March 11th, 2009
A combination of terrible new releases and two massive store sales (including the Circuit City Going out of Business sale) meant this week's sales chart was dominated by some of the biggest hits from last year. However, the number one DVD remained High School Musical 3 - Senior Year, which sold an additional 543,000 units for the week to give it a total of 2.05 million units sold and $36.14 million in consumer retail spending.
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February 3rd, 2009
New releases were all over the top 30 this week, including Max Payne, which took first place with 543,000 units sold for the week and $12.92 million in sales.
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January 22nd, 2009
For a year without an obvious front-runner for the Oscar race, there were not a whole lot of surprises when it came to the nominations. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations today and leading the way was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with thirteen while Slumdog Millionaire was second with ten.
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January 7th, 2009
This week, new releases were practically non-existent on the DVD sales chart.
In fact, the best selling releases to make their debut on the chart were the late releases from last week. The best seller overall this week was The Dark Knight with 1.69 million units and $37.11 million in consumer retail spending for the week, giving it just a hair under 12.00 million units sold and $252.82 million in sales after three. This is clearly the best selling DVD of 2008 having sold over 1 million units more than WALL-E and nearly $70 million more in retail sales.
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December 3rd, 2008
Thanksgiving is over and that can only mean on thing,
Christmas shopping! And that means it is time for our annual Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will look at some of the recent releases, as well as some soon to be released Blu-ray films.
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November 11th, 2008
New releases were not as strong this week as they were last week, and this hurt overall sales. However, Tinker Bell still did very well, especially for a direct-to-DVD release, selling 1.94 million units and generating $30.73 million in sales during its first week of release. Had the movie opened in theaters, I would suspect it would have been a much bigger hit than Space Chimps and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, probably bigger than those two films combined, and perhaps even earned $100 million or more, depending on its release date.
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November 11th, 2008
New releases were spread thin on the rental chart this week, but one of them, Journey to the Center of the Earth, did earn first place and earned nearly 25% more than the second place The Incredible Hulk.
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November 4th, 2008
Plenty of new releases did fantastic business this week, earning first place and three of the top five spots. That new number one release was The Incredible Hulk, which earned $51.33 million from 2.15 million units sold.
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November 4th, 2008
Most of the new releases that charted on this week's sales chart also charted on this week's rental chart, and they even shared the same new number one film, The Incredible Hulk.
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October 28th, 2008
There were more than half-a-dozen new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's sales chart, including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That film topped the charts with 3.03 million units sold for sales of $70.57 million. However, the Franchise Collection placed sixth with 177,000 units sold and $10.85 million in sales. Add in the individual releases and the total sales were more than $80 million from 3.3 million units sold.
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October 28th, 2008
There were fewer new releases that were able to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week, but the same film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was able to come out on top.
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October 20th, 2008
New releases were again dominant on this week's DVD sales chart with three in the top five, five in the top ten, and nine in total. This includes the new number one selling DVD, Sleeping Beauty, which generated $22.43 million in revenue from 1.34 million units sold.
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October 20th, 2008
New releases played an important role on this week's rental charts, taking the top two spots. However, while The Happening and You Don't Mess With the Zohan finished one - two, Iron Man was very close behind in third.
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October 12th, 2008
There were not a lot of new releases to reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, but what we lacked in quantity, we more than made up for in quality. This is because the first of the summer blockbusters reached the home market.
Iron Man topped the charts with 5.12 million units sold and $93.98 million in opening week revenue.
Not only is this the best opening of the year, Iron Man nearly took top spot on the yearly chart after just one week in release.
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October 12th, 2008
New releases did better on the rental chart than they did on the sales chart with six films placing in the top 30, including Iron Man, which topped the charts generating 25% more revenue than a fellow new release, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
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October 5th, 2008
Eagle Eye opened in sixth place on the international chart with $4.51 million on 1,124 screens in 13 markets, much of that coming from two markets: Australia and Mexico. In the former it made $1.42 million on 231 screens while in the latter it made just a hair under $900,000 on 350 screens. In both markets the film finished in second place, while it opens in major markets every week until the end of October, while it doesn't end its run until early next year.
