November 25th, 2009
As expected, Up dominated new releases on this week's sales chart as it earned first place with $88.13 million in consumer spending at retail and 5.30 million units.
This instantly places it fourth on the overall chart for 2009.
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November 25th, 2009
The same two new releases that topped the sales chart this week also topped the rental chart, although they were in the opposite order.
The Ugly Truth took first place with more than 50% more rentals than Up.
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November 18th, 2009
There were five new releases top reach the top 30 of the rental charts, including the top two rentals. G.I.Joe - The Rise of Cobra generated roughly 28% more rentals than The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. This is obviously much closer than they were theatrically.
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November 11th, 2009
Five new releases reached the top 30 on the sales chart this week, including Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which took top spot with 2.46 million units sold and $43.62 million in opening week consumer spending at retail.
This was enough for first place by a margin of nearly 1 million units; however, that was 44% lower unit sales that The Meltdown sold during its first week of release. Granted, there are some mitigating circumstance here, including the overall decline in DVD sales, as well as the rise in Blu-ray, but it is still troubling.
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November 11th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs led the new releases to take top spot on the rental chart with roughly 50% more than second place Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen took in during its second week of release.
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November 2nd, 2009
Another week with a large selection of great releases, including several contenders for DVD Pick of the Week. (There are also more than a few releases that could have been contenders, but the screeners still have not yet arrived. I fear they will all arrive on the same day and the sheer number of them will cause my head to explode.) The best new release this week is Food, Inc. on either DVD or Blu-ray. Classic releases like North By Northwest on Blu-ray and It's a Wonderful Life on Blu-ray are must haves, as is the James Bond Blu-ray Box Set. Despite there being more than a dozen releases this week where I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive, the list as still too long to fit on one page. The second part can be found here.
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October 27th, 2009
It's coming very close to Halloween, which means there are a lot of horror films on this week's list. However, much of these films are of the smaller variety, like Night of the Creeps. Looking at the best of the releases, there are two that jump out at me, both Blu-ray releases. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure on Blu-ray and The Prisoner - The Complete Series on Blu-ray are both DVD Pick of the Week.
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October 4th, 2009
District 9 climbed into sixth place with $6.19 million on 2547 screens in 35 markets for a total of $56.88 million. This includes a fifth place, $926,000 opening on 253 screens in Italy, while it added $1.94 million on 448 screens during the full week in France for a total of $6.05 million after two.
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September 26th, 2009
Vicky the Viking fell to sixth place with 7.40 million on 898 screens in 3 markets for a total of $24.55 million. Of that, $5.92 million was earned on 751 screens in Germany and it now has $18.94 million in its native market.
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September 19th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs fell out of the top five this past weekend earning $7.08 million on 3521 screens in 35 markets for a total of $670.44 million internationally and $865.11 million worldwide. It is now the third highest grossing film internationally of all time, while it is 18th place worldwide. That's quite a gap. The film remained in first place in Italy earning $3.14 million on 690 screens over the weekend for a total of $33.63 million after three. So far the film has earned more than 77% of its worldwide box office internationally, which is a very high percentage, and it will keep creeping higher as its international run comes to a close.
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September 10th, 2009
There was a close two-way race for top spot on the international box office chart with Inglourious Basterds just coming out on top with $14.90 million on 2,929 screens in 34 markets for a total of $83.99 million.
The film remained in first place in France with $3.7 million over the weekend and now has $18.8 million in total.
It was pushed into second place with Germany, but it was still impressive with $3.02 million on 466 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.99 million after three.
It opens in Spain in just over a week's time, and when it does it will have reached $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide, and will likely become the undisputed biggest hit of Quentin Tarantino's career when it does.
