November 7th, 2013
It's a big week with several first run releases, some big TV on DVD, releases, and more to deal with. The only one that truly rises to the level of Pick of the Week is Mad Men: Season Six, but the screener arrived late and I hate awarding Pick of the Week to a title when that happens. The only other release I really want to see is White House Down, but that's more guilty pleasure than Pick of the Week. I guess it goes to Mad Men: Season Six on DVD or Blu-ray.
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October 3rd, 2013
Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon opened in China with $17.0 million earning first place in that market and on the overall international chart. The original earned a limited release here and was a great movie, so I'm hoping this film will also get a release here. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it.
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September 13th, 2013
Elysium remained in first place with $21.31 million on 10,731 screens in 52 markets for totals of $127.46 million internationally and $212.57 million worldwide. Of that, $11.75 million came from 6,253 screens in China, which was enough for first place there. Not this weekend, but next weekend, the film opens in Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and other markets, so it should be a player on the international market for a few weeks, but it will need help on the home market to break even.
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September 6th, 2013
Elysium returned to first place with $17.89 million on 5,056 screens in 55 markets for an international total of $97.87 million. The film earned second place in South Korea with an estimated $5 million on 588 screens, including weekday numbers. It earned first place in Italy, albeit with a lower opening of $2.06 million on 404 screens. The film has yet to open in Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and other markets, but it will need a lot of help to break even any time soon.
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August 23rd, 2013
Elysium rushed to top spot with $24.04 million on 4,588 screens in 41 markets for an early total of $40.08 million. This week it opened in France with $4.16 million on 466 screens, which was enough for first place. It also debuted in first place in Australia ($3.38 million on 317 screens); and in Germany ($3.20 million on 584); and Spain ($3.04 million on 450). It was pushed into third place in Russia with $2.98 million on 976 screens for a total of $12.50 million after two weeks of release. It fell 58%, which is actually better than average for a sophomore film in Russia.
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July 29th, 2013
The Wolverine did not live up to expectations, but it still dominated the weekend box office chart, earning more than double the second place film, The Conjuring. Overall, the box office fell nearly 12% when compared to last weekend hitting $172 million. This is still 28% higher than the same weekend last year, which is a great result. In total, 2013 has pulled in $6.40 billion, which is just under $20 million or 0.3% below last year's pace. This is fantastic; however, had The Wolverine performed as well as some were expecting, 2013 would have pulled into the lead over the weekend.
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July 25th, 2013
It's the final weekend of July and there is only one wide release to deal with, The Wolverine. It should be the easy winner of the weekend, it might pull in enough to become the biggest opening weekend of the month. This isn't likely, but there is a slim chance. There is one other film that might make an appearance in the top ten, The To Do List. Again, it doesn't have a strong chance, but it could happen. The holdovers should be far behind The Wolverine, as only The Conjuring has a shot at $20 million. This weekend last year, both new releases bombed, which is good news for 2013 in the year-over-year comparison. Granted, The Dark Knight Rises took in $62.10 million, which is something The Wolverine should have no trouble topping, while the holdovers should provide more depth.
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July 22nd, 2013
The weekend box office was mixed with two of the four wide releases matching predictions, Turbo and R.I.P.D.. There was one movie failing to reach expectations, Red 2. And finally there was one more beating nearly all predictions, The Conjuring. Fortunately, The Conjuring did so well that it made up for the weak films and helped the overall box grow to $195 million. Granted, that was within a rounding error of last weekend, but any growth is good news. There is also some bad news, as this was 16% lower than the same weekend last year, but since that was the weekend The Dark Knight Rises opened, this is actually better than expected. Year-to-date, 2013 has pulled in $6.12 billion. This is still lower than last year's pace ($6.16 billion), but it is close enough that it would only take one surprise weekend result to catch up. Earlier in the year, I thought 2013 was a lost cause. Now I'm much more optimistic.
