DVD and Blu-ray Releases for July 8th, 2014

July 6th, 2014

It is a terrible week on the home market. I could just leave that as my opening sentence on this column all summer long and the vast majority of the time it would fit perfectly. This week, the biggest new release is Raid 2, a foreign-language action film. The second biggest release is Jodorowsky's Dune, a documentary about a movie that was never made. Neither release will sell a ton of units. However, both earned great reviews and both are contenders for Pick of the Week. The third and final contender is Le Week-End, which is earning reviews that are just as good, but the film appears to be selling far fewer units on the home market. While all three releases are worth picking up, Jodorowsky's Dune on Blu-ray Combo Pack is the best this week and it is the winner of the Pick of the Week. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for January 28th, 2014

January 28th, 2014

There are a large number of first run releases coming out this week on the home market, five in total. This is a huge amount. This week, the latest season of Downton Abby also comes out on the home market, and it is the best selling new release of the week, at least according to Amazon.com. So at the top, it is a really busy week. On the other hand, there's very little depth. Beyond those six releases, there's not a lot to talk about. Out of all of the movies on this week's list, Rush is the best movie, but the DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack are only good and not great. On the other hand, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 on Blu-ray or 3D Blu-ray is the best total package. Meanwhile, I finally got a chance to review Carrie (the screener arrived late) and it was better than I thought it would be and the Blu-ray Combo Pack is worth picking up, especially if you haven't seen the original movie. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Ender Has Game, but Box Office Sinks

November 6th, 2013

As anticipated, Ender's Game won the weekend race with ease and no individual film truly bombed. That said, the overall effort was still lacking. Compared to last weekend, the overall box office was up 23% to $127 million, which is nice to see. However, and more importantly, this was 8% lower than the same weekend last year, thus ending 2013's winning streak at one weekend. 2013 is still ahead of 2012's pace, but by a shrinking margin. Currently, this year is ahead of last year by less than 0.5% at $8.66 billion to $8.62 billion. It wouldn't take much to 2013 to lose the lead at this point, and this might happen sometime during this month. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire should end any losing streak when it is released, but perhaps not before 2013 falls behind 2012's pace. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jackass Brings Gravity to Earth

October 27th, 2013

As anticipated, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa will end Gravity's run at the top of the chart this weekend, with the hidden camera comedy set to earn about $32 million according to Paramount Pictures, somewhat less than Jackass 3D, but very much in line with the other films in the Jackass franchise. The 32% decline for Gravity, meanwhile, is its steepest fall so far, but topping $20 million in its fourth weekend is an impressive performance (only 24 other films have done it), and it will end the weekend within a whisker of $200 million. More...

Weekend Predictions: How Bad Will the Box Office Be?

October 25th, 2013

So far October has been a bad month at the box office. Granted, Gravity should crack $200 million over the weekend; however, week after week after week we've seen declines in the year-over-year comparison. Will that losing streak finally end this weekend? We do have some good news. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa should earn $30 million, more or less, easily topping the chart this weekend and earning much more than last year's number one film Argo. In fact, it might earn more than all four new releases from last year. Additionally, The Counselor isn't expected to be the biggest hit, but it still could earn more than Argo did this time last year and should earn more than the best new releases, Cloud Atlas, did. Are we finally going to see 2013's slump end? I really hope so, because 2013 is not that far ahead of 2012's pace and if the slump doesn't end soon, it could find itself slipping behind last year's pace. More...

2013 Preview: October

October 1st, 2013

October is an awkward month. It sits between the dumping ground that is September and November, the unofficial start of Awards Season / holiday blockbuster season. For the most part, September was stronger than average for the month and there's reason to be optimistic going forward. After all, box office success tends to feed on itself, as does box office struggles. That said, there are not a lot of sure hits over the coming four weeks. Of the nine or ten films opening wide this month, only Gravity has a better than 50/50 chance at $100 million. Captain Phillips could have a shot at the century mark, but only if it becomes a serious Awards Season player. Its early reviews suggest that could be a possibility. Last October, there were two films to reach the $100 million mark, Taken 2 and Argo. On the other hand, pretty much everything else that opened that month crashed and burned. While this October doesn't have as strong a top end, it will hopefully have much better depth. More...

Note: This list contains actors which appear in at least 2 movies of the franchise.

Note: This list contains people who contributed to at least 2 movies of the franchise.