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September 30th, 2008
A much smaller list of films on this week's list. How small? It fit on one page. This is mainly for two reasons. One, I didn't get to the backlog of late arrivals. I hope to get a big chunk of them done for next week, but I have ten new releases to get through first. Secondly, the first of the summer monster hits came out this week, and Iron Man scared away a lot of the competition. Speaking of competition, there was quite a race for the DVD Pick of the Week with the Two-Disc Collector's Edition or Blu-ray release of Iron Man near the top of the list. As was the Judd Apatow Unrated Comedy Collection, also on Blu-ray. I couldn't decide which was better, so I'm giving the title of DVD Pick of the Week to both. Other contenders were Sports Night - The Complete Series 10th Anniversary Edition and Taxi to the Dark Side - Buy from Amazon, and Can't Hardly Wait, although the last one comes with a "Guilty Pleasure" warning.
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September 15th, 2008
We have a big list this week with more than 50 releases. This includes very few top-notch, first run releases, but that weakness is counterbalanced by the strength in the TV on DVD department, including a few contenders for DVD Pick of the Week like Duckman - Season One & Two and Pushing Daisies - Season One on DVD or Blu-ray. If I were to choose just one release this week, it would be the former; however, I think the latter has a better chance at mainstream appeal. As I previously said, this is a huge list this week, so much so that it had to be split into two parts. Part two can be found here.
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June 29th, 2008
The Happening fell from first to fifth with just $14.05 million on 5579 screens in 65 markets for a total of $56.40 million after two weeks. Good news, it was able to remain in first place in France despite falling 60% to $1.93 million on 550 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.68 million after two. On the other hand, it fell from first to third in Spain down 65% to $1.20 million on 387 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.41 million after two. Even worse, it was down just under 80% in Italy and just over 80% in South Korea earning $367,000 on 338 screens and $206,000 on 293 screens respectively. Its totals of $2.77 million in the former and $2.18 million in the latter are hardly impressive, and well below its domestic run. This is a shocking decline, especially since films tend to have better legs internationally than they have domestically. And while it should earn more on the international marketplace, there's little hope of reaching $200 million worldwide now.
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June 22nd, 2008
Sex and the City was knocked out of top spot with $23.71 million on 5591 screens in 44 markets for a total of $136.00 million after three weeks of release. Its biggest opening came from the Netherlands, which is a midlevel market at best, but it earned $810,000 on 108 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. This is a very strong opening and the film will have little trouble topping Iron Man in the market and will even come relatively close to Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's total. Additionally, the film earned $4.29 million on 452 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $14.88 million while in the U.K. it pulled in $3.50 million on 470 screens over the weekend lifting its total of $39.80 million after three.
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June 19th, 2008
The outlook for this weekend is mixed. On the one hand, very few people are expecting this week's two new releases to match last week's openings. However, most expect them to top last year's new entries, which is the more important task. This, along with the better holdovers, could be enough to push 2008 over 2007's pace for the first time in a long time.
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June 15th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda started its international run in third place with $20.46 million on 1521 screens in 9 markets. The film reportedly set records in a number of its smaller, Southeast Asian debuts while its brought in an impressive $8.26 million on 821 screens in Russia and $7.84 million on 632 screens in South Korea (including midweek numbers). Next up for the film is Australia and Mexico next weekend while it has major market opening throughout the summer.
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June 8th, 2008
Sex and the City made its international debut this past weekend, and while it wasn't able to top the charts like it did domestically, it still managed a fantastic $32.77 million on 3590 screens in 14 markets over the weekend for a total of $37.52 million. Its biggest opening came in the U.K. where it dominated the market with $17.22 million on 460 screens, which is equivalent to an $80 million to $100 million opening here. It also finished first in Germany with $7.41 million on 836 screens. It also did very well in France with $6.12 million on 551 screens and in Italy with $2.74 million on 552 screens, finishing second in both markets. The film opened in Australia and South Korea this past weekend, while it doesn't end its run till late August with Japan and it should reach several major milestones before then.
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June 2nd, 2008
Sex and the City started off huge on Friday, but it quickly crashed as the weekend wore on. However, its first day was still enough to propel the film into first place and help the overall box office reach $168 million. That was lower than last weekend's total by just over 2%, but that's a very soft decline for a post-holiday weekend. Also, it was nearly 25% higher that the same weekend last year, which is huge growth. 2008 is still behind 2007's pace $3.57 billion to $3.68 billion, but any time it closes the gap is good news.
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June 1st, 2008
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian slipped 21% during its sophomore stint adding $19.35 million on 3681 screens in 13 markets for a still early total of $51.26 million. This includes a first place, $5.34 million opening on 782 screens over the weekend in Japan, while the film has $7.81 million including midweek numbers. This was below the original's opening in that market of $8.92 million, which is troubling. More troubling news came in Mexico where it was down 51% to $3.05 million on 842 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.58 million while in Russia it was down 55% to $3.03 million on 735 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.54 million after two.
