December 21st, 2013
PANIC! If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping yet, it is officially time to panic. Personally, I got the last of my shopping done on Wednesday, although I don't think the gift will arrive in time for Christmas. For those still looking for a last minute gift, Part IV of our Holiday Gift Guide focuses on books, CDs, and of course anything else I missed the first time around, beginning with...
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December 14th, 2013
SAG handed out nominations over the week, and like with the Independent Spirit Awards, 12 Years a Slave led the way and earned four nominations. It wasn't the only film that was singled out.
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December 3rd, 2013
There are a trio first run releases hitting the home market this week; however, all of them missed expectations at the box office to one degree or the other. The Wolverine performed the best and it is definitely the only one worth checking out, but I won't know if it is the best till the screener arrive. (I hope I get the Extended Edition 3D Combo Pack, because I hear it is a much better version of the movie). Contenders for Pick of the Week are limited. The Rutles Anthology was on the short list, but in the end I went with Drinking Buddies on DVD or Blu-ray.
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October 30th, 2013
Gravity earned first place for the fourth week with $37.7 million on 7,340 screens in 53 markets for a total of $164.4 million internationally and $364.0 million worldwide. This weekend it debuted in first place in France with a very impressive $10.76 million on 398 screens. It also remained in first place in South Korea with $5.29 million on 531 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $15.55 million. It also repeated in top spot in Mexico with $3.79 million on 1,563 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.04 million after two. The film will likely pull in close to $100 million in just these holdovers, plus it has yet to open in the U.K., Japan and China, so it could make another $100 million in those three markets as well.
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October 24th, 2013
For the third weekend in a row, Gravity led the way on the international chart and reached a major milestone in the process. This past weekend, it pulled in $33.5 million on 7,900 screens in 51 markets for an international total of $114.2 million and a worldwide total $283.8 million. It opened in first place in two major markets led by South Korea where it earned $6.30 million on 636 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $7.29 million. Meanwhile in Mexico, it made $5.75 million on 1,783 screens. Its biggest market overall is Russia where it has earned $17.60 million in total, including $2.19 million on 700 screens this past weekend.
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August 23rd, 2013
Elysium rushed to top spot with $24.04 million on 4,588 screens in 41 markets for an early total of $40.08 million. This week it opened in France with $4.16 million on 466 screens, which was enough for first place. It also debuted in first place in Australia ($3.38 million on 317 screens); and in Germany ($3.20 million on 584); and Spain ($3.04 million on 450). It was pushed into third place in Russia with $2.98 million on 976 screens for a total of $12.50 million after two weeks of release. It fell 58%, which is actually better than average for a sophomore film in Russia.
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August 15th, 2013
The Smurfs 2 rose to top spot with $35.57 million on 11,102 screens in 65 markets for a total of $111.01 million internationally. Its biggest market of the weekend was Germany, where it added $3.16 million on 1,075 screens over the weekend to its total, which now sits at $8.78 million. There is a virtual tie for biggest market overall with Russia and the U.K. sitting at $9.94 million and $9.87 million respectively. Getting to the century mark internationally so quickly is good news for the studio. That said, it is behind the first film in most markets and I don't think it will finish with a profit, at least not on its own. Perhaps merchandizing will push it into the black.
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August 13th, 2013
There were four films that opened wide last week and while none of them were monster hits, three of the four of them were solid openings. Elysium opened in first place, but landed on the lower end of expectations. We're the Millers was a bit of a surprise hit, earning more over five days than it cost to make. Disney's Planes had the best opening for an animated film in August. There's not a lot of competition for that record. Finally there was Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, which will cost the studio a fortune. With four new releases taking the top four spots, it should be no surprise that the overall box office was strong. In fact, it rose 16% from last weekend to $159 million. No film was able to match last year's winner, The Bourne Legacy, but we had a lot better depth this time around. This helped 2013 win the year-over-year comparison by 12%. Meanwhile, 2013 has completed the comeback and now has a 3.6% lead over 2012 at $6.85 billion to $6.61 billion.
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August 11th, 2013
The waning days of the Summer season are seeing a glut of films as distributors try to find one last hit. Four films opened in wide release this weekend and, even though they played to quite different demographics, they will ultimately all fall somewhat short of expectations (or, more accurately, hopes). Topping the pack will be Elysium, which is expected to earn $30.5 million by Sunday evening -- a solid enough performance, but not enough to make a serious dent in its $120 million production budget. Good legs and an impressive international run will be needed for this one to turn a profit. We're the Millers will land in second place for the weekend with about $26.5 million, but will arguably have had a better start, with $38 million earned in total since it opened on Wednesday (not to mention a much lower production cost). Planes will be third with $22.5 million or so, which is OK for a film that was originally destined for a direct-to-video release. The real bomb of the weekend is Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, with $14.6 million expected Friday to Sunday and $23.5 million in total over five days.
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August 8th, 2013
Pacific Rim earned first place over the weekend with $53.0 million in 58 markets for a total of $200.4 million internationally and $293.3 million worldwide. It has made more internationally than it cost to make, but it will still need a lot of help to break even. The film's biggest market over the weekend was China, where it debuted in first place with $45 million. Unfortunately for the film, while studios take about 60% of the box office numbers in the United States (it varies per film) they only get about 20% of the box office in China. Or to be more accurate, they will only get about 20% of the box office, once the sales tax dispute is settled. Right now, they are getting nothing.
