October 19th, 2009
It's kind of a mixed week on the home market. True, we do have Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen, which should be the best-selling DVD of the year, as well as a record-breaking Blu-ray. However, it's not a very good movie and it seems to have scared away all the competition. There is a Transformers release that's worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week, but it's Transformers - 25th Anniversary Matrix of Leadership Collection. Also winning that honor is It's Garry Sandling's Show, The Complete Series.
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July 21st, 2009
(500) Days of Summer led the way on the per theater chart with an outstanding average of $30,907, which was nearly twice as much as the second placed film.
That honor went to the overall box office champion film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which earned an average of $17,997.
Alien Trespass skyrocketed into third place with $14,405 in one theater thanks to special screenings at the Fantasia Montreal Film Festival.
The final film to reach the $10,000 mark was A Woman in Berlin with $12,439, also in one theater.
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July 7th, 2009
Only three films managed to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this week, and no new releases were able to top The Hurt Locker. That film led the way with an average or $14,578 in nine theaters, but it will need to strike fast if it wants to expand significantly. The Beaches of Agnes was the best of the new releases, opening with an average of $10,650 in two theaters.
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs opened with an average of $10,171, while the overall number one film, Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen, just missed the $10,000 market with an average of $9,995.
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June 30th, 2009
The Hurt Locker did something most films about the Iraq War have not been able to do: succeed at the box office.
During its opening weekend it earned close to $150,000 in just four theaters for an average of $36,338.
The overall number one film, Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen, managed second place with an average of $25,736, and nearly double that since Wednesday.
Meanwhile, last week's number one film on the per theater average, Whatever Works, landed in third with $10,280.
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June 28th, 2009
For a weekend that features what could be the biggest movie of the year, the list of movie websites is merely average. Then again, I've noticed this trend for a few years that movie websites have stagnated in quality. I blame Running Scared. The website was so popular, that it crashed the server, but the movie itself bombed. It was at this point that I believe studios realized that having a popular website doesn't mean a movie will be a hit. Since then, the amount of effort put into websites has dropped off with more sites featuring less sound and animation; even sites for wide releases are rather cookie cutter at the moment lacking interactivity or creativity. This is part of the reason why I'm strongly considering phasing out this column. There's very few sites worth writing about, and it would give me more time to concentrate on reviewing DVDs, which takes up a considerable amount of my time already. I haven't finalized my decision, so if you have any thoughts, e-mail me.
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June 26th, 2009
There are only half-a-dozen limited releases on this week's list, but half of them are opening in more than a dozen theaters. Opening in more theaters is not always good for a limited release, and this could be the case this week. Of the film's on this week's list, The Hurt Locker has the best reviews and the best chance at finding an audience.
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