April 30, 2012
If someone were to describe the box office this weekend in just one word, that one word would be, "Yuck". Only one of the four wide releases matched expectations, and that was the film that was expected to do the worst. Think Like a Man easily repeated on top of the chart, despite falling nearly 50%. The overall box office fell 18% from last weekend to $110 million, which was 30% lower than the same weekend last year. Declines like this usually only happen due to a misalignment in holidays. Year-to-date, 2012 is still ahead of 2011, but the lead has shrunk to 14% at $3.29 billion to $2.88 billion. Fortunately, The Avengers is on track to break records, so 2012 should get back to its winning ways very soon.
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April 30, 2012
Clueless came out in 1995 and was a huge hit, given the size of its budget. It also helped create a number of careers for several of the young actors involved. However, it is now nearly 20 years old, and films aimed at teenagers, especially those with emphasis in music and fashion, tend to age poorly. Does this feel like a product of the 90s? Or does it still work today?
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April 30, 2012
Final weekend numbers for all studios reporting:
- 3-Day Weekend Chart
- Friday daily numbers
- Saturday daily numbers
- Sunday daily numbers
Notes:
We are now publishing our weekend and daily charts with updates as they are received from the studios. Most major studios, and many independent distributors report by about 1pm, Pacific Time, on Monday and final numbers are available by 3.30pm. To be included in our charts, please send box office reports and release schedule updates to bodata@the-numbers.com.
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April 30, 2012
Not too long ago, I reviewed a Nickelodeon mixed series DVD, Dance to the Music. One of the shows featured was Bubble Guppies, which was making its DVD debut on that release. This week, it has its first solo release, simply called Bubble Guppies.
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April 29, 2012
This weekend's four new wide releases were no match for Think Like a Man, according to studio estimates released on Sunday, with the comedy's 46% weekend-to-weekend drop-off and $18 million gross still putting it almost $7 million ahead of the next-best finisher. That movie, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, also comes from the Sony stable, although it is projected to be very narrowly at the head of a pack of movies that will earn around $11 million, and could actually end up anywhere between second and fifth when the final numbers come in on Monday. The other movies in the hunt for the (not very) coveted runners-up position include new release The Five-Year Engagement and two returning films: The Lucky One and The Hunger Games (which will end the weekend with over $370 million).
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April 27, 2012
It's a very busy week for limited releases with a dozen films on this week's list. This includes a number of films earning overwhelmingly positive reviews or earning some pre-release buzz. Jesus Henry Christ, Headhunters, Booker's Place, and Sound of My Voice all have a shot at earning some measure of mainstream success. I doubt all four will, because there's just too much competition for limited dollars, but hopefully at least a couple will do so.
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April 27, 2012
- Theater counts for this weekend, and next weekend's new releases
Trailers for this weekend's new releases:
- Safe
- The Raven
- The Five-Year Engagement
- The Pirates! Band of Misfits
- Sound of My Voice
Most Popular Trailers on the Site this Week
- The Hunger Games
- Titanic in 3D
- The Avengers
- Zombie Dawn
- The Raven
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April 27, 2012
The only wide release opening next weekend is The Avengers, which might be the biggest film of the year. (It actually outranks The Dark Knight Rises as far as moviegoer anticipation goes.) Whether or not it does become the biggest hit of the year, it will certainly be the biggest hit of the weekend and 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 The Avengers.
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 Ultimate Avengers Movie Collection 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 Marvel Animated Features: 3-Movie Collection 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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April 26, 2012
The four films opening wide this week will be looking to pull in as much money as possible over the next seven days before The Avengers opens and makes everything currently in theaters irrelevant. Five-Year Engagement is the only new film that is expected to compete for top spot, but even its box office chances have taken a hit from the beginning of the month. The other three films, The Raven and The Pirates! Band of Misfits could be in a close battle for a spot in the top five, while Safe looks like it is going to sink. This weekend last year was an abnormally strong weekend for April. In fact, Fast Five's opening of $86.20 million was strong for for a summer release. There's no chance anything coming out this weekend will match that figure.
