International Round Up: South Korea Leads the Way, Will the Rest of the World Follow?

July 23rd, 2020

The release at the weekend of Peninsula, the follow-up to Train to Busan, in South Korea gave us the first genuinely positive box office news in months. Some markets around Asia showed impressive relative growth. The studios are beginning to adapt to the uneven pace of recovery from the first (and hopefully, at least in some countries, last) wave of the pandemic. But there are also some notable weak spots. Here’s a round-up of current conditions at the international box office. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Yellowstone is Far from Mellow

July 2nd, 2020

Yellowstone led the way on the DEG Watched at Home chart last week. In fact, the show had three of the top five spots, with season three earning first spot and seasons one and two in third and fourth places respectively. 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...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Was Universal Trolling Us?

June 9th, 2020

None of the major studios have been releasing box office numbers in recent weeks, so the weekend box office chart was dominated by those independent distributors that did, in particular IFC Films and IFC Midnight. However, Deadline is reporting that Universal had in fact been dominating the box office. In fact, Trolls World Tour has been leading the way every week since it was released two months ago, and earned $3.1 million, including $300,000 in 197 theaters this past weekend. The studio’s success doesn’t end there. More...

New on DVD and Blu-ray: Never Rarely… and Mob Psycho Lead the New Releases

June 9th, 2020

It is a slower week on the home market with no really big releases to talk about, at least not when you judge them by box office numbers. The Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray is massive, when you judge it by the price and the running time, but it is filled with low-budget B-movies. The biggest box office hit is The Hunt, which couldn’t ride its controversial nature to high ticket sales. As for the best releases, it was close race between Never Rarely Sometimes Always on DVD and season two Mob Psycho 100 on Blu-ray Combo Pack. Both have stellar reviews and it was a coin toss to decide which one would come out ahead, which Mob Psycho 100 won. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: In the Land of Quarantines, VOD is the King

March 20th, 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak has hit all 50 states and in many of them it is a state of emergency. Mass theater closings hasn’t stopped all limited releases, but I assume Video on Demand will generate a lot more business this weekend. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, there are so few theatrical releases that, starting this week, I am including made-for-VOD and streaming releases, including some original TV shows. We are also going to include theatrical releases that were fast-tracked to VOD this week. If you don't want to / can't hit theaters this week (and the overwhelming advice coming from the professionals is not to), you can watch some big movies early on the home market, including The Invisible Man, Onward, and others. Stay safe! More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: COVID-19 Scare Results in Worst Weekend in Decades

March 16th, 2020

The weekend broke a record, one that I thought would never be broken. Ticket price inflation means the smallest overall weekend record looked unbreakable, but this weekend only managed $53.50 million, although that number should be adjusted up as some indie films report numbers later in the week. This is down 47% from last weekend and down 61% from the same weekend last year. Only one film managed to top $10 million, Onward, while the total box office was less than what Captain Marvel earned this weekend last year. This is easily the worst weekend since I’ve been in the business, but I fear it will get worse before it gets better. Year-to-date is, to be blunt, a disaster. 2020 is already $100 million behind 2019’s pace and 2019 was not a good year at the box office. Furthermore, the $1.76 billion box office is only 195 million tickets sold, meaning we are on pace for the lowest ticket sales since the turn of the century. More...

Weekend Estimates: Onward Hit by Box Office Shutdown

March 15th, 2020

People are clearly taking the concept of social distancing seriously and this is causing a massive drop at the box office. Onward is going to lead the way at the box office this weekend, but with just $10.53 million. This is down 73% from its opening weekend, which is the worst in the top ten. Granted, it is a family film during its sophomore stint, so it would naturally be affected the most by social distancing. Internationally, things were much worse as some markets were shutting down theaters entirely. The film is only earning $6.8 million in 47 markets for totals of $41.4 million internationally and $101.7 million worldwide. On the positive side, its reviews are really strong, so it should find a second life on the home market. More...

Friday Estimates: COVID-19 Outbreak Takes Out Box Office

March 14th, 2020

I Still Believe debuted in first place with $4.0 million on Friday, putting it on pace for close to $11 million over the full weekend. On the positive side, this is what was predicted, so at least it is matching lowered expectations. On the negative side, it won’t be enough to remain in first place for long. Its reviews are mixed, but it did earn an A-rating from CinemaScore, which is easily the best of the three new releases that came out this week. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Bloodshot Draws First Blood

March 13th, 2020

Bloodshot opened with $1.2 million during Thursday previews, which is almost as much as the other two wide releases earned combined. Granted, its reviews are the weakest of the three new releases, but this start should still be enough to top our $8 million prediction. The demographics are extremely male and young and young men are the ones least likely to take precautions during something like the COVID-19 outbreak, so perhaps this is not a surprise. More...

Weekend Predictions: Trio of Films Opening Wide could be Last Wide Releases for Weeks

March 12th, 2020

Wash your hands. This could be the worst weekend of the year at the box office, perhaps even the worst weekend of the past several years. COVID-19 has caused the suspension of the NBA and NHL seasons, while practically every wide release for the next several weeks has been pushed back indefinitely. This news is very likely going to hurt ticket sales as people are taking the concept of “self isolation” seriously. Last weekend, Onward and Sonic the Hedgehog were hit the hardest, which makes sense, as families would be the first to avoid going out because of a pandemic, but now I think general audiences will also avoid crowds. Worse still, none of the three wide releases were expected to be anything more than midlevel hits at the best of times. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if none of Bloodshot, The Hunt, and I Still Believe hit $10 million over the weekend. This weekend last year, Captain Marvel earned $67.99 million during its second weekend of release. That will be more than the three new releases will open with combined. It could be more than their combined domestic totals. More...

2020 Preview: March

March 1st, 2020

The box office had mixed results during February with Birds of Prey missing expectations by a huge margin, but Sonic the Hedgehog did well enough to almost make up the difference. This March, there are three films that will almost certainly reach $100 million domestically: Onward, A Quiet Place: Part II, and Mulan. In fact, all three at least have a slim shot at $200 million domestically. By comparison, last March Captain Marvel was released, which earned more than $400 million, while Us and Dumbo earned close to $300 million combined. I don’t think the top three films this year will match last year’s top three, or even come particularly close, and I fear 2020 will fall behind 2019 in the year-over-year comparison. So much for that lead 2020 built up in January. More...

The Hunt Trailer

February 18th, 2020

Blumhouse horror/thriller opens March 13 ... Full Movie Details.

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they’ve been chosen… for a very specific purpose… The Hunt. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt ordinary Americans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of The Hunted, Crystal, knows The Hunters’ game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off, one by one, as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman at the center of it all. More...