March 1st, 2011
President's Day sales boosted a number of holdovers back into the top 30 on this week's sales chart. However, it was a new release, Unstoppable, that led the way with 796,000 units sold for opening week sales of $12.73 million.
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January 25th, 2011
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, thus ending months of speculation. Along with a (very) few surprises, the list of nominees is mostly a case of Deja Vu. Leading the way, as it has so often this year, was The King's Speech, with 12 nominations, including six in seven of the most prestigious categories (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and the four acting categories). But it was far from the only multi-nominated film on the list.
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December 28th, 2010
There were seven new releases to chart this week, including the new number one. In fact, that new number one dominated in a surprising way and none of the other new releases managed to make much of an impact at the box office. Despicable Me led the way with 3.75 million units sold and $62.70 million. If there were any doubts about a sequel, this ended them, as the film is already in the top ten for the year.
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November 26th, 2010
This weekend is Thanksgiving and that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in between. Personally, I've done my Christmas shopping, and I have been for weeks; in fact, I've even finished wrapping everything. For the rest of you, here is the first part in our annual Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will look at some of the major first-run releases, but we start with a short talk on...
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November 9th, 2010
New releases again failed to make much of an impact on this week's sale chart with only three placing in the top 30. However, one of those, Sex and the City 2, did take top spot with 989,000 units and $16.81 million during its opening week. This is weaker than its predecessor opened with, but in line with expectations, more or less.
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November 2nd, 2010
New releases failed to make much of an impact on this week's DVD sales chart with only one placing in the top five and only two or three others in the top 30. This left How to Train Your Dragon on top with an easy win at 1.42 million units for the week. This gives it totals of 3.29 million / $70.40 million in consumer spending at retail, which makes it the third-best-selling DVD for any 2010 theatrical release and the eighth-best-selling DVD of the year.
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October 26th, 2010
We had a new number one release on this week's sales chart, with How to Train Your Dragon dominating with 1.87 million units sold / $39.63 million in opening week sales.
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October 19th, 2010
Several films could claim to be the champion of the home market this week, including one of the many new releases.
The Karate Kid opened on top of the DVD sales chart with 1.22 million units compared to Iron Man 2 with 1.10 million units.
However, the latter topped the former in terms of consumer spending at $22.15 million to $20.80 million.
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October 12th, 2010
New releases walked away with the top two spots on this week's DVD sales chart, as well as four of the top six, and six of the top 30. Leading the way was Iron Man 2 with 2.82 million units generating $64.53 million in revenue during its opening week of release. This is weaker than its predecessor opened with, but the film compensated with stronger Blu-ray sales.
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September 27th, 2010
Like many retail businesses, the home market does most of its sales in the last quarter of the year. And while technically the fourth quarter doesn't begin until October, like any good business, the movie industry tries to extend its prime business season as long as possible, which explains why Iron Man 2 is coming out this week instead of next. Unfortunately, that screener is late and I won't be able to review it. (In fact, its one of those weeks where it seems more screeners are late than arrived on time.) There were plenty of other DVDs / Blu-rays that came out this week, but the presence of Iron Man 2 did scare away a lot of prime competition, so much so that I'm awarding it the Pick of the Week, specifically the Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy Combo Pack edition.
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June 26th, 2010
The A-Team climbed to second place with $13.97 million on 4929 screens in 48 markets for a total of $34.74 million. New openings this past weekend include France, where it made $3.05 million on 621 screens. On the one hand, that was enough for first place. On the other hand, that's not a particularly strong start, especially for a summer blockbuster. It was only half has much as Prince of Persia opened with, for instance. In Italy it had a similar result with a first place, $1.11 million opening on 354 screens. That said, if it can earn half of what Prince of Persia does, then The A-Team will end its run with more than $100 million internationally and close to $200 million worldwide. As long as it is a hit on the home market, that will be enough to show a profit eventually, particularly if you take into account increased DVD sales for the TV series it is based on.
