December 16th, 2017
Both the first installment First-run Releases and the second installment, TV on DVD releases, were shorter than I would have liked, as this hasn’t been a great year for either wide releases or TV on DVD releases. That said, the third installment of our Holiday Gift Guide deals with limited releases, classics, and foreign imports and this list can get out of hand rather quickly. There will more releases on this list than the previous two, starting with...
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January 20th, 2014
The home market picks up steam this week, sort of. We are starting to get some of the Awards Season hopefuls coming out, which is great news for fans of great movies. However, there's not a lot of depth to go with the award-worthy movies. The two films that were the main contenders for Pick of the Week were Captain Phillips on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and In a World... on DVD or Blu-ray. It was a close decision, but in the end, I went with In a World...
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January 18th, 2014
One could argue that Instructions Not Included was the biggest surprise hit of the year. In a year in which Iron Man 3 earned $1.2 million billion worldwide, doubling the franchise average, a small movie from Mexico is still arguably the biggest surprise hit of the year. While Iron Man 3 was the follow-up to one of the biggest hits of all time, Instructions Not Included came out of nowhere to become the biggest Spanish-language hit of all time. Is it as good as its box office numbers would indicate? Or it is more right place, right time?
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November 1st, 2013
After last week's short list, there are nearly 20 films on this week's list. Because of this, each entry will be shorter than usual. There are a few films on this week's list that seem destined for mainstream success, including Dallas Buyers Club, which could net Matthew McConaughey some Awards Season hardware.
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October 9th, 2013
There were a ton of new releases this week, but Gravity was pulled down by the mass of new releases. It lead the way on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $15,604. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Linsanity, which earned an average of $11,051 in nine theaters.
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October 8th, 2013
Gravity crushed expectations, and records, over the weekend with more than $55 million. This topped the previous biggest October weekend by more than $3 million. On the other hand, Runner Runner went nowhere opening well below the lower end of predictions. Overall, the box office rose 16% from last year reaching $127 million. Unfortunately, last year had much better depth and 2013 was 11% lower in the year-over-year comparison. 2013 is still ahead of 2012, but the lead has been cut to just 0.9% at $8.05 billion to $7.98 billion.
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October 6th, 2013
Success at the box office is no guarantee of awards, but it certainly doesn't do any harm. And by that metric, Gravity's chances of picking up an Oscar or three is taking a considerable turn for the better this weekend as the sci-fi thriller heads towards a celestial $55.6 million debut, according to Warner Bros.'s Sunday projection. That will comfortably set a record for the biggest weekend in October, overtaking Paranormal Activity 3's $52.6 million back in 2011. With Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave opening in the next two weeks, awards season is getting interesting.
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October 4th, 2013
There are ten limited releases on this week's list, but only one of them is earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Let the Fire Burn is the standout, with a 92% positive response. The Summit is earning 73% positive reviews, which is good, but not great. Then there's Grace Unplugged, which is opening in more than 500 theaters, but with no reviews. That's a horrible combination. Overall, there's nothing that jumps out as a potential limited release hit.
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September 24th, 2013
The top five at the box office lived up to expectations, more or less. Prisoners were on the high end of expectations, while Battle of the Year opened on the low end. Some holdovers, like Insidious Chapter 2, sank faster than expected, while Instructions Not Included defied all logic and returned to the top five. Overall, the box office fell 16% to $87 million. This was 4% lower than last year, ending 2013's impressive winning streak. Year-to-date, 2013 is still ahead of 2013 by just over $100 million at $7.77 billion to $7.66 billion.
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September 17th, 2013
Both new releases topped expectations and even though a couple of the holdovers struggled a little bit, the overall box office was still fantastic. Insidious Chapter 2 broke a September record that has been held for more than a decade on its way to a $40 million opening. The Family was well back in second place, but still on the high end of expectations. Overall, the box office pulled in $103 million. This was 21% more than last week and 19% more than the same weekend last year. In fact, Insidious Chapter 2 made more than Resident Evil: Retribution and Finding Nemo 3D made combined last year. Year-to-date, 2013 has pulled in $7.66 billion compared to $7.55 billion at this point in 2012.
