Weekend predictions: Shazam! could struggle to hit $30 million this weekend

March 17th, 2023

Shazam! Fury of the Gods picked up $3.4 million from preview screenings on Thursday. That’s a lot less than the $9.225 million earned by Shazam! back in 2019, and points to an opening weekend for the latest movie in the DC Extended Universe that will fall well short of the $53.5 million earned by its predecessor. In fact, it might not make it to $30 million this weekend. More...

2019 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part I - First-Run Releases and Franchise Box Sets

November 27th, 2019

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This year, Thanksgiving is as late as it could have been, which means there’s no way to squeeze in four weeks of regular installments of the gift guide, as well as the December monthly preview, etc. So we are going to have a condensed list this year. That said, there weren’t a ton of first-run releases that would have made this list regardless. More...

Home Market Releases for July 16th, 2019

July 18th, 2019

It’s the middle of summer, at least according to the movie industry, which explains why there are so few prime releases this weekend. In fact, after Shazam!, there’s almost nothing here that can be considered a real box office hit. As for the competition for Pick of the Week, well, that list is just as short with only one contender from this week, Klute: Criterion Collection. Although both late reviews, Bachman (DVD or Blu-ray) and Furie (DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack), are worth picking up as well. More...

Home Market Releases for July 2nd, 2019

July 3rd, 2019

It’s Anime week on the Home Market Release Report with more than half a dozen titles on the main list, as well as a few more in the secondary Blu-ray list. In fact, the only real contender for Pick of the Week is an Anime title, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Set 4, Part 1, but it is not the only Anime title worth owning, as Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card - Part Two, Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin, and Steins;Gate 0 Part One and Part Two are also worth picking up. If you want something live action, then go with We Have Always Lived in the Castle. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Pikachu Has a Super Start

May 10th, 2019

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu pulled in $5.7 million during its previews on Thursday. This is a strong start, but how strong depends on if the film is pulling in more families than Fanboys. If it is weighted heavily to the Fanboys, then it will have legs similar to Shazam!, for example, which would still be enough to match the tracking at just over $50 million for the weekend. If it is more heavily weighted to families, then it has a real shot at topping our $65 million prediction. If it has similar legs to How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, then it will beat that figure by a substantial margin. Legs will also depend on the film’s word-of-mouth and whether or not moviegoers liked the movie more than critics did. As always, we will know more this time tomorrow when Friday’s estimates come out. More...

International Box Office: Endgame isn’t the Only Game in Town

May 2nd, 2019

Avengers: Endgame absolutely destroyed the international record book earning $866.5 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $1.223 billion. However, as daily readers will know, we’ve been tracking these numbers as they have been released, so there’s no need to go into further detail here. You can see the most recent Daily Tracking here. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Endgame Ends the Record Book, Practically Laps the Competition

April 29th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame was expected to break records with some high-end predictions going as high as $350 million. Its final weekend numbers actually topped the high end expectations, as it opened with $357.12 million. This is almost exactly $100 million more than the previous record, set this weekend last year by Avengers: Infinity War. In fact, it is significantly more than the previous record for an overall weekend, set a few years back by The Force Awakens et al. Needless to say, the overall box office rose considerably from last weekend, up 270% to $402 million. More importantly, this was 29% more than the same weekend last year and this one weekend put a serious dent in 2019’s deficit in the year-over-year comparisons. Granted, 2019 is still behind 2018’s pace by more than 11% or $420 million at $3.28 billion to $3.70 billion. I suspect May will also be a very good month in the year-over-year comparison so hopefully that gap will be more reasonable in a month’s time. I don’t think 2019 will catch up to 2018 any time soon, but if it can cut the deficit in raw dollars in half by the end of May, then I will be happy. More...

Weekend Estimates: Endgame Earns $350 million in Domestic Debut

April 28th, 2019

As expected, Avengers: Endgame is dominating the weekend with an estimated $350 million. Unsurprisingly, this sets a new record for opening weekend, topping the previous champion, Avengers: Infinity War, by just close to $100 million. It is also enough to push the film into ninth place on the M.C.U. chart after just three days of release. Its international numbers are looking even better, at a jaw-dropping $859 million. More on that coming shortly… More...

