December 12th, 2009
Black Friday sales gave a decidedly retro look to the DVD sales chart for the week ending November 29.
All major retailers were offering deeply discounted prices of catalog titles, including $4 deals at Target for Elf, Sex and the City and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, among others, and Best Buy offering Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Forgetting Sarah Marshall at the same price.
Walmart wasn't going to be outdone though, and offered some DVD titles, including Hellboy 2, Mummy 3, I am Legend and Casino Royale in limited quantities at just $2.
The real champion of the bargain basement, however, was The Dark Knight, which was available for $5 at Walmart, and $4 at both Target and Best Buy.
With low, low prices, the unit volumes for the week were astronomical, but overall spending was actually down from 2008 thanks to the price cuts.
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January 13th, 2009
There were a handful of new releases on the first sales chart of the year, including Eagle Eye, which led the way with 1.39 million units during the week. Adding in previous sales, the film has sold 1.58 million units and generated $34.29 million in consumer retail spending.
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January 7th, 2009
This week, new releases were practically non-existent on the DVD sales chart.
In fact, the best selling releases to make their debut on the chart were the late releases from last week. The best seller overall this week was The Dark Knight with 1.69 million units and $37.11 million in consumer retail spending for the week, giving it just a hair under 12.00 million units sold and $252.82 million in sales after three. This is clearly the best selling DVD of 2008 having sold over 1 million units more than WALL-E and nearly $70 million more in retail sales.
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January 1st, 2009
There were only three new releases to chart this week, sort of. Call in three and a half new releases, but we will get to that in a bit. On the top of the sales chart this week was Mamma Mia!, which sold 3.72 million units for $77.68 million in consumer retail spending.
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January 1st, 2009
There were five new releases to chart this week, including The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which topped the charts just ahead of last week's winner, The Dark Knight.
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December 16th, 2008
This week is a confusing one on the home market as there are DVDs coming out on Tuesday the 16th, as usual, and on Friday the 19th, and Sunday the 21st as well. While there are a number of great releases that are spread out over three days, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is the best on any day, and worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week.
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October 12th, 2008
German Unification Day helped The Baader Meinhof Complex grow by 10% as it remained in second place in Germany with $4.82 million on 594 screens for a total of $10.99 million after two weeks. Adding in two smaller markets and the film made $5.35 million on 660 screens in 3 markets for a total of $12.06 million.
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October 5th, 2008
Eagle Eye opened in sixth place on the international chart with $4.51 million on 1,124 screens in 13 markets, much of that coming from two markets: Australia and Mexico. In the former it made $1.42 million on 231 screens while in the latter it made just a hair under $900,000 on 350 screens. In both markets the film finished in second place, while it opens in major markets every week until the end of October, while it doesn't end its run until early next year.
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September 28th, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor fell more than 50% this past weekend down to $4.24 million on 2905 screens in 46 markets for a total of $276.19 million internationally. It had no major market openings this past weekend, but added $1.36 million on 361 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $5.13 million.
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September 17th, 2008
Mamma Mia! remained in first place with $20.27 million on 4303 screens in 45 markets for a total of $309.59 million. It is only the fifth film this year to reach $300 million internationally and I think most would agree it is the least likely. Openings this week were highlighted by France, where it made $2.4 million, which was enough for first place in that market. Additionally, it remained flat in South Korea adding $3.35 million on 518 screens for a total of $9.79 million after two weeks of release. It was not as strong in its opening in Mexico, on the other hand, placing second with just $785,000 on 292 screens. Strong holds and a number of markets remaining, it could hit $400 million internationally.
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September 10th, 2008
Mamma Mia! captured top spot thanks to a record-breaking debut in South Korea. In that market, it opened with $3.40 million on 513 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.08 million, which was the best opening for a musical in South Korean history; however, it still had to settle for second place. The film was also in second place in the U.K. with $2.52 million on 493 screens for a total of $99.42 million after two months of release. Overall, the film made $16.36 million on 3,430 screens in 39 markets for a total of $281.54 million internationally and $417.98 million worldwide.