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June 20th, 2010
For the third weekend in a row, Robin Hood remained in fourth place. This time it pulled in $7.19 million on 5742 screens in 54 markets for a total of $183.71 million internationally and $283.17 million worldwide. This week it opened in China and India, two countries that rarely release box office numbers in a timely fashion.
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June 17th, 2010
Pixar releases its eleventh feature-length film this weekend. And considering its previous ten have all opened in first place (assuming you discount prestige limited releases) this is reason for Disney to celebrate.
In fact, it could be reason for the industry as a whole to celebrate, considering more than 10 million tickets could be sold for this movie, which means more than 10 million people watching trailers for upcoming releases, seeing posters for new movies, etc.
Compared to last year, Toy Story 3 could make more than the top five combined, which should help boost 2010's lead over 2009.
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June 13th, 2010
Rajneeti was the second Indian film within a few weeks to open strong on the global scene. Internationally, it earned third place with $11.01 million on 925 screens in 16 markets, which is an excellent start for this type of film. After Kites opened respectively well, it quickly collapsed. Thanks to a higher than average production budget, it will end up costing the studio money. However, this film is already well on its way to profitability and hopefully it will show much better legs.
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June 6th, 2010
Sex and the City 2 started its international run in second place with $23.98 million on 2739 screens in 18 markets for a total opening of $27.11 million. The film's biggest opening came in the U.K., where it made $8.93 million on 530 screens, 24% more than the original's opening. It had the biggest opening of the year in Germany with $5.90 million on 736 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.72 million. This was 23% higher than the original managed. On the other hand, it only saw 4% growth in Italy, with $2.4 million on 499 screens. This is not enough to keep pace with inflation. However, it is still better than it managed here.
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June 2nd, 2010
May is over, and not a moment too soon. I remember at the beginning of last month that a lot of people were suggesting this was going to be the highest grossing summer of all time and that May was going to be the highest grossing month of all time. Since this summer is a weekend shorter than most and this missing weekend was at the beginning of May, this was never going to happen. However, now that the month is over, we can see just how unrealistic those predictions were. Even Memorial Day long weekend wasn't enough as the total box office take was $152 million over three days and $193 million over four. Compared to last week, this was up just over 1%. While any increase is welcome, this it hardly a reason to celebrate. Compared to last Memorial Day, this was down 14% over three days and 13% over four. Not good. Year-to-date, 2010 is still ahead of 2009, but the lead has been cut to 4.7% at $4.30 billion to $4.10 billion. Perhaps it's not quite time to hit the panic button, but I'm starting to do warm up exercises for when running around in a panic will be required.
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May 30th, 2010
Iron Man 2 is starting to see sharp declines in its theater count, but it still hit a major milestone during the past weekend. It added $13.90 million on 8739 screens in 55 markets for a total of $269.30 million internationally, which is just ahead of the total earned by Iron Man. Additionally, the film reached the half billion dollar mark with total ticket sales of $520.32 million worldwide. By the time it opened in Japan on the 11th, it will have surpassed its predecessor on the worldwide stage, while it has likely already broken even at this point.
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May 28th, 2010
Memorial Day long weekend started early with the midnight release of Sex and the City 2, but it's not the only saturation level release debuting this weekend. With the weakness shown last weekend by Shrek Forever After, the industry is looking forward with a bit of trepidation. Should both of these stumble, the narrative going forward will be quite negative, as none of the May releases will have excelled. This time last year, Up opened with close to $70 million. I don't think either film will match that, especially over three days. But their combined strength will hopefully give 2010 a boost at the box office.
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May 25th, 2010
I'm starting to get a little concerned about summer. Granted, we are only three weeks in, but so far we have had two films that came short of high expectations and another that was expected to struggle at the box office and did. This time around, the number one movie failed to meet even the low end of expectations and the overall box office managed just a hair under $150 million. This was 8% more than last weekend, but 15% lower than the same weekend last year. Granted, this time last year was Memorial Day long weekend, so the comparison isn't entirely fair. But still troubling. Year-to-date, 2010 has amassed $4.04 billion, which is 4.8% higher than last year, but the boom in 3D films and the higher ticket prices that go with it means that attendance is down 1.7%.
