March 1st, 2012
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 and Lady and the Tramp switched places on the Blu-ray sales chart. The former rose to first place during its first full week on the home market selling 455,000 units / $10.46 million giving it an early total of 1.24 million units / $28.58 million.
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February 8th, 2012
There was no competition on the Blu-ray sales chart, as Real Steel topped all new releases and holdovers by a healthy margin. It sold 799,000 units and generated $22.36 million in sales giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 54%. Hopefully we will see a lot more films crack 50% as the winter blockbusters start to come out.
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December 15th, 2011
The Smurfs led a group of five new releases on the Blu-ray sales chart earning first place in the process. It sold 355,000 units while generating $8.88 million during its first week on the home market, which represents 42% of all units sold. That's a very strong opening week Blu-ray ratio for a live action kids movie.
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December 8th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and Super 8 had legitimate claim to top spot in this week's Blu-ray sales chart. The holdover sold more units at 550,000 units to 503,000 units, but the newcomer led the way in revenue at $11.49 million to $9.89 million. That represented an opening week Blu-ray ratio of 55%, which should make the studio happy. Also of note this week, the final Harry Potter release became the best selling Blu-ray of the year with 3.95 million units sold and $86.16 million in total revenue so far.
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November 30th, 2011
New releases this week were a little strange. While there were two massive releases, both were in fact released on Blu-ray a month ago. The weak new releases helped Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 lead the way on the DVD sales chart selling 2.38 million units, while generating $35.57 million in revenue. After just two weeks of release, the film has sold 5.21 million units and generated $77.79 million in revenue, placing it third for the year.
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November 16th, 2011
It's a really soft week for releases. Granted, Harry Potter came out last week and it is likely still going to be selling quite well this week. But the best release of Tuesday, at least according to Amazon.com, is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on DVD. Normally this would be a huge release, but it came out on Blu-ray weeks ago. The same is true of the second best selling release, The Lion King. The most of the next several best selling releases are Blu-ray catalog titles. Granted, many are worth picking up, but it could still be a really slow week in terms of overall sales. That doesn't mean it is a slow week in terms of high quality releases. West Side Story is coming out on Blu-ray, My Fair Lady is also making its Blu-ray debut. There are several more catalogue titles getting a Blu-ray double-dip, like Evil Dead II: 25th Anniversary Edition, or the latest Blu-ray for Metropolis. TV on DVD is well represented with Farscape: The Complete Series (Blu-ray), Being Human: Season One on Blu-ray, and Awkward: Season One. Beginners on Blu-ray is also a Contender for Pick of the Week, as is Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One: Blu-ray Ultimate Collector's Edition. In the end I went with Evil Dead II: 25th Anniversary Edition. It is a double-dip, but there are major improvements over the previous release, plus it is a bargain price at just $11, and given the number of prime releases coming out this week, a bargain price is certainly welcome.
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November 10th, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger led all new releases earning first place on the Blu-ray sales chart by a similar margin to its victory on the DVD sales chart. It sold 1.54 million units and generated $40.08 million in opening week sales. Its Blu-ray ratio was a stunning 68%.
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November 2nd, 2011
While the new releases were terrible on DVD, the Blu-ray sales chart was incredibly active thanks to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This film sold 1.71 million units and generated $48.50 million in opening week sales; however, the DVD only release doesn't come out till the 15th of November, so it is not quite fair to compare this result to other concurrent Blu-ray sales. That said, the strategy appears to have worked.
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October 26th, 2011
Despite the presence of four new releases in the top ten on the Blu-ray sales chart, none were able to overtake The Lion King for top spot. It sold an additional 496,000 units generating $12.39 million for totals of 2.03 million units / $57.86 million after two weeks of release.
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October 19th, 2011
Real Steel was able to stay on top of the international chart, just as it did domestically. Over the weekend, it earned $25.03 million on 4,116 screens in 29 markets for a total of $60.94 million internationally. Worldwide it has taken $112.67 million, which is just over what it cost to make. The film opened in several markets, including the U.K., but it had to settle for fourth place with $2.11 million on 385 screens there. On the other hand, it added $4.63 million on 881 screens in Russia and now has earnt $14.39 million in that market. It also remained in first place in Mexico with $2.77 million on 1,049 screens for a total of $7.31 million after two weeks. It also earned first place in Australia with $2.34 million on 349 screens over the weekend, for a total of $7.88 million after two.
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October 19th, 2011
A pair of powerful new releases helped push the Blu-ray sales chart to record levels. The Lion King led the way with 1.57 million units sold, earning $46.46 million. If you add in The Trilogy Box Set, which sold 44,000 units / $3.33 million, the film earned nearly $50 million in opening week sales. I wasn't expecting it to sell this well.
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October 13th, 2011
Real Steel made its debut on the international chart in first place with $22.85 million on 3,089 screens in 21 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $28.51 million. Its biggest opening was in Russia where it dominated the chart with $7.45 million on 881 screens. It also earned first place in Australia with $4.21 million on 356 screens and in Mexico with $3.15 million on 1,097.
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October 6th, 2011
September was a good month and 2011 was able to close the gap with 2010 by $60 million; however, it is still close to $300 million behind last year's pace. This weekend we could see that gap close a little further. There's only one wide release, Real Steel, but it should be bigger than any of last year's three wide releases. In fact, there's a tiny, but statistically significant, chance it could earn more during its opening weekend than the combined opening weekends of Life as We Know It, Secretariat, and My Soul to Take. Ides of March won't be as strong, but it should play counter-programming well enough to grab a solid second place. If the holdovers can hold their own, then the month should start off on a winning note.