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September 8th, 2008
After the summer comes the fall, which was certainly true this past weekend. Bangkok Dangerous and rest of the market only pulled in just $68 million over the weekend, which is 45% lower than last weekend. However, while that's a huge drop-off, more importantly it is nearly 15% lower than the same weekend last year and the ninth weakest weekend since 2000, and worst weekend in five years. Year-to-date, 2008 is now behind 2007 by just over 1% at $6.75 billion to $6.82 billion, but hopefully it will bounce back next weekend. I can't imagine it will be worse.
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September 7th, 2008
You Don't Mess With The Zohan slipped out of the top five with $7.96 million on 2296 screens in 33 markets for a total of $69.53 million internationally, which is more than Adam Sandler's previous film made in total internationally. This week the film opened in France landing in 10th place with just $816,000, but it was playing on just 171 screens. On the other hand, it added $1.66 million on 335 screens in Spain for a two-week total of $6.45 million.
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August 27th, 2008
The Dark Knight remained in first place with $34.28 million on 7194 screens in 62 markets for a total of $377.64 million internationally and $867.06 million worldwide. This week the film debuted in first place in Germany with $9.79 million on 754 screen, which is roughly five times what the original made when it opened there in 2005. It also remained in first place in France with $5.8 million on 820 screens for a total of $17.7 million, which is more than the original made in total. Its best market so far remains the U.K. where it has made $79.84 million, including 2.67 million on 440 screens this past weekend. On the other hand, the film is running out of markets to open in, and it will have trouble matching its domestic total. Perhaps it will reach $1 billion worldwide, but that's not a sure thing.
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August 21st, 2008
The Dark Knight reclaimed first place on the international chart with $42.4 million on 7700 screens in 61 markets for a total of $328.6 million internationally and just over $800 million worldwide, which puts it ahead of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for the year. This week it opened in first place in France and Spain $9.6 million on 818 screens in the former and $6.85 million on 570 screens in the latter. Meanwhile in South Korea the film was down just 23% earning $3.47 million on 463 screens for a total of $13.92 million after just two weeks. The film is also still in first place in the U.K. added $4.30 million on 499 screens for a total of $74.91 million, which is still a bit behind Mamma Mia!'s running tally of $84.34 million, and it is unlikely that it will catch it in the end in that market.
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August 14th, 2008
As summer winds down, the box office potential of the wide releases slumps, but the number of wide releases increases. This week we have three (and a couple of not so wide releases that we will get to later), including one that is already in theaters. None are likely to set the box office on fire. That said, there's almost no chance that The Dark Knight will repeat as the box office winner, which will bring an end to its nearly month-long reign. However, it will hit a milestone of its own.
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August 13th, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor significantly expanded its reach this weekend, which allowed it to remain in top spot with $55.96 million on 6396 screens in 50 markets for a total of $141.94 million. The film had a trio of major market debuts this weekend earning first place in Germany with $6.42 million on 650 screens, in France with an estimated $5 million on 572 screens, and in Taiwan with $3.6 million on 61 screens, which was the best opening of the year so far. On the other hand, the film had to settle for second place in the U.K. with $5.70 million on 477 screens over the weekend, however, it has earned $8.53 million in total, which would have been enough for first place. As for holdovers, the film is still in first place in Mexico adding $2.36 million on 431 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.50 million after two weeks. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will have little trouble reaching $200 million internationally, and it should become the biggest hit of the franchise on the international scene.
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August 11th, 2008
Four. The Dark Knight has reigned on top of the box office charts for four weekends now. The last film to last on top so long was Return of the King, which opened more than four years ago. That said, while The Dark Knight is dominating, the new releases are not pulling their weight and the overall box office slipped to $120 million over the weekend, which was 21% lower than last weekend, and 22% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2008 has earned $6.14 billion, which is lower than 2007's pace but by less than 1%, as this time last year movies had earned $6.17 billion at the box office.
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August 6th, 2008
Like last week, this week we have two more new wide releases, and like last week, The Dark Knight has a shot at retaining its crown. Also of note, the two new releases are coming out tonight because the Olympics are starting on Friday and they want to avoid going up against the Olympic opening ceremonies... Wait... People watch the Olympic opening ceremonies?