Friday Estimate: Endgame Smashes Record Book

April 27th, 2019

“Hulk Smash!” is a common phrase in the comics and it’s clear Avengers: Endgame is following Hulk’s lead. The film pulled in $156.7 million on Friday. This not only absolutely demolishes the previous record for biggest single day at the domestic box office, it is already more than The Incredible Hulk made in its entire run. It took less than 30 hours from the start of the movie’s previews to rise out of last place in the M.C.U.. This is simply stunning. Furthermore, thanks to the film’s 96%-positive reviews and its unbelievable A plus from CinemaScore, it could have decent legs. Granted, it is the definition of a Fanboy film and it is clear many people rushed out to theaters to see it, but there were also so many sold out shows that even many of the hardcore fans will have to wait until Saturday or Sunday to see the movie. I would put the over / under of the weekend total at nearly $350 million, which is well above our original prediction. This is also more than over a dozen films in the M.C.U. earned domestically and it will be just days away from entering the top five for the franchise. More...

Weekend Prediction: Will Endgame Spell the End of the Record Book?

April 25th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame opens this weekend and it’s overstating things only fractionally to say that nothing else at the box office matters. Endgame will earn more during its Thursday night previews than any other film will earn during the full weekend. In fact, it could earn more opening day than any other film released this April will earn in total. It’s only competition is Avengers: Infinity War, which opened this weekend last year. All available evidence suggests Endgame will easily win this race and propel 2019 to a massive win in the year-over-year competition. It won’t be enough to close the gap with 2018 entirely, but it will be an important step in turning 2019’s box office around. More...

International Box Office: Curse is Blessed with a First Place Debut

April 24th, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona earned first place on the international chart with $29 million on 13,155 screens in 71 markets. This is excellent for a film that cost $9 million to make. However, it is also playing in nearly every major market, so it doesn’t have a lot of room to grow. The film had a very strong opening in Mexico with $5.1 million on 2,432 screens, while it was equally strong in Colombia with $2.3 million on 421. It easily earned first place in both markets. On the other hand, the film struggled in France ($2.0 million on 254 screens); Spain ($1.8 million on 330 screens); and Russia ($1.1 million on 1,758). It failed to crack $1 million over the weekend in a number of major markets. It came the closest in South Korea with $905,000 on 620 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.25 million, while it was further behind in Italy ($852,000 on 314 screens) and Brazil ($775,000 on 561). The film opens in the U.K. and Japan in the next couple of weeks. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Curse Tops Chart, but 2019 Suffers Another Loss

April 23rd, 2019

Easter weekend gave box office watchers a few reasons to celebrate. The Curse of La Llorona topped expectations and earned first place with $26.35 million over the weekend. That’s a very strong debut for this time of year. Additionally, both Shazam and Captain Marvel held on amazingly well, which bodes well for their chances against Avengers: Endgame. Overall, the box office rose 1% from last weekend to $108 million. This was 14% lower than the same weekend last year, and it wasn’t Easter weekend last year. On a side note, I’ve seen some stories call this past weekend the worst Easter weekend in over a decade. However, this is misleading, as it was the first time Easter weekend was one weekend before the start of the Summer Blockbuster season. Avengers: Endgame opening on Friday had more to do with the weak box office than any other factor and if Endgame is as big as some box office analysts expect, then by this time next week, we will be talking about how quickly 2019 will turn things around rather than how bad 2019 has been. In the meantime, we’ve hopefully sunk to the low point in the year-over-year comparison, as 2019 is now behind 2018 by a $570 million or 17% margin at $2.84 billion to $3.41 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: La Llorona is the Best of the Weekend

April 21st, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona is leading the way on the weekend chart with a surprising $26.51 million. Granted, this is the weakest opening in the The Conjuring franchise, while its reviews and B minus from CinemaScore suggest short legs. Also, Avengers: Endgame opens in just a handful of days, so it will be pushed into the smallest screens in most multiplexes very soon. That said, the film reportedly only cost $9 million to make and < HREF="https://www.the-numbers.com/market/distributor/Warner-Bros">Warner Bros.’ share of the opening weekend will be close to double that. Internationally, the film is opening even better with an estimated $30 million debut. On the downside, it is playing in 71 markets already, so it has very few major markets left to open in. More...

Friday Estimates: Curses! Box Office is Foiled Again

April 20th, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona got off to a fantastic start on Friday with $11.8 million during its opening day. This is a stronger opening day than Pet Sematary managed, but not as strong as its preview numbers were in comparison to Pet Sematary, so it likely won’t have the same legs. This isn’t surprising, as its reviews are much worse and it is part of a long-running franchise. Both of those factors tend to shorten legs. On the positive side, it earned a B minus from CinemaScore, which is actually really good for a horror film. The Curse of La Llorona would have to have tragically short legs to not earn first place after a start like this. Look for an opening weekend of $26 million. More...

Weekend Prediction: Can Shazam Continue its Streak or will New Releases Break Through?

