June 30th, 2015
There's a short list this week, for two reasons. Firstly, there's not a lot of new releases worth mentioning. Secondly, I really have to concentrate on the July preview (look for that on the site tomorrow). The biggest release of the week is clearly Get Hard, but it was not the best. As for the best, there are two that jump out: Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (Blu-ray) and The Decline Of Western Civilization Collection (DVD or Blu-ray). Both are top-notch picks, but I went with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.
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June 29th, 2015
While We're Young is the latest film from writer / director Noah Baumbach. He has a great streak going by his Tomatometer Scores and this film earned 84% positive reviews. However, the audience score is only 58% positive. That dichotomy is a bit troubling. Is this film designed to wow critics, but will leave the average moviegoer cold?
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June 8th, 2015
It is a good week, but not a great week on the home market. There's really only one major release to talk about, Kingsman: The Secret Service. It is also one of the best releases of the week and one of a trio of Pick of the Week contenders that earned between 70% and 80% positive reviews. The other two are The Duff and The Sisterhood of Night. All three are worth picking up, but the winner of the Pick of the Week title is Red Army on DVD or Blu-ray / Video on Demand.
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April 28th, 2015
There were no films in the $10,000 club this week and no new releases really came close. The closest was Full Moon in Paris, which rose 58% from last weekend to $7,987, still in one theater. Felix et Meira was next with an average of $6,590 after expanding from one to four theaters. Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll was the biggest new release with an average of $6,402 in three theaters over the weekend for an average of $8,465 from Wednesday to Sunday.
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April 21st, 2015
Ex Machina remained in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $20,478 in 39 theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Felix et Meira, which earned $15,018 in its lone theater.
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April 15th, 2015
Ex Machina's opening weekend was surprisingly potent earning an average of $59,316 in four theaters. This is the biggest per theater average for a film that opened in 2015. I was not expecting that. On the other hand, I was expecting Clouds of Sils Maria to do well, and it did, earning an average of $20,603 in three theaters. Furious 7 remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $14,815 in more than 4,000 theaters.
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April 7th, 2015
The overall box office leader, Furious 7, was also the leader on the per theater chart earning an average of $36,763. That's the third best average for a 2015 release, with While We're Young still earning top spot on that chart. Speaking of While We're Young, it was the only other film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $14,226 in 34 theaters. Sometime this weekend, it will have reached its first major milestone.
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April 5th, 2015
After a massive $67.3 million on Friday, all eyes were on a $150 million weekend for Furious 7. It doesn’t look as though that is to be, with Universal projecting a weekend mark of $143,623,480 on Sunday morning. That’s the biggest April weekend of all time, and the biggest weekend outside the Summer or Thanksgiving holidays. It’s also the ninth-biggest weekend of all time, and, needless to say, franchise record. (Click here for a full list of records.) The studio will be delighted at its biggest weekend ever, and the industry as a whole will be looking forward to a lucrative Summer season with some optimism.
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April 1st, 2015
While We're Young has set a new record for 2015 earning the best per theater average for a film that opened in 2015 with an average of $56,922 in four theaters. The most negative thing you can say about this result was that it wasn't that unexpected, as several Noah Baumbach films have earned similar opening weekend per theaters averages. Up next was the first of two wide releases in the $10,000 club, Home, with an average of $14,053. The Salt of the Earth earned an average of $11,234 in four theaters. This is excellent for a documentary. The final film in the $10,000 club was the second wide release on this week's list, Get Hard, which pulled in an average of $10,647.
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March 29th, 2015
DreamWorks Animation has been having a tough time of it recently. Aside from How to Train Your Dragon 2, their last three films, Penguins of Madagascar, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Turbo were all financial failures, and, as an animation house, they are stuck with a business model that demands putting $100 million–$200 million into each film and hoping for a $500 million-plus global hit. That’s made doubly-difficult when you’re operating as a standalone entity and can’t fall back on the wider resources of the studio during hard times.
The opening weekend for Home, projected at $54 million, according to distributor Fox, is therefore very welcome news indeed. It marks the best opening by a non-sequel for the production house since Monsters vs. Aliens opened with $59.3 million on this weekend in 2009, and the third-best non-sequel debut in their history behind that film and Kung Fun Panda’s $60 million start in 2008.
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March 27th, 2015
It's a pretty good week as far as limited releases are concerned with a number of them earning excellent reviews. Unfortunately, the biggest in terms of cast and theater count is Serena, but its reviews are among the worst of the week. Hopefully films like Serena (Reviews) or Man from Reno (Reviews) can pick up the slack.
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