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September 2nd, 2009
Inglourious Basterds remained in first place with $19.89 million on 2854 screens in 31 markets for a total of $59.63 million internationally and $132.66 million worldwide. The film had no major openings this week and its holds were all over the map. On the one hand, it was down just 22% in Germany adding $3.28 million on 461 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.54 million after two. On the other hand, the film was down 65% in the U.K. to just $1.83 million on 443 screens over the weekend, but it has earned a nearly identical $9.52 million after two. Other markets where the film took top spot include France, where the film added $5.4 million over the weekend for a total of $13.5 million after two, while in Australia it added $1.79 million on 266 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.49 million. The next major market opening for the film is Spain in a couple weeks, while it has major market openings till the end of November. Even if the film didn't have any major market openings, it would still reach $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide, which would make it the biggest hit of Quentin Tarantino's career.
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August 30th, 2009
Summer is mostly over and we're moving back to the normal schedule for the international box office columns. Mostly. There are still not enough multi-million dollar films to fill out the top 30, but as the blockbusters make way for smaller releases, that will change. Meanwhile, The Hangover remained in sixth place with $7.65 million on 2782 screens in 46 markets for a total of $152.38 million internationally and $420.65 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Brazil with $1.13 million on 205 screens, while it remained in first place in Mexico with $1.04 million on 398 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.56 million after two. Other million dollar markets include Spain where it was down just 18% to $1.27 million on 319 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.88 million after two, and Germany where it added $1.02 million on 427 screens giving the film a total of $15.29 million after a month of release.
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August 19th, 2009
G.I.Joe remained in top spot on the international chart with $26.12 million on 6875 screens in 49 markets for a total of $91.58 million. The film had only one major opening of note, Germany, but while it finished first there, it still struggled with just $1.74 million on 474 screens. It earned more in South Korea with $2.70 million on 488 screens over the weekend and $10.48 million after two. It added $1.75 million on 514 screens over the weekend in France for a total there of $5.66 million. It had near identical results over the weekend in Japan ($1.36 million on 385 screens) and in the U.K. ($1.35 million on 442 screens) and it now has $6.99 million and $6.32 million in those two markets. So far it is hard to be overly impressed by these results, especially when compared to its production budget. The only way this film gets a sequel is if it is a massive hit on the home market, and even then I think the studio will demand a cut in costs.
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August 16th, 2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince became just the second film of the year to reach $500 million on the international chart, but the sixth film of that franchise to reach that milestone. Over the weekend it earned $22.85 million on 9346 screens in 63 markets for a total of $548.68 million internationally and $822.53 million worldwide after just four weeks of release. The film is running on holdovers, but it did place third in France adding $3.78 million on 918 screens over the weekend for a total of $45.08 million in that market. Meanwhile it remained in first place in Germany with $2.74 million on 908 screens giving it $54.68 million in total. Its best market overall remains the U.K. where it has made $73.85 million, including $2.25 million on 535 screens over the past weekend.
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August 8th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs became the all-time highest grossing animated film on the international scene during the past week. Over the weekend it earned $24.66 million on 8844 screens in 68 markets for a total of $551.39 million internationally, which tops the $526.88 million earned by Finding Nemo. On the other hand, that film made $866.59 million worldwide compared to this film's running tally of $733.45 million. Ice Age isn't done yet, and should reach a couple milestones before it is done. but the record is likely safe.
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August 1st, 2009
It took Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs just a month to reach $500 million internationally becoming just the seventeenth film to reach that milestone. Over the weekend it added $40.37 million on 10,518 screens in 102 markets for a total of $505.18 million internationally and $676.68 million worldwide. The week the film opened in Japan, but it went nowhere in that market finishing in 10th place with $428,000 on 233 screens. The film opens in South Korea in a couple of weeks and in Italy at the end of the month, and when it does it should be at $600 million internationally and $800 million worldwide.
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July 28th, 2009
As expected, the weekend box office was soft compared to last week, as well as the same weekend last year. That said, it was not as bad as it could have been and all three new releases topped expectations. Overall, total ticket sales were $151 million over the weekend, down 5.8% from last weekend and 16% from last year. Year-to-day, 2009 still has a substantial lead over 2008 at $6.22 billion to $5.76 billion and even the lack of a The Dark Knight type hit won't be enough to close that gap. It would take an extended slump at the box office before 2009 relinquished its lead.
