January 24th, 2012
Yesterday was one of the biggest days during Awards Season as The Oscar nominations were announced in the morning. It was a two horse race for top spot as far as the big winners are concerned. Hugo earned the most nominations with eleven, while The Artist was right behind with ten. However, one could argue The Artist is the bigger winner, as more of its nominations were in the more prestigious categories.
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January 5th, 2012
The latest round of major nominations were released today with the WGA nominations. Like much of the rest of the previous announcements, the only surprise was the lack of surprises. Four of the five Original Screenplays earned other nominations in that category or other guild nominations. That number rises to five out of five for Adapted Screenplays. There's little doubt about what films are Oscar contenders at this point. The Documentary films category is a little more contentious, but it usually is.
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November 30th, 2011
As it does every year, Independent Spirit Award nominations kick off the unofficial start of Awards Season. This year there were two films that topped the list of nominations: The Artist and Take Shelter. Both of those films earned five nominations, but they weren't the only films to be singled out.
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August 23rd, 2011
Summer is winding down, and while that means weaker box office numbers, it also means stronger home market releases. We are still a little early for summer blockbusters; however, TV on DVD releases are really heating up and will begin to dominate the scene. There are a few of those worth checking out, including NCIS: Season Eight, which is a contender for Pick of the Week. However, that honor goes to Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension. (An honorable mention also goes to Reboot: The Definitive Mainframe Edition, which finally arrived last week. It was worth the wait.)
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June 14th, 2011
The Tree of Life remained in top spot on the per theater chart with an average of $17,596 in 47 theaters. It will clearly expand further, and it is safe to say it has already earned some measure of mainstream success. The Trip opened well with an average of $12,984 in six theaters. It did earn great reviews, so it might last a long time in theaters. On the other hand, I think its target audience is too narrow to expand significantly. Beginners was in a virtual tie with an average of $12,793. It will start hitting milestones soon. Super 8 opened with an average of $10,492 while in saturation level theater count.
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May 20th, 2011
This week's list of limited releases is not very strong with only one film with a better than 50% chance of making much noise. That film, Midnight in Paris, is the latest from Woody Allen and is earning the auteur's best reviews in more than a decade and a half. Perhaps it will be able to join Jane Eyre and Win Win at more than $10 million. (The latter hasn't made it there yet, but it should do so relatively soon.) Speaking of movies with $10-million ambitions, The Beaver was supposed to expand wide this weekend, but after struggling in limited release, that's not happening. It will be playing in more than 160 theaters, on the other hand, which is higher than most limited releases ever manage.
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April 19th, 2011
The Double Hour earned top spot on the per theater chart with an average of $15,123 in two theaters. The only other film to crack the $10,000 mark was the overall box office leader, Rio, with an average of $10,250.
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April 12th, 2011
Red State continued its special engagement run earning $82,395 in one theater over the weekend. It has already earned $851,832 and will likely hit a major milestone, or two, before it has its official theatrical release. Blank City opened with $13,989 over the weekend and $21,412 since Wednesday, also in one theater. The Four Times was very, very close behind with $13,678 during its second weekend of release. Independent Spirit Award winner, Meek's Cutoff, was just able to grab a spot in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,021 in two theaters.
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April 10th, 2011
It's looking like another disappointing weekend at the box office, with Arthur performing well below expectations with a weak $12.6 million opening to leave Hop as the clear winner for a second consecutive weekend. The bunny movie posted an estimated $21.7 million, down 42% from its opening, which isn't bad, and it will be helped by Easter, one suspects. There were also some signs of life from two other openers: Hanna and Soul Surfer.
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April 5th, 2011
The Four Times led a group of three films that topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this week with $16,192 in its lone theater. My Perestroika was next with $13,498, also in one theater. Meanwhile, the overall box office leader, Hop, was the final member of the $10,000 club with an average of $10,490.
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April 3rd, 2011
Universal have a shot at posting the biggest opening of 2011, thanks to a stronger than expected opening for Hop, which is currently estimated to open with $38.118 million. If that number holds up, it would just beat the $38.079 million opening enjoyed by Rango at the beginning of March. Encouraging as that performance is, it also highlights the overall weakness of the market in 2011, as four movies had opened over $40 million by this time last year, and Clash of the Titans debuted with $61 million the first weekend of April, making for another tough year-to-year comparison. The weekend as a whole will likely be down around 27% from last year, continuing the industry's losing streak into the second quarter.
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March 30th, 2011
Seven films topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this week, but leading the way were last week's top two films: Bill Cunningham New York and Win Win. The former earned $21,786 in 3 theaters while the latter was right behind with $20,192 in 23. My Perestroika earned $17,680 in its lone theater over the weekend and $25,084 since its Wednesday opening. Mia and the Migoo and Miral were neck-and-neck at $16,975 and $16,561. They also share something else, bad reviews, so their futures are in doubt. Trophy Wife earned an average of $12,288 in seven theaters. Finally, Jane Eyre made nearly $1 million over the weekend in 90 theaters for an average of $10,778.
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March 27th, 2011
The last weekend in March have brought us another pair of movies opening in the high teens to low twenties. This time around Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was the low-twenties movie, picking up a very respectable $24.4 million on debut, which is a shade ahead of the $22 million earned by the first film in the franchise this time last year. Sucker Punch produced a slightly disappointing $19 million opening weekend, which is a drop in the bucket compared to its $75 million budget. It'll need good international numbers and a strong home market performance to recoup costs.
Overall box office will be down about 7% from last year, continuing 2011's losing streak, although that makes this one of the better weekends of the year so far.
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March 22nd, 2011
There were a quartet of strong performers on the per theater chart this past weekend with Bill Cunningham New York coming out on top with $33,677 in its lone theater. However, while Win Win came in second, it was close behind with $30,072 while it was playing in five theaters, instead of just one, so you could argue it had the better start. Jane Eyre remained potent with an average of $17,939, while its theater count grew from 4 to 26. It will start hitting major milestones very soon. Nostalgia for the Light was the final $10,000 film with $10,681 in one theater.
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March 20th, 2011
The North American box office showed further glimmers of hope this weekend, with no less than five movies vying for top spot on the chart, and Limitless handily beating expectations to finish first. Its $19 million debut is the best so far for Relativity Media's fledgling distribution organization. Overall, however, box office will be down around 10% from last year, continuing a losing streak that will almost certainly extend to cover the entire first quarter.
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March 18th, 2011
It's another rather busy week for limited releases, plus there are a few that have might expand wide enough to earn some measure of mainstream success. There are a few very impressive documentaries on this week's list, while hopefully narrative films like Win Win or The Music Never Stopped can continue the mini-winning streak limited releases have had.
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