December 29th, 2013
This Tuesday is New Years Eve, so it should come as no surprise that there are almost no new releases worth talking about. In fact, it is arguably weaker than last week, because last week had Insidious Chapter 2, which was a big hit for a September release. This week the biggest, and best, new release is Don Jon, which earned amazing reviews, but failed to make an impact at the box office. There are almost no extras on the DVD, but the Blu-ray has several exclusive extras and it is the Pick of the Week. It's not the only new release that is worth checking out, but it is close to the other new release that is worth checking out.
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November 28th, 2013
Independent Spirit Award started the Awards Season this week, handing out its nominations. 12 Years a Slave led the way with seven nominations, but it wasn't the only film to pick up multiple nominations.
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October 8th, 2013
Gravity crushed expectations, and records, over the weekend with more than $55 million. This topped the previous biggest October weekend by more than $3 million. On the other hand, Runner Runner went nowhere opening well below the lower end of predictions. Overall, the box office rose 16% from last year reaching $127 million. Unfortunately, last year had much better depth and 2013 was 11% lower in the year-over-year comparison. 2013 is still ahead of 2012, but the lead has been cut to just 0.9% at $8.05 billion to $7.98 billion.
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October 1st, 2013
It wasn't a great weekend at the box office, as four of the five films in the top five missed expectations. On the other hand, no film in the top five really bombed, so it wasn't a bad weekend either. It was solidly mediocre. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 opened in top spot with just over $34 million. This was better than its predecessor opened with, but below the lofty expectations. Overall, the box office pulled in $109 million over the weekend, which was 26% higher than last weekend. On the other hand, it was 9% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 still has a lead over 2012, but it has shrunk a little bit over the past two weeks. After this weekend, the lead was down to 1.2%, or $7.90 billion to $7.81 billion. It's not reason to panic, yet, but an extended losing streak late in the year is harder to recover from than one that happens in spring.
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September 27th, 2013
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 leads a group of four wide releases (three wide releases and a wide expansion, if you want to get technical). It should have no problem being the biggest hit of the weekend. It has a good chance of having the biggest opening weekend of the month. The other films coming out this week will be fighting for a smaller portion of the overall box office, but that's to weak competition, all should grab a spot in the top five. Last year, September ended with Hotel Transylvania, which debuted with $42.52 million; that's a good target for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Second place went to Looper, which pulled in $20.80 million. That will top any of the other new releases coming out this week, but I'm hoping there will be better depth this year and 2013 can eke out a win.
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September 1st, 2013
August ended, and we should be very grateful for that. Lee Daniels' The Butler was a surprise hit, while We're the Millers did better than expected. However, most other films that were expected to be solid hits failed to live up to expectations. Fortunately, August of 2012 was even worse, so 2013 regained the lead on the year-to-year comparison during the month. Looking forward, there is exactly one film that will likely become more than a midlevel hit in September: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. That film has a chance to reach $100 million in total. Most of the rest of the new releases will be lucky if they get halfway there. Fortunately, September of 2012 was even worse. Hotel Transylvania was a surprise hit, earning nearly $150 million, and there were a few others that topped $50 million, but there were also several outright bombs. If we can avoid those types of bombs, then 2013 should continue its winning streak.
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