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July 26th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs was pushed into second place by The Half-Blood Prince, but it became the biggest international hit of the year topping Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen. Over the weekend the film added $61.90 million on 11,089 screens in 102 markets for a total of $430.88 million internationally and $582.75 million Worldwide. It is possible that the film is already the biggest his in the franchise, but we won't know for sure till this weekend's numbers are released.
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July 23rd, 2009
There is almost no chance 2009 will be able to keep pace with last year, and saying 'almost no chance' is overstating 2009's chances. This time last year, The Dark Knight added $75 million to its box office, which is more than all three new releases will earn this week, combined.
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July 21st, 2009
The year-to-year box office comparison has been hit hard over the weekend due to the competition from The Dark Knight, which opened this weekend last year. That film alone made $158.41 million over three days.
This year, the total box office was $160 million, or 38% lower than last year.
It was 12% more than last weekend, and 2009 is still ahead of 2008 by a 10% margin, $5.98 billion to $5.44 billion.
But there's no chance things will rebound this coming week.
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July 19th, 2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has posted a $79.5 million opening weekend, according to Warner Bros.' estimate released on Sunday.
The movie's daily box office was an estimated $26.8 million on Friday, $29.2 million on Saturday and $23.4 million on Sunday -- and represents a remarkable level of consistency over the first five days in release, after a huge performance at midnight screenings on Wednesday.
The five-day total of $159.7 million is a new record for the franchise at this stage of a run (see comparison chart for Harry Poter Movies), although it does leave the movies somewhat behind the blistering early pace of The Dark Knight and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
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July 15th, 2009
2009 has hit a bit of a rough patch when compared to 2008, and it is unlikely to get better this weekend. That is not to say there are no prime releases — far from it. However, this time last year saw the release of The Dark Knight, and there are very few who think any movie this year will be able to compete with that film. That said, the number who think we could have a huge weekend is growing.
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July 15th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs remained in top spot on the international chart with an astronomical $101.89 million on 12,057 screens in 102 markets over the weekend. After three weeks of release the film has made $322.69 million internationally and $442.27 million Worldwide.
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July 14th, 2009
The weekend at the box office was rather boring, at least as far as box office numbers go. We had no records broken, no blockbuster releases, and no films that shocked analysts, either on the high end or the low end. Total ticket sales were at $143 million, which is 12% lower than last weekend and 5.5% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-day, 2009 is still ahead of 2008 by 11.2%, $5.68 billion to $5.11 billion.
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July 12th, 2009
Sacha Baron Cohen showed he is no one-hit-wonder over the weekend as Bruno topped the box office chart with an impressive $30.4 million, according to Universal's estimate, released on Sunday morning.
That's marginally better in total dollars than Borat's $26.5 million debut, although the 2006 release played in only 837 theaters against 2,756 this time around.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs dropped an impressive 31% to an estimated $28.5 million, helped in part by a comparison that includes the July 4 holiday last weekend, which dragged sales down across the board.
Fox, however, will be encouraged by the performance, and the family pic continues to do incredibly well internationally.
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July 10th, 2009
There's a bit of a lull in blockbusters this week with no saturation level releases coming out, but that's not to say there isn't a potential $100 million movie. Compared to last year, the selection of new releases are not as strong, but overall 2009 might keep pace with 2008.
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July 8th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs expanded worldwide over the weekend pulling in an incredible $135.16 million on 11,791 screens in 101 markets over the weekend for a total of $151.70 million after two. This is the sixth biggest international opening and the biggest for an animated film.
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July 8th, 2009
The winners of our Canadian Trekking contest were determined and they are...