April 19th, 2019

It’s Easter weekend and, while it is not a true long weekend, there are enough kids out of school to give the box office a boost. On the negative side, Avengers: Endgame comes out next weekend and no one wants to try to compete against that. Because of this, none of the three wide releases this weekend are in the top tier. The one with the biggest potential is The Curse of La Llorona, but it is also earning the worst reviews of the weekend. Breakthrough is the first film made by Fox to come out since the studio’s acquisition by Disney was finalized, so there’s some significance there. Finally there’s Penguins, a film I thought would be a hit, but isn’t garnering much attention. This is not a strong contingent of new releases and Shazam could remain on top. This weekend last year wasn’t Easter weekend, so maybe that will give 2019 the edge. I don’t think 2019 will win in the year-over-year competition, but hopefully it will at least be close. More...

International Box Office: Shazam Flies Higher than Dumbo

April 17th, 2019

Shazam remained in first place on the international chart, despite not opening in any new markets, major or otherwise. This caused it to fall to $35.3 million on 24,633 screens in 79 markets lifting its totals to internationally and $258.4 million worldwide. The film fell 84% in China down to $4.79 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $40.30 million. It held on better in the U.K., down 47% to $2.83 million in 611 theaters for a two-week total of $11.65 million. The film’s last major market is Japan and it opens there this week. If it does well there, then it will have no trouble crossing $400 million worldwide, which is a great run for a film that cost $85 million to make. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Shazam Shocks the New Releases

April 16th, 2019

Shazam easily topped the weekend box office chart with $24.45 million. This is significantly more than the best new release of the week, Little, which managed $15.41 million during its opening weekend. That film will break even sometime during its home market run. The same can’t be said of Hellboy, After, and Missing Link, all of which will lose money. This caused the overall box office to fall 24% from last weekend to just $110 million. This is also 25% lower than this weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2019 has fallen further behind 2018 and it now behind with $550 million or 17% at $2.68 billion to $3.23 billion. Avengers: Endgame will have to be unreasonably big at the box office for 2019 to turn things around any time soon. More...

Weekend Estimates: Shazam Stops New Releases Cold

April 14th, 2019

Shazam really bounced back from a poor Friday performance. So much so that it almost match our prediction with an estimated $25.14 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $94.31 million. Internationally, the film is projected to earn $35.9 million on 23,752 screens in 79 markets to push its international total to $163.9 million. This means its worldwide total rose past $250 million after just two weeks of release. The film will have no trouble breaking even after a run like this, even with Avengers: Endgame looming large. More...

Friday Estimates: Friday Results are More Little Than Needed

April 13th, 2019

It’s going to be a terrible weekend at the box office with almost no film living up to expectations. Shazam fell faster than anticipated, down 69% from its opening Friday to just $6.37 million yesterday. Because it’s a holdover, it will bounce back more than the new releases, but it will still likely fail to match our prediction and is on pace for between $23 million and $24 million for the weekend. It is still going to break even, but if it doesn’t bounce back before Avengers: Endgame debuts, it will merely be very profitable and not amazingly profitable. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Going Through Hell

April 12th, 2019

Hellboy opened with $1.38 million in previews last night, which is not enough to be a hit. This would have only put the film in third place last Thursday, well behind both Shazam and Pet Sematary. Furthermore, due to the film’s terrible reviews, it will likely be more front-loaded. Fortunately, this wasn’t too far below expectations. More...

Weekend Prediction: Will Hellboy have a Heavenly Start? Will Little open Large?

April 12th, 2019

There are four wide releases this week, but it seems Shazam will remain the top draw, potentially by a significant margin. Hellboy was supposed to challenge for top spot, but its reviews are going to kill its box office chances. Little is earning better reviews, but its reviews are not good enough to overcome its smaller stature. Missing Link is earning amazing reviews, but that hasn’t helped other stop-motion animated films succeed in the recent past. After has the quietest buzz of the week and almost no reviews. This weekend last year wasn’t a great weekend at the box office, but it will certainly be better than this weekend will be. Avengers: Endgame can’t come soon enough. More...

Theater Averages: High Life Reaches High Heights

April 12th, 2019

High Life led the way on the theater average chart earning an average of $24,835 in four theaters. Amazing Grace was next with an average of $14,674 in eight theaters. Meanwhile, the overall number one film, Shazam, was the final film in the $10,000 club with an average of $12,688. More...