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September 13th, 2013
This week there are two films opening in saturation level theater counts (3,000 or more theaters). However, the two have very different outlooks. Insidious Chapter 2 is expected to cruise to the top, perhaps with well over $30 million. The Family's outlook is a lot weaker and some analysts don't expect it to reach $10 million. Last year the number one film was Resident Evil: Retribution, which opened with $21.05 million, while Finding Nemo 3D was in second place with $16.69 million. There's a chance the top two films this weekend will beat those two combined, but even if that doesn't happen, last year's depth was pathetic, to put it mildly. 2013 should have an easy time coming away with a win.
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September 11th, 2013
The buzz surrounding Salinger helped it earn first place on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $21,739 in four theaters. However, given its reviews, I don't think it will last long. Instructions Not Included remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,366 in more than 700 theaters. It could still expand further, given its per theater average.
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September 10th, 2013
We have good news and bad news. Riddick only managed to reach the low end of expectations, while the overall box office was down nearly $40 million, or 32%, from last week. On the positive side, Instructions Not Included finished on the high end of expectations, while the overall box office was $85 million, which was 26% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 has earned $7.54 billion, or 1.2% higher than last year's pace.
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September 8th, 2013
The weekend after Labor Day is traditionally the slowest of the year in terms of ticket sales, but it is also potentially one of the more interesting in terms of movies because it can be the busiest weekend of the year for art house releases. This year, we have no less than 24 of them on our release schedule, and there's a good chance that we'll break the record for the most limited releases to report box office results (currently held by the weekend of September 10, 2010 with 16 -- there's an obscure movie stat for you). In fact, this weekend's chart looks very similar to that weekend three years ago.
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September 6th, 2013
As usual the weekend after Labor Day, it's a very busy week in limited release. Unfortunately, it is a case of quantity over quality. There are a couple of films earning good reviews: a foreign language film, Populaire, and a documentary, Red Obsession. It is unlikely either of them will find a large enough audience in limited release that they will be able to expand significantly. On the other hand, Awards Season is just around the corner, so fans of limited releases won't have to wait long before they will be flooded with options.
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September 6th, 2013
The weekend after the Labor Day long weekend is historically the worst weekend of the year. Because of that, it should come as no surprise that there is only one wide release this weekend. After all, studios don't want to release a film if the weekend is practically cursed. However, that one film is Riddick, which is actually earning good buzz. It might crack $30 million over the weekend. Might. It would be a surprise, but you can't completely dismiss the possibility. The only other semi-new film to talk about is Instructions Not Included, which is doubling its theater count. However, it's a niche market film and these tend to have short legs, as the target audience rushes out to see them immediately. Fortunately, it doesn't really matter, because last year was a disaster. As long as Riddick tops $10 million, 2013 will come out ahead.
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September 4th, 2013
It was a very lop-sided week on the per theater chart with a couple of films in the $10,000 club, but the rest of the new limited releases, and a couple of new wide releases, were floating around, or below, the Mendoza Line. Instructions Not Included was the best with an average of $22,547 in 348 theaters. Stunning. This result is simply stunning. Afternoon Delight was next with an average of $13,676 in two theaters. Neither film earned good reviews, so it will be interesting to see if either can capitalize on this start.
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September 4th, 2013
The Labor Day long weekend is over and pre-weekend predictions were spot on, at least when it came to the top-two films. One Direction: This is Us opened in first place on Friday, but by Sunday had fallen to fifth place, allowing Lee Daniels' The Butler to remain on top, if you go by the four-day weekend. There were a few surprises this weekend, including Instructions Not Included. I hoped it would do well, but I never imaged it would do this well. Overall the weekend was strong at $125 million over the three-day weekend, which was 14% more than last weekend. Over four days, the total box office was $160 million. This was 21% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 holds a 0.9% lead over 2012 at 7.44 billion to $7.37 billion.
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September 1st, 2013
Hollywood's Summer ends this weekend with a suitably back-to-school winner in the form of One Direction: This is Us. The 3D concert movie will pick up $17 million Friday-Sunday, largely on the back of an impressive $8.9 million gross on Saturday. While that won't set it up to challenge Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus among the top grossers in this particular sub-genre, it does show the solid business model for 3D films that cater to pop fans. Performances among other films playing this weekend were more varied.
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August 30th, 2013
There are not a lot of limited releases on this week's list, and even fewer that might thrive. Instructions Not Included is the biggest release, but with only one review on Rotten Tomatoes, I'm worried the buzz won't be enough. I Declare War is a Canadian film opening in the States. Its reviews are good, but not great. Our Nixon is earning the best reviews, but as a political documentary, its chances to expand significantly are very limited.
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