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August 6th, 2013
Unless the box office bounces back next weekend, it will be safe to say summer ended over the weekend. 2 Guns did finish in first place, but it underperformed, while The Smurfs 2 only managed third place. Overall, the box office plummeted 20% from last weekend to $138 million. On the other hand, this is still better than last year, up 12%, thanks to much better depth. 2012 was led by The Dark Knight Rises, which no movie this year could match, but there were only three films to top $10 million last year compared to five films this year.
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August 2nd, 2013
August begins with two films, 2 Guns and The Smurfs 2, one action film and one kids movie. Neither film is likely going to break records, but I think 2 Guns should at least do well enough to be a financial success, eventually. The Smurfs 2 probably won't be a hit here, but its international numbers are looking a lot better. Like this year, this weekend last year there were two wide releases, Total Recall and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, one action film and one kids movie. This year's new releases should easily trump last year's new releases; however, last year the box office was led by The Dark Knight Rises, which will keep the year-over-year comparison a little closer.
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August 1st, 2013
The winner of our Ride On contest was determined and it is...
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August 1st, 2013
Blue Jasmine earned top spot on the per theater chart, not just for the week, but for the year. Its per theater average was $102,011 in six theaters, topping the previous yearly best by Spring Breakers. Spring-Breakers finished its theatrical run with just over $14 million, which is a figure Blue Jasmine should top. The Act of Killing remained potent in second place with an average of $13,890 in three theaters. The overall box office leader, The Wolverine, was the final film in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,536.
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July 29th, 2013
The Wolverine did not live up to expectations, but it still dominated the weekend box office chart, earning more than double the second place film, The Conjuring. Overall, the box office fell nearly 12% when compared to last weekend hitting $172 million. This is still 28% higher than the same weekend last year, which is a great result. In total, 2013 has pulled in $6.40 billion, which is just under $20 million or 0.3% below last year's pace. This is fantastic; however, had The Wolverine performed as well as some were expecting, 2013 would have pulled into the lead over the weekend.
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July 28th, 2013
The Wolverine will have a very solid, but far from spectacular debut this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Its $55 million total will give it the tenth-biggest weekend of the year, and the best for Fox, but it is falling well behind comparable films like World War Z (which opened with $66 million) and Star Trek Into Darkness ($70 million). Good reviews and lessened competition as the Summer season comes to a close will help it a bit, but it looks like $100 million and out for the franchise, unless its $86.1 million international debut turns into a $400 million global run.
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July 25th, 2013
It's the final weekend of July and there is only one wide release to deal with, The Wolverine. It should be the easy winner of the weekend, it might pull in enough to become the biggest opening weekend of the month. This isn't likely, but there is a slim chance. There is one other film that might make an appearance in the top ten, The To Do List. Again, it doesn't have a strong chance, but it could happen. The holdovers should be far behind The Wolverine, as only The Conjuring has a shot at $20 million. This weekend last year, both new releases bombed, which is good news for 2013 in the year-over-year comparison. Granted, The Dark Knight Rises took in $62.10 million, which is something The Wolverine should have no trouble topping, while the holdovers should provide more depth.
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July 22nd, 2013
The weekend box office was mixed with two of the four wide releases matching predictions, Turbo and R.I.P.D.. There was one movie failing to reach expectations, Red 2. And finally there was one more beating nearly all predictions, The Conjuring. Fortunately, The Conjuring did so well that it made up for the weak films and helped the overall box grow to $195 million. Granted, that was within a rounding error of last weekend, but any growth is good news. There is also some bad news, as this was 16% lower than the same weekend last year, but since that was the weekend The Dark Knight Rises opened, this is actually better than expected. Year-to-date, 2013 has pulled in $6.12 billion. This is still lower than last year's pace ($6.16 billion), but it is close enough that it would only take one surprise weekend result to catch up. Earlier in the year, I thought 2013 was a lost cause. Now I'm much more optimistic.
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July 18th, 2013
Next week there is only one major release coming out: The Wolverine. (The To Do List is also coming out, but it not opening wide, or even semi-wide.) With only one wide release, it is really easy to choose the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for The Wolverine.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Dragons: Riders of Berk, both Part 1 and Part 2. Normally when we have two prizes, we split them up, but this makes more sense to go as a double-pack.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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July 1st, 2013
For the most part, June was a really strong month at the box office with nearly every film either matching expectations, or at least coming close enough to call it a victory. Looking forward, there are a dozen films opening wide in July, more or less. One of them, The Smurfs 2, is opening on a Wednesday, so I'm going to hold off talking about that movie till the August preview. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain is opening in less than 1000 theaters, but it has a shot at reaching the top ten during its opening weekend. If we include both of them, there are twelve films, but I think it is better to stick with the ten truly wide, truly July openings. Of these, Despicable Me 2 is clearly going to be the biggest hit at the box office. It could become the second biggest hit of the year so far. It is not the only film that could be a $100 million hit. In fact, there are six films opening in July that I think have a better than 50% chance of reaching that level. There is currently only one film that I think won't at least become a midlevel hit. By comparison in 2012, there were three $100 million movies, led by The Dark Knight Rises, but the rest of the new releases struggled. There's no chance any movie opening this month will top $400 million, in fact, it is quite possible no film will get to $300 million. That said, 2013 has a lot better depth, so it might come out on top in the end.
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