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July 7th, 2009
Only three films managed to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this week, and no new releases were able to top The Hurt Locker. That film led the way with an average or $14,578 in nine theaters, but it will need to strike fast if it wants to expand significantly. The Beaches of Agnes was the best of the new releases, opening with an average of $10,650 in two theaters.
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs opened with an average of $10,171, while the overall number one film, Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen, just missed the $10,000 market with an average of $9,995.
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July 7th, 2009
New releases were not as strong as expected, and Independence Day itself hurt a little more than I was expecting, but the overall box office was still solid at $162 million.
Granted, this was nearly 19% less than last weekend, but more importantly it was 1.4% higher than the same weekend last year.
Year-to-date, 2009 has made $5.44 billion, which is 11.6% ahead of last year's pace.
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July 6th, 2009
July 5th, 2009
This weekend's box office race looked close, but how close only became apparent on Sunday morning when Fox and Paramount announced their weekend estimates.
For the first time that we know of, the estimates have the two top movies in a tie, with each movie estimated to have earned $42.5 million over the weekend.
Final numbers on Monday are virtually guaranteed to break the tie one way or the other, but the larger point is that both movies had strong weekends.
(For the record, the closest weekend result in history was a virtual tie between CB4 and Fire in the Sky back in March, 1993.
On that occasion, just $6,000, or less than 0.1% separated the two top movies.)
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July 5th, 2009
The Hangover climbed into second place with $11.14 million on 2091 screens in 28 markets for a total of $47.81 million. This was actually 2% lower than last week's performance. Its only major market opening came from France where it placed second with $3.31 million on 251 screens, but that was for the full week. (This is still impressive.) In the U.K. it was down just 15% to $3.15 million on 425 screens over the weekend and $18.50 million after three. It is a couple of weeks away from overtaking Terminator Salvation in that market. Over in Australia it managed to dip just 30% to $1.80 million on 227 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.07 million. It will also top Terminator Salvation in this market, and could beat out Angels and Demons as well. Massive. On the other hand, I'm not sure the film will do as well in most non-English speaking markets, as comedy tends to be harder to translate into other cultures.
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July 5th, 2009
It's week's like this that make me think dropping this column to concentrate on DVD reviews is a wise move. Half the film's on this week's list had no sites to review. Of the half that did, all had something that stood out from the norm, but it was Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs's Official Site that stood out the most and it is the winner of this week's Weekly Website Award.
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July 1st, 2009
While the movie industry has been in summer mode for a full two months, for many, the July 4th weekend marks the official start of summer.
To celebrate, there are two saturation level releases coming out this week, and both are opening tonight and not Friday.
Both could be major hits, but they could have real trouble topping Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen over the weekend.
Compared to last year, I don't think anything will top Hancock's opening weekend, but combined they should help 2009 maintain its strong pace compared to last year.
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July 1st, 2009
June gave us some unexpected hits in The Proposal and The Hangover, as well as expected hits like Up, not to mention the biggest hit of the year, so far, in Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen. However, despite this, 2009 lost a bit of ground to 2008, and this will likely continue this month, as this month last year saw the release of The Dark Knight.
This year we have a couple of potential $300 million hits, but nothing likely to perform on that scale.
Then again, I only predicted Dark Knight would make $250 million, so we could be surprised again this year.
The box office is certainly hot, and is currently running more than 12% ahead of last year's pace.
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June 26th, 2009
July 1 is Canada Day, and to celebrate, we've selected some spectacular prizes in this week's box office prediction contest, all of which have a connection to Canada.
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June 18th, 2009
We have another two new saturation level releases and two holdovers that will play an important part in this week's box office race, again. It appears that only one of the new films has a legitimate shot at top spot, while we could have our first threpeat in nearly a year. Overall, the box office looks like it will continue its losing streak vs. 2009, as this time last year was marginally stronger. Hopefully that will change next week.
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April 17th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Mardi Gras, The Uninvited, A Thousand Words, and more!
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May 20th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Game Plan, Prom Night, Ice Age 3 and more.
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