November 20, 2009
Everyone in the industry was expecting the opening of The Twilight Saga: New Moon to be big, but few would have predicted that it would top the performances of The Dark Knight and Harry Potter to record the biggest midnight opening in movie history.
But that's exactly what it did, as it earned a massive $26.27 million in 3,514 theaters to beat the previous record of $22.2 million, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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November 20, 2009
Next weekend is Thanksgiving weekend, which means things will be a bit of a mess. All the wide releases are opening on Wednesday, including this week's target film, Old Dogs. But for our contest we are concerned about the Friday through Sunday box office, which is important to remember.
In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of Old Dogs.
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 Bill Engvall - Aged and Confused on DVD.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Greg Giraldo - Midlife Vices on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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November 19, 2009
This could be a surprising weekend at the box office, as the buzz for New Moon has hit new heights of insanity.
There's no doubt that it will be the number one film of the weekend, and almost no doubt that it will top Twilight, which was the number one film this week last year.
It appears the only real question is how many records can it break along the way.
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November 19, 2009
The winners of our Portent of the Future contest were determined and they are...
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November 18, 2009
2012 crushed the competition with $166.19 million on 12,943 screens in 76 markets and $231.43 million worldwide over its debut weekend.
This is the fifth best international opening of all time, and is massively better than expected.
The film's biggest market was Russia where it pulled in $16.31 million on 840 screens, while it topped $10 million in Germany ($12.53 million on 756 screens) and the U.K. ($10.83 million on 480 screens).
Other major markets included Spain ($8.56 million on 606 screens), South Korea ($8.26 million on 855 screens over the weekend and $10.04 million in total), Italy ($7.64 million on 532), Australia ($5.67 million on 405), Brazil ($5.29 million on 550) and Mexico ($5.03 million on 780).
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November 18, 2009
There were five new releases sprinkled throughout the top 30 on this week's sales chart, mostly in the top ten. This includes a new number one best selling DVD, G.I.Joe - The Rise of Cobra, which sold 2.54 million units and accounted for $41.00 million in consumer spending at retail.
This is on par with Wolverine sales late in September.
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November 18, 2009
There were five new releases top reach the top 30 of the rental charts, including the top two rentals. G.I.Joe - The Rise of Cobra generated roughly 28% more rentals than The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. This is obviously much closer than they were theatrically.
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November 17, 2009
We have a new champion on the Per Theater Chart with The Fantastic Mr. Fox leading the way with an average of $66,475 in four theaters.
Precious expanded into more than 100 additional theaters but still pulled in an amazing average of $33,762, which was enough for second place.
La Danse climbed to $28,104, while playing again in a single theater (albeit now on two screens).
The overall box office leader, 2012, opened with an average of $19,165 in just over 3,400 theaters.
Uncertainty only earned mixed reviews, but it scored $13,075 in its lone theater.
The End of Poverty? was richly rewarded with $12,593 in its solitary theater.
Two other new releases were neck-and-neck with Four Season Lodge earning $11,667 while The Messenger managed an average of $11,131.
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November 16, 2009
Great news at the box office, as the number one film topped expectations by a significant margin.
In fact, the top three films all did much better than expected.
On the down side, the rest of the films we talked about on Thursday struggled and this hurt the overall box office.
The total take was up 16.9% from last weekend at $140 million, but this was 5.8% lower than the same weekend last year.
Year to date, 2009 has pulled in $8.91 billion, which is 7.0% higher than last year's pace, and by this time next week 2009 will be only the seventh year to cross $9 billion in total ticket sales.
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November 16, 2009
There's an excellent mix of new releases this week, including Star Trek on DVD and Blu-ray.
There are a few TV on DVD releases, including Andy Barker, P.I. - The Complete Series, as well as several Blu-ray releases of note: Galaxy Quest, Gone With the Wind - The Ultimate Collector's Edition, and The Professional.
All of these are contenders for the DVD Pick of the Week, but if I were to narrow them down to one selection, it would be Star Trek on Blu-ray.
There are plenty of spotlight reviews this week, enough to split the column into two parts, with the first part found here.
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November 16, 2009
There's an excellent mix of new releases this week, including Star Trek on DVD and Blu-ray.
There are a few TV on DVD releases, including Andy Barker, P.I. - The Complete Series, as well as several Blu-ray releases of note: Galaxy Quest, Gone With the Wind - The Ultimate Collector's Edition, and The Professional.
