June 24th, 2009
The summer slump on the sales chart was not evident this week, even though there were not that many new releases to deal with. The number one film was Gran Torino, which sold an amazingly strong 2.61 million units for $42.94 million in consumer spending at retail during its opening week.
It just missed the top ten for 2009, and it will undoubtedly climb the chart over the coming weeks.
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June 17th, 2009
There was a short list of new releases this week, but four of them were still able to reach the top five on this week's sales chart.
Leading the way was He's Just Not That Into You with 1.03 million units sold and $17.57 million in consumer spending at retail.
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June 17th, 2009
On the one hand, there were three new releases to reach the top five on the rental chart this week. On the other hand, there were only three new releases to reach the top thirty on the rental chart this week. Leading the way was He's Just Not That Into You with roughly 50% more rentals than second place Defiance.
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June 9th, 2009
A severely weak list of new releases left Paul Blart - Mall Cop at the top of the sales chart this week. The DVD sold an additional 554,000 units and added $9.92 million in consumer spending at retail to lift its total to $39.33 million.
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June 9th, 2009
New releases were a little more plentiful on the rental chart than they were on the sales chart, but a holdover still led the way.
Paul Blart - Mall Cop earned first place for the second week in a row, generating about 30% more rentals than Taken, which rose to second place.
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June 4th, 2009
There were nine new releases to crack the top 30 on this week's sales chart, including Paul Blart - Mall Cop. The film, which is the highest grossing January release of all time, took top spot with 1.82 million units sold for opening week consumer spending of $31.01 million.
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June 4th, 2009
There were not as many new releases to crack the top 30 on this week's rental chart as there were on this week's sales chart; however, the same film, Paul Blart - Mall Cop, topped both lists.
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May 27th, 2009
Taken wasn't the only new release to chart this week; in fact, there were nine that reached the top 30.
However, it was comfortably the best-selling with 2.31 million units and $37.96 million in consumer spending at retail.
It is already the tenth best-selling DVD of the year.
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May 27th, 2009
Just as it did on the sales chart, Taken led all new release and placed first overall.
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May 26th, 2009
It's a slow week, not that you can tell from the number of spotlight reviews. Over the past week, I received close to a dozen DVDs that were late. Fortunately, I was able to get to all of them, at least I till this afternoon when a couple more arrived late. (It never ends.) As for the DVD / Blu-rays coming out this week, there's not much of a selection. The best is Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Series, but the lack of extras prevents it from being awarded the DVD Pick of the Week. On the other hand, the best on this week's list is Star Trek - Original Motion Picture Collection, which actually came out a couple weeks ago. Even so, it is deserving of the DVD Pick of the Week. A slow week plus a lot of late reviews still results in a list so long it had to be spit into two. The first part can be found here.
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May 12th, 2009
Thanks to last week's computer crash, and the overabundance of spotlight reviews, the rest of the list will be a lot shorter than usual. Unless the DVD is a contender for DVD Pick of the Week, it will only get a few sentences at most. As for the best of the best, I would go with Galaxy Quest, buy the Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition as my DVD Pick of the Week. Also worthy is Star Trek - Original Motion Picture Collection. A big list means we have to split it into two, and the first part can be found here
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May 12th, 2009
Thanks to last week's computer crash, and the overabundance of spotlight reviews, the rest of the list will be a lot shorter than usual. Unless the DVD is a contender for DVD Pick of the Week, it will only get a few sentences at most. As for the best of the best, I would go with Galaxy Quest, the Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition as my DVD Pick of the Week. Also worthy is Star Trek - Original Motion Picture Collection. A big list means we have to split it into two, and the second part can be found here
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March 17th, 2009
For the first time in a long time, 2009 showed signs of weakness at the box office as all three new releases were unable to match expectations. Overall the box office was down 14% from last weekend to $101 million. More troubling was the fact that is was down 16% from the same weekend last year. However, to be fair, this weekend last year saw the debut of Horton Hears a Who, which was the biggest hit of 2008 at that point and opened with $45 million.
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March 13th, 2009
There are some who think there will be a close race for first place on the box office chart this weekend with Watchmen having a shot at repeating on top ahead of Race to Witch Mountain. I am not one of those people. After bowing to the majority two weeks in a row, I think Watchmen will see a bigger than expected drop-off, while Race to Witch Mountain will open with a larger than expected box office. On a related note, 2009's winning streak over 2008 could come to an end, as this weekend last year saw the debut of Horton Hears a Who, which opened with $45 million. That's more than the consensus prediction for the top film over this weekend. In fact, it could be more than the three new releases will earn combined.
