March 6th, 2018
Thor: Ragnarok is by far the biggest Blu-ray release of the week and one of the best blockbusters of 2017. However, it was already named Pick of the Week last week, so we will have to pick a different film this week. There are a few contenders: The Breadwinner, Faces Places, and Lady Bird. All three of them are Oscars nominated films, none of them won. It was a close call, but in the end, Lady Bird won.
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December 1st, 2017
It’s an incredibly busy week with about 30 films coming out. However, the vast majority of them have too few reviews to be worth talking about. In fact, there would have been more entries in the secondary VOD than the main list, except I bent the rules a little. There are still some releases that are certainly worth checking out, including The Disaster Artist, The Other Side of Hope, A Bad Idea Gone Wrong, and The Shape of Water. If I were to pick just one, it would easily be The Shape of Water.
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March 10th, 2017
It is not a particularly busy week for limited releases, but there are a few that are earning good reviews and louder buzz. My Scientology Movie, Personal Shopper, and Raw all fit that description, but Personal Shopper probably has the best shot at box office success.
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October 18th, 2016
It’s a bad week for the home market. There are only two first-run releases and neither of them are worth picking up. There’s not a lot of limited releases, TV on DVD releases, etc. to make up the gap. However, there is one truly great release, Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro from The Criterion Collection. The Blu-ray costs a lot, but it is a must have for fans of Guillermo Del Toro, especially his earlier Spanish-language work: Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth.
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July 17th, 2016
After a huge amount of speculation on how it would perform at the box office, Ghostbusters is coming in right in the middle of (a very wide range of) expectations. Sony is projecting a $46 million debut for the supernatural comedy, which is far from the disaster many had feared, but some way short of the top tier. It’s also not enough for first place, even though The Secret Life of Pets will be down 52% in its second weekend.
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July 15th, 2016
It’s not a grand week for limited releases. Café Society is the only big release of the week and while its reviews and its pedigree suggest it should be a hit, it might be the only hit of the week.
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January 12th, 2016
It is a busy week for first run releases with four of them on this week's list. Of these, The Martian is the biggest and the best. It would have been the Pick of the Week except for two things. One, the screener is late. Two, David Bowie passed away over the weekend. He died after an 18-month battle with cancer and just two days after his last album came out. This is the the most poignant Rock'n'Roll death since Freddie Mercury and it seems fitting to give Blackstar the title of Pick of the Week.
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October 21st, 2015
Room was in a close race for top spot on the per theater with last week's winner, but it came out on top with an average of $29,575 in four theaters. Steve Jobs was right behind with an average of $25,212 in 60. This film is going to expand wide this weekend and could lead the weekend. The Assassin earned an average of $11,973 in four theaters, which is strong for a foreign-language film. Meanwhile, Truth was right behind with an average of $11,039 in six.
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July 22nd, 2015
The $10,000 club was led by Irrational Man with $175,312 in five theaters for an average of $35,062. While this was the best average of the weekend, it was the weakest opening weekend for a Woody Allen movie since You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. The Stanford Prison Experiment was next with an average of $18,757 in two theaters. Its reviews are good, but not great, so its chances to expand significantly are still just 50/50. Up next is a pair of wide releases, Ant-Man and Minions, which earned averages of $14,841 and $11,430 respectively. The final entrant in the $10,000 club was Bajrangi Bhaijaan with an average of $10,239; however, it was playing in 256 theaters and arguably it had the most impressive opening for any limited release this week. This is the second weekend in a row a Bollywood film did this well on the per theater chart.
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July 19th, 2015
Perhaps we’re seeing the first signs of multiplex fatigue? In the midst of a buoyant Summer at the movies, Ant-Man will debut with around $58 million, according to Sunday estimates, about 10% below expectations, and well short of the $94 million earned by Guardians of the Galaxy this time last year. It’s a very good opening, to be sure, but the second slightly disappointing debut from the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year, after The Avengers: Age of Ultron’s $191 million opening weekend back in May. We’re talking disappointment of the level of seeing Babe Ruth only hit one home run in a game here, so we need to put things in perspective. It’s the twelfth straight $50 million-plus opening for the franchise in seven years—an unprecedented box office run.
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July 17th, 2015
There are very few films on this week's list that have a real shot at earning mainstream success. I would like to think Court or A Hard Day could do so, but they are both foreign-language films and that's usually too big of an obstacle to overcome. Mr. Holmes has both the cast and the reviews to thrive, but it is playing in more than 300 theaters. That might be too many to thrive. Let's hope I'm being too pessimistic.
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December 16th, 2014
It is getting very close to Christmas and while this means there are more and more people shopping, it also means the new releases are less likely to stand out in a sea of sales. The biggest release of the week is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is coming out on a 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack. However, it is also one of the worst big releases of the year. There are some releases that are contenders for Pick of the week, including Extant: Season 1 on DVD or Blu-ray, Tootsie on Blu-ray, and The Americans: Season 2 on DVD. In the end, I went with The Skeleton Twins on Blu-ray.
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September 24th, 2014
Awards Season might have begun, as there were six new releases in the $10,000 club this past weekend. Leading the way was Yellow Day, with an estimated $31,000 in one theater. 20,000 Days of Earth was close behind with $27,879 over the weekend and $30,969 over five days, also in one theater. Pump! earned an average of $14,059 in three theaters, which is particularly good for a documentary. A fellow documentary, Art and Craft, was next with an average of $11,500 in two theaters. Not Cool debuted with $10,329 on one theater, which is surprisingly strong, given its lack of reviews. Likewise, Hector and the Search for Happiness earned bad reviews, but still managed an average of $10,212 in four theaters.