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April 26, 2012
For the second weekend in a row, Battleship and Titanic 3D were battling for top spot on the international chart, but this week Battleship came out on top. It managed $60 million on 9,038 screens in 50 markets for an early total of $131.1 million. The film opened in second place in China with $17 million on 2,287 screens, while it placed first in Russia with $11.20 million on 809. It also maintained first place in a trio of major markets, led by South Korea with $3.44 million on 624 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.68 million. It also repeated on top in Germany ($2.16 million on 637 screens for a total of $7.39 million) and in the U.K. ($2.06 million on 497 screens for a total of $9.80 million).
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April 25, 2012
The winners of our The Lucky Two contest were determined and they are...
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April 25, 2012
This literally could turn out to be the worst week of the year on the Blu-ray sales chart. The best-selling new release was The Darkest Hour, which only managed 158,000 units / $3.17 million. The only good news is the film's opening week Blu-ray share, which was an impressive 54%.
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April 25, 2012
Think Like a Man was a surprise hit and the only film to top $10,000 on the per theater chart. However,
Darling Companion came very, very close with an average of $9,991 in four theaters.
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April 25, 2012
It was a bad week for DVD, which is common at this time of year. The Iron Lady was the best of the new releases, but it only managed second place. War Horse climbed into top spot with 244,000 units / $4.67 million over the week for totals of 830,000 units / $14.62 million after two.
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April 24, 2012
It's slow week for new releases, a really slow week. According to Amazon.com, the best selling new release is Contraband. It was the biggest box office hit released in January, but it was still no more than a midlevel hit. The second best selling release of the week is The Innkeepers, which is a sign that it is a slow week. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, but it is a limited release that struggled to find an audience in theaters and it shouldn't be the high on the chart. The third best selling new release of the week is the latest Fullmetal Alchemist release, which is even more surprising, as Anime is still very much a niche market release. The fourth best selling release is Car 54 Where Are You?. Really? I'm surprised anyone remembers that TV show. Are there any releases that are worth picking up? Perhaps even contenders for pick of the week? Actually, The Innkeepers on Blu-ray is in the running, as is Pariah on Blu-ray. However, in the end I went with Todd and The Book Of Pure Evil: Season 1, giving it the rarely awarded Puck of the Week.
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April 24, 2012
Contraband was an early year action film and generally these films are pretty bad and generally don't have a lot of box office power. This film did better that most in both areas, but is that damning it with faint praise? Or is this a good movie regardless of the release date? And if it is the latter, is the DVD and / or Blu-ray worth picking up?
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April 23, 2012
Every single film in the top five either matched or exceeded expectations, Think Like a Man more than doubled its predictions, but it still wasn't enough to match last year's total. Granted, there was still reason to celebrate, as the box office soared 18% when compared to last week reaching $135 million over the weekend, while the box office fell short of last year's total by less than 0.5%, so it is hardly a reason to panic. Additionally, 2012 is still ahead of 2011 by a massive 17% margin at $3.14 billion to $2.69 billion. Next weekend will be a disaster, but the weekend after that is the start of summer, and analysts are bullish on the overall box office chances.
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April 23, 2012
Final weekend numbers for all studios reporting:
- 3-Day Weekend Chart
- Friday daily numbers
- Saturday daily numbers
- Sunday daily numbers
Notes:
We are now publishing our weekend and daily charts with updates as they are received from the studios. Most major studios, and many independent distributors report by about 1pm, Pacific Time, on Monday and final numbers are available by 3.30pm. To be included in our charts, please send box office reports and release schedule updates to bodata@the-numbers.com.
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April 23, 2012
As I've said many, many times in the past, I hate reviewing stand-up comedy concert DVDs. I never know what to say. How do you review something when all you can say about it is, "Here are some of the jokes the comedian said. Sorry for spoiling them for you." So if I hate reviewing these DVDs, why did I request this one? Simple. Patton Oswalt is one of my favorite stand-up comics and I wanted to know if Finest Hour lived up to his past work.
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April 23, 2012
Werner Herzog is a filmmaker that can handle documentaries and narrative films with equal skill. (That's not to mention the occasional acting role.) While he's only earned one Oscar nomination, his documentaries are always near the best the year has to offer. Does his latest film, Into the Abyss, maintain his career average? Should it have been nominated, or at the very least put on the shortlist? And is the DVD / Blu-ray worth picking up?
