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2006-06-26
It's an absolutely horrid week for DVD releases with six or seven contenders for DVD Pick of the Week, I have no idea how I'm going to afford to buy them all. But I will buy them all. Oh yes, I will buy them all. While the latest Masters of Horror collection was high on my list, as was Why We Fight - Buy from Amazon and Imagine Me & You - Buy from Amazon, (but for widely different reasons), I went with the criminally underrated Yellowbeard - Buy from Amazon as my DVD Pick of the Week. Maybe one day it will get the Special Edition treatment it so richly deserves.
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2006-04-16
Several films made they international debut this past weekend with even more returning to the charts, but because of the power of Ice Age: The Meltdown, none of them were able to reach the top five, but a few came close. Leading that list is Jean-Philippe; the French film debuted in third place in its native home with $3.34 million on 550 screens. It also opened in two other French-speaking markets but was much weaker earning seventh in Switzerland with $62,000 on 12 screens over the weekend and $68,000 in total while in Belgium it managed just ninth with $131,000 on 29 screens over the weekend and $144,000 in total. Add it up and the film pulled in $3.53 million on 591 screens in 3 markets during its first weekend of release.
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2006-04-15
Narnia opened in first place on the home market with a lower than expected $8.73 million in rentals, and it did even better on the sales charts. But more on that in a bit.
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2006-04-03
The first Tuesday of the month is usually the busiest when it comes to DVD releases, and while there are certainly more releases coming out tomorrow than there are in the next two weeks, it is not as busy as I would like when it comes to top notch releases. At first glance there are only two that are even contenders for the DVD pick of the week, including Brokeback Mountain - Buy from Amazon and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Collector's Edition. But while there are a couple of DVDs that are worth picking up, none make it to the level of DVD Pick of the Week. (And a quick glance at the coming weeks suggest there might not be one till the end of the month.) One last note, if you are interested in picking up Narnia, check out our contest first.
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2006-03-19
A number one opening in France, as well as a slew of smaller debuts, pushed Underworld: Evolution into sixth place on the international charts with $4.98 million on 1473 screens in 20 markets for a running tally of $36.12 million after nearly two months in release. In France the film earned $1.84 million on 346 screens while it managed the same feat in a trio of Asian markets: Taiwan with $600,000 on 75 screens, Malaysia with $310,000 on 45, and Hong Kong with $290,000 on 25. Interestingly, the original was banned in Malaysia.
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2006-03-18
Despite the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Walk the Line remained in first place on the rental charts with $10.03 million over the week and $21.81 million in total.
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2006-03-14
Famed Oscar Bounce failed to materialize this year partially because the awards were spread out over many difference films and partially because many winners were well into their releases.
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2006-03-05
The Oscars were handed out tonight and while there were a handful of multiple winners, no single movie stood out.
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2006-03-04
There were no big winner at today's Independent Spirit Awards with several films sharing the awards.
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2006-03-01
With the Oscars less than a week away and our contest well under way, there's no better time to take a closer look at some of the nominees. Today we'll look at the most prestigious award, Best Picture.
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2006-02-25
With the Oscars just over a week away and our contest well under way, there's no better time to take a closer look at some of the nominees. Today we'll look at the Best Achievement in Directing.
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2006-02-15
With the Oscars less than a month away and our contest well under way, there's no better time to take a closer look at some of the nominees. Today we'll look at the Best Supporting Roles for both Actor and Actress.
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2006-02-11
For the second week in a row, Flightplan lead the way on the rental charts taking in $8.22 million in DVD rentals. That was down just 15% from its opening, which pushed its total to $18.07 million so far.
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2006-02-07
With most of the nominations in the more prestigious categories going to smaller films, the famed Oscar bounce is very important this year. However, the first weekend's results were mixed.
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2006-02-07
The Writers Guild of America announced its winners over the weekend with Crash taken home the Best Original Screenplay while Brokeback Mountain added yet another win with Best Adapted Screenplay. Finally, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room won for best Documentary.
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2006-01-31
Brokeback Mountain again led the list of nominees as with 8 Oscar nods. There were three films with six nominations a piece, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, and Memoirs of a Geisha, (although for that last one, they were all the less prestigious technical awards.
