October 10th, 2017
It’s a good week for the home market with top notch releases in nearly every category. Baby Driver is the biggest first run release of the week and one of the best releases. The Lure is a foreign-language film and one of two Criterion Collection releases in competition for Pick of the Week. Maudie is a Canadian limited release that did surprisingly well in theaters. Finally there’s Othello, which first came out more than 60 years ago. The only thing we are missing is a TV on DVD title. As for the winner, I’m giving Pick of the Week to, Othello, while Maudie wins Puck of the Week for Best Canadian Release.
More...
September 27th, 2017
Transformers: The Last Knight is the biggest release of the week and it has scared away a lot of the competition, but it’s garbage and should be avoided. There are no big releases that are pick of the week contenders, but some smaller ones fit the bill, including David Lynch: The Art Life: The Criterion Collection, HYOUKA: Part Two, and Shameless: The Complete Seventh Season. All are amazing and worth checking out, but none have many extras, so it is up to the role of the dice to determine the Pick of the Week. ... And it’s HYOUKA.
More...
August 16th, 2017
Ingrid Goes West opened in first place on the theater average chart with an average of $45,100 in three theaters. This is the third best average of the year behind The Big Sick (average of $84,315 in five) and The Beguiled ($57,323 in four). A24 had another success with Good Time earning an average of $31,275 in four theaters. The Trip to Spain opened with an average of $15,102 in three theaters, which is in the middle of the franchise average so far. Finally there’s Wind River, which was the only holdover in the $10,000 club. It managed an average of $13,615 in 45 theaters and already has nearly $1 million in limited release.
More...
August 9th, 2017
The Weinstein Co. is breathing a huge sign of relief as Wind River had the best theater average of the weekend with $40,390 in four theaters. This is the fourth best average of the year behind The Big Sick (average of $84,315 in five); The Beguiled ($57,323 in four); and Beauty and the Beast ($41,508 in just over 4,200). Wolf Warriors 2 saw its theater average grow to $15,843. The final film in the $10,000 club was Columbus, which earned an average of $13,410 in two theaters.
More...
July 26th, 2017
The number one film on the overall weekend box office chart, Dunkirk, was also the number one film on the theater average chart earning an average of $13,579. The best limited release was Landline with an average of $13,139 in four theaters. Its reviews suggest it won’t maintain that average as it tries to expand. The final film in the $10,000 club was Girls Trip, which earned an average of $12,042. The film could have earned half that and it still would have been an okay opening for its production budget.
More...
July 18th, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes earned first place on the weekend box office chart and the theater average chart with $13,989. The only other new release to come close to that was Lady Macbeth with an average of $12,907 in five theaters. Last week’s winner, Spider-Man: Homecoming, slipped to third place this weekend with an average of $10,167. It is still quite rare for a wide release to stay in the $10,000 club two weeks in a row, so this is a reason to celebrate.
More...
July 11th, 2017
There was a really close race on the theater chart this week with Spider-Man: Homecoming topping A Ghost Story $26,915 to $26,008. The only other film to top $10,000 was The Big Sick, which earned an average of $10,971 in 326 theaters.
More...
July 6th, 2017
The Little Hours led the way on the theater average chart with an average of $30,780 in two theaters. This is Gunpowder and Sky’s first release, which makes its first place finish even more impressive. Last week’s winner, The Big Sick, held on well in second place with an average of $23,267 in 71 theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall first place film, Despicable Me 3, which earned an average of $15,993.
More...
July 2nd, 2017
With July 4 falling on a Tuesday this year, this is less a holiday weekend, and more the beginning of a holiday week, and it’s bookended by new releases from two of the industry’s most reliable franchises. Despicable Me 3 starts off festivities this weekend with a solid-but-unspectacular $75.4 million from a record-setting 4,529 theaters. Breaking The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’s record for widest opening weekend of all time is no small feat for Universal, but it’s an ominous sign for the franchise that the only film to open in close to this number of theaters and pull in similar numbers at the box office was Shrek Forever After, which opened with $70.8 million in 4,359 theaters back in 2010. That was the last Shrek movie, and this might be a good time for Gru to call it a day.
More...
June 28th, 2017
Two limited releases that came out this past weekend topped the previous theater average record for 2017. The Big Sick earned an average of $84,315 in five theaters, which bodes well for its planned wide expansion in a couple of weeks. The Beguiled was next with an average of $57,323 in four theaters. Both of these are well ahead of the $41,508 average Beauty and the Beast earned during its opening weekend. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall number one film, Transformers: The Last Knight, which earned an average of $10,981.
More...
June 25th, 2017
A tepid $45.3 million Friday-to-Sunday domestic weekend for Transformers: The Last Knight is pretty much unmitigated bad news for Paramount Pictures. The studio is in desperate need of a hit, and the Transformers franchise is by far their biggest property. Even including the film’s grosses from Wednesday and Thursday, its $69 million debut is barely in the top ten for the year so far, and poor reviews and a B+ CinemaScore mean that it won’t have significant legs, even with a bit of help from the upcoming July 4 weekend. So all eyes are going to be on its overseas performance.
More...
June 24th, 2017
Transformers: The Last Knight suffered a 48% plummet on Thursday to earn just $8.14 million; however, it bounced back on Friday with $13.69 million. If we again compare this to Dark of the Moon, which is the last film in the franchise to open on a Wednesday, we get mixed messages. The Last Knight fell faster on Thursday (48% to 43%) but bounced back more on Friday (68% to 53%). If we assume The Last Knight will continue to outperform Dark of the Moon over the rest of the weekend, then it will earn about $42 million over the three-day weekend and $66 million over five. This is the worst opening in the franchise by a wide margin, but there is good news for Paramount, as the film earned $41.46 million during its first day in China, and $47.55 million if you include previews. The international numbers will save this film and justify more sequels.
More...
June 23rd, 2017
Not many limited releases are earning any real buzz this week. The Beguiled has the best pedigree and its reviews might be good enough to help it thrive in theaters. The Bad Batch is the biggest in terms of theaters, but its box office potential is close to zero. This leaves The Big Sick as the best new release. That said, if you are not near one of the five theaters it is playing, you could always stay home and binge GLOW on Netflix. I reviewed it this week and it is worth the praise.
More...
June 8th, 2017
Historical thriller starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning, directed by Sofia Coppola opens June 23 ... Full Movie Details.
More...