February 9th, 2005
A higher than expected opening in Spain and a lower than expected decline in the U.K. allowed
Meet the Fockers to retain top spot on the international charts. The film opened first in a handful of markets, including a $4.7 million opening in Spain on 356 screens, $377,000 in Denmark, $352,000 in Taiwan and $275,000 in Israel. Its most prolific market continues to be the U.K. where the film brought in $8.5 million during its second weekend there; that's a 42% drop-off, which is a little high for the market, but not as high as expected given its huge start last weekend. That one market represented more than half of its weekend total of $16.3 million on 1700 screens in 28 markets for a running tally of $82.9 million.
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November 8th, 2004
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the nominees for the DVD Pick of the Week, which we'll get to in a second. This was a strange week, there was only one first run release, a few limited releases, several nearly re-releases complete with ads for upcoming movies and more than a couple really old movies mostly sold in sets. Even the best of the bunch is going to have a really narrow appeal, so instead of naming a Pick of the Week, I'll name the best of each group. Best Limited Release:
Ju-On: The Grudge -
Buy from Amazon. Best Ad for A Sequel:
Bridget Jones's Diary - Collector's Series -
Buy from Amazon. Best Box Set Containing Movies Made Before I was Born: Fritz Lang Epic Collection -
Buy from Amazon.
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July 27th, 2004
Despite a severe, nearly 50% drop at the box office,
Spider-man 2 remained on top with $31.6 million, including a record $1.6 million in India, the biggest opening for a Hollywood film in that market. However, the news isn't all good as big drop-offs continue to plague the
Marvel web-slinger, 56% in France, 50% in the U.K. and 59% in Spain. But it is still earning immense figures thanks to record-breaking openings and should cross $600 million worldwide early in the mid-week and $300 million internationally during next weekend.
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July 20th, 2004
Another 11 openings, mostly in European markets, helped
Spider-man 2 swing to new heights this week on the international charts. This week it earned $62.3 million on roughly 9,400 screens in 61 markets, which pushed it international total to $200.1 million and in just 19 days. Highlights include $15.7 million in the U.K., $11.6 million in France and $7.7 million in Spain. The news was less impressive in Northern Europe where a heat wave hurt the industry as a whole; specifically, this lead to smaller than expected openings in Belgium and Holland and a steep drop in Germany. Worldwide the film has topped $500 million, just the fifth film to do so this year, and the 35th all-time. With Italy the only remaining major opening left, and it doesn't open there till mid-September, the weekly numbers have most likely peaked. However, it should still quickly climb the charts.
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June 28th, 2004
There was a new movie on the top of the charts this weekend, but it wasn't the film most analysts were predicting. Also good news: every film in the Top Ten beat expectations, albeit by the narrowest of margins in some cases. This led to a serious increase of 9% compared to last weekend and a massive increase of 22% from last year.
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June 25th, 2004
Three new films open wide this week, or four new films if you really stretch the definition of wide. Even so, there's a good chance there won't be a change at top spot on the charts.
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June 14th, 2004
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. This is the worst week for DVDs since the
beginning of February. There's not one, not two, but
FIVE DVDs that were in contention for the DVD Pick of the week. And with all but one from the TV on DVD section, this is going to be a very expensive week for me. Even if I don't buy groceries for the week I'll still need to trim the list by a couple. Go with Dead Like Me - The Complete First Season -
Buy from Amazon,
Monk - The Complete First Season -
Buy from Amazon and
The Thin Blue Line - The Complete Line-Up -
Buy from Amazon. Maybe I can sell some blood to pick up
The Simpsons - The Complete Fourth Season -
Buy from Amazon and
The Station Agent -
Buy from Amazon. Maybe if I sell a kidney I can get a whole new home theatre system as well. [Editor's Note: He's joking ... we think.]
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June 14th, 2004
The weekend box office was filed with bad movies and that makes predicting that much more difficult. However, while there were a few surprises, it wasn't as chaotic as it could have been. But with the three new movie combined opening barely above the drop
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban suffered. And that lead to a serious drop from last weekend of 15.75%. But last year at this time, the trio of films that opened really bombed leading to a spectacular 29% increase at the box office. That's several weeks in a row of year to year increases.
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June 11th, 2004
While three films open wide this weekend, none seem likely to finish first. In fact, I wouldn't be too surprised if at least one of them misses the top 5. However, if any one new movie doubles my predictions I wouldn't be too surprised. Nor would I be all that shocked if any one movie failed to reach half of what I predicted. It's just that kind of week.
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June 10th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Garfield -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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June 3rd, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Two Brothers -
Official Site . If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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June 1st, 2004
After a rather mediocre May, June looks a lot stronger with two films that should break $300 million. Not surprisingly, these monster hits are being released unopposed during their respective weeks. And also not surprisingly, they are being released at opposite ends of the month. The rest of the films are unlikely to make much of an impact, although a few should cross the increasingly irrelevant $100 million plateau.
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May 27th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Baadasssss! -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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May 20th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates. It was another deceptively slow week as there are lots of site on the list, but none stood out as an award winning site. Many were simple placeholders, others had just minor updates, and the only three flash sites to launch were mostly marked coming soon. I was even tempted to not give out an award or maybe even bring in a
ringer. But in the end I went with
The Incredibles -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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May 13th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
The Chronicles of Riddick -
Official Site . If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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April 1st, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies
were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Hellboy -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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March 4th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
The Prince & Me -
Official Site . If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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