Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will easily take top honors at the box office this weekend, but its $60-million debut is a disappointing start considering that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuted with over $100 million way back in 2008. Its $70 million internationally isn’t much better considering that the franchise has traditionally done well around the world. The film is also performing weakly compared to its Thursday preview numbers, a clue that it isn’t getting great word of mouth. On the other hand, every film in the top 10 is coming in behind our Friday-morning predictions, which suggests a slow weekend generally, possibly influenced by the upcoming July 4 holiday.
More...
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will top the box office chart in its fourth weekend in theaters, according to studio projections released on Sunday morning. That says a lot about the performance of recent releases The Flash and Elemental, which should by rights be dominating the chart right now. No Hard Feelings is on its way to a solid opening weekend, and will finish fourth.
More...
Three new wide releases grace cinemas all across North America this weekend, while a flurry of big franchise hits are still widely available on the big screen. Newcomer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts won the domestic weekend last time around, but Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse retook its position at number one at the box office throughout the week. This week they fall from their respective places as widest release as The Flash and Elemental make their cinematic arrival.
More...
Disney’s Eternals, the latest outing for the MCU, got off to a strong start on Thursday evening, with $9.5 million in preview earnings, according to the studio. That’s a bit more than Shang-Chi’s $8.8 million, but somewhat less than the $13.2 million earned by Black Widow. That points to an opening weekend in the mid-$70 millions.
More...
Dune, one of the longest-awaited films in recent history, finally makes its domestic theatrical debut this weekend, and Warner Bros. will be anxiously awaiting results to see if it has the potential to launch a major franchise—something that doesn’t happen very often in this business. With a reported $5.1 million from previews on Thursday night, the news is good so far. While that’s somewhat behind the best starts of the pandemic era, it’s a very respectable score for a non-sequel, and sets the film on a path towards something around $40 million this weekend. That’s better than what our model expected, given its simultaneous release on HBO Max.
More...
After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last month and rolling out in 36 international markets, Dune has finally reached domestic theaters. The feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel showcases an all-star ensemble cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Jason Momoa, among others. The film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, has a budget of $165m will open in an estimated 4,000 theaters, including IMAX locations and streaming via HBO Max. Dune has scored just over $116 million internationally.
More...
No Time to Die debuted last weekend with the widest release in nearly two years. Playing in 4,407 locations, the latest in the 007 franchise racked up a solid $55.22 million during its first weekend, and currently sits at $71.6 million after six days of release. Worldwide, the film has brought in an impressive $328 million, and has yet to open in two key markets, China (Oct. 29) and Australia (Nov. 11). This week, No Time to Die keeps its count from last week, which once again makes it the widest release. Also opening this week is fellow franchise film Halloween Kills. The Universal Pictures slasher, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer and Andi Matichak arrives in 3,705 theaters.
More...
Some major movies hit streaming services this week, with Fantastic Mr. Fox debuting on Disney+, and Rocketman coming out on multiple services. I highly recommend both. There is also some original fair and some smaller releases that likely slipped beneath most people’s radar. Of these, The Lovebirds is the film I’m looking forward to the most. It was supposed to be a wide release in April, but it was one of the films affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, and was picked up by Netflix.
More...
It is a slow week for DVD and Blu-rays with almost no first-run releases to talk about. The Rhythm Section is the biggest first-run release of the week and it bombed hard. As for the best, The Assistant and The Grand Budapest Hotel are the only two contenders for Pick of the Week. That said, I am really looking forward to Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and I won’t have to wait long, because the screener is on its way.
More...
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. A lot of people call this Oscar the Pixar Award, and there is a Pixar film on this list. However, in a shocking twist, it isn’t the overwhelming favorite to win.
More...
This is one of the worst weeks on the home market I can remember. There’s nothing here that even remotely looks like a top-notch release, at least on physical medium. This is the week that Avengers: Infinity War hits Video on Demand and it is dominating the home market in that regard and has to be the Pick of the Week. The only other releases that were close are Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 on Blu-ray Combo Pack and Star Wars Rebels: Season Four.
More...
Isle of Dogs is the latest movie by Wes Anderson. It is a stop-motion animated film that had one of the best theater averages of the year during its opening weekend and is one of the best limited release hits of 2018. Is it also one of the best limited release hits? Or did it get by on star power?
