The Numbers News - March 2015

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Weekend Wrap-Up: Home Run

March 31, 2015

After a couple of soft weeks at the box office, both new wide releases beat expectations. In fact, Home nearly doubled predictions. Get Hard also beat expectations, albeit by a smaller margin. Add in solid runs by the holdovers and the overall box office was very strong at $150 million. This is 19% higher than last week and 7.3% higher than the same weekend last year. We can thank Home entirely for this win. If it had merely matched predictions, 2015 would have lost the in the year-over-year comparisons. Year-to-date, 2015 is ahead of 2014 by a 2.0% margin at $2.37 billion to $2.32 billion. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 31st, 2015

March 30, 2015

This week on the home market is another week that is good on top, but shallow in terms of depth. The number one film of the week is Interstellar which is worth checking out, but not Pick of the Week material. There are a quartet of Pick of the Week contenders, including two limited releases (The Imitation Game - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Wild - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray) and two TV on DVD releases (VEEP: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Silicon Valley: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray). Of these four, I went with Veep as the Pick of the Week. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Interstellar

March 30, 2015

Interstellar is the latest film from Christopher Nolan, a director who has performed amazingly well at the box office. He's also never directed a film that earned bad reviews. Is this film as good as his past record? Or are there flaws starting to show in his directing style? More...

Weekend Estimates: Home has Best Dreamworks Animation Debut in Six Years

March 29, 2015

DreamWorks Animation has been having a tough time of it recently. Aside from How to Train Your Dragon 2, their last three films, Penguins of Madagascar, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Turbo were all financial failures, and, as an animation house, they are stuck with a business model that demands putting $100 million–$200 million into each film and hoping for a $500 million-plus global hit. That’s made doubly-difficult when you’re operating as a standalone entity and can’t fall back on the wider resources of the studio during hard times.

The opening weekend for Home, projected at $54 million, according to distributor Fox, is therefore very welcome news indeed. It marks the best opening by a non-sequel for the production house since Monsters vs. Aliens opened with $59.3 million on this weekend in 2009, and the third-best non-sequel debut in their history behind that film and Kung Fun Panda’s $60 million start in 2008. More...

Home Market Numbers: Night at the Museum Leaves the Home Market Hungry

March 29, 2015

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 was one of the biggest hits of 2014, so it should come as no surprise that the week after it was released was not a great week on the home market. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was the best new release and it couldn't even match Mockingjay's second weekend of release on the Blu-ray Sales Chart. This causes overall sales to fall 26% when compared to last week, both in terms of units and revenue. The home market held up a little better when compared to last year, down 18% in terms of units and 20% in terms of revenue. DVD held on better week-over-week, so the overall Blu-ray share fell to 42%, which is a little weak. More...

DVD Sales: Secret of the Tomb Stuck with the Leftovers

March 29, 2015

Despite there being five new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, there was a holdover hanging onto top spot. Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 sold 472,000 units and generated $6.36 million in sales during its first full week of release for early totals of 1.19 million units / $16.28 million. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hunger has a Second Serving on Top

March 29, 2015

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 remained in first place on the Blu-ray Sales Chart during its first full week of release with 499,000 units / $9.98 million for the week giving it totals of $1.71 million units / $34.19 million after two weeks of release. It is losing ground on Catching Fire and it might not get to 3 million units in the end. More...

Limited Releases: Feeling Serene

March 27, 2015

It's a pretty good week as far as limited releases are concerned with a number of them earning excellent reviews. Unfortunately, the biggest in terms of cast and theater count is Serena, but its reviews are among the worst of the week. Hopefully films like Serena (Reviews) or Man from Reno (Reviews) can pick up the slack. More...

Contest: Think Faster

March 27, 2015

Next week there is only one wide release, Furious 7, so it is the only choice for the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Furious 7.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize composed of a couple of previously reviewed DVDs. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win another Frankenprize. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Hard Get to the Top?

March 26, 2015

There is an actual race at the box office this weekend. This is rare, because there's usually one obvious number one film, as studios don't want to deal with competition. However, this week, both Get Hard and Home have a shot at first place with $30 million or so. Additionally, there are two other films, Insurgent and Cinderella, that are aiming to reach $20 million over the weekend. That's a lot of depth. There is one final film of note, It Follows, which is expanding semi-wide and could find a spot in the top five. This weekend last year, the box office was led by Noah with $43.72 million, while two other films, Divergent and Muppets Most Wanted earned more than $10 million. 2015 has better depth, but it won't be as strong at the top. I'm not sure which year will come out on top, but it should be close. More...

International Box Office: Insurgent Surges Past Cinderella

March 26, 2015

As expected, Insurgent earned first place on the international chart earning $48.4 million on 10,187 screens in 76 markets. The film's biggest market was France, where it opened in first place with $6 million, while it made $4.37 million in 497 theaters in the U.K. earning first place there as well. Its best growth came from Brazil, where it nearly tripled the first film with $4.2 million. The film had to settle for second place in Russia with $3.76 million on 1,570 screens, but that was still close to 20% more than its predecessor opened with. More...

Contest: Wrestling with Your Prediction: Winning Announcement

March 25, 2015

The winners of our Wrestling with Your Prediction contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Insurgent opening weekend were... More...