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April 22, 2012
Although it won't be enough to give the industry a year-on-year win, Think Like a Man will deliver a very impressive $30 million opening this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday, a performance that is well ahead of projections going into the weekend. The Lucky One also beat expectations and will finish second with around $22.8 million. The Hunger Games will be pushed into 3rd place, picking up around $14.5 million in its fifth weekend and passing $350 million in the process. Nature documentary Chimpanzee will land in fourth place with $10.2 million.
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April 22, 2012
When I first reviewed Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, I called it the best motion comic book I've seen. Not only was it adapted from an award-winning comic book series, it was also arguably the best use of the technology. This sets really high expectations for Dangerous. I'm a little worried they are too high.
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April 22, 2012
Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is a Canadian TV show, which is something I rarely get a chance to review, so I jumped at the opportunity when the offer arrived in by e-mail. Additionally, not only is the show Canadian, but the show is a parody of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and movies like The Evil Dead, and I'm a huge fan of both. However, parodies are hard to do right. You have to understand what makes a genre work, and then make humorous changes while still keeping the necessary elements together. Is the creative force behind Todd and the Book of Pure Evil up to the task?
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April 20, 2012
There are only a few limited releases on this week's list, and only one of them is earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Marley's reviews are fantastic, but it is opening in 45 theaters, which is a lot for a limited release. It could prove to be too many. To the Arctic 3D is also opening in dozens of theaters, but its reviews are barely above the overall positive level.
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April 20, 2012
It looks like The Five Year Engagement will be the easy winner next week, even though The Pirates! Band of Misfits will be opening in more theaters. The Five Year Engagement 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 The Five Year Engagement.
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 Night Wolf 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 Crew 2 Crew 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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April 20, 2012
The winners of our Do Go Into the Woods contest were determined and they are...
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April 19, 2012
It has been nearly a month since we've had a new release top the box office chart, but it looks like The Hunger Games is finally going to be pushed from top spot. It looks like The Lucky One will be the film that breaks The Hunger Games winning streak, as it is the only saturation level release. On the other hand, Think Like a Man and Chimpanzee are barely opening wide. Fortunately, the three wide releases this year appear about as strong as the three wide releases from last year. Unfortunately, last year was led by Rio during its second weekend of release, so 2012 has about a $25 million hole it will need to plug if it is to avoid the first three-week slump of the year.
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April 19, 2012
- Theater counts for this weekend, and next weekend's new releases
Trailers for this weekend's new releases:
- The Lucky One
- Chimpanzee
- Think Like a Man
- To the Arctic 3D
- Zombie Dawn
Most Popular Trailers on the Site this Week
- Titanic in 3D
- The Hunger Games
- The Avengers
- The Three Stooges
- Lockout
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April 18, 2012
Titanic 3D had an insane second weekend on re-release on the international chart earning $98.90 million on 10,066 screens in 69 markets for totals of $157.15 million internationally and $201.87 million worldwide. Its complete total is now $2.04 billion, which is a stunning figure. The majority of the film's weekend haul came from China, where it broke records with $67 million, which broke Transformers: Dark of the Moon's record opening weekend in that market. The film remained in top spot in Russia with $3.15 million on 972 screens for a total of $10.34 million after two. Its total in the U.K. rose to $12.68 million after two weeks of release, including $2.87 million on 429 screens this past weekend. At this point, I can imagine studio heads looking at every film that earned more than $300 million and trying to figure out if they can be converted to 3D or not. If it only costs $18 million to convert a film and it can make $200 million worldwide, it's an easy way to make money. Of course, it's also an easy way to over-saturate the market to the point of no return.
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April 18, 2012
Titanic 3D opened in China and earned $7 million on 64 IMAX screens. This not only broke records in that market, it represented nearly half of the film's $15 million global IMAX haul, which was earned over two weeks in 408 IMAX theaters. At this rate, the film's total IMAX returns might be enough to cover the film's 3D conversion.
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April 18, 2012
This is becoming a pattern on the Blu-ray sales chart. Just like it has been for the past few weeks, new releases were soft. Granted, War Horse did top the Blu-ray sales chart, but with just 314,000 units / $7.84 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 36%, which is about average for the format.
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April 18, 2012
No film topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this past weekend. The film that came closest was Here with $7,927 in its lone theater. This does suggest some potential to expand, but it is quite low for the number one film.
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April 18, 2012
There were not a lot of new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD Sales Chart, but at least there was some action on top. Hop overtook Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked for first place with 729,000 units / $10.52 million for the week and 2.04 million units / $33.51 million after three. It is now just the third DVD of 2012 to sell 2 million units.