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May 29th, 2008
There could be quite a battle for top spot at the box office this weekend between the opening of Sex and the City and he sophomore stint of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Hopefully this will help May end with a a stronger box office than the comparable weekend last year. It is possible since the former should open with a bigger box office than Knocked Up while the latter could hold with more than At World's End did.
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May 28th, 2008
The first long weekend of the summer has come and gone and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was able to earn the tenth best opening weekend of all time, assuming you don't count Iron Man's Thursday night box office. (Which apparently we are supposed to.) However, while this is good news, the overall box office is still in a slump. Sure, the 3-day total was $172 million, which was 31% higher than last weekend, but it was more than 16% lower than the same weekend last year. Add in Monday and the box office pulled in $219 million, which was 14% lower than last year's 4-day total. Year-to-date, 2008 is now 4% behind last year's pace at $3.51 billion to $3.37 billion.
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May 22nd, 2008
For the first time in nearly two decades, there is an Indiana Jones movie opening in theaters. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is arguably the most anticipated new release of the year and should crush the competition at the box office. In fact, there are more than a few people who expect records will the broken this weekend. With expectations this high, it might be almost impossible for the film to match them.
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May 21st, 2008
It seems last week's drop-off by Iron Man had more to do with the weather than the quality of the film as it recovered nicely this week. It was still down, but only by a respectable 32% to $26.18 million on 7,000 screens in 58 markets for a total of $207.71 million. With that, it has overtaken Welcome to the Sticks and become the biggest international hit of the year.
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May 19th, 2008
The weekend box office was ... mixed, to be generous. The box office leader, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, missed expectations by $30 million, give or take, while the overall box office numbers was also well below expectations at $132 million. At least this was above last weekend's box office tally by about 5%, but below last year's pace by a flabbergasting 27%. Year-to-date 2008 lost even more ground and is now behind last year's pace by nearly 4% $3.21 billion to $3.09 billion. Things need to turn around soon lest the narrative becomes the slumping box office, however, I don't see that happening.
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May 15th, 2008
There's little doubt which film will come out on top this weekend, as The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the only film opening wide this weekend. The real competition are three other films that opened earlier, sometimes much earlier. The first is the film that started this summer, Iron Man, the second is the biggest hit from the same weekend last year, Shrek the Third, and the final one is the film that started the franchise, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian will be judged a success or a failure not whether or not it can finish first, but how it does in comparison to these other films.
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May 14th, 2008
Defying normal international trends, Iron Man had a worse drop-off on the international charts than it did domestically. However, despite falling 60%, it still remained in first place with $39.31 million on 7,208 screens in 57 markets for a total of $165.79 million. It is now the third biggest hit of the year on the international chart, behind just Welcome to the Sticks and 10,000 B.C., while its worldwide total of $343.62 million at the end of the weekend is the best of the year to far.
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May 13th, 2008
Not only did Iron Man remain on top of the weekend box office chart, it also topped the per theater chart with an average of $12,452. The only other film to top $10,000 was Surfwise, which did it with $10,304 in one theater.
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May 12th, 2008
It was a good news / bad news weekend, but let's focus on the good first. Iron Man beat expectations and that helped the overall box office top $125 million over the weekend. This was 21% lower than last weekend, but, more importantly, it was 18% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2008 is still behind, but it is cutting into 2007's lead and is now down just $2.93 billion to $3.01 billion.
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May 11th, 2008
After a huge opening for Iron Man last weekend, the market fell to earth with a bump this time around thanks to a very disappointing debut for
Speed Racer.
The much-hyped cartoon action movie from the Wachowski brothers only managed to pull in $20.2 million at the box office, according to Warner Bros.' Sunday estimate, and there's a good chance that What Happens in Vegas, with an estimated $20 million so far, will end up in second place for the weekend.
Iron Man, meanwhile, put in a very respectable second weekend with an estimated $50.5 million.
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May 8th, 2008
Speed Racer tries to maintain 2008's momentum; however, there's little chance it will match Iron Man's opening, or even its sophomore stint. In fact, many pundits don't think it will be able to match Iron Man's opening during its entire run. That said, the combined weight of the new releases and the holds could lift this weekend over last year's total, which is the real goal at this point.
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May 7th, 2008
Iron Man became the first worldwide smash hit of the year, opening with $98.59 million on 7,588 screens in 56 markets internationally, for a total of $200.71 million worldwide. Even if it only makes $200 million more during the rest of its box office run, it will still make enough to show a profit during its initial push into the home market. Its challenge is that it was truly a worldwide opening, which leaves it with very few additional markets. With a high level of competition coming up, it is unlikely to stay on top for very long.