International Box Office: Shazam Hits Century Mark During Opening Weekend

April 11th, 2019

Shazam stormed to the top of the international chart with an opening weekend haul of $102.3 million on over 40,000 screens in 79 markets. The film’s biggest market was unsurprisingly China, where it earned second place with $30.4 million on 20,939 screens. The film earned first place in a quartet of major markets. This includes Mexico ($5.8 million on 2,669 screens); the U.K. ($5.3 million on 1,533); Russia ($5.2 million on 3,072 screens); and Brazil ($5.1 million on 1,509 screens). This is a great start, especially for a film that “only” cost $85 million to make. However, there’s some bad news here. There’s almost no where left to open, as its only other major market debut is in Japan on the 19th of April. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Shazam Can’t Keep 2019’s Streak Going

April 9th, 2019

Shazam topped expectations over the weekend, albeit by a small margin. However, it was the only new release to do this and the overall box office wasn’t particularly strong as a result. It did rise 6.2% from last weekend reaching $146 million. However, it wasn’t able to keep 2019’s winning streak alive in the year-over-year comparison, as this was 11% lower than the same weekend last year. 2018 extended its lead over 2019 and now has an advantage of $500 million at $3.03 billion to $2.53 billion. If you are looking for good news, then the percent difference actually closed by a fraction of one percent. To call that good news is stretching. More...

Weekend Estimates: Shazam Flies to First Place with over $50 million

April 7th, 2019

Shazam is easily topping the weekend box office chart with an estimated $53.45 million for a total of $56.78 million, including its previous special engagement. This is marginally better than our prediction, but not as strong as I thought it would be after its surprising previews. The film should have strong legs with its amazing reviews, its A from CinemaScore, and its family-friendly target audience. On the other hand, Avengers: Endgame is on its way, and that film could practically end Shazam’s run at the box office. Internationally, Shazam is opening with an estimated $102 million in 79 markets. This includes $30.9 million in China, as well as $6.2 million in Mexico. On the other hand, it only managed $5.3 million in the U.K., which is far less impressive than its debut here. More...

Friday Estimates: Shazam’s Shockingly Strong Start

April 6th, 2019

Shazam was able to take full advantage of its impressive previews, and its $20.5 million Friday debut should be enough to carry it above our initial prediction. Its reviews remain above 90% positive and it earned an A from CinemaScore. Furthermore, its a hit with families, so that should also help its legs over the rest of the weekend and beyond. As for the film’s international debut, it is almost as impressive, as the film earned $29.2 million on Friday for a three-day total of $44.0 million in 79 markets. It is not doing as well as it is here, at least relative to the sizes of the markets, but this is still a fantastic start for a film that cost $85 million to make. If there isn’t already a sequel in the works, there will be one shortly. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Shazam Surprises with $5.9 million

April 5th, 2019

Shazam! got off to a fantastic start with $5.9 million during its previews last night, for a running tally of $9.2 million, including its special engagement run last month. That’s not too far behind Ant-Man, which earned $6.4 million during its previews. This is great news for Shazam! and means it should top our prediction. Not only are the film’s reviews a major asset, but since it is not opening during the summer holidays, it shouldn’t be as front-loaded during its opening weekend. It is still too early to tell where the film will end up, but we should know more when Friday’s estimates show up tomorrow. More...

Weekend Prediction: Shazam Should have a Super Start

April 4th, 2019

Shazam is the biggest release of the weekend and will almost certainly be the second biggest hit of the month. It also has some of the best reviews of the year so far. Pet Sematary should be in a solid second place, both in terms of box office dollars and reviews. Finally there’s The Best of Enemies, which is not only the smallest release on this week’s list, but it is also earning the weakest reviews. However, the biggest box office hit of the weekend will very likely be Avengers: Endgame, as tickets went on sale during the week and I suspect advanced ticket sales for that film will top everything coming out this week. (Early tracking for that film is nearing $300 million just for its opening weekend.) This weekend last year, A Quiet Place opened with just over $50 million, a little more than the next two films combined earned. Fortunately for 2019, there was a huge drop-off from the top three to the rest of the releases, so if we have better depth this year, then 2019 could continue its winning ways. More...

2019 Preview: April

April 1st, 2019

March was a good month at the box office with most films beating expectations. The biggest hit was Captain Marvel, which is still on pace for $400 million domestically and may have crossed $1 billion worldwide by the time you read this. The biggest “miss” was Dumbo, but it is still going to top $100 million domestically with ease. This month, it is a battle between Avengers: Endgame and last year’s Infinity War. To be fair, A Quiet Place got last April off to a very fast start and Shazam! should do the same this year, so there will be more than one potential box office hit to talk about. That said, Endgame will almost certainly open with more than any other April release earns in total and if 2019 is going to cut into its deficit with 2018, it will be on the back of that one film. More...

Shazam! Trailer

March 5th, 2019

Superhero adventure starring Zachary Levi and Asher Angel opens April 5 ... Full Movie Details.

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. More...

Cast Updates - November 15, 2007

November 15th, 2007

This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Cirque du Freak, Max Payne, Star Trek XI, and more! More...