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2006-01-29
There were 5 theatrical awards handed out tonight by the Screen Actors Guild, and five different films won.
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2006-01-22
A few more markets helped Fun with Dick and Jane remain flat last weekend at the international box office with $5.25 million on 1,458 screens in 18 markets for an early total of $18.09 million.
Its best market was Mexico where it opened in first place with $1.87 million on 418 screens while in Germany the film added $1.47 million on 478 screens for a two-week total of $4.39 million.
The film's biggest running total still came from Australia, where the film has managed $7.39 million after three weeks, including $710,000 over this past weekend.
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2006-01-06
It's guild day today as the Producers Guild of America nominations were announced this week.
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2006-01-06
The Writers Guild of America announced its nominations this week, and while there are plenty of awards, only three are for theatrical releases.
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2006-01-06
Of the 13 awards the Screen Actors Guild will hand out on January 29th, 2006, five will be awarded to theatrical releases. And like past awards nominations, Brokeback Mountain again led the way, with four in total.
However, this time there were two films close behind as Crash and Capote each received three nominations.
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2005-12-13
Brokeback Mountain was the big winner today as Golden Globe nominations were announced. With seven nods, it led all films, which is an important Oscar indicator.
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2005-12-11
Flightplan fell out of the top five with $5.13 million on 2,430 screens in 38 markets for a total of $94.65 million on the international scene.
It did fall from second to sixth on this week's charts, but it should still reach $100 million by this time next week. Its best market of the weekend was the U.K. where it remained in second place with $2.14 million on 416 screens for a two-week total of $6.59 million.
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2005-12-04
Here's this week's round-up of international box office numbers.
In Her Shoes fell out of the top five this week with $3.95 million on 2,050 screens in 23 markets for a $30.60 million international box office.
The film held up amazingly well in Spain, dropping just 8% to $810,000 on 290 screens, but it wasn't as fortunate in France where it lost more than half its opening, earning $400,000 on 293 screens, falling out of the top ten in the process.
It suffered a similar fate during its third weekend in the U.K. where it was down 55% to $736,000 on 268 screens, but the film already has $7.06 million there, which is better than its domestic run if you take into account the relative sizes of the two markets.
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2005-11-30
The Independent Spirit Awards announced the nominations today and The Squid and the Whale led the way with six nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and nods in three of the four acting categories.
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2005-11-27
The Legend of Zorro fell from second to sixth this week and because of that its quest from $100 million internationally took a serious hit. Over the weekend the film pulled in $4.20 million on 4062 screens in 62 markets for a running tally of $80.73 million. In France the film fell 57% to $1.01 million over the weekend and $14.80 million during its four-week run while it had a similar drop-off in Spain where it was down 56% to $475,000 over the weekend and $9.10 million in total. The box office was less kind in Russia, (down 68% to $136,000); Germany, (down 70% to $232,000) and the U.K., (down 83% to $120,000).
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2005-11-20
The Corpse Bride missed the top five by the narrowest of narrow margins losing out to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit $5.50 million to $5.45 million. The film earned its $5.45 million on 2586 screens in 28 markets pushing its total to $53.4 million total at the international box office. In South Korea the film fell 43% to $753,000 on 114 screens, which is better than average for the market. And the film is also doing well in Italy adding $764,000 on 268 screens to its $2.67 million running tally there, $700,000 in France for a $8 million box office, and $462,000 in Japan for a $7.0 million box office.
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2005-11-06
With The Legend of Zorro earning a nearly worldwide release this past weekend, and the imminent release of another juggernaut, there was little room for other releases this weekend on the international scene.
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2005-10-30
Oliver Twist opened in two major markets over the weekend, placing second in both France with $2.4 million on 547 screens and Italy with $1.3 million on 301 screens.
Other markets include $360,000 in the U.K. for a $3.6 million total there and $140,000 in Poland for $1.1 million. Add it up and you have $4.2 million for the weekend and $9.6 million in total.
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2005-10-16
Company 9 remained in first place in Russia, its home market, down just 13% to $4.3 million for a running total of $14.3 million, which is well ahead of Revenge of the Sith's final box office in the market (which was just shy of $10 million).
