Home Market Numbers: Walt Disney Shorts Come Up a Little Short

September 13th, 2015

A huge number of new releases from August 18th reached the top 30 on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for August 23rd. However, none of them could overtake Home, which rose to first place with 216,000 units / $3.89 million for the week, giving it four-week totals of 2.09 million / $38.58 million. It became just the sixth film to sell more than 2 million units during 2015. More...

Home Market Numbers: Hot Pursuit Can't Catch Holdovers

September 10th, 2015

There were more new releases to chart this week than there were last week. However, none of the new releases from August 11th were unable to unseat the holdovers on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for August 16th chart. This left Insurgent in first place with 303,000 units / $4.85 million for the week, giving it totals of 1.17 million units / $18.95 million after two weeks of release. More...

Home Market Numbers: Insurgent Leads, but Home Market is not very Diverse

September 3rd, 2015

Only two and a half new releases from August 2nd reached the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for August 9th chart. Insurgent led the way with 904,000 units and $14.71 million during its first week of release for a Blu-ray share of 54%. This is substantially lower than Divergent's opening week, which is a troubling sign for the franchise. Speaking of the franchise, there was also a Double-Feature, which placed third with 130,000 units / $2.98 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 48%. More...

Home Market Numbers: Home Finds a Home on the Home Market

August 28th, 2015

The new releases for July 28th were led by Home, which dominated the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for August 2nd. The film sold 1.18 million units and generated $22.60 million in revenue. That was enough to put it in 16th place on the yearly chart after just one week of release. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 42%, which is good for a kids movie. More...

Home Market Numbers: New Releases Suffer from a KISS of Death

August 26th, 2015

The new releases for July 21st were WOW levels of bad with not a single first-run release to mention. This left holdovers on top of the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for July 26th. The Longest Ride remained in first place with 288,000 units / $4.64 million for the week, giving it totals of 788,000 / $13.39 million after two weeks of release. It should have no trouble cracking 1 million units sold, which will keep the studio happy. More...

Home Market Releases for August 11th, 2015

August 11th, 2015

Fortunately, summer is coming to an end, so the quality of the home market releases will start to climb very soon. Unfortunately, this week the biggest first-run release is Unfriended. It is worth picking up, if you are a fan of the genre, but it is not exactly a blockbuster title. As for the best releases of the week, I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story is close to the top of the list. However, in the end I went with Felicia Day: You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), which is a bit of an unorthodox choice, as it is not a DVD or Blu-ray. However, it is the best new release of the week. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Home

August 9th, 2015

Home is a 3D digitally animated family film that opened in March. Nearly every year there is at least one such film that cracks $100 million and this year it was Home, which not only earned more than $100 million, it came relatively close to $200 million. Is it as good as its box office numbers? Is it at least good for a kids movie? More...

Home Market Releases for July 28th, 2015

July 27th, 2015

It is a terrible week for limited releases. There is only one first-run release, Home, but its reviews were only mixed. The next biggest release, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, is a direct-to-DVD animated movie. That's a huge drop in sales potential. Neither of those releases are contenders for Pick of the Week. The best new releases are Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXXIII and White God on DVD or Blu-ray. It was a close call, but in the end I went with MST3K. More...

International Box Office: Age Completes Threepeat, Tops $500 million

May 13th, 2015

It was a milestone weekend for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, as it remained in first place on the international chart with $68 million in 90 markets over the weekend for totals of $562 million internationally and $875 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, although it did open in China on Tuesday earning $33.9 million during its opening day. We will deal with that next week. Currently, the film's biggest market is South Korea, where it has pulled in $72.53 million, including $6.29 million on 1,295 screens over the weekend. I can't see that lead lasting more than a couple more days, not with the opening we saw in China. More...