More...
It’s a shallow week in terms of the total number of releases, but a lot of films on this list are worth picking up. Rampage is the biggest and it is worth buying, if you are into popcorn action flicks. There are a lot of other releases that are worth picking up, but not quite Pick of the Week contenders, like Disobedience, The Good Place: Season Two, etc. As for true Pick of the Week contenders, we have a limited selection and I’m going with Isle of Dogs on Blu-ray Combo Pack for that title.
More...
Well, March has ended and it was a very disappointing month. Black Panther made more than any of the new releases did. The only potential big hit that didn’t miss expectations was Ready Player One. Because of this, 2018 lost its lead over 2017 and is now over $100 million behind last year’s pace. April is usually a terrible month, because it is a dumping ground, especially late in the month. No studio wants to compete with the first monster hit of the Summer. This year, the first monster hit of the summer, Avengers: Infinity War, opens in April. It will make more during its opening weekend than any other April release will make in total. It might make more opening day than any other April release will make in total. The only film that has a real chance to earn more than $100 million is Rampage, a video game adaptation. Last April, The Fate of the Furious earned more than $1.2 billion worldwide, but “only” earned $225.76 million of that domestically. Infinity War should earn more than that opening weekend. The second biggest hit of last April was Smurfs: The Lost Village and Going in Style, both of which earned $45.02 million. If 2018 doesn’t retake the lead by the end of the month, then 2018 is in trouble at the box office.
More...
There are over two dozen limited releases coming out this week, but many of them had only a handful of, if any, reviews. There are some that should find a receptive audience, whether its on Video on Demand like Pyewacket, or whether it has massive breakout success, like most think Isle of Dogs will manage.
More...
This week's list is led by Pitch Perfect 2, which was a surprisingly strong performer at the box office. However, its reviews are not up to Pick of the Week levels. The best of the best are dominated by TV on DVD releases, including Modern Family: Season 6, which is the last sitcom I watch every single week. However, it is a double-dip that wins the Pick of the Week honors, Moonrise Kingdom:Criterion Collection. The original Blu-ray didn't have nearly enough extras, but this one corrects that problem.
More...
The polls are closed in our 18th annual Predict the Academy Awards contest, and it has turned out to be the most exciting two-horse race in the history of the contest.
After weeks of intense debate among our voters, we have a virtual tie in the biggest categories of all: Best Picture and Best Director. The predicted Best Picture winner is, in fact, a statistical dead heat. Boyhood garnered 47% of the total vote, and Birdman 46%, giving the Linklater epic the tiniest of edges.
Best Director is a clearer contest, but still close, and still a bout between Boyhood and Birdman. Richard Linklater is favorite to win Best Director, perhaps in part because he’s more “due” for the award than Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. As noted, though, “favorite” is strong, given the closeness of this category, with Linklater getting 55% of the votes and Inarritu taking a 46% share.
The other big story about this year’s contest is just how much of a two-horse contest it really is. With 93% of the Best Picture vote going to Birdman and Boyhood, the remaining nominees were left to split the other 7% of the vote. American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything each gathered a handful of votes from The Numbers readers, and Selma and Whiplash are given virtually no chance at all.
More...
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at the Best Director category, which is neither among the most nor among the least competitive categories. We definitely have a favorite, but we also have another nominee with a better than average shot at winning.
More...
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at the two writing categories, starting with Best Original Screenplay. This is actually a two-horse race and for once, I'd be happy with either of the two leading contenders winning.
More...
The Oscar nominations were announced early in the morning, when all sensible people were asleep. There were some surprises, as well as some results that would have been surprises had it not been for the previous Awards Season nominations. Seventeen films earned two or more nods, led by Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, both of which picked up nine nominations, while The Imitation Game was right behind with eight.
More...
The Directors Guild of America were the last major Awards Season group to hand out their nominations and did so over two days this week. Not surprisingly, for the most part, the same group of films appear on this list as have appeared on the rest of the Awards Season nominations. Birdman, Boyhood, and The Imitation Game all make appearances,
More...