All of these are contenders for the DVD Pick of the Week, but if I were to narrow them down to one selection, it would be Star Trek on Blu-ray.
There are plenty of spotlight reviews this week, enough to split the column into two parts, with the second part found here.
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November 15, 2009
This week two Kevin Smith films, Clerks and Chasing Amy, make their debut on Blu-ray. They are available individually, or as part of a box set. Clerks and Chasing Amy are considered Kevin Smith's two best movies, but how well do they make the leap to High Definition? Are they worth picking up? If so, is it better to buy one or both of them individually, or as part of the box set?
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November 15, 2009
Roland Emmerich struck box office gold again over the weekend as 2012 opened with a blockbusting $65 million, according to Sony's estimate, released on Sunday morning.
That's just shy of the $68 million earned by The Day After Tomorrow back in 2004 and one of the ten biggest opening weekends in November (see list).
Although critics were generally lukewarm about the movie as a whole, the consensus is that the special effects are worth the price of admission, and moviegoers showed they agreed with that analysis.
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November 14, 2009
Couples Retreat expanded this past weekend but just missed the top five with $5.84 million on 1,373 screens in 18 markets for a total of $28.92 million after a month of release.
The film opened in third place in Germany under the name All Inclusive, with $2.55 million on 338 screens while it also took third place in Mexico with $446,000 on 235 screens.
Next up for the film is Spain next weekend and Italy the weekend after that, while it doesn't end its run until March when it opens in France.
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November 14, 2009
Bruno is Sacha Baron Cohen's follow-up to Borat, which is a movie that holds a special place in my heart... right next to the New York Rangers.
I'm kidding.
Borat is a very funny movie and one that I recommend picking up on DVD.
However, it remains the single biggest blunder in my career as a box office analyst and that still stings three years later.
With Borat being such a surprise success, people were expecting big things from Bruno, both at the box office, and with critics, but can it live up to heightened expectations?
Or was the secret of Borat's success the fact that no one knew what to expect?
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November 13, 2009
We should be seeing a lot of Oscar contenders coming out in the coming weeks, but while there are a couple of films on this week's list that are earning outstanding reviews, most are not.
Some are earning reviews that are good, but perhaps not good enough to survive limited release, while others are not even reaching the 50% positive level.
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November 13, 2009
There's a Megawide release next week, The Twilight Saga - New Moon, which is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. However, more to the point the newest Star Trek movie comes out on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, And that movie has a lot to do with this week's contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of The Twilight Saga - New Moon.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless of if they are over or under, will win a copy of Star Trek - The Original Series - Season Two on Blu-ray. It's only one prize, but it's a big one.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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November 12, 2009
Just the one truly wide release this week, but we also have a semi-wide release that could sneak its way into the top ten, as well as a limited release that is expanding.
That wide release, 2012, is a disaster flick, which might be the best word to describe the overall box office, at least compared to last year.
Very few people think 2012 will top the $67.5 million opening of Quantum of Solace, which debuted this weekend last year.
In fact, if it misses that mark by a mere $10 million, I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised, while if it is short by $20 million or more, not too many people will be shocked.
Additionally, the holdovers are going to get crushed in this comparison as well, so there is almost no chance that 2009 will come out ahead.
It's a matter of minimizing the damage.
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November 12, 2009
And the Oscar goes to...
I'm not kidding. If this movie doesn't win many, many Oscars, it will be a crime.
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November 11, 2009
This Is It saw its weekend haul fall 42% internationally, but it still stood on top with $29.50 million on 8,623 screens in 76 markets for a total of $129.23 million internationally and $186.24 million worldwide.
The film reached $100 million internationally early in the weekend and could reach $200 million worldwide, perhaps before this weekend.
The film held on well in Japan to remain in first place with $3.93 million on 322 screens for a total of $23.52 million.
It also remained in first place in Australia with $1.74 million on 292 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.80 million.
On the other hand, it was down 72% in the U.K. and fell to second place with $2.27 million on 486 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.61 million, also after two.
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November 11, 2009
Disney's A Christmas Carol took in $4.2 million on 181 IMAX screens during its opening, which represented 14% of its total box office in just 3% of the theaters it played in.
Some are reporting this is the highest percentage earned by a wide release, which is partially due to its per screen average of $23,000, but it also had a lot to do with its softer than expected theatrical debut.
It opened with $560,000 internationally in 28 IMAX theaters, and it is only half way done with its international rollout.