International Box Office: Ultron Still the Ultimate Film at the Box Office

May 8th, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron remained in top spot on the international chart with $168.8 million in 88 markets over the weekend for totals of $439.8 million internationally and $631.1 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Mexico with $18.89 million over the weekend for a total opening of $25.5 million. The first film opened with $17.44 million, but it opened on a Friday, so it is a little harder to directly compare the two debuts. Age of Ultron did break the five-day opening record, so the studio has to be happy. It also broke the all-time opening record in Ecuador with $2.08 million on 122 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.73 million. It was strong, but not record-breaking, in Thailand, where it earned $3.98 million on 468 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $4.43 million. The same could be said of its openings in Spain ($4.84 million on 905 screens) and Peru ($3.16 million on 407). On the other hand, it opened in second place in Slovenia with $44,000 on 21 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $60,000. It was beat by The SpongBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water's sophomore stint there. I don't know what this means about the market and their opinion of Marvel vs. Sponges, but it is certainly an interesting bit of information. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Ultron has Disappointing Opening?

May 5th, 2015

That question mark in the headline isn't a mistake, as some actually consider The Avengers: Age of Ultron's opening a disappointment, but I don't think that's fair. Sure, it opened below expectations, but it still managed more than $190 million, which is the second-biggest opening of all time. Some still consider this a disappointing opening, because the biggest opening film of all time was the original The Avengers. Second biggest opening weekend of all time and it is still considered a disappointment by some. We are living in a weird world. Overall, the box office was $233 million, which was 139% more than last weekend. It was also 51% more than the same weekend last year. Growth like this usually only happens when there is a misalignment in holidays, but it makes sense when you compare the openings of Age of Ultron and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 2015's lead over 2014 nearly doubled over the weekend to $110 million at $3.38 billion to $3.28 billion. A 3.3% lead is not amazing, but it is enough that the industry should be more than happy. More...

Weekend Predictions: Ultron vs. Loki

May 1st, 2015

The summer blockbuster season starts in earnest this weekend with the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film will open in first place, obviously, but the real question is whether or not it will top its predecessor. The first film opened with just over $207 million, which remains the record for an opening weekend. There is a better than 50/50 chance that the record will fall this weekend. If it doesn’t, you can expect a lot of film journalists writing stories about the end of the “Age of Marvel” / “Age of Super Heroes.” I have a funny feeling many of them are already written in anticipation of this possibility. The rest of the top five will be mostly an afterthought. This weekend last year, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened with $91.61 million over the weekend. Age of Ultron should make more than that opening day. 2015 is going to win the year-over-year comparison with ease. More...

International Box Office: The Age of Ultron is Upon Us

April 30th, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron got its international run underway a week before its domestic debut and it was an explosive start, with the film earning $200.2 million in 44 markets. These 44 markets represent about 55% of the total international marketplace, while the $200.2 million represents a 44% increase over the first film's debut in those markets. The biggest weekend result came in the U.K. where it pulled in $27.84 million on 583 screens. In South Korea, the film's total opening was $27.97 million on 1,876 screens with $23.05 million of that coming over the weekend. Its U.K. opening was a record for the month of April and the biggest opening of the year so far, but it was less than 10% more than its predecessor's debut there. On the other hand, it more than doubled the original's debut in South Korea. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Completes Sweep

April 27th, 2015

As expected, Furious 7 completed the sweep winning every single weekend in April. Thankfully, every film in the top five matched or exceeded predictions, including The Age of Adaline, which had a solid third place opening. However, the overall box office still fell 18% from last weekend to just $97 million. This was also 16% lower than the same weekend last year. 2015 is still ahead of 2014 by a margin of 2.3% at $3.13 billion to $3.06 billion. More...

Weekend Predictions: Is the Age of Furious 7 Over?

April 23rd, 2015

The Age of Adaline is the only true wide release this week, and that could give it a boost at the box office. However, I seriously doubt that will give it a large enough boost to top Furious 7, which is looking to sweep the month of April. There is one other new release, Little Boy, that has a shot at the top ten. Finally, Ex Machina is expanding “nationwide.” I don't have a theater count for the film, but many think it will be truly wide, which would give it a shot at the top five. The Other Woman opened in first place this weekend last year, earning nearly $25 million. There’s no chance any film will match that figure this year. The top two films combined might not match that figure this year, so April will end on a losing note in the year-over-year comparison. That’s disappointing, but we will make up for the loss next week. More...