The BAFTA nominations were announced yesterday and unlike most other Awards Season voters, the BAFTA voters gave us some real surprises. For instance, Birdman didn't lead the way. In fact, it was a comedy, The Grand Budapest Hotel, that earned the most nominations at 11. Granted, Birdman and The Theory of Everything were tied for second place with ten each, but it is still strange to see a comedy leading the way.
More...
The third installment of our annual Holiday Gift Guide involves limited releases, including foreign films and documentaries; classics hitting DVD or Blu-ray for the first time; and of course Canadian films. There were better choices for the limited releases than there were for big releases and TV on DVD releases, which is good news, because this Holiday Gift Guide feels that it ahs been lackluster so far. There have been many great limited releases to come out this year, including several foreign-language films to find some measure of mainstream success. On the downside, every year a lot of these movies hit theaters in the fall, so they won't hit the home market for months. That said, there are still some real highlights among the limited releases, classics, and Canadian films. In fact, we start off with the highest of the highlights for the entire year.
More...
The Golden Globes nominations were announced this morning, at three in the morning, because the people at Golden Globes are under the delusion that news announced at 3:00 a.m. is somehow more important if it is announced before anyone is awake. As for the actual nominations, like with the Independent Spirit Awards and the SAG nominations, Birdman led the way. It earned seven nominations, while Boyhood and The Imitation Game tied for second with five apiece. Starting to notice a pattern here? This could be a really dull Awards Season with very few surprises. On the other hand, predictable means less work for me. Plus, predictable probably means the Awards Season voters are making the right choices, as surprises usually mean someone made the wrong choice.
More...
It is a terrible week on the home market. The biggest new release according to Amazon.com is Legend of Korra: Book Two, Spirits, which is coming out on DVD and DVD or Blu-ray. However, according to the people sending me a screener, it doesn't come out till the first week of August. The best release on this week's list is The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it came out last month and the Blu-ray arrived late. The best new release on this week's list, that I know is coming out this week, is The Lunchbox and the Blu-ray Combo Pack is the Pick of the Week.
More...
The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest film from auteur director, Wes Anderson, and it is also his biggest box office hit. I liked some of his earlier films, but after The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited, I didn't consider myself a fan of his work. Then I saw The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom and I lovedboth. Because of this, I was super excited to see The Grand Budapest Hotel and its box office success caused my expectations to rise even more. Did they rise too high? Is this Wes Anderson's best movie, as well as his biggest hit?
More...
It's a good week / bad week on the home market. There are several releases coming out this week that are absolutely worth picking up. But there are also several of these where I'm still waiting for screeners to arrive, some of which are contenders for Pick of the Week, like The Grand Budapest Hotel or House of Cards. Other potential Pick of the Week contenders include Ernest and Celestine on Blu-ray Combo Pack and The LEGO Movie on Blu-ray Combo Pack. It was literally a coin toss and Ernest and Celestine won. Meanwhile, No Clue on DVD wins the Puck of the Week, for the best Canadian release of the week.
More...
While summer time is a great time for theatrical releases, it is a terrible time on the home market. This week, there are nearly no first-run releases, and the one that came out, Endless Love, earned terrible reviews and failed to find an audience in theaters. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of other releases to make up for the lack of first-run releases. There are some catalog releases, like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which is coming out on Blu-ray. There are also some summer shows coming out on DVD ahead of the premiere of the latest season, like Suits: Season Three. There's not much in the way of contenders for Pick of the Week. Cheap Thrills is one such contender, but I'm still waiting for the DVD or the Blu-ray screener to arrive. This leaves Journey to the West on Blu-ray as the only choice for Pick of the Week.
More...
The modern tradition is that first weekend in May starts the Summer season with a super-hero action movie. And Hollywood being the industry that lets no tradition go before it's beaten it to death, this year we start Summer, on the first weekend in May, with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Now, the most amazing fact about the Spider-Man franchise is probably that every movie has done worse at the domestic box office than the one before it, even without adjusting for inflation. This is another tradition that looks like it might continue, with Spider-Man 2 opening with $92 million—without doubt a very good debut, but one that points towards a final box office around $250 million, or perhaps a shade higher. With The Amazing Spider-Man having made $262 million in 2012, a fourth straight decline for the franchise looks like a 50-50 bet right now.
