Weekend predictions: John Wick shooting for $75 million plus this weekend

March 24th, 2023

John Wick: Chapter 4 will continue the remarkable run for the John Wick franchise by earning more on opening weekend than John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum, just as that movie beat the opening weekend of John Wick: Chapter Two, which had a better opening weekend than the original John Wick. It’s a rare franchise that manages to grow business with each new release, and an even rarer one that gets better reviews with each outing. But this is one of them. Exactly how much it’ll make this weekend remains a little uncertain, but things are looking very, very good. More...

2017 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part III - Limited Releases, Classics, Foreign Imports

December 16th, 2017

Both the first installment First-run Releases and the second installment, TV on DVD releases, were shorter than I would have liked, as this hasn’t been a great year for either wide releases or TV on DVD releases. That said, the third installment of our Holiday Gift Guide deals with limited releases, classics, and foreign imports and this list can get out of hand rather quickly. There will more releases on this list than the previous two, starting with... More...

2017 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part I - First-Run Releases and Franchise Box Sets

November 23rd, 2017

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will tackle first run releases, and normally franchise box sets as well, but this year none jump out as essential additions to the Holiday Gift guide. Worse still, 2017 has been awful at the box office with potential blockbuster after potential blockbuster getting savaged by critics and struggling at the box office. Additionally, some of the biggest and some of the best have been on the home market for nearly half a year, meaning nearly everyone who would want them, already own them. That doesn’t mean there are no films worth adding to this list, but the list is a little shorter than usual. On a side note, two of the films on this year’s list are from the MCU and it would have been three, but Thor: Ragnarok is still in theaters. If you know someone who loves the MCU, but has all of the movies, then check out this site, which has some more unique gift ideas. I specifically like the Spider-man Drone. More...

Home Market Releases for June 13th, 2017

June 12th, 2017

It’s a good week, but a shallow weak. The biggest release of the week is The Lego Batman Movie, which is also one of the best. There are a couple of other big releases that are must haves, like Dark Matter: Season Two, but the size and quality quickly drop-off after that. As for the Pick of the Week, the John Wick: Chapter Two Blu-ray Combo Pack claims that title. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: John Wick: Chapter 2

June 11th, 2017

The original John Wick came out of nowhere. There was no hype machine pumping up the film, so most moviegoers had no real idea what was coming. There was strong buzz from the people who had seen it, but nothing compared to the average midlevel release. Its reviews were amazing, but it still didn’t really find a large audience in theaters. Fortunately for the studio, it was inexpensive enough that it made enough profit to justify a sequel. Can John Wick: Chapter 2 live up to its predecessor? More...

Thursday Night Previews: Ghost Haunts Previews with $1.8 million

March 31st, 2017

Ghost in the Shell led the way on Thursday night with $1.8 million in advance earnings. This was better than the $1.2 million The Boss Baby managed, and on par with what Get Out’s $1.8 million earlier this year. However, Get Out had legs that most movies would kill for, so it is not a good predictor. John Wick: Chapter Two, which started out with $2.2 million on Thursday night, is arguably a much better comparison. Granted, John Wick earned much better reviews, but it was also a sequel and those tend to be a lot more front-loaded. Using this film as a guide gives Ghost in the Shell a $25 million opening weekend, which is well below our prediction. This isn’t a disaster, but it is a weak start for a film that cost $110 million to make. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Logan’s $88.41 million Start Suggests Long Legs

March 7th, 2017

The weekend belonged to Logan, as it opened with $88.41 million and easily earned first place. Second place went to Get Out, which held on far better than anticipated, while The Shack is on pace to become a midlevel hit. There was almost nothing but good news. Almost. Overall, the box office rose 53% from last weekend, earning $189 million. More importantly, the it was 16% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2017 is still behind 2016; however, that gap was nearly cut in half from its peak just a couple of weeks ago. 2017 is now behind by 2.7% at $1.92 billion to $1.97 billion. If 2017 can put together a few more weeks like this, then it could climb into the lead before April begins. That is a big “if” and I would be satisfied with cutting the gap in half by the end of the month. More...

