November 30th, 2009
It's the week after Black Friday, which is widely reported as the busiest shopping day of the year, so it comes as no surprise that there are fewer releases this time around than there have been in recent weeks (including just a trio of spotlight reviews).
After all, it makes sense to release a DVD / Blu-ray before Black Friday rather than after.
That said, we are still in the heart of holiday shopping season, which means there are a couple of $100 million hits on this week's list, as well as some titles that are of interest.
Unfortunately, when it comes to most of the really interesting releases, I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive, so I can't tell if they are DVD Pick of the Week material.
The best of this week's releases that I can give a more detailed review for is Mystery Science Theater 3000 - XVI - Limited Edition Box Set.
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January 13th, 2009
It is very rare for a film to repeat as champion on the per theater chart, but that's exactly what Defiance did this past weekend, as it earned an average of $34,092 in two theaters. The Wrestler climbed into second place with an average of $14,140 in 60 theaters, which suggests serious room to expand, especially if it continues its winning ways during Awards Season. Made in U.S.A. was the best of the new releases, as it pulled in $11,125 in one theater, while Revolutionary Road was right behind with an average of $10,558 in 135. Finally, Gran Torino earned an average of $10,500 during its first week of wide release.
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November 19th, 2008
Slumdog Millionaire could be something we've been looking for all year, a limited release hit that will break out into mainstream theaters. It opened with just over $360,000 in 10 theaters over the weekend for an average of $36,002, and it already has $428,000 since Wednesday. Second place on the per theater chart went to the number one release of the week, Quantum of Solace, which earned an average of $19,568. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which showed remarkable strength in earning an average of $12,484 this week. That was down just 16% despite its theater count more than doubling.
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November 16th, 2008
It's a lopsided week for movie websites with one top-notch site and a list full of mostly average sites. Granted, the one top-notch site is, Quantum of Solace's Official Site, and it more than makes up for the average sites.
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November 14th, 2008
There's an even dozen limited releases on this week's list, but only two of them are earning overwhelming positive reviews. And only one of those, Slumdog Millionaire, has a real shot at significant expansion.
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October 2nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Paper Man, Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more!
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June 8th, 2008
Sex and the City made its international debut this past weekend, and while it wasn't able to top the charts like it did domestically, it still managed a fantastic $32.77 million on 3590 screens in 14 markets over the weekend for a total of $37.52 million. Its biggest opening came in the U.K. where it dominated the market with $17.22 million on 460 screens, which is equivalent to an $80 million to $100 million opening here. It also finished first in Germany with $7.41 million on 836 screens. It also did very well in France with $6.12 million on 551 screens and in Italy with $2.74 million on 552 screens, finishing second in both markets. The film opened in Australia and South Korea this past weekend, while it doesn't end its run till late August with Japan and it should reach several major milestones before then.
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June 1st, 2008
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian slipped 21% during its sophomore stint adding $19.35 million on 3681 screens in 13 markets for a still early total of $51.26 million. This includes a first place, $5.34 million opening on 782 screens over the weekend in Japan, while the film has $7.81 million including midweek numbers. This was below the original's opening in that market of $8.92 million, which is troubling. More troubling news came in Mexico where it was down 51% to $3.05 million on 842 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.58 million while in Russia it was down 55% to $3.03 million on 735 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.54 million after two.
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