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November 11, 2009
Five new releases reached the top 30 on the sales chart this week, including Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which took top spot with 2.46 million units sold and $43.62 million in opening week consumer spending at retail.
This was enough for first place by a margin of nearly 1 million units; however, that was 44% lower unit sales that The Meltdown sold during its first week of release. Granted, there are some mitigating circumstance here, including the overall decline in DVD sales, as well as the rise in Blu-ray, but it is still troubling.
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November 11, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs led the new releases to take top spot on the rental chart with roughly 50% more than second place Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen took in during its second week of release.
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November 10, 2009
The winners of our Holiday Crossover contest were determined and they are...
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November 10, 2009
Precious had a record-breaking opening on the per theater chart with close to $1.9 million in just 18 theaters for an average of $104,025.
This is just shy of the record for best per theater average for a live action movie; however, the current record holder, Dreamgirls, opened in fewer theaters and with prestige pricing, so this is arguably the better result.
Precious did set the record for highest per theater average for a film playing in more than 10 theaters.
It wasn't the only film in the $10,000 club with La Danse earning $14,000 in its lone theater while Splinterheads opened with $10,515, also in one theater.
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November 10, 2009
It was a mixed weekend at the box office as the overall ticket sales reached $120 million. This was 32% higher than last weekend; however, Halloween had a lot to do with that. More importantly, it was 16% lower than the same weekend last year. Even so, 2009 remains solidly ahead of 2008 by a 7.3% margin. In fact, its total of $8.72 billion is not only well ahead of last year's pace of $8.13 billion, it is almost as much as 2005 in total, and is already the eighth best yearly total ever.
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November 9, 2009
We are getting closer to the Thanksgiving long weekend and the official start of the holiday shopping season.
Because of this, there are plenty of great releases coming out this week, including Up on a 4-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which is clearly DVD Pick of the Week material.
Also a DVD Pick of the Week is Monsters, Inc. - 4-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, while the late arriving Monsters vs. Aliens - Blu-ray earns an honorable mention.
With a massive list of releases, including nearly a dozen spotlight reviews, we have once again needed to split the release report into two parts.
The first part can be found here.
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November 9, 2009
We are getting closer to the Thanksgiving long weekend and the official start of the holiday shopping season.
Because of this, there are plenty of great releases coming out this week, including Up on a 4-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which is clearly DVD Pick of the Week material.
Also a DVD Pick of the Week is Monsters, Inc. - 4-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, while the late arriving Monsters vs. Aliens - Blu-ray earns an honorable mention.
With a massive list of releases, including nearly a dozen spotlight reviews, we have once again needed to split the release report into two parts.
The second part can be found here.
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November 8, 2009
Disney's A Christmas Carol got off to a disappointing start over the weekend, according to studio estimates.
While a $31 million debut is nothing to sniff at, it's well below expectations and might leave the movie outside the top 50 November weekends (see list).
This might be a case of opening a Christmas movie too soon, and Disney will be looking for long legs through Thanksgiving and into the Holiday Season proper, so all is not lost yet, but the next couple of weeks will be key.
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November 7, 2009
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs fell out of the top five but still earned $5.18 million on 2568 screens in 39 markets for a total of $52.45 million so far. This was only 31% lower than last weekend, with no major market openings. In fact, the film doesn't have another major market opening till it debuts in Australia at the end of the month, while it still has openings in Italy and Spain by the end of the year, and it doesn't end its run till early next year with openings in Germany and some midlevel markets.
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November 6, 2009
With the beginning of November comes the start of Awards Season, so we should be seeing more and more potential Awards Season players coming out over the coming weeks. However, while there is one such release this week, Precious, it is overshadowing all of the other new releases.
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November 6, 2009
There's only one truly wide release next weekend, and it's the apocalyptic 2012, which tries to predict the date of the end of the world. Your job is much less difficult, simply predict the opening weekend box office of 2012.
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 Jackass - The Lost Tapes on DVD, as well as Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory - Season One on DVD.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory - Season One on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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November 6, 2009
The winners of our Predict It contest were determined and they are...
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November 5, 2009
The holiday season unofficial starts this weekend with the first Christmas release of the year.
Disney's A Christmas Carol is clearly the favorite to top the chart, but it is the only big release coming out this week, and it is unlikely to match last year's winner, Madagascar 2.
This means 2009 will have a tough time keeping up with last year's pace.