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2005-10-15
The Amityville Horror won the race for top spot on the rental charts with $8.78 million in DVD rentals and $520,000 in VHS rentals for a combined total of $9.30 million. This result, plus the rest of the competition, helped pull the rental market out of its extended slump.
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2005-10-09
Company 9 opened in its native market of Russia with a stunning $5.0 million over the weekend and $6.25 million including the midweek numbers, which is better than Revenge of the Sith's opening in that market.
This also means there were two films that did so well in their local markets that they managed to place in the top five overall.
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2005-10-08
The Longest Yard again won the race on the home market with $9.11 million in DVD rentals and $800,000 in VHS rentals for a total of $9.91 million for the week. That's down a miniscule 4% from its opening weekend and strong enough for a $20.46 million two-week total.
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2005-10-02
Red Eye added another $3.7 million on 2,057 screens in 37 markets to its $22 million international total. The film opened in second place in both Spain with $850,000 on 215 screens and in the Netherlands with $250,000 on 59 ($300,000 including previews).
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2005-10-01
The Longest Yard easily won the weekly race to the top of the Rental Charts with $9.54 million in DVD rentals and $810,000 in VHS rentals for a total of $10.35 million.
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2005-09-25
Marrying the Mafia 2 again led its native market of South Korean with $4.81 million over the weekend and $12.78 million during its two-week run. And like last week, this was enough for the film to secure a place in the top five overall just beating out Pride and Prejudice.
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2005-09-24
Crash repeated on top of the home market this weekend despite falling 27% during its second week to $6.50 million in combined rentals. This was not a particularly strong performance and further underscores the depth of the slump we're in.
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2005-09-18
Marrying the Mafia 2 is the latest local film to lead the South Korean box office as it opened with $5.555 million on 449 screens, $7.515 million including Thursday.
Not only was that easily enough for first place in its home market, but also put the film in third place on the overall international box office charts.
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2005-09-17
Crash landed at the top of the rental charts this weekend, but it was a very close race. The film earned $8.30 million in DVD rentals and $560,000 in VHS rentals for a total of $8.86 million. The film also led the DVD sales chart, but as usual, no numbers were given.
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2005-09-11
The 40-Year Old Virgin topped the U.K. marked with an impressive $3.26 million on 394 screens in the U.K., but this is probably not indicative of its potential in other international markets. The film should do well in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, but will likely struggle in non-English speaking markets. (Germany may be an exception.)
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2005-09-05
An amazing selection this week with plenty of high quality releases.
Of course, there's also a whole lot of quantity releases as well, so navigating your way through the hubbub might be tricky.
The best of the first run releases is Crash - Buy from Amazon, the best of the special editions is Toy Story - Tenth Anniversary Edition - Buy from Amazon, and the best of the TV on DVD releases is Lost - The Complete First Season - Buy from Amazon.
All three are excellent choices and deserve to be DVD Pick of the Week, but I have a feeling a Special Edition of Crash will come out sooner than later and would hold of on that one till after the New Year.
Also, Degrassi Junior High - Season 3 - Buy from Amazon is a must have for all the fellow Canucks out there and worth picking up for everyone else.
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2005-09-04
War of the Worlds opened in its last international market over the weekend making $3.0 million on 583 screens in China. That's about 10% more money that Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith earned, but War of the Worlds needed nearly double the number of screens. Overall the film added $4.5 million to its $345 million international total, easily the second best of the year so far.
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2005-08-28
The Skeleton Key opened in 10- more markets over the weekend and in now playing on 1400 screens, however, it still hasn't found the success the studio was hoping for. It did open in first place in Germany, but it still had a very soft opening with $1.6 million. It also opened in first place in Russia with $625,000 over the weekend and $780,000 since Thursday, but in Australia and New Zealand it had to settle for a distant second place with $760,000 and $110,000 respectively. The Skeleton Key also open in Austria with $230,000 for the week, but its placing is unknown at the moment. Add in holdovers in France, ($250,000 for $2.2 million) and the U.K., ($130,000 for $4.5 million) and you have roughly $4 million for the weekend and $16.5 million so far.
