December 20th, 2018
We’ve already talked about First-run Releases, TV on DVD releases, and Limited Releases / Classics / Foreign-Imports. This week we look at some books, music, movies that didn’t arrive in time to talk about before, movies I just forgot to mention, or screeners that arrived late and I won’t be able to get to.
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November 28th, 2018
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It is the week after Thanksgiving, which is a terrible week to release a DVD / Blu-ray. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, so a lot gifts are already bought for people who might be interested in a DVD / Blu-ray to watch. That’s not to say there’s nothing on this list that’s worth picking up. There are a few items, but Searching is clearly the best and the Blu-ray is the only real contender for Pick of the Week.
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November 17th, 2018
The Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced on Friday and thus the 2018 Awards Season begins. We The Animals topped the list with five nominations, while A24 earned 12 as a studio.
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November 14th, 2018
There are not many big releases on this week’s list. The Meg is the biggest, but not the best. As for the best, I’m going with Pixar Short Film Collection: Volume Three on Blu-ray.
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October 17th, 2018
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Beautiful Boy had the best theater average of the weekend and the fourth best average for a limited release this year at $54,722 in four theaters. However, its reviews are well below what limited releases normally need to thrive, so I’m worried about its legs going forward. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Charm City, which opened with $10,511 in its lone theater.
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September 25th, 2018
Colette earned first place on the theater average chart with an average of $40,295 in four theaters. The Sisters Brothers was in second place with an average of $28,894, also in four theaters. Nothing Like a Dame was very strong for a documentary with $14,777 in its lone theater. One could argue Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable belongs in the $10,000 club, as it earned $9,538 in one theater over the weekend and $13,782 from Wednesday through Sunday.
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September 20th, 2018
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It was a crowded week on the theater average chart with five films in the $10,000 club. This includes Museum, which led the way with $16,554 in its lone theater. Hal actually jumped into the $10,000 club with $12,150 in one theater during its second weekend of release. Lizzie was the widest release in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,895 in four theaters. Science Fair was next with $11,231 in one theater. Another documentary, The Dawn Wall, was next with an average of $10,829 in two theaters.
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September 13th, 2018
Kusama: Infinity led the way on the theater average chart with an impressive $15,499 in two theaters. This isn’t enough to think it will earn a real measure of mainstream success, but it is the latest success story in a year of documentary hits. The Nun was in second place with an average of $13,882. The Hows of Us had arguably the most impressive limited opening of the weekend, as it earned an average of $12,895, while playing in 38 theaters.
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September 12th, 2018
The Nun topped the chart with $79.3 million on 15,835 screens in 60 markets for a global opening weekend of $133.1 million. This might be enough to give Warner Bros. a small amount of profit already. It depends on how much the studio will end up spending on advertising. The film’s biggest opening was in Mexico, where it earned $10.5 million on 3,967 screens. It also earned impressive first place debuts in Indonesia ($7.6 million on 1,289 screens); Brazil ($6.6 million on 1,235 screens); and India ($5.2 million on 1,603 screens). It earned first place in the U.K., but with $5.3 million on 593 screens, which is quite a bit weaker than its debut here, relative to the size of the two markets. This is also true of its first place, $2.7 million debut on 326 screens in Australia.
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September 11th, 2018
The Nun topped expectations with $53.81 million over the weekend. Peppermint was well back in second place with $13.42 million, which is an acceptable debut for this time of year. Crazy Rich Asians was in a close third place and overall the box office was quite strong. The total box office was $121 million, which is 23% better than last weekend. Granted, this is 26% lower than the same weekend last year. Normally a drop this severe would be troubling, but this isn’t a normal situation. Firstly, this weekend last year was the weekend It debuted and rewrote the record book. Secondly, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by 10% or $770 million at $8.36 billion to $7.59 billion. This means 2018’s gains during the weekdays almost made up for its losses over the weekend.
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September 6th, 2018
It’s the weekend after Labor Day, which is historically one of the worst weekends of the year at the box office. However, that’s not the case this year, as The Nun is expected to be a major hit. In fact, it should have the best opening in the franchise so far. On the other hand, Peppermint will be happy with a second place debut. Finally, God Bless the Broken Road is opening semi-wide, but the box office lacks any real depth, so it could come close to the top five. This weekend last year was the weekend It destroyed the record book. There’s no way 2018 will win in the year-over-year comparison, but 2018 has such a large lead over 2017 that even a few embarrassing losses won’t put a serious dent into it’s advantage.
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September 6th, 2018
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No film reached the $10,000 club over the three-day weekend, but Pick of the Litter came close with an average of $9,539 in two theaters.
