numbers, but the film’s poor reception with critics and moviegoers could hurt the rest of the installments in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
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November 16th, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald earned $9.1 million during previews on Thursday, which is better than Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them managed. Granted, it was better by mere percentage points, as that earlier film earned $8.75 million during its previews. Where it goes from here is a bit of a mystery. On the one hand, its reviews are much worse than the previous installment’s reviews were and it is a sequel. Both of those facts suggest shorter legs. However, the gap between Fantastic Beasts and the last original Harry Potter film may have resulted in a much more front-loaded run, so The Crimes of Grindelwald could benefit from that. As always, we will know better this time tomorrow when Friday estimates are out.
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November 15th, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the latest installment in the Harry Potter franchise, but sadly, its reviews are, by far, the worst in the franchise. It should still have no trouble earning first place and will very likely break even just on its international numbers, but this is still troubling for its future. The second biggest release of the week is Instant Family and its reviews are good, but not great. They are certainly fine for a family comedy. Widows is the best-reviewed new release, but its buzz is quiet enough that it will barely finish in the top five. Meanwhile, A Private War is expanding nationwide and that could help it earn a spot in the top ten, but I wouldn’t bet on it. This weekend last year, Justice League opened with $93.84 million, while Wonder debuted in second place with $27.55 million. Add in The Star’s $9.81 million opening and the three wide releases pulled in $130 million. There’s no way the new releases this year will match that and 2018 will likely lose in the year-over-year comparison.
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November 1st, 2018
October continued 2018’s phenomenal box office run, for the most part. There were a couple of films that missed expectations by $10 million or more, but on the other hand, Vemon and Halloween were smash hits and are now the first and second biggest October debuts of all time. Furthermore, 2018’s lead over 2017 is, as I’m writing this, just shy of $1 billion and if 2018 can maintain this lead, it will be one of the biggest year-over-year increases of all time. It won’t. The fun times end now. Why is that? Last November was amazing. There were only eight wide releases, but six of them earned more than $100 million. Three of those hit $200 million, including Thor: Ragnarok, which earned over $300 million. This year, there are a lot more movies opening in November, but it is a case of quantity over quality. No movie is expected to come close to $300 million and it would take a bit of luck just to have five $100 million hits. The film I’m looking forward to the most is Ralph Breaks the Internet, while it, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald are all aiming for $200 million this month. Fortunately, even if 2018 is behind 2017’s pace by around $300 million, 2018 has built up such a large lead that it should still go into December with an insurmountable lead at the box office.
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September 26th, 2018
Fantasy adventure starring Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law opens November 16 ... Full Movie Details.
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July 22nd, 2018
Fantasy adventure starring Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law opens November 16 ... Full Movie Details.
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