International Box Office: Furious has Billion Dollar Run

April 22nd, 2015

Furious 7 again dominated the weekend international box office chart earning $166.9 million on 17,834 screens in 67 markets for totals of $857.86 million internationally and $1.152 billion worldwide. This is the first film from Universal to reach $1 billion during its initial run (Jurassic Park got there during its 3D re-release). After opening in China last Sunday, the film made $186.60 million for the week giving it an eight-day total of $250.02 million there. It got to that milestone faster than any film and it is just $70 million behind Age of Extinction in that market. This is simply a stunning result. On the other hand, the film only managed third place in Japan with $6.2 million. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office Falls, but Furious Still Fast

April 21st, 2015

The top three films all missed expectations this past weekend, which suggests people are starting to become excited about The Avengers: Age of Ultron over anything in theaters at the moment. Furious 7 still won the race on the weekend chart and will top $300 million shortly. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2's and Unfriended's openings were fine, but nothing more. Overall, the box office fell 8.9% from last weekend down to $120 million. Compared to last year, the box office was 10% lower. Year-to-date, 2015 is still ahead of 2014 with the current margin being 2.3% at just under $3.00 billion to $2.93 billion. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Furious be Friendly to the New Releases?

April 16th, 2015

Furious 7 could be knocked out of top spot on the box office chart this weekend, as there are three wide releases coming out this week. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 appears to be the biggest and many think it will earn first place. However, its reviews are currently zero percent positive. Unfriended's reviews are still in the overall positive area, but I'm not sure how long that will last, as they've fallen quite a bit from earlier in the week. The only film with overwhelming positive reviews is Monkey Kingdom, which is opening in barely more than 2,000 theaters. This weekend last year, there were four wide releases and overall there were three films that earned $20 million or more. I think this weekend we could match that and that could give 2015 the victory in the year-over-year comparison. It could be close, on the other hand. More...

International Box Office: Furious Eight... Hundred Million

April 16th, 2015

Furious 7 remained just as dominant at the international box office this weekend as it did in its opening weekend earning $198.7 million in 66 markets for totals of $550.47 million internationally and $802.0 million worldwide. It became the first film in the franchise and just the 46th film overall to crack the $800 million market worldwide. This past weekend, the film earned first place in China with $63.24 million in just one day. The film opened on Sunday there, with a record opening day for that market, which was close to its opening day domestic box office. The film opened in first place in Russia with $15.86 million on 1,184 screens. At this pace, the film will top $1 billion over the weekend and I can't imagine the studio won't try to make an eighth installment. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Races into Top Spot for the Year

April 14th, 2015

It didn't take long for for Furious 7 to become the biggest hit of the year; in fact, it took just five days to top Cinderella. Over the weekend, it became the first film released in 2015 to reach the $200 million milestone and thanks to a better than expected hold, reached $250 million as well. Home finished well back in second place, while The Longest Ride managed third place. Overall, the box office fell 42% from last weekend down to $131 million, which is 6.3% lower than the same weekend last year. Furious 7 topped Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Rio 2 and the other films of 2014 had better depth giving 2014 the win. 2015 is still ahead in the year-to-date comparison, up 4.1% at $2.85 billion to $2.74 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Easily Top Again, Passes $250 Million

April 12th, 2015

With little in the way of direct competition, Furious 7 will maintain a comfortable lead at the box office this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. Universal is projecting a $60.6 million weekend, for a total of $252.5 million after 10 days in release. That will make the film the 9th-fastest to the $250 million mark (see current list here). With the film’s international box office total rushing to $548 million so far, it will have topped $800 million globally by the end of the weekend, moving it past Fifty Shades of Grey to become, by a healthy margin, the top-grossing movie worldwide in 2015. More...