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May 23rd, 2010
Iron Man 2 slipped to second place with $30.47 million on 10,223 screens in 57 markets for a total of $245.75 million internationally and $456.95 million worldwide. While this is impressive, its per theater average has become very weak and the competition is heating up. Look for sharp declines in the film's screen count over the next few weeks. That said, the original Iron Man earned a total of $264 million internationally and it is likely that the sequel has already topped that figure. It has also likely topped $500 million worldwide, while $600 million globally is a safe bet, so there's no reason for the studio to worry about shedding screens at this point. The film's biggest individual market so far is still the U.K. where it has made $25.80 million, including $2.30 million on 491 screens this past weekend. South Korea is right behind with $2.11 million on 600 screens over the weekend and $25.27 million after two.
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May 20th, 2010
It's the first long weekend of the summer; at least it is up here in Canada. What effect will this have on the box office? Not a whole lot, but Canada does represent about 10% of the total domestic box office and every little bit will help. This time last year saw the debut of two box office hits and we only have Shrek Forever After this time around. Granted, even the low end estimates have the pseudo-final chapter in the Shrek franchise crushing either Night at the Museum or Terminator, individually. The question is, can it top their combined opening? It might need to if 2010 is to keep pace with 2009.
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May 18th, 2010
Just like they did in the overall box office, Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood top the per theater chart, finishing in the same order. It was a close race with Iron Man 2 coming out on top, $11,854 to $10,295.
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May 17th, 2010
The overall box office this past weekend was adequate. While three of the top five films were unable to match Thursday's predictions, none were off by a significant degree. All combined, the box office brought in $139 million, which was down 22% compared to last week. Again, this was expected. Compared to last year it was higher, but by a mere 1.3%. Not enough to keep pace with inflation. Year-to-date, 2010 is still ahead of 2009 at $3.85 billion to $3.62 billion. However, due to the influx of 3D ticket sales and the much higher ticket prices they command, attendance is actually down by a fraction of a percent. It's nothing to worry about at the moment, but it is still interesting.
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May 16th, 2010
This Summer's first blockbuster face-off ended with a victory for Iron Man 2 as the superhero actioner saw off the medieval actioner, Robin Hood.
Both movies enjoyed weekends roughly in line with expectations.
Iron Man 2 posted a respectable 59% drop from its opening weekend to earn $53 million, and take its domestic box office total to $212 million.
With another $210 million internationally, the movie is well on its way to topping Iron Man's $582 million worldwide tally.
Robin Hood couldn't match that level of performance, but posted a decent $37.1 million opening in North America, and earned an estimated $77 million internationally, to take it past $100 million worldwide on its first weekend.
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May 13th, 2010
The second weekend in May tends to be weak at the box office; for instance, it was the second weekend of May that saw the release of Speed Racer and Poseidon, just to name two recent examples. It is unlikely that Robin Hood will do that poorly at the box office; in fact, it might open with more than Speed Racer made in total. If it can, it will go a long way towards helping 2010 keep pace with last year. But even if it does, it will likely have to settle for second place.
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May 13th, 2010
The winners of our As Big As They Get contest were determined and they are...
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May 12th, 2010
Iron Man 2 suffered steep declines in most international markets, but it was still the only major player out there and finished on top of the chart with ease. During its sophomore stint, it added $59.09 million on 10,392 screens in 59 markets for a total of $195.62 million internationally and $323.74 million worldwide. To put this into perspective, the first Iron Man earned $264 million on the international scene, in total. It will top this figure, perhaps as early as this time next week, while its worldwide total of $582 million will fall before too long.
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May 12th, 2010
Iron Man 2 opened domestically and while its overall total was on the low end of expectations, it broke records on IMAX, pulling in $9.8 million on 181 IMAX screens. This is a record opening for a 2D title. Internationally, it added $1.5 million for a total of $4.7 million overseas and $14.5 million worldwide.