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October 5th, 2011
It's a maddening week on the home market. There were more than a dozen featured reviews this week, and what seems like an equal number that are late. (And that's not mentioning the more than a dozen Blu-rays and DVDs that arrived late last week that I still haven't gotten to. At least I don't have to worry about not having enough to do for the next few weeks.) There were a number of contenders for Pick of the Week, including The Walking Dead: Season One on DVD or Blu-ray. But in the end I choose The Lion King Blu-ray Combo Pack.
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October 3rd, 2011
It was a good news / bad news weekend and the box office. First the bad news. Only one of the four new wide releases made any real impact and this led to a 16% drop-off from last weekend to just $99 million. The good news is that's still 4% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2011 is still behind 2010 by 3% at $7.99 billion to $8.27 billion, but at least there's a little hope left that we can turn things around, if October beats expectations.
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October 2nd, 2011
The Lion King was re-released in theaters as a 3D version just over a couple weeks ago. The original plan was to run for two weeks, but be out of theaters just in time for its Blu-ray debut. It has proven to be so popular in theaters, that it will likely still be playing wide next weekend and could become one of the rare films to reach $100 million during its re-release. It is worth picking up on Blu-ray? And if so, which version is the better deal?
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September 29th, 2011
It's another busy week with three wide releases, plus another opening in just over 1,000 theaters, which is barely semi-wide. The widest release is What's Your Number?, but romantic comedies rarely have breakout success. The best-reviewed is 50/50, but its subject matter might make it hard to sell to audiences. Meanwhile, Dream House had an effective trailer, but there are still no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Courageous should grab a spot in the top ten, but it is not a sure bet. Unfortunately for the year-on-year comparison, none of the new releases look as strong as The Social Network, which opened this weekend last year. In fact, there's a slim chance all four of this year's wide release combined won't match The Social Network's $22.45 million. On the other hand, three of the four could crack $10 million, plus there are three holdovers that could do the same. Depth could be the key to victory in the year-over-year comparison.
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September 26th, 2011
It was a very good weekend at the box office, compared to the average for this time of year. None of the four wide releases were real bombs, although a couple opened soft, they were within the range of expectations. Also, The Lion King held on even better than expected leading the way for the second weekend in a row. This helped the film grow just over 16% from last weekend to $117 million. More importantly, the overall box office was close to 17% higher than this weekend last year. Not only did The Lion King top Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps's opening, so did Moneyball and Dolphin Tale. Year-to-date, 2011 is still behind 2010 by 4% at $7.85 billion to $8.14 billion, but a few more wins like this and that gap will start to close.
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September 25th, 2011
In a surprisingly strong weekend for September, The Lion King will enjoy a second weekend at the top of the chart, although only by a narrow margin over new entries Moneyball and Dolphin Tale. Disney's animated classic will take in about $22 million this weekend, and now looks set to pass $400 million in lifetime domestic box office before its theatrical run is over, and it has a shot at topping Spider-Man to take a place in the all-time top 10.
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September 22nd, 2011
It's a busy week with four wide releases, including two that are opening at saturation level theater counts. With such a lot of competition, there's little chance all four will find a sizable audience this weekend. In fact, there's a chance none of them will be able to top The Lion King, leaving it on top for the second weekend in a row. If that happens, there's no telling how many classic films will get a 3D conversion. As for which release have the best shot at becoming the new box office king, Moneyball seems to be the consensus pick, but there is some debate as to how well the new releases will do. There's also some debate as to how well the overall box office will do compared to last year. There's a 50-50 chance the number one film this year will top Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, which earned just over $19 million last year, while the depth is a little better this year.
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September 21st, 2011
Restless won the race to the top of the per theater chart with $15,467 in its lone theater. However, given its reviews, I don't think the word of mouth will be there to help it expand. The Lion King was second with an average of $12,941. The Mill and the Cross was the only other film to cross $10,000 at $11,354 over the weekend and $15,443 from Wednesday through Sunday.
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September 19th, 2011
There were three new wide releases this past weekend, but it was a re-release, The Lion King, that dominated at the box office. This success is really good news, because all three new wide releases, Drive, I Don't Know How She Does It, and Straw Dogs, missed expectations. The overall movie industry generated just over $101 million this weekend, compared to $82 million last weekend, which is a 24% increase. This weekend last year, the overall box office was just under $101 million, so yes, 2011 squeezed out a win this week, even if it was by less than 1%. Year-to-date, 2011 has earned $7.70 billion, compared to $8.01 billion it earned last year. We are going to need to see some big wins over the coming weeks if 2011 is going to have a shot at closing that gap by the end of December.
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September 15th, 2011
It could be an interesting week at the box office, with three films opening wide, Drive, I Don't Know How She Does It, and Straw Dogs, plus a fourth film being re-released wide, The Lion King. There's a lot of uncertainty in the box office predictions for the weekend and I've seen various predictions that have Drive winning the weekend, Contagion repeating on top, and some say The Lion King's 3D conversion will boost it to number one. Unfortunately, while there's a wide range of opinion regarding what film will top the box office chart, there are very few people who think this weekend will be as strong as last year when The Town opened with nearly $24 million and Easy A earned close to $18 million. It's unlikely the top two films will earn that much this year and we don't have the same depth either.
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