Weekend Predictions: Longest Ride is a Long Shot for Top Spot

April 9th, 2015

There's only one wide release this week, The Longest Ride, but it has an approximately zero percent chance of earning first place. Unless Furious 7 falls about 80% and The Longest Ride beats expectations, it will be no where near top spot. In fact, The Longest Ride likely won't be able to score second place, finishing behind Home. As for this weekend last year, there were three wide releases, led by Rio 2, which earned second place with $39.33 million. The Longest Ride might not make that much in total. On the other hand, the sophomore stint for Furious 7 will top the sophomore stint for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 2015 will be stronger on top, but that might not be enough to win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Furious Accelerates Universal to $1 Billion

April 9th, 2015

Furious 7 dominated the international chart with $245.05 million on 10,683 screens in 63 markets for a worldwide opening of $392.22 million. Unless the film has terrible legs, it should get to $1 billion. Speaking of $1 billion, Universal announced they reached $1 billion worldwide for the year in the earliest ever time for the studio. The previous record was May 31st, which was set in 2013. So not only did they beat the record, they crushed it. The film's best individual market was Mexico, where it earned $21.5 million on 685 screens. It also cracked $15 million in the U.K. ($18.7 million on 537); Germany ($15.9 million on 650). Additionally, the film topped $10 million in France ($11.4 million on 707); Brazil ($11.4 million on 551); Australia ($11.3 million on 255); Taiwan ($10.3 million on 80). This is an incredible run so far and could be a good omen for the upcoming summer blockbuster season. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Seven Does Furious Business

April 7th, 2015

As expected, Furious 7 easily won the race for top spot on the weekend box office chart. However, it did so in an unexpectedly robust way, destroying a number of records along the way. This helped the overall box office grow 49% from last weekend to $224 million. More importantly, the overall box office was 34% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2015 is now 3.1% above 2014's pace at $2.64 billion to $2.56 billion. Assuming Furious 7 has any legs at all, this lead will continue to grow next weekend. More...

Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Blasts Off with $143.6 Million Weekend

April 5th, 2015

After a massive $67.3 million on Friday, all eyes were on a $150 million weekend for Furious 7. It doesn’t look as though that is to be, with Universal projecting a weekend mark of $143,623,480 on Sunday morning. That’s the biggest April weekend of all time, and the biggest weekend outside the Summer or Thanksgiving holidays. It’s also the ninth-biggest weekend of all time, and, needless to say, franchise record. (Click here for a full list of records.) The studio will be delighted at its biggest weekend ever, and the industry as a whole will be looking forward to a lucrative Summer season with some optimism. More...

Weekend Predictions: Lucky Number Seven

April 3rd, 2015

There's only one wide release this week, but it is expected to be a record-breaking debut. Furious 7 is widely expected to become the first film of 2015 to crack $100 million during its opening weekend. This would also give it the record for biggest April opening, topping the current record-owner, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Additionally, Home should do well in a counter-programming role and that will also help the box office. This weekend last year was the weekend The Winter Soldier set the April record. Since nearly everyone thinks that record will fall and this year is expected to have better depth, 2015 should win in the year-over-year comparison with relative ease. More...

International Box Office: Cinderella Swaps Spots with Insurgent

April 2nd, 2015

Cinderella returned to first place after a week in second. It did so with $40.0 million in 53 markets for totals of $187.7 million internationally and $337.3 million worldwide. The film opened in a number of major markets, including the U.K., where it earned first place with $5.65 million in 554 theaters. The film took $3.8 million in France and $3.7 million in Australia, while Brazil was close behind with $3.4 million. The film's debut in Spain wasn't as strong at $2.1 million, but that was still the best result of the weekend and the third best opening of the year. Meanwhile in China, the film added $12.33 million over the full week for a total of $65.92 million after three. At this pace, the film will have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which will be enough to cover its entire production budget and perhaps all of its P&A budget. More...