More...
Rio 2 raced to first place with $63.5 million on 20,008 screens in 65 markets for a total of $125.6 million after four weeks of release. This includes a first place debut in Mexico, where it earned $8.42 million on 2,627 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $8.97 million. This is about $3 million more than the first film's debut there. It also earned first place in Australia with $2.09 million on 278 screens, although this is weaker than its predecessor. It is still too soon to tell where it will finish internationally, as it has been doing better in some markets, but worse in others, when compared to Rio. That said, I think the studio should be happy overall.
More...
Captain America: The Winter Soldier remained in first place on the international chart with $109.8 million in 50 markets for a two week total of $209.4 million internationally and $304.4 million worldwide. The Winter Soldier is already ahead of the first Captain America internationally, and by this time next week, it will have $500 million worldwide, about 30% more than its predecessor's final figure. This week, the film opened in first place in a trio of major markets, led by China where it earned $36.23 million, which is just over $20 million more than the first film finished with in that market. Russia was next with an opening of $7.79 million on 1,685, or $1 million lower than the first film's final tally there. Finally there was Australia, where the film opened with $5.91 million, which is about 20% more than its predecessor opened with. As far as holdovers go, the film added $4.64 million in the U.K. for a total of $18.31 million there, which is already ahead of the first film's total.
More...
So the first weekend of April was amazing. Not only did Game of Thrones set a series record for ratings (and the best for HBO since The Sopranos) but Captain America: The Winter Soldier set the April opening weekend of all time. Its opening was on the high end of expectations, which is great news, and this strength helped the overall box office grow by 19% from last weekend to $167 million. This is also 24% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2014 now has $2.55 billion, which is 7% more than 2013's running tally of $2.38 billion.
More...
This week the list of limited releases includes The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is earning amazing buzz and arguably better reviews. It will likely dominate the per theater chart so much so that the rest of the films might suffer as as result. This would be too bad, because there are several other films that deserve to find an audience. Grand Piano and In Fear are both earning great reviews, but as horror films playing on Video on Demand, their box office numbers will be nothing more than an afterthought. There are also a couple of comedies I'm interested in seeing, Journey To The West and No Clue, although the latter is only playing in Canada.
More...
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we will look at the two writing categories, finishing with Best Original Screenplay. There are actually three films that could win that and it wouldn't be a total shock if they did. That said, there is still a favorite to contend with.
More...
Argo continues its winning ways at the WGAs this weekend. It has become the defacto favorite for the Oscars, despite the high profile Oscar snub.
More...
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions.
More...
Surprises seems to be the word of the day, as the WGA nominations included a number of them. Granted, Zero Dark Thirty and a lot of the other films that have earned Awards Season success thus far were here, but there were almost as many surprises as there were obvious choices.
More...
We are getting closer and closer to Christmas and we are getting to the crunch time for gift shopping. After checking out first run releases and franchise box sets in Part I and TV on DVD releases in Part II, this week we look at limited releases, classics, and foreign films. Some are pretty obvious choices, as we had a few limited releases that broke into the mainstream during their theatrical releases, but there are also a few more films that slipped beneath the radar the last time around. The biggest of these is...
More...
The Independent Spirit Awards has a special place in the Awards Season. The nominations are the unoffficial start of Awards Season, but the actual awards aren't given out until Oscar weekend, so they are the beginning at the end of Awards Season. They also help out a lot of limited releases that would otherwise not get enough buzz, although they are not so good at predicting Oscar wins. This year, two films tied for most nominations, Moonrise Kingdom and The Silver Linings Playbook, both of which earned five nominations. They weren't the only films to earn multiple nominations though.
More...
I have seen nearly everything Wes Anderson has ever made and I've liked most of it. I was disappointed by The Darjeeling Limited, but lovedThe Fantastic Mr. Fox. His latest film is Moonrise Kingdom, a story of young love set in 1965 with an ensemble cast, including two newcomers in the central two roles. It became one of his biggest hits, but was it also one of his best?
More...
All Acting Credits
Register with The Numbers for free to customize this chart.
-3-News.jpg)
-3-News.jpg)
-5-News.jpg)
-2-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-4-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-4-News.jpg)