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March 10th, 2009
Watchmen opened with the biggest weekend box office of the year so far, but it was below the record-breaking levels some predicted. That said, the overall box office was still up 4% from last weekend, and more importantly, up 8% from the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has brought in $1.96 billion, which is about 14% more than last year's pace. This is down from earlier in the year, but still very impressive nonetheless.
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March 8th, 2009
Watchmen opened big over the weekend, earning a mighty $55.655 million, according to Warner Bros.' Sunday estimate.
Impressive as that debut is, the movie did fade quite dramatically through the weekend after posting a $25.135 million opening day on Friday.
Saturday's estimate stands at $18.7 million, down 25% from the movie's opening day, although the decline is slightly artifical because Friday's total includes $4.55 million from midnight shows.
Sunday's projected of $11.8 million would be down 37% from Saturday, which is fairly typical for an opening weekend.
Overall, it's a debut that Warner Bros. (and Fox, who has a gross participation deal) will be happy with, but the long-term performance of the movie is very hard to judge at this point.
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March 5th, 2009
Is it ironic that a film called Watchmen is opening the same weekend we set our clocks ahead one hour? Perhaps this is part of some brilliant marketing strategy. Regardless, Watchmen is the only wide release of the week, and it has a lot of buzz surrounding it. So much so that it has a shot at breaking records, while earning more than all four big releases last year did combined.
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March 3rd, 2009
We had a surprise film at the top of the chart as The Jonas Brothers proved they were no competition for Miley Cyrus. In fact, they were no match for Tyler Perry in a dress. Fortunately, while there was severe weakness at the top, the overall box office was still strong at $111 million. Yes, that was down 22% from last weekend, but it was 15% head of the same weekend last year. Meanwhile, 2009 continues to lead 2008 by a sizable margin at $1.79 billion to $1.53 billion, a 17% gap.
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March 3rd, 2009
Kind of a slow week for DVD releases this week. ... Actually, there are 40 releases on this week's list, including 10 spotlight reviews, but compared to the last several weeks, it feels slow. (I didn't even have to split the column into two parts.) There are a few releases that are definitely worth picking up, but none that really rise to the level of a DVD Pick of the Week. Watchman - The Complete Motion Comic on DVD or Blu-ray and Wonder Woman on DVD, DVD + Digital Copy, or Blu-ray come the closest, but neither have enough extras to make it over the top.
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February 26th, 2009
There won't be much of a race for the top of the box office chart with The Jonas Brothers being the only film with a legitimate shot at number one.
There is a question whether the trio can live up to Miley Cyrus's box office triumph with Best of Both Worlds.
And then there's the question of 2009 maintaining its blistering pace over 2008.
I think the latter is more likely than the former.
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February 24th, 2009
The Oscars combined with the post-holiday weekend left the overall box office dramatically lower this weekend compared to last. In fact, it was down 24% to $142 million; however, compared to the same weekend last year, that was up by just under 30%. Year-to-date, 2009 has pulled in $1.65 billion, which is 23% above last year's pace of $1.34 billion. There's no way 2009 can keep up this pace for too much longer, but each weekend it does will help future box office scores. After all, a lot of people see trailers, posters, and other advertisements for the first time when going to the movie theaters. More free advertising now will turn into more people going to the theaters later on.
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February 20th, 2009
The Oscars are being handed out this weekend, which means a lot of moviegoers will be more interested in watching the ceremonies on TV than going to the theaters. Studios know this, which explains the weak slate of movies coming out this week. In fact, there's only one film opening truly wide this week, and only one other that comes close. That said, it's still better than last year and 2009 should continue its amazing pace.
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February 17th, 2009
Another record breaking weekend! President's Day long weekend smashed the previous record with a total of $188 million over three days and $220 million over four. To put this into perspective, the previous record was set in 2007 when the box office pulled in $187 million in four days. That's right, this year we earned more in three days than the previous record was over four. It goes without saying that there were huge increases over last weekend (up 22%) and over the same weekend last year (up 37% over three days and 33% over four).
Year to date, 2009 has pulled in $1.47 billion, 22% ahead of last year's $1.20 billion pace.
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February 16th, 2009
The theatrical market continued its remarkable run with another record-breaking weekend, based on studio estimates released on Monday.
Friday the 13th led with a four-day estimate of $45.2 million, the second-best Presidents' Weekend opening ever.
He's Just Not That Into You fell 29% from its opening and earned $23.4 million Friday-to-Monday, giving Warner Bros. a one-two finish.
Taken lands in third place with an estimated $22.2 million, while Coraline takes fourth with $19.1 million; both movies fell less than 10% from last weekend, based on a three-day comparison
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February 12th, 2009
It might be hard for the box office to keep pace with last year, as the three new releases from this week don't seem as strong as the four new releases were last year. Perhaps with Valentine's Day landing on a Saturday in 2009 will help the year continue to expand its lead over 2008.
