October 3rd, 2013
Okay, maybe it wasn't a home run on the home market, but new releases for the week of July 21st, 2013 helped the overall Blu-ray market grow from last week and last year. Led by 42, there were 825,000 units sold and $19.11 million in revenue generated, which was 31% higher in terms of units and 41% higher in terms revenue. Year-over-year, there were just 1% more units sold, but 34% higher revenue. This, plus weaker DVD numbers, helped the overall Blu-ray share jump to 32% in terms of units and 42% in terms of revenue. That's better than I was anticipating.
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August 7th, 2013
Like it usually is during the summer, this week is rather soft on home market. Granted, there is one wide release that did very well at the box office, Oblivion, plus a couple of limited releases that did well to earn a serious measure of mainstream success, The Place Beyond the Pines and Mud. However, there are also some releases in the top twenty that are definitely filler. Usually, once you reach exercise videos, there's nothing worth talking about. Of course, if I used that rule this week, there would be almost nothing on this week's list. Mud is likely the best release and the DVD or Blu-ray is worth picking up, but I'm still waiting for the screener to review and I hate awarding something Pick of the Week if the screener is late. Because of this, I'm going with another late release, Burn Notice: Season Six, as Pick of the Week. It arrived more than a month late, but it was worth the wait.
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August 3rd, 2013
Trance is based on a TV movie written and directed by Joe Ahearne. Joe Ahearne helped write the screenplay for the theatrical release with John Hodges. John Hodges previously wrote the screenplays for Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, among others. Many of his films were directed by Danny Boyle, who also directed Trance. Given the pedigree, a lot of people were expecting a lot out of this film. It earned overall positive reviews and made more than $2 million in limited release, which is better than a lot of films manage. However, this was still way below expectations. Was it a case of expectations simply being too high? Or were there serious enough flaws in this film that caused it to fail to live up to many of Danny Boyle's previous films.
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July 23rd, 2013
This week's new releases are so bad that I'm tempted to hold on to this story till I finish the review for Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four on Blu-ray, just so I would have a real contender for Pick of the Week. According to Amazon.com, the best-selling new release of the week is an Anime title. Most weeks, Anime titles are filler, because of their are niche appeal. There are a few foreign releases and limited releases worth checking out, but there are not many contenders for Pick of the Week. The two best are Ginger & Rosa on DVD and Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXVII on DVD. I'm going with the former for Pick of the Week. Meanwhile, Starbuck's DVD earns Puck of the Week. See it before Hollywood ruins it with a bad remake.
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April 30th, 2013
While there were two films in the $10,000 club this week, Kon-Tiki and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, one could argue Mud had the best opening on the per theater chart this past weekend. Kon-Tiki earned an average of $11,084 in two theaters, while The Reluctant Fundamentalist earned an average of $10,307 in three. However, Mud earned an average of $6,103 while playing in 363 theaters. It missed the top ten by just $160,000.
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April 16th, 2013
There were no films able to reach the $10,000 club on this week's per theater average. However, while this is disappointing, it is not uncommon for this time of year. The best film was 42, which not only opened in first place on the overall chart, but also earned first place on the per theater average chart with an average of $9,153. The best limited release of the week was Disconnect, which earned an average of $8,240 in 15 theaters.
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April 14th, 2013
Sports movies can be a risky proposition financially. While they potentially have a built-in audience among fans of the sport in question, they can also turn off people who don't much care for the sport. It takes a really compelling story to reach out to non-fans, and it seems as though the story of Jackie Robinson is compelling enough to draw in a broad audience for 42, which will open atop the box office chart this weekend with a projected $27.25 million, according to Warner Bros.' Sunday morning estimate. A 25% uptick on Saturday suggests good word of mouth for the film so far. Less good word of mouth is being earned by Scary Movie 5, which is projected to end in second place with $15.15 million. That's well behind previous outings for the franchise, which have clustered around the $40 million mark.
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April 9th, 2013
The buzz certainly helped Trance, as it earned first place on the per theater chart with an average of $32,786 in four theaters. This is not quite as good as Danny Boyle's previous two limited releases, but if it doesn't reach at least one major milestone, I would be shocked. Upstream Color rode the best reviews of the week to second place with $28,649 in its lone theater. The Company You Keep was right behind with an average of $26,344 in five theaters. Mixed reviews will likely hold down its potential to expand. The Place Beyond the Pines was the only holdover to reach the $10,000 mark. It expanded to 30 theaters, but still managed an impressive average of $23,446.
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April 5th, 2013
As usual, there is an eclectic mix of limited releases, including some that have earned some advance buzz, like Trance and The Company You Keep, which should help them at the box office. The best reviewed film of the week is Upstream Color, but it is probably too weird to thrive outside of the art house circuit. It might be too weird to thrive within the art house circuit.
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