January 16th, 2014
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and there are some surprises mixed in with the predictable results. Gravity and American Hustle led the way with ten nominations each while 12 Years a Slave was right behind with nine. The fact that 12 Years a Slave wasn't the leader is the first of the surprises.
More...
December 16th, 2013
It's a busy week with eight or so first-run releases. (It depends on if you count the The Sound of Music Live! as a first-run release.) However, none of them were big hits at the box office. Some of them made enough money to break even sometime on the home market, others struggled more than that, but none were breakout hits. Some of these are still worth picking up. For others, there's a reason they struggled. There are also a few TV on DVD releases this week that are worth picking up, as well as a few limited releases that are strong. All in all, it's a good week on the home market with many DVD and Blu-rays that are worth picking up, some of which I'm looking forward to reviewing... when they show up. This time of year, getting screeners on time tends to be a little harder. I think Burn Notice: Season Seven is the top selection, but I'll have to wait for the screener to make sure. On a side note, next Tuesday is Christmas eve, so there won't be a DVD and Blu-ray Release report. There's only four films worth talking about anyway, so I'm including them on this list. Of next week's films, More Than Honey on DVD or Blu-ray is the Pick of Next Week.
More...
October 30th, 2013
Gravity earned first place for the fourth week with $37.7 million on 7,340 screens in 53 markets for a total of $164.4 million internationally and $364.0 million worldwide. This weekend it debuted in first place in France with a very impressive $10.76 million on 398 screens. It also remained in first place in South Korea with $5.29 million on 531 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $15.55 million. It also repeated in top spot in Mexico with $3.79 million on 1,563 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.04 million after two. The film will likely pull in close to $100 million in just these holdovers, plus it has yet to open in the U.K., Japan and China, so it could make another $100 million in those three markets as well.
More...
October 24th, 2013
For the third weekend in a row, Gravity led the way on the international chart and reached a major milestone in the process. This past weekend, it pulled in $33.5 million on 7,900 screens in 51 markets for an international total of $114.2 million and a worldwide total $283.8 million. It opened in first place in two major markets led by South Korea where it earned $6.30 million on 636 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $7.29 million. Meanwhile in Mexico, it made $5.75 million on 1,783 screens. Its biggest market overall is Russia where it has earned $17.60 million in total, including $2.19 million on 700 screens this past weekend.
More...
October 16th, 2013
Gravity remained in first place with a nearly identical result as last weekend. It was up a barely noticeable amount to $28.5 million on 5,785 screens in 38 markets for a two-week total of $68.3 million internationally. This hold is even more impressive, as its only major market debut came in Brazil, where it opened in second place with $1.67 million on 219 screens. On the other hand, it was down just 9% in Australia with $3.03 million on 471 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $8.29 million. It fell a little more in Germany down 17% to $3.04 million on 614 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $8.12 million. In both of those markets, it remained in first place. It fell faster in Russia down 48% landing in second place with $3.88 million on 1,155 million screens over the weekend for a total of $14.12 million after two weeks of release.
More...
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.
More...
October 3rd, 2013
There are two films opening wide this week: Gravity and Runner Runner. However, while the two films share a release date, they are at the opposite ends when it comes to box office potential and critical acclaim. Gravity should have an easy time winning the race for the top of the box office chart, and if its reviews can translate into Awards Season buzz, then it should have very strong legs. On the other hand, many analysts expect Runner Runner to stumble out of the gate and disappear before the end of the month. This weekend last year, Taken 2 opened with just under $50 million, which is too much for Gravity to match. Frankenweenie earned $11 million during its opening weekend, which is a figure Runner Runner should match, but might not. Overall, 2013 looks a lot weaker than 2012 was.
More...
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.
More...
September 29th, 2013
As expected, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 will be the comfortable winner of this weekend's box office race with a healthy $35 million beginning, according to Sony's Sunday estimate. That puts the film on course for the 4th-biggest weekend in September and is about $5 million ahead of the opening for the first film in the franchise. Given hopes of a $40 million debut, the film could be said to have underperformed slightly (and it will almost certainly not top the original's $124.8 million domestic total), but given the timing of the release, the studio will have reason for modest celebration in the midst of their worst year since 2005. The top of the chart in general has a middling-to-good-enough look to it this weekend.
More...
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.
More...
September 24th, 2013
The winners of our Home and Alone contest were determined and they are...
More...
September 24th, 2013
The top five at the box office lived up to expectations, more or less. Prisoners were on the high end of expectations, while Battle of the Year opened on the low end. Some holdovers, like Insidious Chapter 2, sank faster than expected, while Instructions Not Included defied all logic and returned to the top five. Overall, the box office fell 16% to $87 million. This was 4% lower than last year, ending 2013's impressive winning streak. Year-to-date, 2013 is still ahead of 2013 by just over $100 million at $7.77 billion to $7.66 billion.
More...
September 22nd, 2013
Ever since Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture, the industry has been talking and thinking about the strategy of releasing a film ahead of all the other award hopefuls and building buzz through the season. The first test of this theory comes this weekend with one wide release and one platform release. The wide release, Prisoners, will comfortably top the chart with a very respectable $21.4 million from 3,260 theaters. While hardly in record-setting territory, it is very close to Argo's $19.5 million from 3,232 venues. Audience responses have been good (with 90% audience positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, for example), but next week's drop will be a big indicator of whether the film will have the chops for an awards run: Argo declined just 15% in its second weekend. Prisoners will need to do something similar before there's real talk of nominations to come.
More...
September 20th, 2013
There might be a close race at the box office this weekend. The buzz surrounding Prisoners is growing enough that it should earn first place, but Insidious Chapter 2 might hold on well enough to challenge the newcomer for top spot. The other new release for the week is Battle of the Year, which is opening in fewer theaters than I thought it would and with much worse reviews. It likely won't be a factor. In fact, there's a slim chance that the 3-D re-release of The Wizard of Oz will earn more this weekend than Battle of the Year will. The best new releases from this week last year was End of Watch, which only managed $13.15 million. This is close to what it cost to make, but it is low for a number one film. On the other hand, last year had much better depth than this year will have, so 2013's winning streak might come to an end.
More...
September 13th, 2013
While there is only one truly wide release coming out next weekend, Prisoners, we've accidentally double-booked prizes for the week. (Battle of the Year is also opening, but in under 2,000 theaters.) Because it is the only film opening truly wide, it is the only choice for the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Prisoners.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a both Homeland: Season Two on Blu-ray and Slightly Single in L.A. on Blu-ray.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of Homeland: Season Two on Blu-ray and Slightly Single in L.A. on Blu-ray.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
More...
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.
More...