Weekend Predictions: Logan is set to Skewer the Competition

March 2nd, 2017

The first weekend of March has three wide releases, but the one everyone is talking about is Logan. It should become the biggest hit of the year so far. The other two releases are The Shack, a faith-based film, and Before I Fall, which is essentially Groundhog Day set in high school. Neither film is expected to compete for top spot. In fact, it would be a surprise if both landed in the top five. As far as holdovers are concerned, only Get Out has a shot at $20 million, while only The Lego Batman Movie will earn more than $10 million. This weekend last year, Zootopia led the way with just over $75 million, while the other two new releases earned less than $30 million combined. 2017 will be bigger on top, won’t have as strong new releases overall, but should have about the same depth. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Get Out has Out of Control Opening with $33.38 million

February 28th, 2017

Get Out beat expectations on the weekend box office chart earning first place with $33.38 million. Not only did it beat expectations, but it also had better than expected legs over the weekend and that bodes well for its long term success. Neither of the other two wide releases, Collide and Rock Dog, earned a spot in the top ten. Both will disappear from theaters A.S.A.P. Overall, the box office fell 17% from last weekend to $123 million. It is, however, 9.9% higher than the same weekend last year. Meanwhile, 2017 remains $100 million behind last year’s pace at $1.69 billion to $1.79 billion. 2017 made gains over the weekend, but The Lego Batman Movie was the number one movie during the midweek and having a kids movie on top hurts the weekday box office numbers. More...

Friday Estimates: Get Out Gets off to a Fast Start with $10.8 million

February 25th, 2017

As expected, Get Out earned first place on the Friday box office chart with $10.8 million. This a little higher than originally predicted, but not quite up to the heights that seemed possible after Thursday’s $1.8 million in previews. The film’s Tomatometer Score remains 100% positive, although I did see that Armond White gave the film a negative review. I didn’t realize he still wrote reviews. His reputation is so bad that a negative review from him is something to cherish. Furthermore, it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, which is stunning for a horror film. Even a B plus is great for a horror film. Look for $28 million over the weekend and an easy first place finish. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Moviegoers Get Out to the Theater This Weekend?

February 23rd, 2017

There are three films opening wide this weekend, which is a surprise. The buzz for Collide and Rock Dog are so quiet that I’m surprised they are playing in more than 2,000 theaters and I will be equally surprised if they open above the Mendoza Line by averaging more than $2,000 per theater. On the other hand, Get Out has nearly 100 reviews and its Tomatometer Score is 100% positive. It could be a surprise smash hit. Then again... It could be another Keanu. If that happens, The Lego Batman Movie will earn its third first-place finish in a row. That’s would be bad news for the overall box office. This weekend last year there were a similar selection of new releases. Gods of Egypt struggled while the other two new releases bombed, and only Deadpool saved the box office. If Get Out matches Deadpool’s total weekend of $31 million this time last year, I will be so happy. I don’t think it will happen, but it could be close. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: New Releases Can’t Scale the Great Wall of Batman

February 22nd, 2017

As expected, The Lego Batman Movie easily won the weekend box office race with $32.66 million over the weekend and $42.74 million including Monday. The biggest new release of the week was The Great Wall, which earned $18.47 million / $21.51 million during its opening weekend. Overall, the box office slumped by 21% from last weekend at $145 million. This is still 4.5% higher than the same weekend last year. Unfortunately, due to the misalignment in holidays, 2017 still lost ground over the full week. In fact, it is now a full $100 million behind 2016’s pace at $1.53 billion to $1.63 million. It is still too early to really tell where 2017 will end up, but we could really use some big wins right about now. More...

Friday Estimates: Batman Beats Up Competition with $7.6 million

February 18th, 2017

It is a disappointing weekend for new releases, as only The Great Wall managed to match low expectations. This left The Lego Batman Movie cruising to first place on Friday with $7.6 million. It is on pace for $42 million over the four-day weekend and will crack $100 million sometime on Monday, which matches our predictions almost perfectly. If the film can make $150 million domestically and $200 million internationally, then it will break even before it reaches the home market. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Wall’s Start is Far from Great with just $970,000

February 17th, 2017

The first numbers for the weekend are in and they are not looking good. The Great Wall earned just $970,000 during its midnight previews, which is significantly less than half of what John Wick: Chapter Two managed just last weekend. Granted, John Wick: Chapter Two was a sequel and those tend to get off to faster starts, while The Great Wall has a Holiday to help boost its legs. On the other hand, The Great Wall’s reviews are much, much worse. We were only predicting just under $19 million during the four-day weekend. We are keeping that for now, but we might have to adjust it lower tomorrow. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Wall be Great? Does Fist have any Fight?