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April 17, 2012
This week's list of DVD and Blu-ray releases is dominated by Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol. The Blu-ray Combo Pack is worth picking up, but you'll want the Best Buy exclusive, or perhaps you want to tell studios to stop doing retailer exclusives, as they are annoying. That added complication is the reason I'm not awarding the release Pick of the Week, but there are not a lot of other films worthy either. Shame has two amazing performances, but the Blu-ray Combo Pack doesn't have a lot of extras. Fans of nature documentaries might want Frozen Planet: The Complete Series on Blu-ray or IMAX: Born to be Wild on 3D Combo Pack. But in the end, I went with the underseen The Last Rites of Joe May on DVD.
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April 17, 2012
Shame was made to win Oscars, I don't think there's any doubt about that. It debuted in limited release in early December, which is the perfect time to release an Award Season player. It was rated NC-17, so it was clearly not going for a mainstream audience. However, while the film earned a number of film festival and critic association awards, it was almost entirely passed over by the major awards voters earning just one Independent Spirit Award nomination. On the other hand, many thought Michael Fassbender was a leading contender for at least a Best Actor Oscar nomination. So was this film passed over because of its subject matter? Or was it merely a good movie, but not an Award-worthy movie? Or maybe it was over-hyped?
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April 17, 2012
Keeping Up with the Steins came out in limited release nearly six years ago and while it did well compared to other limited releases, it slipped beneath the radar of a lot of moviegoers. Now, like so many other Miramax releases, it's been picked up by Echo Bridge for a bargain release. Is it worth watching for those that missed it the first time? And is this version worth picking up or should you try and find the out of print edition?
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April 16, 2012
The overall box office went about as well as expected over the weekend; however, that's not particularly good news, as expectations were low to begin with. The Hunger Games remained on top of the box office for the fourth time, making it the first film since Avatar to accomplish that feat. However, there wasn't a lot of celebrate over the weekend, as the box office fell 8% from last weekend to $114 million. More importantly, this was 12% lower than the same weekend last year, making this the worst year-over-year decline of 2012. That said, 2012 still has a massive lead on 2011 up $2.98 billion to $2.50 billion and if the summer is as good as the first part of the year was, that lead will be even greater by the time the Fall rolls around.
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April 16, 2012
Yo Gabba Gabba! is one of the most popular preschool shows around, so much so is that it has following among college students as well. There have been a number of single-disc DVD releases that have come out in the past five years since the show came out, nearly all of them following the exact same format of four episodes with usually no extras. So what episodes are found here?
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April 16, 2012
Bob's Burgers is the latest animated series from creator Loren Bouchard, who previously made Home Movies and Dr. Katz, both of which I own the complete collection on DVD. It features the voice talent of H. Jon Benjamin, who was previously in Home Movies and plays the titular Sterling Archer in Archer. When I heard the pair was teaming up for another series, I was ecstatic. But can Bob's Burgers live up to my expectations?
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April 16, 2012
Final weekend numbers for all studios reporting:
- 3-Day Weekend Chart
- Friday daily numbers
- Saturday daily numbers
- Sunday daily numbers
- Hop tops Easter DVD sales chart
Notes:
We are now publishing our weekend and daily charts with updates as they are received from the studios. Most major studios, and many independent distributors report by about 1pm, Pacific Time, on Monday and final numbers are available by 3.30pm. To be included in our charts, please send box office reports and release schedule updates to bodata@the-numbers.com.
Due to the transition to our new live reporting system, grosses are not currently being updated on individual movie pages. This problem will be resolved in the next few days.
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April 15, 2012
The Mission: Impossible franchise has been in theaters since 1996. It's rare for a movie franchise to last that long, and even rarer for the latest installment to feel fresh. For instance, I was disappointed in the third installment, outside of the introduction of Simon Pegg's character and a few smaller parts of the film. On the other hand, the film's reviews were better than the first two, so I am in the minority opinion there. Many think Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol is the best the franchise has to offer. Will I agree? Or will I go against the majority opinion again?
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April 15, 2012
The Hunger Games will enjoy a fourth straight weekend at the top of the box office chart, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. With a $21.5 million weekend, the film moves to about $337 million in total, by far the biggest hit of 2012 so far. The Three Stooges and The Cabin in the Woods will both post decent openings, with $17.1 million and $14.85 million respectively, but neither has broken out of their core demographics enough for a win.