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July 18th, 2013
There are four new releases coming out this week, but there is a wide range of predictions for some of these films. Turbo opened on Wednesday to mostly good reviews and some think it will earn first place over the weekend. Red 2's early reviews are weaker than anticipated, but it still has an impressive cast and could come out on top. The Conjuring is earning some of the best reviews of any wide release opening this summer. It is a horror film and those rarely open in first place in the summer, but the buzz is growing and it could be a surprise hit. Then there's R.I.P.D., which has bad buzz and no reviews. It will likely not make the top five. This weekend last year was the weekend The Dark Knight Rises opened and there's no chance 2013 will come out on top on the year-over-year comparison. In fact, the total box office this year might be lower than The Dark Knight Rises opening alone.
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July 16th, 2013
Fruitvale Station earned top spot on the per theater chart with an outstanding average of $53,898 in seven theaters. This is the third best per theater average for the year, behind Spring Breakers and The Place Beyond the Pines. Last week's winner, The Way Way Back, slipped to second place with $14,201 in 79 theaters. Its theater count tripled and this average suggests it will expand a lot more before it is done. Crystal Fairy was right behind with an average of $12,526 in two theaters. There were three wide releases in the $10,000 club, led by Grown Ups 2 with an average of $11,890, while Pacific Rim was right behind with an average of $11,385. The overall box office leader, Despicable Me 2, rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $10,965.
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July 15th, 2013
There were two strong new releases this week, but Despicable Me 2 remained on top, even though it fell a little faster than expected. Grown Ups 2 was further evidence that bad reviews actually help Adam Sandler movies. Finally, Pacific Rim struggled, at least compared to its massive production budget. Overall, the total box office was $194 million, which is 15% lower than last weekend. However, last weekend was a holiday weekend, so this is a good hold. Compared to last year, the overall box office was 17% higher, which is a great result. Year-to-date, 2013 is still behind 2012, but by less than 1% at $5.81 billion to $5.86 billion. Unfortunately, next weekend 2013 will have to go against The Dark Knight Rises, so 2013 will likely lose a lot of ground.
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July 14th, 2013
A three-way battle for box office supremacy this weekend will be won by the reigning champ, Despicable Me 2, dealing a major blow to Warner Bros. potential franchise starter Pacific Rim, which will end up in 3rd place. The action movie is set to post around $38.3 million, in spite of generally good reviews and an A- CinemaScore, and will land behind Grown Ups 2, which has been panned by critics but will still gather $42.5 million. Despicable Me 2 takes the prize though, with a drop of around 46% to $44.75 million for the weekend and $229 million to date.
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July 11th, 2013
There are two wide releases coming out this week, Grown Ups 2 and Pacific Rim, and depending on who you talk to, either one has shot at first place. However, most agree that Despicable Me 2 will repeat as the box office champ. There is a chance all three films could top $40 million at the box office, which would be great news in the year-over-year comparison. This weekend last year, Ice Age: Continental Drift opened with $46.63 million. That's a fine start, but I think Despicable Me 2 will top that during its sophomore stint and give 2013 a clear victory over 2012.
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July 1st, 2013
For the most part, June was a really strong month at the box office with nearly every film either matching expectations, or at least coming close enough to call it a victory. Looking forward, there are a dozen films opening wide in July, more or less. One of them, The Smurfs 2, is opening on a Wednesday, so I'm going to hold off talking about that movie till the August preview. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain is opening in less than 1000 theaters, but it has a shot at reaching the top ten during its opening weekend. If we include both of them, there are twelve films, but I think it is better to stick with the ten truly wide, truly July openings. Of these, Despicable Me 2 is clearly going to be the biggest hit at the box office. It could become the second biggest hit of the year so far. It is not the only film that could be a $100 million hit. In fact, there are six films opening in July that I think have a better than 50% chance of reaching that level. There is currently only one film that I think won't at least become a midlevel hit. By comparison in 2012, there were three $100 million movies, led by The Dark Knight Rises, but the rest of the new releases struggled. There's no chance any movie opening this month will top $400 million, in fact, it is quite possible no film will get to $300 million. That said, 2013 has a lot better depth, so it might come out on top in the end.
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