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May 12th, 2010
The overall box office leader, Iron Man 2, was also the leader on the Per Theater Chart with an impressive average of $29,252. That is below expectations, but still excellent. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Mother and Child, which opened with $10,760.
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May 10th, 2010
Iron Man 2 started off the summer in style with the biggest opening weekend of the year and the fifth biggest of all time. This helped the overall box office hit $174 million, which was 76% higher than last weekend. More importantly, it was 20% higher than the same weekend last year. This is extra important, because last year we were already a week into summer and we couldn't afford any weakness at the box office if 2010 was to maintain its lead over 2009. It was able to do so. In fact, it increased its lead slightly to 6.5% at $3.66 billion to $3.44 billion.
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May 9th, 2010
A prime launch date, inflated ticket prices, and the unbeatable formula of a superhero sequel combined to give Iron Man 2 a massive opening weekend, according to Paramount's estimate, released on Sunday.
Their projected $133.6 million would make the movie the fifth-biggest opener of all time, and cements Iron Man's place among the industry's mega-franchises, alongside Batman, Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight and Harry Potter.
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May 8th, 2010
Iron Man 2 posted an impressive, but not spectacular, opening day on Friday, according to our Saturday morning estimate.
We have the superhero actioner opening with $52.2 million, based on reports so far, which would give it the seventh biggest opening day in history.
That compares with a $67.2 million Friday achieved by The Dark Knight in 2008 and a $59.8 million debut by Spider-Man 3 in 2007.
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May 6th, 2010
Iron Man 2 started its international run a week ahead of its domestic run and among its many impressive results was a record-breaking debut on IMAX. During its opening weekend, it pulled in $2.25 million on IMAX 48 screens, which was a record for a live action film, topping the $2.1 million earned by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
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May 6th, 2010
Summer has finally begun. It feels a week late because May 1st fell on a Saturday. However, the wait could be worth it, as a number of analysts are expecting a record-breaking performance by Iron Man 2 over the weekend. The movie has no competition at the box office. There's not even competition when compared to last year, as practically everyone thinks it will open with much more than Star Trek. For that matter, most think it will easily top Iron Man's opening weekend and perhaps even break records.
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May 5th, 2010
Summer blockbuster season doesn't start till Friday, at least domestically. Thanks to the May Day celebration, it began this past weekend in many international markets. The May Day celebration also means that our box office numbers are still studio estimates in many cases, but we do know which film won. That film was Iron Man 2, which earned $100.2 million on 6,764 screens in 53 markets.
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May 1st, 2010
It's summertime! April started off okay, but ended with a thud. In fact, How to Train Your Dragon was arguably the biggest box office draw of the month, and it opened in March. That said, it's May, and that means there's a clean slate for the box office, as even under the best of circumstances holdovers mean very little at the beginning of the month. As long as the overall box office is healthy, we should be fine. And given the number of $100 million hits that have opened in 2010 so far, plus the $300 million hit that is Alice in Wonderland, I think it is fair to say that we will be fine. The real question is how well May 2010 will compare to last year, when we had six $100 million movies including two that reached $200 million. This time around there's one less weekend, so we will need help from some of the counter programming to match that number. Since there are only three films that you could call counter programming, this could be a problem.
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April 30th, 2010
Next week the first big hit of the summer blockbuster season opens. Not only does Iron Man 2 start off summer, it's the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Iron Man 2.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Avatar on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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April 20th, 2010
During the past week, the IMAX corporation released further details on Avatar's IMAX run. The film reached $100 million internationally from 85 international screens to go with its more than $125 million domestic IMAX total. Worldwide it has now made $228 million on 262 screens. All these numbers are records, the international box office, the worldwide box office, the screen counts, everything.
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January 14th, 2010
Avatar has now become the highest grossing DMR film of all time with a total of $91 million on IMAX screens worldwide. This is substantially more than $71 million that The Polar Express has earned over the years, while by the weekend, Avatar will become the first such film to reach $100 million worldwide.
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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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May 11th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Spirit, Iron Man 2, The Avengers and more!
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May 9th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Push, and more!
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May 7th, 2008
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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