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April 15, 2012
We Bought a Zoo was a family friendly film opening on Christmas weekend. This is a great time of year to open a film like this; however, the competition was really stiff that weekend and the film never managed a spot in the top five. On the other hand, it did finish with just over $75 million, so it clearly it had legs. Is it as good as its legs? Or as bad as its opening?
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April 13, 2012
The latest season of South Park came out on DVD and Blu-ray a few weeks ago; however, the screener arrived late. I've reviewed a number of the past few seasons for the show, and for the most part they have been... average... ish. The show has definitely jumped the shark, but there are still enough good episodes and funny jokes that it is worth checking out for most, while the more fanatical fans will want to pick it up. Does Season 15 continue this trend? Does it return to high markets seen in earlier seasons? Or does it continue to slide even further?
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April 13, 2012
There are quite a few limited releases on this week's list, but few of them are earning overall positive reviews. In fact, only Monsieur Lazhar and Post Mortem are earning reviews above 80% positive, although Here is close to that mark. Additionally, the PG-13 cut of Bully is also coming out this week and it should be the biggest hit out of all of the limited releases.
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April 13, 2012
There should be a close race for top spot next weekend between The Lucky One and Think Like a Man. I honestly don't know which one will win at the box office, but we are going with The Lucky One as the target film in this week's box office prediction contest, because it's easier to come up with a name for the contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for The Lucky One.
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 We Bought a Zoo on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
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 We Bought a Zoo on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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April 12, 2012
After a fantastic three-month run in which 2012 only lost once in the year-over-year comparison and built a 20% lead over 2011, it looks like the box office is returning normal. This weekend there are three films opening wide: The Cabin in the Woods, Lockout, and The Three Stooges. However, despite the number of new releases, there are many who think The Hunger Games will remain on top for the fourth weekend in a row. This would be terrible news for everyone, with the possible exception of Lionsgate, which is the distributor for both The Hunger Games and The Cabin in the Woods, as it is a sign of profound weakness at the box office. How weak is the box office? There is a chance that all three films combined won't open with as much as last year's number one film, Rio, opened with. And there's a chance none of the new wide releases will open with as much as the second place film, Scream 4, opened with. There's little hope 2012 will walk away with a win this time around.
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April 12, 2012
A quartet of family films made their Blu-ray debuts a couple weeks ago in advance of Easter. Easter isn't a big weekend at the box office, but since the celebration is centered around family dinners, it's a good time to give someone a movie to watch while at home. The four films that were released as part of this collection start with...
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April 12, 2012
The winners of our Uniting People with Prizes contest were determined and they are...
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April 11, 2012
Wrath of the Titans is really struggling domestically, but it could mitigate some of the losses here with its box office numbers internationally. This weekend it added $42.1 million on 13,070 screens in 61 markets for a total of $151.6 million. Its best market of the weekend was Russia, where it earned $4.09 million on 1,116 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.55 million after two. It has yet to open in Japan, and if it can get to $300 million worldwide, it should break even very early in the film's home market run.
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April 10, 2012
There were not many new releases on the Blu-ray sales chart and many of the top selling DVDs were family films, which tend to struggle on high definition. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked did grab first place, but with just 270,000 units / $6.29 million. Its opening week Blu-ray Share was just 23%, which is weak for the format as a whole and only average for the genre.
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April 10, 2012
Titanic 3D led the Global IMAX box office with $3.6 million on 159 screens over the weekend. Of that, $2.0 million was earned on 79 domestic screens giving the film a $25,000 per screen average. Wrath of the Titans was in a very close second place with $3.3 million worldwide.
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April 10, 2012
Damsels in Distress topped the per theater chart with an average of $14,647 in four theaters. This suggests some potential to expand, although it is too soon to tell if the film will earn some measure of mainstream success. Bully slipped to second place with an average of $12,292 in six theaters, but it should expand now that it has been given a PG-13 rating. We Have a Pope surprised with an average of $10,456 in three theaters.
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April 10, 2012
Family films led the way on the DVD Sales Chart this week taking the top three spots. This included one and a half new releases. The best selling DVD was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked, which sold 893,000 units / $15.56 million during its first full week of release. This is well below the opening week numbers of its predecessors, but the franchise collapsed at the box office, so this result is not surprising.