Per Theater Chart: Young and Healthy

April 1st, 2015

While We're Young has set a new record for 2015 earning the best per theater average for a film that opened in 2015 with an average of $56,922 in four theaters. The most negative thing you can say about this result was that it wasn't that unexpected, as several Noah Baumbach films have earned similar opening weekend per theaters averages. Up next was the first of two wide releases in the $10,000 club, Home, with an average of $14,053. The Salt of the Earth earned an average of $11,234 in four theaters. This is excellent for a documentary. The final film in the $10,000 club was the second wide release on this week's list, Get Hard, which pulled in an average of $10,647. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Home Run

March 31st, 2015

After a couple of soft weeks at the box office, both new wide releases beat expectations. In fact, Home nearly doubled predictions. Get Hard also beat expectations, albeit by a smaller margin. Add in solid runs by the holdovers and the overall box office was very strong at $150 million. This is 19% higher than last week and 7.3% higher than the same weekend last year. We can thank Home entirely for this win. If it had merely matched predictions, 2015 would have lost the in the year-over-year comparisons. Year-to-date, 2015 is ahead of 2014 by a 2.0% margin at $2.37 billion to $2.32 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Home has Best Dreamworks Animation Debut in Six Years

March 29th, 2015

DreamWorks Animation has been having a tough time of it recently. Aside from How to Train Your Dragon 2, their last three films, Penguins of Madagascar, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Turbo were all financial failures, and, as an animation house, they are stuck with a business model that demands putting $100 million–$200 million into each film and hoping for a $500 million-plus global hit. That’s made doubly-difficult when you’re operating as a standalone entity and can’t fall back on the wider resources of the studio during hard times.

The opening weekend for Home, projected at $54 million, according to distributor Fox, is therefore very welcome news indeed. It marks the best opening by a non-sequel for the production house since Monsters vs. Aliens opened with $59.3 million on this weekend in 2009, and the third-best non-sequel debut in their history behind that film and Kung Fun Panda’s $60 million start in 2008. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Hard Get to the Top?

March 26th, 2015

There is an actual race at the box office this weekend. This is rare, because there's usually one obvious number one film, as studios don't want to deal with competition. However, this week, both Get Hard and Home have a shot at first place with $30 million or so. Additionally, there are two other films, Insurgent and Cinderella, that are aiming to reach $20 million over the weekend. That's a lot of depth. There is one final film of note, It Follows, which is expanding semi-wide and could find a spot in the top five. This weekend last year, the box office was led by Noah with $43.72 million, while two other films, Divergent and Muppets Most Wanted earned more than $10 million. 2015 has better depth, but it won't be as strong at the top. I'm not sure which year will come out on top, but it should be close. More...

International Box Office: Insurgent Surges Past Cinderella

March 26th, 2015

As expected, Insurgent earned first place on the international chart earning $48.4 million on 10,187 screens in 76 markets. The film's biggest market was France, where it opened in first place with $6 million, while it made $4.37 million in 497 theaters in the U.K. earning first place there as well. Its best growth came from Brazil, where it nearly tripled the first film with $4.2 million. The film had to settle for second place in Russia with $3.76 million on 1,570 screens, but that was still close to 20% more than its predecessor opened with. More...

Contest: Hard Target, Easy Contest

March 19th, 2015

I'm not 100% sure which of next week's two wide releases will become the biggest hit. However, since family films tend to open slower and last longer, it seems likely that Get Hard will have a bigger opening than Home will. Because of that, it is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Get Hard.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize composed of The Double on Blu-ray, plus another previously reviewed DVD or Blu-ray. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize, this time composed of two previously reviewed DVD or Blu-rays. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

2015 Preview: March

March 1st, 2015

February was strong thanks to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Fifty Shades of Grey, both of which beat expectations. This March could actually be even better, as there are three or four films that have a decent shot at earning $100 million or more. The top film will likely be Cinderella, which has a real shot at $200 million. Insurgent will almost assuredly get beyond the $100 million mark, while Get Hard, Home, and perhaps Chappie will also get to the century mark. Last March, there were four $100 million hits, led by Divergent, which pulled in $150 million. While this March should be better than February, I'm not sure it will be better than last March. I don't think March 2015 will be much worse than last year, but I think its percentage lead will be chipped away at by the end of the month. More...