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2005-08-21
Mr. and Mrs. Smith opened in first place in both the Czech Republic with $180,000 on 20 screens and in Slovakia with $50,000 on 8 screens. The film also remained in first place in France with $2.675 million, Belgium with $635,000, The Netherlands with $490,000 and Poland with $266,000. Strangest of all, the film stayed in second place for the fourth weekend in a row in Germany adding $2.12 million to its $20.6 million running tally in the market. Overall the film has made $143 million in markets where Fox is handling the distribution and may have hit $200 million overall, but there's no conformation on that yet.
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2005-08-14
Mr. and Mrs. Smith opened in Belgium with $1.7 million on 80 screens, easily enough for first place and had a similar result with $480,000 in Poland. It also remained in first place in France with $2.88 million, (despite falling 54% there) and in the Netherlands with $740,000. In Germany the film remained in second place for the third straight week with $3.06 million for a $17.06 million running tally. The film now have $140 million in territories where Fox is handling the distribution and $192 million overall.
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2005-05-23
Wow, what a difference a week makes. What could have been the slowest summer in many, many years finally turned around thanks to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The total box office was more than $160 million, up 60% from last weekend, but with the 13th week in a row there was a year-to-year decline, this time at 4.8%. Year to date, 2005 has now brought in $2.951 billion, which is 6% lower than the same time last year.
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2005-05-18
Summer finally begins tonight at midnight with the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which should be the biggest movie of the year. The real question is how big will the movie be?
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2005-05-16
Friday the 13th proved to be an unlucky omen as the box office continued its slump. We did see a massive 17.3% increase from last weekend, but more importantly 9.5% drop-off from the same time last year, which is the 12th down weekend in a row.
As for year-to-date, 2004 has brought in $2.715 billion, off 7% from the same time last year.
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2005-05-13
Summer is officially starting ... in 6 days. That's when Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith begins. In the meantime we have to suffer through another sub-par weekend, which could result in a record-breaking slump. On the other hand, there are four films opening wide, or at least wide enough to make it into the top ten, but only two of those films have a shot at top spot.
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2005-05-09
So much for Summer beginning during the first full weekend of May.
To say Summer started slowly is an understatement of Epic proportions.
The weekend box office was down by 3.8% on a week-to-week basis while last year saw a 7.2% increase over the same time period.
And even worse, the weekend was down 21.7% from 2004; it was also the eleventh weekend in a row that the box office saw a yearly decline, tying the old record set in 2000.
Total box office was just $87 million, the fifth weekend in a row that the box office was sub-$100 million, the longest such stretch since fall 2001.
Year-to-date, 2005's box office has hit $2.582 billion, 7% behind the same 2004 and it might not get much better next weekend.
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2005-05-06
After a long, slow Spring we're finally in the prime summer box office season. There's two conflicting forces at work this weekend, both of which are fueled by the slump the box office is in. There's a palatable sense of ennui the moviegoers have; they aren't excited about movies since there's been very little to be excited about. This will keep some of them away this weekend because they stopped paying attention to the movies and don't know what's playing. This will also mean there's a pent-up desire to see a big summertime movie and some will flock to the cinemas regardless of their interest in the particular movie. Which force wins out will have a large effect this weekend, and will impact the rest of the summer.
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2005-05-05
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. Slow week with most of the sites being merely average or too early in their development to tell if the film is an award winning site or not. So in the end I decided not to hand out the award to any site. Hopefully next week things will pick up.
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2005-05-01
May! The beginning of the lucrative Summer Box Office Season! I know what you're thinking, summer doesn't really begin till mid-June, but for the movie industry summer official begins on the Memorial Day long weekend, and just between you and me, it unofficial begins on the first full weekend of the month. So that means every weekend there's a monster release - one that has people excited since it was first announced.
This month such films include Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and ... hold on a second, I'll think of another ... Nope. That's pretty much the only monster film being released this May. Don't get me wrong, every week there's a potential $100 million hit being released, but that's nothing compared to 2003 when 4 films released in May hit $200 million and two others made $100 million.
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2005-04-21
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 this week's winner, Kicking and Screaming - Official Site.
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2005-04-14
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 this week's winner, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants - Official Site.
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2005-04-07
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 this week's winner, Yes - Official Site.
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Thursday, November 26, 2009