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April 10, 2012
It is a really slow week on the home market. The biggest theatrical release coming out is The Iron Lady. The film did extremely well for a limited release, but that's not saying a whole lot. The only other wide release is The Darkest Hour, but that film bombed quite badly, so it likely won't have much of an impact on the home market. As for the best of the best, A Trip to the Moon Blu-ray is at the top of the list and is the Pick of the Week. There are a couple runner-ups, namely Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous on DVD and Into the Abyss on Blu-ray
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April 9, 2012
There's good news and bad news at the box office this weekend. The good news was The Hunger Games, which not only earned its third first place finish on the chart, but it also held on better than expected and crossed a major milestone. The bad news was practically everything else. Neither American Reunion or Titanic 3D matched expectations, while the overall box office suffered as a result falling 17% to $123 million. Fortunately, this was higher than last year by a margin of 6%. Year-to-date, 2012 is still ahead of 2011 with $2.81 billion to $2.34 billion. Unfortunately, we needed the new releases this weekend to be stronger if we have a chance of winning over the next couple weekends.
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April 9, 2012
Last year, Dead Man and Texas Rangers were released on a Blu-ray Double-Shot while last week Equilibrium and Renaissance were also released on a Blu-ray Double-Shot. This week, all four films are coming out on a two-disc DVD. So are these four films worth picking up? Or are there too many misses and not enough hits?
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April 9, 2012
The Iron Lady opened on January 30th, the second to final day to qualify for Oscars. You know it was made to win awards. However, while Meryl Streep earned praise, and an Oscar, for her performance, the overall reviews were far less glowing. Was the film flawed outside of the lead performance? Or were the expectations just too high?
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April 6, 2012
It's a pretty big week for limited releases, although due to the holidays, we don't have hard theater counts for most of them. There are a large number of films that are earning some real measure of buzz and / or very positive reviews. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope might have had the best hope at finding an audience, but it is coming out on Video on Demand as well as in theaters. Likewise, The Hunter has an impressive cast and good reviews, but opened Video on Demand previously, and that tends to kill a film's box office chances. Damsels in Distress could be the big hit as well as it does have a few actors, and a director, that have Indie cred.
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April 6, 2012
There are three films opening wide next week and I think The Cabin in the Woods will be the biggest hit. I hope The Cabin in the Woods will be the biggest hit. It will certainly earn better reviews than Lockout or The Three Stoogers will. Regardless if I'm right, 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 The Cabin in the Woods.
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 Descendants on Blu-ray.
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 The Descendants on Blu-ray.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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April 5, 2012
A trio of films are looking to grab top spot on the box office chart this weekend. Some think American Reunion will win. It is the latest installment in a very popular franchise, one that hasn't had a theatrical release in almost nine years. Some think Titanic 3D will lead the way. It is a 3D re-release of the second-biggest hit of all time. While still others think The Hunger Games will win for the third weekend in a row. It is by far the biggest hit of the year and topped the chart on Wednesday, despite the debut of Titanic. All three films are have a chance to make more than $30 million over the weekend. On the other hand, this weekend last year, no films made more than $30 million and only one, Hop, made more than $20 million. This means 2012 should win with ease.
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April 5, 2012
In a reversal of what happened domestically, Wrath of the Titans won the race on the international chart with an estimated $78 million in 60 markets. This includes some powerhouse results, like $12.66 million on 1,164 screens in Russia, which is more than The Hunger Games has made in two weeks. However, Russia tends to reward fantasy films over most other genres. It also did very well in Mexico ($5.09 million on 1,494 screens) and in Brazil ($4.05 million on 517). On the other hand, it struggled in the U.K. placing second with $3.52 million 466 screens. That's a weaker opening than it had here, given the relative size of the two markets. With a production budget of $150 million, it will likely need close to $400 million to break even before the home market. Anything more than $300 million will be enough to cover expenses, eventually, but probably won't be enough to greenlight a third installment in the franchise.
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April 4, 2012
The winners of our Fairest Prizes of Them All contest were determined and they are...
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April 4, 2012
New releases really dominated the Blu-ray sales chart taking the top four spots and five of the top six. Leading the way was The Muppets with 967,000 units / $24.16 million. Its opening week Blu-ray ray share was 52%, which is stunning for a live action family film. In fact, it's would good for a visually impressive action film.