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August 6th, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor started its international run in about a third of the world scoring first place with $61.93 million on 4094 screens in 27 markets. This includes $9.24 million on 723 screens in South Korea over the weekend, and $13.11 million in total, which represents the best opening for a non-local film this year. The film was also fantastic in its opening in Russia scoring a reported $12.7 million there. Meanwhile in Spain it pulled in $6.48 million on 554 screens while in Mexico it earned $4.99 million on 430 screens, finishing first by significant margins in both markets. Next up for the film is the U.K., France, and Germany this weekend, Japan next weekend, while it doesn't end its run till September when it debuts in Italy.
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August 6th, 2008
The winners of our Celebrate Mother's Day Early contest were determined and they are...
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August 5th, 2008
It took three weeks, but Transsiberian landed on top of the per theater chart with an estimated $27,000 in just 2 theaters for an average of $13,500, which was a little more than it earned last week. Also in limited release, Man on Wire saw its overall number drop by a small amount despite doubling its theater count to 4, which resulted in its average falling to $12,119. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opened with an average of $10,760 in 3,760 theaters. Frozen River barely reached the $10,000 mark with an average of $10,033 in 7 theaters, although it wasn't as close as The Dark Knight was, as that film earned an average of $10,001.
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August 4th, 2008
For the third weekend in a row, The Dark Knight came out on top at the box office -- the first time this year we've had a three-time champ. Unfortunately, the film didn't come out on top because it beat expectations by a massive margin, but because The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor missed expectations. That led to a drop at the overall box office by just over 15% from last weekend to $153 million. This is also lower than the same weekend last year by just under 14%. Meanwhile, 2008's and 2007's year-to-date numbers are nearly identical at $5.93 billion, with this year a tiny, tiny amount lower.
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August 2nd, 2008
The first week of August did not bring a bumper crop of new releases. Furthermore, only two sites on this week's list even stood out as above average. However, one of those sites, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Official Site stood out as worthy of the Weekly Website Award.
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August 1st, 2008
Summer usually comes screeching to a halt early in August, usually by the second weekend in August. However, this year we could have a $100 million hit opening each of the first three weeks. Or we could have no $100 million hits opening during the whole month. On the other end, there are a number of releases that probably looked good on paper, but failed to live up to their potential, not to mention a few that could not have looked good, even on paper. (I'm looking at you, Disaster Movie.)
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July 31st, 2008
Two more new wide releases make their debut tomorrow, but we could have the first threepeat winner of the year as the new number one movie of the year, The Dark Knight, is still going strong. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor does have a slight edge going into this weekend, but it could be close. There is a troubling sign as neither film looks likely to match last year's number one film and with 2008 barely ahead of 2007, any weakness could result in 2008 losing its lead.
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July 25th, 2008
Next week you have a chance to celebrate Mother's Day Early with the opening of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor... Mother's Day hasn't happened this year, has it? In May. Really? Oops. ... Anyway... The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opens next Friday and it is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Phineas and Ferb - The Fast and the Phineas, The Wizards of Waverly Place - Wizards School, Manswers - The Best of Season One, and Reno 911 - Season Five. Additionally, they will win some non-DVD prizes: Brideshead Revisited in Hardcover and CD Soundtrack.
Meanwhile, 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 copy The Wizards of Waverly Place - Wizards School, Manswers - The Best of Season One, and Reno 911 - Season Five. Additionally, they will win Brideshead Revisited in Paperback.
Finally, one additional entrant will be chosen to win Manswers - The Best of Season One, and Reno 911 - Season Five.
So that's three prize packs consisting of nine DVDs, two books, and a CD. Wow.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 18th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Igor, Soul Men, Hotel for Dogs and more!
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March 28th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Crazy on the Outside, Two Lovers, W., and more!
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September 2nd, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Slipstream, The Bucket List, Strange Wilderness and more!
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September 1st, 2007
As we enter the slowest month of the year, the number and quality of website updates has slowed to a crawl as well. I suspect that within a few weeks we will start getting website launches for films opening during the holidays, and that will again give us plenty of award-worthy sites.
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July 29th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Hellboy 2, The Mummy 3, The Pink Panther 2 and more.
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February 11th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Indiana Jones 4, The Mummy 3, Hellboy 2 and more.
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