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February 9th, 2009
2009 returned to its winning ways after a tiny 1% drop-off last week. Not only did the number one film beat expectations, but five of the six films on Thursday's column beat expectations. This led to a 22% jump at the box office to $155 million, which is 38% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has now pulled in $1.22 billion vs. $1.02 billion for the same time last year, which is an outstanding 19.6% increase.
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February 8th, 2009
Once more, moviegoers defied predictions and visited movie theaters in big numbers this weekend.
He's Just Not That Into You overcame mediocre reviews to top the weekend with an impressive $27.465 million, according to Warner Bros. Sunday estimate.
Taken fell only 18% from its opening to score $20.3 million.
Coraline also had a very strong debut with $16.3 million and clearly managed to find its audience in spite of being a challenge to market.
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February 6th, 2009
There's a quartet of new wide releases coming out this week, with two coming out at saturation level theater counts, and two coming out that are barely opening truly wide. Additionally, only one of the wide releases is earning overall positive reviews, and most analysts seem to think that won't be enough to save it at the box office. Overall the new releases seem stronger than last year, as are the holdovers, which should help 2009 to expand on its lead, while overcoming last weekend's momentary dip at the box office.
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February 2nd, 2009
Taken took on the competition and won with $24.72 million over the weekend, which was the second best Super Bowl weekend debut behind Miley Cyrus's stunning opening of Best of Both Worlds. This is much better than expected, as the male-oriented rescue / revenge story faced stiff competition from Super Bowl 43, which turned out to be a much better game than anticipated. More...
February 1st, 2009
Moviegoers took Taken to the top of the chart this weekend, in spite of conventional wisdom that says that action thrillers can't work against the power of the Superbowl.
Strong performances on Friday and Saturday will propel the movie to a $24.6 million opening weekend, according to Fox's estimate released on Sunday morning.
Sony are delighted with another strong hold for Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which was down only 35% to $14 million, while The Uninvited had a decent $10.5 million weekend for Paramount.
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January 31st, 2009
Slow week for movie releases with the best of the bunch being merely average. To be fair, most of the sites are at least average, but none come close to being worthy of the Weekly Website Award.
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January 29th, 2009
It could be tough this weekend for 2009 to maintain pace with 2008 for a few reasons.
First of all, this time last year was the first weekend of February, and this time it is still the last weekend of January.
Secondly, it is Super Bowl weekend, and the two widest releases are aiming at a male audience.
Thirdly, this time last year Miley Cyrus proved she was a box office powerhouse, and there's no equivalent this year.
That said, while the top of the chart might not be that strong, there is a lot more depth this year.
A lot more.
In fact, there is a slim chance that the sixth place film will make $10 million or more at the box office this weekend, and it is unlikely that any of the new releases will truly bomb, unlike last year.
(Also, the Super Bowl is a lot less interesting this year compared to last.)
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January 1st, 2009
Happy New Year!
If it's January 1, it must be time to take a look at this month's releases, and analyze how 2009 at the box office will compare to 2008.
2009 is looking to get off to a fast start, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. For one thing, 2008 stumbled down the stretch, which means the box office is relatively soft at the moment. Also, 2008 got off to a great start, which means it will be harder for 2009 to keep pace early on. (On a side note, if the box office is sluggish as expected, it could set the tone for the box office coverage and bad news tends to beget more bad news.) While there are a few films that are aiming for $50 million or more, none have the advance buzz that Cloverfield had, and it is unlikely that any will match its box office.
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October 19th, 2008
First some updates on Wednesday's numbers. Due to Columbus Day, we were relying on studio estimates instead of final numbers, and while they were mostly accurate, they were not entirely accurate. The Russia film, Admiral (Koltchak), did indeed top the charts with $12.51 million on 1,223 screens in 2 markets over the weekend and $13.31 million in total. Meanwhile, Eagle Eye added $10.88 million on 3,030 screens in 38 markets for a still early total of $29.41 million. Mamma Mia! continues its quest for $400 million with $8.37 million on 3,713 screens in 46 markets for a total of $390.72 million. These three films were very close to the original figures, however, the rest of the top five was different than originally reported, starting with...
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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 14th, 2008
Wanted failed to reach first place during its opening in Germany, but still rose dramatically earning sixth internationally with $6.13 million on 1590 screens in 29 markets for a total of $147.68 million. In Germany is finished in second place behind The Dark Knight's third weekend of release earning $3.18 million on 444 screens, which is still impressive. Next up is Spain this weekend, while it opens wide in Japan next weekend and China early in October.