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April 4, 2012
Wrath of the Titans opened with $8.6 million on IMAX screens worldwide, including $4.7 million on 292 screens domestically. It has a short run as
Titanic 3D opens in theaters on Wednesday.
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April 4, 2012
The ratings controversy didn't hurt Bully, which topped the per theater chart with an average of $23,294 in five theaters. It is always difficult for a documentary to expand significantly, but this start will certainly help. The overall box office leader, The Hunger Games, was next with an average of $14,153 in more than 4,000 theaters.
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April 3, 2012
New releases dominated the DVD sales chart earning the top three spots and five of the top ten. Leading the way was The Muppets with 884,000 units / $15.05 million. This is a little weaker than I would like, but perhaps it performed better on Blu-ray. I'm not overly optimistic, because live action kids movies tend to struggle on high definition.
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April 3, 2012
This week, Equilibrium and Renaissance are coming out on a Double-Shot Blu-ray. The two films have some elements in common, including a dystopian future, cyberpunk elements and failure to connect with moviegoers. Did either of these films deserve a better fate? Or were they destined to struggle?
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April 3, 2012
It wasn't a busy week on the home market with only a few first run releases of note. Both War Horse on Four-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack and We Bought a Zoo on Blu-ray Combo Pack are worth picking, but not Pick of the Week material. For that we have to look to Chinatown on Blu-ray. It is shovelware, but it is such a great movie that I'm willing to overlook this.
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April 2, 2012
Despite falling a little bit further than expected, The Hunger Games easily won the race for top spot in the box office this weekend. Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror couldn't compensate for the number one film's decline and the overall box office fell 31% to $149 million. However, and more importantly, the box office was up 19% when compared to last year. Year-to-date, 2012 has expanded its lead to 20% at $2.62 billion to $2.18 billion after three months.
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April 2, 2012
Enter Nowhere is a low-budget (sub-$2 million production budget) horror film that is coming out Direct-to-DVD this week. It is the directorial debut for Jack Heller, who has previously produced a number of films. Before the DVD arrived I knew almost nothing about the movie, which as I've often said, is a good way to go into a movie. You don't have to worry about preconceived notions affecting your opinion. But is this film an undiscovered gem? Or just one of countless films that will fade away on the home market?
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April 2, 2012
Chinatown came out in 1974, the year I was born. Despite being made before I was born, it instantly became one of my favorite films when I first saw it and remains so to this day. When this Blu-ray was announced, it was absolutely something I wanted. But, does it make the transition to high definition? The movie is closing in on its 40th anniversary, after all. And are there any new extras?
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April 2, 2012
War Horse opened right at the peak of Awards Season and was clearly made to win awards. However, while it earned a number of major nominations, including six Oscars, it wasn't able to convert them into awards. Did the film get shut out because it was good, but not great? Or was it robbed during the ceremonies?
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April 1, 2012
Celebrations will continue at Lionsgate this weekend, as The Hunger Games continues its dominant run at the box office, dropping a creditable 60% in its second weekend in release to $61.1 million. That will be the 7th-best second weekend of all time, and take it past $250 million in 10 days. It also tops the combined box office of this weekend's second- and third-placed films: Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror will both debut with respectable figures, $34.2 million and $19 million respectively, but neither film looks likely to end up making significant amounts of money.
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April 1, 2012
There's good news / bad news going forward into April. First the good news, aside from one week where we saw a minor dip, March was fantastic. There were a number of films beating expectations and the overall the month was even stronger than predicted. As of this weekend, the box office is now 20% higher than the same pace last year. The bad news? That winning streak will certainly come to an end in April. Last year, there was one film that reached $200 million, Fast Five, plus two others that reached $100 million, Hop and Rio. Granted, due to the shifting calendar, Hop is actually being compared to the last weekend in March, so this April only needs one $200 million hit and a $150 million hit to keep pace. But even so, there's almost no chance that will happen. In fact, there's a chance that we might not have one film topping $100 million this year. Only three films have a real shot at this milestone: American Reunion, Five-Year Engagement, and Titanic 3D. And quite frankly, only the first one has a 50/50 chance of getting there. We will likely see 2012 shed some of its lead over 2011, but it should still end the month with a solid year-over-year lead.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013
