Weekend Wrap-Up: Magnificent Wins Weekend with $34.70 million, but Box Office Slump Continues

September 27th, 2016

Is it time to panic? Not yet, but we are definitely getting concerned. The overall box office was soft due to the weaker than expected openings of The Magnificent Seven and Storks. Neither bombed exactly, but they weren’t particular strong either. The overall box office rose 16% from last weekend, but was down 25% from this weekend last year. Ouch. You usually only see that large a change in the year-over-year comparison when there is a misalignment in holidays. Year-to-date, 2016’s lead over 2015 dropped to 6.3% or $490 million at $8.35 billion to $7.86 billion. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Highlander: 30th Anniversary

September 26th, 2016

Highlander came out 30 years ago and was a box office flop. However, it did really well on the home market allowing it to spawn a franchise that included four sequels and two TV shows. Now it is coming out on a 30th Anniversary Blu-ray, but this isn’t the first time the film has been released on high definition. Is it worth picking up? Is it worth the upgrade? More...

Weekend Estimates: Magnificent Seven Rides to $35 Million Opening

September 25th, 2016

The Magnificent Seven will almost exactly match Sully’s debut two weeks ago by posting a $35 million opening, according to Sony’s Sunday projection. To us, it looks as though the film will fall fractionally short of that number, but it should still have the sixth-best September opening of all time (not adjusted for inflation). Those two films alone have given the box office enough of a boost that the industry will wrap up the month in fairly healthy condition. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Captain America: Civil War

September 25th, 2016

Captain America: Civil War is the 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s 13 films in just 8 years. The film pulled in more than $1 billion worldwide, so the market isn’t tired of these movies. However, has the brisk pace resulted in a substandard film? Or is it yet another critical smash? More...

Friday Estimates: Magnificent was Merely Okay with $12.7 million

September 24th, 2016

The Friday box office was not particularly good, as The Magnificent Seven led the way with just $12.7 million. This isn’t terrible. In fact, it is nearly the record for biggest opening day in September for a non-sequel. (Sweet Home Alabama still holds that record.) However, this is far below the nearly $20 million a lot were expecting. There are some positive signs going forward. The film’s reviews are good and it did earn an A- from CinemaScore, so that should help its legs. Likewise, Denzel Washington’s films do tend to have long legs. A $35 million opening weekend is likely on the cards and that could be enough to get to the century mark domestically. I’m not saying $100 million is likely, but I also wouldn’t bet against it. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Dirty 30 is Apt Description

September 23rd, 2016

Like last week, approximately 30 films open in limited release this week. That is far too many and all but ensures most will not find an audience. Furthermore, it means I have to be a little more liberal when it comes to pruning releases that don’t have enough buzz to talk about. There are lots of films that still made the cut, including a few highlights: The Age of Shadows, Audrie & Daisy, The Dressmaker, The Lovers And The Despot, My Blind Brother, and Queen of Katwe. Some of these are playing on VOD, so they will go nowhere in theaters. Several are aiming for Oscars, including Queen of Katwe, which will expand semi-wide next week. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Magnificent Can’t Live Up to Name, but still Starts well with $1.75 million - Updated with Storks' Start

September 23rd, 2016

The Magnificent Seven earned $1.75 million during Thursday’s previews. This is not terrible; it is better than the $1.5 million The Equalizer made in 2014 and the $1.35 million Sully made two weeks ago. However, it is not as strong as most were expecting. Perhaps it will still match predictions, if the audience reaction is significantly better than its reviews. I wouldn’t bet on it. It will still likely earn first place, but now just under $40 million looks more likely than $50 million. More...

Contest: Dark Urges

September 23rd, 2016

Three wide releases are coming out next week. Of the three, Masterminds is by far the weakest and has no real shot at first place. In fact, if it opens above fifth place, I will be surprised. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the widest, but the early reviews for Deepwater Horizon are excellent and I think that will give it the edge at the box office. Because of this, it is the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Deepwater Horizon.

We have copies of The Purge: The Election as prizes. While the film hit VOD this past Tuesday, we have copies on Blu-ray Combo Pack as prizes.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of The Purge: The Election on Blu-ray Combo Pack. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win win a copy of The Purge: The Election on Blu-ray Combo Pack. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win The Purge: The Election on Blu-ray Combo Pack.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Will the New Releases be Magnificent?

September 22nd, 2016

It is a perfect weekend at the box office, as there are only two wide releases and there are almost no crossover audiences between them. The Magnificent Seven is a remake of a remake and its solid, but not spectacular. Storks is a digitally animated kids movie that is earning mixed reviews, but that’s fine for a kids movie. Those two movies will likely earn more than the rest of the box office combined pulls in. This is both good news and bad news, as it is a combination of their strength and the rest of the box office’s weakness that is the cause. This weekend last year, Hotel Transylvania 2 debuted with $48 million, which is the record for a September weekend. I think The Magnificent Seven will top that, while Storks will double the second place film, The Intern. Unfortunately, last year there were three other films that earned more than $10 million, while this year there will be only one. 2016 is better on top, but 2015 had better depth. Perhaps 2016 will still come out ahead in the year-over-year comparison, but I don't think it will quite make it. More...

Theater Counts: Magnificent Seven, Storks up against Sully

September 22nd, 2016

The Magnificent Seven manages the improbable feat of being a remake of a remake, and with a pedigree like that, it’s perhaps no surprise that it’s the favorite to top the box office chart this weekend. It opens in an impressive-for-the-time-of-year 3,674 theaters, according to Sony’s Thursday announcement. Good though that is, two other films will be playing wider… More...