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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 31st, 2008
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army returned to the international chart in sixth place with $7.20 million on 828 screens in 14 markets for a total of $32.93 million. Of that weekend haul, $5.45 million was earned on 464 screens in the U.K., where it topped the charts this past weekend. Compared to the original, this film has made more domestically and more worldwide, while it is nearing its international total with openings in Australia, Spain, Brazil, Germany, France, and other markets left ahead of it.
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August 24th, 2008
Ponyo on the Cliff is locked in first place in Japan growing by 13% to $7.75 million on 481 screens over the weekend for a total of $90.47 million at the end of last weekend, and it is likely that it has hit $100 million in the meantime.
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August 17th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda slipped to sixth place with $9.34 million on 4736 screens in 47 markets for a total of $349.69 million internationally. The film is starting to shed theaters and markets at an accelerated pace, however, it still has openings in Italy and other smaller markets ahead of it, while it could reach $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide before the end of its run. (The latter it a lot easier than the former.)
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August 10th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Chilled in Miami, Tooth Fairy and more!
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May 25th, 2008
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian opened in second place on the international charts with $23.31 million on 3037 screens in 12 markets giving it the best per screen average on this week's list. The film only opened in three major markets, but it finished first in all of them. This includes Russia where it managed $6.73 million on 735 screens and Mexico where it earned $6.27 million on 842 and in both cases it opened significantly higher than the original. On the other hand, while it managed first place in South Korea, its opening of $3.42 million on 670 screens over the weekend and a total of $3.90 million is significantly lower than the originals opening of $3.94 million on 262 screens over three days and $5.22 million in total. Next up for the film is its debut in Japan this weekend, while it has major openings all the way till late August.
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May 18th, 2008
Like it did domestically, What Happens in Vegas... managed to open in second place on the international charts. It was able to do so in part because it opened in nearly every major market over the past weekend earning solid openings in many of them. This includes second place in both the U.K. ($2.47 million on 398 screens), in France ($2.36 million on 304 screens), and in Australia ($2.33 million on 335). It also placed first in Spain with an impressive $3.77 million on 398 screens and also topped the charts in both Russia and Germany with $3.70 million on 476 screens $1.85 million on 500 screens respectively. Overall it managed to pull in $24.86 million on 3904 screens in 36 markets during its opening weekend on the charts, and should have little difficulty matching its domestic total.
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May 11th, 2008
The release of Iron Man hit The Forbidden Kingdom knocking it into second place with $9.63 million on 2062 screens in 11 markets for a total of $40.51 million. The film had no major openings, but it did make $1.10 million on 398 screens over the weekend in South Korea for a total of $5.63 million.
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May 4th, 2008
Fool's Gold opened in a trio of major markets and that helped the film climb into sixth place with $4.93 million on 1809 screens in 39 markets for a total of $26.30 million. The film did relatively well in Spain with $1.03 million on 272 screens and in Germany with $934,000 on 254 screens while earning second place in both markets. On the other hand, it bombed in Italy with just $516,000 on 232 screens landing in sixth place. Overall, it was better than the film's average so far, but not nearly enough to recover from its previous troubles. It should hit $100 million worldwide this weekend, but that's not much compared to its domestic run, nor compared to its production budget.
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April 27th, 2008
Bienvenue Chez les Ch'its, a.k.a. Welcome to the Sticks, remained in first place in France with $4.79 million on 867 screens over the weekend for a total of $175.67 million after 8. However, it fell out of the top five internationally with $5.33 million on 963 screens in 4 markets for a total of $187.13 million. In its native market, the film has ticket sales of 19.25 million putting it about three weeks away from topping Titanic's record of 20.64 million while it is closing in on $200 million internationally. Both of those are amazing records, and the film is hardly showing signs of slowing down.
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April 20th, 2008
Nim's Island made its first push onto the international chart landing in sixth place with $4.53 million on 970 screens in 7 markets for a very early total of $5.64 million. The film opened in first place in Italy with $1.71 million on 304 screens while it expanded into fourth place in Australia with $780,000 on 196 screens over the weekend for a total of $1.69 million after two. The film also made its debut in France with $1.65 million on 399 screens, which was only enough for fifth place. Nim's Island is using a graduated release schedule and doesn't have a major opening for the rest of the month. On the other hand, it has major openings practically every month right through till the end of summer.
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March 16th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Henry Poole is Here, The Rocker, Humboldt Park and more!
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March 9th, 2008
Meet the Spartans made its first major push into the international market this past weekend earning sixth place with $7.94 million on 1653 screens in 14 markets for an early total of $12.90 million. Its biggest opening came in Germany where it scored second place with $3.01 million on 304 screens, however, it earned first place in both Mexico with $1.35 million on 543 screens and in Australia with $1.29 million on 211 screens. On the other hand, it fell by 59% during its second weekend in Russia pulling in $526,000 on 275 screens over the weekend for a total of $2.27 million after two.
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