February 15th, 2011
Overall, new releases were rather weak, but we did see four films reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, including a new number one. That film was Beverly Hill Chihuahua 2, which sold 712,000 units, generating $10.67 million in opening week revenue. Granted, this was half as many sales as the original, but that was a theatrical release and this was direct-to-DVD, so I think Disney has to be very happy with this release. In fact, they might be thinking franchise.
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February 1st, 2011
There's still a lull when it comes to first-run releases on the home market with no major, or even midlevel hits coming out this week. In fact, the best-selling release according to Amazon.com is Alice in Wonderland on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which is a contender for Pick of the Week. The other major contender is Let Me In on Blu-ray, which failed to find an audience despite impressing critics almost as much as the original did. I'm going to give the honor to Let Me In, but both are worthy contenders.
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January 31st, 2011
I think it's fair to say Never Let Me Go was made to win awards, but it didn't quite live up to those expectations, earning just one Independent Spirit Awards nomination and little else. Its reviews were good, but not Oscar-worthy, and while it did well in limited release, it wasn't able to expand truly wide. Should it have performed better, or were these results inline with its overall quality?
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December 1st, 2010
The official arrival of winter is still a few weeks away, but Winter's Bone ushered in the start of Awards Season picking up seven Independent Spirit Award nominations. This was the most of any film, with The Kids Are All Right placing second with five.
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October 26th, 2010
There was only one film that reached the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart, and it was the overall box office leader, Paranormal Activity 2. That film opened with an average of $12,649 in just over 3200 theaters.
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October 12th, 2010
There were three films to top $10,000 on the per theater chart, all of which were new releases. Leading the way was Inside Job, with an average of $19,825 in two theaters. Considering how important the subject is, I'm certainly glad people are seeing it. Nowhere Boy opened in four theaters with an average of $13,187, while Stone was right behind with an average of $12,628 in six theaters.
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September 21st, 2010
There were just two films to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart, but one of them, Never Let Me Go, was pegged as a potential Awards Season player. With an opening average of $27,934, it should expand and that can only help. (The first challenge in earning awards is being seen by enough voters.) Second place went to Catfish with an average of $21,440 in 12 theaters.
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September 19th, 2010
The Town kept up September's decent run at the box office by delivering an higher-than-expected $23.8 million weekend and winning the weekend, according to Warner Bros. Sunday estimate.
With three other wide openers delivering reasonable numbers, this weekend looks as though it will be up overall from last year, in spite of having to compete with the opening of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
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September 17th, 2010
It could be the beginning of Awards Season this weekend, as Never Let Me Go opened on Wednesday and Jack Goes Boating opens tonight. I'm not so sure either film will be an Awards Season player, but they both certainly have the feel of one.
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