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September 5th, 2018
Crazy Rich Asians came close enough to our predictions over the weekend that I’m willing to call it a victory. The only other film to earn more than $10 million over the three-date weekend was The Meg. This wasn’t enough to help the overall box office grow, but the overall box office only fell 3.6% when compared to last weekend earning $99 million. It is a little disappointing to drop below the $100 million mark, but it could have been much worse. Speaking of much worse, this weekend last year, the overall box office was just $76 million, meaning 2018 improved on the three-day mark by 29% and stretched its year-to-date lead. 2018 now sits 10.6% or $790 million ahead of 2017 at $8.22 billion to $7.43 million. The lead won’t remain this large for long, not with It’s opening on the horizon. That said, it would take a spectacular collapse for 2018 to completely lose this lead.
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September 3rd, 2018
We have some Monday morning updates for the weekend box office and as expected, Crazy Rich Asians continued to dominate at the box office. It earned $6.21 million on Monday for a four-day total of $28.31 million and a three-week total of $117.04 million. It became just the fourth film released by Warner Bros. this year to get to the century mark and it will quickly become the studio’s biggest hit of the year so far, as it will overtake Ocean’s 8 shortly.
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September 2nd, 2018
Crazy Rich Asians is just destroying the competition over the weekend and should pull in an estimated $22.24 million over the three days. We won’t have a Monday estimate from Warner Bros. until Monday, but I would imagine the four-day weekend would be about $28 million, giving the film a running tally of $117 million after 20 days of release. This is a little lower than our weekend prediction, but close enough that I’m calling it a victory. Internationally, the film made $10.4 million on 1,565 screens in 24 markets for an early total of $19.9 million. The film opened in Australia with $5.4 million on 447 screens, which is better than its opening here, relative to the size of the two markets.
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September 1st, 2018
Crazy Rich Asians will easily remain on top of the chart this weekend, as it earned $5.87 million on Friday. Depending on when you are reading this, it might have already crossed $100 million domestically, a milestone it will certainly reach by the end of business on Saturday. The film is on pace for $24 million over the three-day weekend and $30 million over four, matching our prediction perfectly.
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August 31st, 2018
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Searching started its semi-wide run with $425,000 during its Thursday previews. It is really had to find a film to compare this to, as it was playing in limited release, while its “midnight” previews began at 5 pm. That said, we predicted $6 million over the four-day weekend and this result isn’t going to change my mind, at least not yet. We will need to wait till tomorrow to see if its reviews are going to give it long legs over the weekend.
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August 31st, 2018
The last weekend of summer is a slow weekend. There’s only one true wide release, Kin, and it’s not expected to open in the top five. Operation Finale is opening in just over 1,800 theaters, but it should open in the top five, even though it is a Wednesday release. Searching is expanding into 1,200 theaters this weekend and that should get it into the top ten. Meanwhile, Crazy Rich Asians should complete the threepeat without any real competition. This weekend last year, The Hitman’s Bodyguard was the only film to earn more than $10 million.
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August 29th, 2018
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Searching had one of the ten best theater averages for a limited release so far this year, earning an average of $43,197 in nine theaters. The film is scheduled to expand wide this Friday and this start combined with its reviews is a good omen for its box office chances. The Bookshop was well back in second place with an average of $12,000 in 4 theaters. Meanwhile the only holdover was The Wife, which held on well with an average of $11,819 while playing in 18 theaters. The film should earn some measure of mainstream success, but I’m not sure it will last in theaters long enough to earn any real Awards Season buzz. Finally, John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection wasn’t able to reach the $10,000 club over the three-day weekend, as it earned $7,878 in its lone theater. However, it was a Wednesday release and it earned $11,733 during its five-day debut.
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August 24th, 2018
It’s a great week for limited releases, if you like documentaries, as there are four of them on this week’s list and all of them are earning good reviews. There are also a few films that earned loud pre-release buzz, at least compared to most other limited releases. However, most of these earning reviews that were mixed to good, but not great. The exception is Searching, which should be the biggest hit on this week’s list.
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August 1st, 2018
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Overall, July was a a little weaker than expected. Ant-Man and the Wasp appears to be on pace for $200 million, while it is too soon to tell if Mission: Impossible—Fallout will also get there. That said, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by $550 million, so the month of July was a success in that regard. As for August, there’s only one movie that is expected to earn $100 million, Christopher Robin, and maybe a few others that could hit $50 million. It’s a rather sad slate of movies. Fortunately, last August was even worse, so 2018 should at least maintain its lead. Maybe we can get lucky and come away with a $600 million lead by the end of the month.
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June 19th, 2018
Thriller starring John Cho and Debra Messing opens August 3 ... Full Movie Details.
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