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May 7th, 2008
The winners of our Turning Iron into Gold contest were determined and they are...
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May 6th, 2008
The first blockbuster release of the summer, Iron Man, placed first on the Per Theater Chart with an impressive average of $24,877. Second place was a bit of a surprise as cult director Harmony Korine's latest film, Mister Lonely, did better than expected with $16,769 in one theater. Roman de Gare was the only holdover in the $10,000 club as it doubled its theater count, to two, and earned an average of $11,267. Two other new releases, Son of Rambow and Redbelt opened with nearly identical averages of $10,758 and $10,560 respectively. Both have at least a shot at serious expansion over the coming weeks.
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May 5th, 2008
Summer started with a bang, and a whimper... it depends on what you compare it to. Over the weekend, the box office totaled $159 million in ticket sales, which is 75% more than last weekend. However, it is also 16% less than the same weekend last year when Spider-man 3 smashed the record for biggest opening weekend. Compared to expectations, this was a great start; compared to last year, 2008 continues to struggle.
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May 4th, 2008
Iron Man is heading towards $100 million, the 2nd-biggest opening by a non-sequel and the 10th-biggest opening weekend of all time, according to Paramount's estimates, released on Sunday.
The current estimate stands at $100.75 million, which leaves some uncertainty over whether Iron Man will top the magical $100 million level, but either way the performance is incredibly impressive for a movie with less of a built-in audience than the likes of Harry Potter or Spider-Man.
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May 3rd, 2008
Iron Man kicks off the summer blockbuster season this weekend, and since it scared award most of the competition at the box office, there's little competition when it comes to movie websites. Its Official Site was the only one really in contention for the Weekly Website Award and it was the easy winner.
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May 3rd, 2008
After attracting an estimated $5.1 million from previews on Thursday, Iron Man opened in all theaters on Friday and earned a giant $34.5 million, according to our estimates.
That's going to make it about the 25th-biggest day of all time (see complete list) and either the second- or third-best performance by a non-sequel.
Spider-Man holds the record in that category with a $39.4 million opening day back in 2002, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone made $33.5 million when it opened in 2001.
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May 1st, 2008
Summer unofficially starts this weekend with the release of Iron Man, which actually opened on Thursday night. There is little doubt that it will finish on top of the box office chart this weekend. The real question is how far up the all-time chart it will go.
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May 1st, 2008
2008 has stumbled pretty badly recently, but, with the past two weekends beating their 2007 counterparts, it looks like it is getting back on track. Hopefully this can continue in May. On the one hand, the start of the Summer should reinvigorate the box office numbers with a few potential $300 million hits opening over the five weekends and two more films that should reach $100 million. Here's the problem: Last year, there were three monster hits that opened in May and they earned a combined box office close to $1 billion. If any of the big three this month (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Iron Man) stumble, then there will be almost no way 2008 can keep pace with 2007.
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April 25th, 2008
Summer blockbuster season is finally here. ... Or least it starts on Friday the 25th with the opening of Iron Man. That is this week's target film. In order to win, one must simply predict Iron Man's opening weekend box office.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win The Golden Compass and Fall of the Roman Empire, both 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 The Golden Compass and Lars and the Real Girl.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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March 28th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Crazy on the Outside, Two Lovers, W., and more!
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March 20th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for The Grand, The Proposal, The Legend of Secret Pass, and more!
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September 16th, 2007
A stronger week for website than we've seen in a few weeks, including the launch of a potential fall blockbuster. However, that site is mostly marked coming soon allowing Elizabeth - The Golden Age - Official Site to take the Weekly Website Award this week.
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August 23rd, 2007
This week's round of new cast information contains updates for Day Zero, The Fighter, He's Just Not That Into You and more!
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July 29th, 2007
Server upgrades went... less smoothly than anticipated, which delayed this column, but at least there are a huge number of sites to check out. Many of these sites are making their first appearance on the list while quite a few are making their last appearance. Unfortunately, while it's a big list, there are not many that are even close to being award worthy at the moment. 30 Days of Night - Official Site comes the closest, but I'm waiting for the missing features to be added before I make that decision.
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January 6th, 2007
Big list as I try to catch up after the holidays. I think I caught all the updates. Not only are there a lot of sites on this week's list, several of them are potential award winners with the best of the best being
Smokin' Aces -
Official Site.
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