DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 5th, 2020

May 6th, 2020

It’s a sad week for DVDs / Blu-rays as there are no top-notch first-run releases. Gretel and Hansel is the biggest and the best first-run release on this week’s list, but its DVD / Blu-ray don’t have enough extras to be a Pick of the Week contender. Likewise, The Lodge is amazing, but its DVD / Blu-ray have no extras… Is Elvira: Mistress of the Dark really the Pick of the Week? It came out last week, but the screener was late, so it is the best release on this week’s list. More...

Theater Averages: Making Waves

November 20th, 2019

Waves led the way on the theater average chart with an opening weekend average of $33,583 in four theaters. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was in second place with an average of $16,899 in ten theaters. Its road show has been a success so far, but the film did cost $10 million to make, so it will need to continue to have strong weekend numbers for a long time to break even. Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project opened with $12,140 in its lone theater. Honey Boy fell from an average of $75,266 in four theaters to an average of just $11,957 in 17. That’s still a good average, but its odds of expanding even semi-wide have been lowered dramatically. More...

Theater Averages: Honey is in the Money

November 14th, 2019

Honey Boy easily led the way on the theater average chart earning just over $300,000 in four theaters for an average of $75,266. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was way back with an average of $15,613 in 15 theaters during its fourth week of release. Granted, it is a road show with greatly inflated ticket prices, but it also has very limited showings, so this is a fantastic run. The final film in the $10,000 club was Better Days with an opening weekend of nearly $1 million in 70 theaters for an average of $14,136. More...

International Box Office: Terminator Tops Production Budget Worldwide

November 14th, 2019

Terminator: Dark Fate will lose money. That is almost guaranteed at this point. However, it did manage to top its production budget at the worldwide box office in just its third weekend of release, meaning it is going to save face, mostly. The film earned $29.9 million in 53 markets over the weekend for totals of $150.9 million internationally and $199.4 million worldwide. This includes a $6.0 million opening in Japan; however, the film opened on Friday and not Saturday, which is the usual opening day in that market. That was still enough for first place over the two-day weekend and more than it made here, given the relative size of the two markets. It also opened in first place in Taiwan with $1.1 million over the three-day weekend and $1.4 million including Thursday. The film’s biggest market remains China, where the film earned $7.21 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $45.85 million. More...

Weekend Estimates: Midway Overcomes the Odds to Come out on Top

November 10th, 2019

Midway wasn’t supposed to be a major hit, and it won’t be, but, sadly for all the other new films, it is opening in first place at the box office. In fact, its weekend estimate is $17.49 million, which is less than 10% above our prediction, but it was able to earn first place with relative ease. The film only managed mixed reviews, but it did earn an A-rating from CinemaScore. Additionally, there are holidays coming up, so it could have surprisingly long legs. The film also opened in China with $4.48 million. It’s hard to use this result as a guide for other markets, as there haven’t been enough American-centric war movies released in China to compare against. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: As Sweet as Honey

November 8th, 2019

It is not a good week for limited releases. There were so few films that had 10 or more reviews that I had to bend the normal rule and even then, there are only nine films on the main list. Of these, Honey Boy easily has the best chance of box office success. However, I’m also interested in Good Girls Get High, KonoSuba - God’s Blessing on the Stupidly Long Name, and The Kingmaker. Let’s hope they all find audiences. More...

International Box Office: Terminator Cracks Century Mark in its Worldwide Debut

November 6th, 2019

Terminator: Dark Fate cracked the $100 million mark worldwide during its first weekend. $101.9 million to be more precise, giving it an early total of $123.6 million so far. Sadly, this is just $72.9 million internationally in 48 markets and that’s just not enough given the film’s production budget. Its biggest market was China, where it opened in second place with $26.84 million over the weekend for a total opening of $28.58 million. The film debuted in first place in South Korea with $7.19 million on 1,315 theaters over the weekend for a total opening of $9.79 million. Had the movie merely cost $100 million, then I would be a lot more happy with this result, but the movie cost a lot more than that and needs close to $500 million worldwide to break even any time soon. I just don’t see that happening. More...

International Box Office: Chinese Movie Fans Have Seen Better Days

October 30th, 2019

Better Days opened in first place in China with $86.11 million, which was also enough to give it first place internationally. This is an amazing start, all things considered. The movie was supposed to open in June, but the Chinese censors yanked the film at the last minute, then announced a new release day less than a week before the film opened. It is a minor miracle it was able to do this well. More...