February 16th, 2017

There are three wide releases coming out this week, but none of them are expected to challenge for top spot. Although, there could be an interesting race between the two biggest releases, Fist Fight and The Great Wall. Sadly, this is because both have seen their box office potential fall over the past week. A Cure for Wellness never really had much box office potential. This will leave The Lego Batman Movie with an easy win over the Presidents’ Day long weekend, while we should have five films earning more than $10 million over the three-day portion of the weekend. This weekend last year, there were also three wide releases that struggled at the box office leaving Deadpool with an easy win. The Lego Batman Movie won’t match Deadpool at the top, but 2017 has much better depth, so that should help keep the year-over-year race close. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Lego Batman Begins with $53.00 million

February 14th, 2017

As expected, it was a big weekend at the box office with three massive hits. The Lego Batman Movie did earn first place, but not with as much as predicted at just $53.00 million. Fifty Shades Darker wasn’t that far behind with $46.61 million. Meanwhile, John Wick: Chapter Two just cracked $30 million, which is one of the ten best third place openings of all time. Week-over-week, the box office nearly doubled growing 90% from last weekend. Sadly, it was down 22% from last year. Granted, Valentine’s Day landed on a Sunday last year, so that boosted the weekend box office and 2017 should make some of that decline back on Tuesday. Year-to-date, 2017 has pulled in $1.28 billion, putting it $40 million or 3.0% behind 2016’s pace. It is still way too soon to tell how 2017 will finish in the end, but hopefully things will turn around soon. More...

Weekend Estimates: Batman Shades Fifty

February 12th, 2017

A slighty-worse-than-expected performance from The Lego Batman Movie and a slightly-better-than-expected weekend for Fifty Shades Darker is creating a close race at the top of the box office chart this weekend. Lego Batman will win in the end, with Warner Bros. projecting $55.6 million for the weekend, but Fifty Shades Darker won on Friday, and won’t be far behind in the end. Universal pegs the film at $46.8 million over three days. More...

Friday Estimates: Fifty Leads Fantastic Friday with $21.5 million

February 11th, 2017

Fifty Shades Darker led the way on Friday with $21.5 million. Earning first place is both expected and a little troubling, but more on the latter below. The film’s legs will be shorter over the weekend than its predecessor’s were, because it doesn’t have Valentine’s Day to boost its Saturday numbers. However, despite earning much worse reviews than the original film, its CinemaScore is a B plus, up from the C plus that the original managed. This could help its overall legs. Look for $48 million over the weekend and a total of over $100 million. More...

Thursday Night Previews: New Releases earn Fifty Shades of Green

February 10th, 2017

Fifty Shades Darker dominated the Thursday previews earning $5.72 million. This is more than the other two new releases earned combined. On the other hand, it is significantly less than the $8.6 million the original made two years ago. Additionally, its reviews are significantly weaker than its predecessors’ reviews were. This will lead to shorter legs and an opening that is closer to $40 million than $50 million. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Batman Become a Billionaire?

February 9th, 2017

This should be the biggest weekend of the month with three potential hits, all of which are sequels. Of the three, The Lego Batman Movie is widely expected to be the biggest hit of the weekend. In fact, it is widely expected to become the biggest hit of the year so far. Fifty Shades Darker could be one of those rare sequels that earns less in total than the original made during its opening weekend. However, I’m not that pessimistic. On the other hand, John Wick: Chapter Two should open significantly better than its predecessor opened with, but it is still aiming to become a midlevel hit, nothing more. This weekend last year, Deadpool opened with $132 million. That could be more than the top two films open with this weekend. Even though 2017 does have better depth, I think it will lose in the year-over-year comparison. More...

2017 Preview: February

February 1st, 2017

January turned out to be a good month. Granted, it didn’t live up to last January, but its box office was one of the top five Januarys of all time, so that’s still a good start to the year. Also, we will have our first $100 million movie released in 2017 and that doesn’t happen this early very often. As for February, there’s potentially the first $200 million hit of the year, The Lego Batman Movie. Fifty Shades Darker and The Great Wall both have a shot at $100 million. That said, it is more likely that both will miss that milestone than both will get there. As for the rest of the films, there are a few that are aiming for solid midlevel hits, like John Wick: Chapter Two and Get Out, while there are very few potential bombs. By comparison, last February there was one monster hit, Deadpool, and a lot of bombs. No other movie besides Deadpool made $50 million. No movie opening this month will match Deadpool, but we won’t have as many bombs either, so hopefully that will balance out and 2017 won’t fall further behind 2016. More...

John Wick: Chapter Two Trailer

January 6th, 2017

Action movie starring Keanu Reeves opens February 10 ... Full Movie Details. More...