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November 4, 2009
There was a new number on film on the international chart this past weekend, as This Is It took top spot with $51.07 million on 8910 screens in 74 markets over the weekend for a total of $68.93 million. Individual markets were led by the U.K. where it pulled in first place with $7.96 million on 498 screens, while it also led in Germany with $6.3 million on 930 screens, France with $5.8 million on 484, Japan with $5.75 million on 321, and Australia with $3.35 million on 293. In all of these markets the film did better than it did here, given the relative sizes involved, but it was still below expectations after all of the talk about record-breaking pre-orders for tickets. Other major markets include Italy where it opened in third place with $2.16 million on 478 screens over the weekend and $3.19 million in total, while it earned second in Spain with $2.04 million on 377 screens over the weekend and $2.72 million in total. In Russia it only managed fourth place with $873,000 on 231 screens while it only managed sixth place with $325,000 on 210 screens over the weekend and $422,000 in total.
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November 3, 2009
It came as no surprise that Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen was the best selling new release and the best selling DVD on the chart this week.
During its first week of release, it sold 5.33 million units and generated $122.49 million in consumer spending at retail, which makes it the third-best selling DVD of the year and the second best in terms of revenue generated after just one week of release.
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November 3, 2009
It was almost a slow week for new releases, sort of. Granted, we had the biggest movie of the year come out on the home market, but that was practically the only release of note. That release, Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen, easily won the race to top the rental chart with nearly three times the rentals as The Proposal managed during its second week of release.
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November 3, 2009
The per theater chart took a hit over the weekend and no movie topped $10,000; however, An Education was close with an average of $9,737 in 48 theaters.
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November 2, 2009
It was a tough weekend at the box office, then again, that's always the case when Halloween lands on a weekend. Halloween in one of the worst days at the box office; it's almost as bad as Christmas Eve. And at least with Christmas Eve, you have Christmas Day to look forward to. The overall box office was down 21.8% from last weekend to just $91 million; however, that was 3.5% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 remains well head of 2008 at $8.56 billion to $7.95 billion.
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November 2, 2009
Another week with a large selection of great releases, including several contenders for DVD Pick of the Week. (There are also more than a few releases that could have been contenders, but the screeners still have not yet arrived. I fear they will all arrive on the same day and the sheer number of them will cause my head to explode.) The best new release this week is Food, Inc. on either DVD or Blu-ray. Classic releases like North By Northwest on Blu-ray and It's a Wonderful Life on Blu-ray are must haves, as is the James Bond Blu-ray Box Set. Despite there being more than a dozen releases this week where I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive, the list as still too long to fit on one page. The second part can be found here.
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November 2, 2009
Another week with a large selection of great releases, including several contenders for DVD Pick of the Week. (There are also more than a few releases that could have been contenders, but the screeners still have not yet arrived. I fear they will all arrive on the same day and the sheer number of them will cause my head to explode.) The best new release this week is Food, Inc. on either DVD or Blu-ray. Classic releases like North By Northwest on Blu-ray and It's a Wonderful Life on Blu-ray are must haves, as is the James Bond Blu-ray Box Set. Despite there being more than a dozen releases this week where I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive, the list as still too long to fit on one page. The second part can be found here.
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November 1, 2009
Michael Jackson's This Is It topped the box office chart in the United States this weekend, but with a relatively disappointing $21.3 million Friday to Sunday, according to Sony's estimates.
While that's good for a concert/documentary film, it's some way behind the $31.1 million opening three-day weekend of the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert released in 2008.
In fact, This Is It's five day total of $32.5 million only just beats out the Disney concert pic.
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November 1, 2009
October was not a month to remember, as only two films really beat expectations. (Although Paranormal Activity was the most unexpected hit during the October, it actually opened in September, so one could argue it's not really an 'October hit'.) This month we have a massive collection of potential blockbusters, some potential Oscar contenders, as well as a few unfortunate films that might be squeezed out by the competition. Compared to last November, we might have the same number of $100 million hits, assuming all movies match expectations (fat chance); we have a limited release from this month become the Awards Season darling and reach that milestone (monstrously unlikely); and we count The Princess and the Frog as a November releases (intellectually dishonest). That said, if three or four legitimate November releases reach that milestone, then 2009 will be on pace to tie or break the record for most $100 million released in one calendar year. But overall, 2009 will likely see its lead over 2008 shrink during the next 30 days.
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Friday, November 20, 2009