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August 27th, 2014
The only new limited release in the $10,000 club on the per theater chart was Love is Strange, which earned an average of $23,455 in five theaters. There were two holdovers in the $10,000 club with The Trip to Italy earning an average of $10,645 in ten theaters while The Admiral: Roaring Currents was right behind with an average of $10,213 in 47 screens.
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July 29th, 2014
Magic in the Moonlight led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $24,241 in 17 theaters, which is great for most films, but not as strong as some of Woody Allen's more recent releases. Arguably, Boyhood's weekend was much stronger, as it earned an average of $16,466 in 107 theaters. At this point, I'm not sure how long it will last in theaters, but it has already earned at least a measure of mainstream success. The overall number one film, Lucy, was the only other film in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,835.
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July 27th, 2014
This weekend’s boys versus girls box office match-up has proven to be a triumph for the girls, with Lucy enjoying a decisive win over Hercules. The Scarlett Johansson/Luc Besson sci-fi thriller will post an opening around $44 million, according to Universal’s Sunday estimate, which is almost exactly 50% more than the $29 million debut projected for Hercules. The difference in budgets between the two films is even starker with Hercules clocking in at around $100 million, and Lucy reportedly closer to $40 million.
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July 25th, 2014
There are not a lot of great limited releases on this week's list. There are a few films that are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews; however, there are just as many films on this list that have no reviews. The best film is arguably A Most Wanted Man, but its high theater count might hurt its changes on the per theater chart. Happy Christmas is earning better than average buzz, but it is also playing on Video on Demand, so its theatrical numbers are less important. Also... Christmas in July?
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April 20th, 2014
Moviegoers are celebrating Easter weekend by turning out in big numbers to see Heaven is for Real. The Christian-themed movie will be the biggest opener this weekend, with a very respectable $21.5 million projected Friday-to-Sunday and a theater average of $8,895. That puts it at nearly twice box office take of the widest opener this weekend, Transcendence, which is set for a very disappointing $11.15 million debut. Also opening this weekend, and similarly posting mediocre numbers is A Haunted House 2, with a projected $9.1 million from 2,310 theaters. But, with a production budget reported at $4 million, compared to $100 million for Transcendence, the horror spoof shouldn't have a hard time earning money.
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April 18th, 2014
It is a busy week for limited releases, but not a good week. Arguably the best film is Gojira, which is getting a re-release for its 60th anniversary. As for new films, The Final Member and Gabrielle are earning the best reviews. However, I'm most interested in seeing Trailer Park Boys: Don't Legalize It.
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February 25th, 2014
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we will look at the two writing categories, starting with Best Original Screenplay. This race is twice as competitive as the Best Adapted Screenplay, by that I mean it is a two-way race for the Oscar and not a runaway race.
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January 20th, 2014
The home market picks up steam this week, sort of. We are starting to get some of the Awards Season hopefuls coming out, which is great news for fans of great movies. However, there's not a lot of depth to go with the award-worthy movies. The two films that were the main contenders for Pick of the Week were Captain Phillips on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and In a World... on DVD or Blu-ray. It was a close decision, but in the end, I went with In a World...
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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.
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January 5th, 2014
WGAs announced their nominations this weekend and there were a couple of surprises to talk about. The top of that list is 12 Years a Slave, which was deemed ineligible because it wasn't written under WGA jurisdiction. This makes using the WGAs as an Oscar guide less reliable. On the other hand, several Oscar favorites showed up as well, including American Hustle, Nebraska, and others that have picked up major nominations this year.
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November 28th, 2013
Independent Spirit Award started the Awards Season this week, handing out its nominations. 12 Years a Slave led the way with seven nominations, but it wasn't the only film to pick up multiple nominations.
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September 11th, 2013
The buzz surrounding Salinger helped it earn first place on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $21,739 in four theaters. However, given its reviews, I don't think it will last long. Instructions Not Included remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,366 in more than 700 theaters. It could still expand further, given its per theater average.
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July 28th, 2013
The Wolverine will have a very solid, but far from spectacular debut this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Its $55 million total will give it the tenth-biggest weekend of the year, and the best for Fox, but it is falling well behind comparable films like World War Z (which opened with $66 million) and Star Trek Into Darkness ($70 million). Good reviews and lessened competition as the Summer season comes to a close will help it a bit, but it looks like $100 million and out for the franchise, unless its $86.1 million international debut turns into a $400 million global run.
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July 26th, 2013
There are a huge number of limited releases this week, but the vast majority of them are not earning strong enough reviews to suggest they will thrive in limited release. There are some, like Extracted, that are earning positive reviews, but there are so few reviews, that it is impossible to judge the movie. Drug War is earning the best reviews and it might find an audience. However, it is Blue Jasmine that has the best shot at earning some measure of mainstream success.
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March 13th, 2013
There are not many first run releases coming out on the home market this week, but two of them, Life of Pi and Rise of the Guardians, rose to Pick of the Week status. For that honor, we have to turn to an older release, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which celebrated its 25th Anniversary by coming out on Blu-ray for the first time. Yes, it is shovelware, but it is still the best movie on this week's list. If you don't have the DVD already and really don't like Pan & Scan, you might want to wait till Disney fixes the mix-up with the DVD portion of the Combo Pack.
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March 7th, 2013
Hannah and Her Sisters made its Blu-ray debut the same week as Sleeper did. While Hannah and Her Sisters earned more critical praise, I was always a bigger fan of Sleeper, but it didn't arrive and Hannah and Her Sisters did.
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January 15th, 2013
It is a rather shallow week on the home market. Taken 2 should come away with an easy win, but after that, there's almost nothing that will reach the top 30 for the week. Also, Taken 2 is not Pick of the Week material. I don't know if there is anything that is truly Pick of the Week material. Wake in Fright comes the closest, but the DVD or Blu-ray is still late, I hate giving this title when I'm still waiting for the screener.
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