February 19th, 2018
It’s another slow week; however, I prefer to think of it as the calm before the storm, as there are several blockbusters and Oscar contenders coming out over the next few weeks. That’s not to say there are no big hits or Oscar contenders on this week’s list. The Florida Project and Loving Vincent are both up for an Oscar, while there are some massive hits coming out on VOD, like Thor: Ragnarok. As for the Pick of the Week, it was an easy choice: The Florida Project on Blu-ray.
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February 7th, 2018
There are not a lot of big titles on this week’s list of home market releases and there won’t be for at least a couple more weeks. That’s not to say there is nothing worth picking up. Both Blame (DVD) and Only the Brave (Blu-ray) are Pick of the Week contenders. In the end, Duckman: The Compete Series is the Pick of the Week winner and worth picking up, unless you own the previous DVD releases.
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December 11th, 2017
The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. Sort of. (WGA announced the nominations for TV, radio, etc., but not their theatrical nods.) It is still very early in the year, so it is hard to say if there are any real snubs, or if there are any real favorites. The Shape of Water led the way with seven nominations, while The Post and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri were right behind with six a piece.
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November 21st, 2017
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Justice League easily won the race for first place on the weekend box office chart. However, it only managed $93.84 million, which is substantially lower than it was expected to open with. In fact, it’s the first film in the DCEU to not open with more than $100 million. (To be fair, it is doing better internationally.) Wonder was a surprising hit in second place and it helped the box office rise 32% from last weekend to $199 million. More importantly, this weekend was 26% higher than the same weekend last year. 2017 ended its most recent slump, but it is still 4.5% or $430 million behind last year’s pace at $9.21 billion to $9.65 billion.
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November 18th, 2017
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As predicted, Justice League dominated the Friday box office chart, earning four times its nearest competitor. However, it only managed $38.8 million on Friday, which is well below expectations. In fact, tracking has been dropping and the film is now widely expected to open with less than $100 million over the weekend, making it the only film in the DCEU to fail to reach the century mark during its opening weekend. There are a number of reasons why this film is struggling. Firstly, except for Wonder Woman, no film in the franchise has earned good reviews and mainstream audiences may have given up on the franchise. Secondly, the troubled production meant a lot of people who were part of the target audience, but not hardcore D.C. Comics fans, are taking a wait-and-see approach here. Since its reviews are bad, these people are staying home. Its CinemaScore is just a B plus, so it won’t have great legs going forward. Finally, there’s Thor: Ragnarok. That film is proving to be stronger than expected competition, as it started faster and is holding up better than most similar films. I think Warner Bros. is going to have to rethink the entire DCEU before going forward. Aquaman is already in post-production and Wonder Woman 2 is definitely going forward. After that, I’m not sure what films will or will not be made.
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November 17th, 2017
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Justice League will have no trouble earning first place this weekend, but it looks like it won’t match Thor: Ragnarok’s opening. The latest in the DCEU opened with $13 million in previews, compared to $14.5 million for Thor: Ragnarok. Assuming the films have the same legs, then Justice League will earn $110 million during its opening weekend, which is a little lower than our prediction. Unfortunately, its reviews are significantly weaker than the Ragnarok’s and that’s going to hurt its legs. I still think it will top $100 million, but it will be closer to Wonder Woman’s $103 million opening weekend than to our original prediction.
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November 16th, 2017
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Justice League is hoping to be the biggest hit of the month, but two things could get in the way of that goal. Firstly, Thor: Ragnarok got off to a faster than expected start. Secondly, Justice League’s reviews are significantly weaker. There are two other films coming out this week, The Star and Wonder, both of whom are simply hoping not to be lost in a crowded marketplace. This crowded marketplace should help 2017 end its slump against 2016. This weekend last year, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened in first place with just under $75 million, while there were three other films that earned between $10 million and $20 million. This year, Justice League should top $100 million with ease, while Thor: Ragnarok will earn more than $25 million. The top two films this year should do better than the top five films from last year and that should lead to 2017 earning a comfortable win over 2016 in the year-over-year comparison.
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November 1st, 2017
October wasn’t a good month; then again, outside of a few bright spots, the overall box office has been a disaster since early summer. I would love to say November will turn things around, but, while it should be better, in this case “better” is a relative term. There are two films on this list with a chance at $300 million, Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League, while Coco is nearly a guarantee for $200 million. By comparison, last November had a similar result with three films earning between $200 million and $300 million, but none topping that figure. This means, if Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League both get to that milestone, then 2017 could cut into 2016’s lead during the month. It will still take a minor miracle for 2017 to catch up in the end, but just cutting the lead in half by the end of December would be a reason to celebrate at this point.
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