Per Theater Chart: Danny Boy

March 25, 2015

Danny Collins led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $14,631 in five theaters. However, since its reviews are merely good and not great, I doubt it will have the legs needed to thrive in limited release. The overall box office leader, Insurgent, was next with an average of $13,487. Last week's winner on the per theater chart, It Follows, was the only holdover in the $10,000 club earning an average of $10,777 in 32 theaters. It has room to grow and should have no trouble earning a least some small measure of mainstream success. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter was the only other film that did well, with an average of $8,529 in four theaters over the weekend, while it earned an average of $10,101 since Wednesday. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 24th, 2015

March 24, 2015

There are three $100 million theatrical hits arriving on the home market this week, which is amazing. However, that's really all that's coming out this week. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the biggest of these three hits, but it wasn't the best. The best is Into the Woods and given the lack of competition, the DVD or Blu-ray is the Pick of the Week. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Insurgent Dips from Divergent

March 24, 2015

As expected, Insurgent led the way at the box office; however, it didn't live up to Divergent's opening from last year. Worse still, both The Gunman and Do You Believe? failed to match low expectations. Overall, the box office did dip from last week, but by less than $1 million or 0.5%. Its decline from last year was more troublesome at 7.3%. Year-to-date, 2015 is still ahead of 2014, but by only 2.2% at $2.18 billion to $2.13 billion. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Into the Woods

March 23, 2015

Into the Woods first debuted 30 years ago in 1985 starting its Broadway run a year later. The show's original Broadway run earned three Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, while the 2002 revival was nearly as well received with award voters. It is not a surprise that the film was turned into a big budget musical. However, does the theatrical version of Into the Woods live up to the source material? Will fans of musicals who haven't seen the original like it? More...

Weekend Estimates: Insurgent Matches Divergent’s Debut

March 22, 2015

A mix of positive and negative factors (poor reviews vs. fan loyalty, competition vs. Spring break and so on) are neatly canceling one another out this weekend to give Insurgent an opening weekend almost perfectly in line with the $54.6 million debut enjoyed by Divergent this time last year. Lionsgate is officially projecting a $54 million weekend. The numbers we’re seeing suggest the film will end up a shade lower than that—perhaps $53 million would be a safer bet—but either way, it’s an impressive start, and the fifth-best weekend of 2015 so far. More...

Home Market Numbers: Home Market Slips Despite Hunger's Opening

March 22, 2015

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 was the best of the new releases and won the race to top spot on the Blu-ray Sales Chart. Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough to help the overall Blu-ray sales, which were down across the board. Compared to last week, sales were down 17% in terms of units and 12% in terms of revenue. Compared to last year, sales were down 15% in terms of units and 14% in terms of revenue. You can't blame Mockingjay here, as it topped Catching Fire. There was just no depth this time. As expected, the overall Blu-ray slipped a bit dropping to 52%, but this is still a fantastic number. More...

DVD Sales: Mockingjay Leaves DVD Sales a Little Hungry

March 22, 2015

There was a flood of new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, including five of the top six best-sellers for the week. Leading the way was Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 with 718,000 units / $9.98 million. This is well below what Catching Fire opened with, but still enough to keep the studio happy. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hunger Games Fills Up on Blu-ray

March 22, 2015

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 led the new releases earning first place on the Blu-ray Sales Chart. It wasn't quite as strong as last week's winner, Big Hero 6; however, it did sell better than Catching Fire did. The Blu-ray sold 1.39 million units / $27.92 million, which is even more impressive when you note it was on sale for only two days, not the usual five days for a new release. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 66%, which is great no matter what its genre was. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Life Partners

March 22, 2015

Life Partners came out in limited release last December. It earned good reviews; however, as I've said repeatedly in the past, good reviews are generally not good enough for limited release. This was certainly the case here. Now that it is out on the home market, does it deserve to find a wider audience? More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: The Sound of Music

March 21, 2015

I've previously reviewed The Sound of Music, which is great news for me. It's late in the afternoon and I've only just started to get to work, because I spent most of the morning talking to my bank, because my credit card information was stolen. Since I have reviewed this film in the past, I will stick with how this is different than the previous Blu-ray release. More...

Limited Releases: There is Treasure to be Found

March 20, 2015

It is a busy week with a number of limited releases earning outstanding reviews. This includes a couple of foreign-language films (Amour fou and La Sapienza), as well as a couple of horror films (Backcountry and Spring). However, of the films on this week's list, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter is the one with the best chance of earning some measure of mainstream success. More...

Contest: Hard Target, Easy Contest

March 19, 2015

I'm not 100% sure which of next week's two wide releases will become the biggest hit. However, since family films tend to open slower and last longer, it seems likely that Get Hard will have a bigger opening than Home will. Because of that, it is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Get Hard.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize composed of The Double on Blu-ray, plus another previously reviewed DVD or Blu-ray. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize, this time composed of two previously reviewed DVD or Blu-rays. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Insurgent vs. Divergent

March 19, 2015

Insurgent leads the three wide releases coming out this weekend. Although that is really an understatement. Insurgent will likely earn more on its opening day than the combined weekend totals of The Gunman and Do You Believe? The real competition for Insurgent is Divergent, which opened this weekend last year with $54.61 million. If Insurgent doesn't at least match that, then the franchise is in trouble going forward. Cinderella should have no trouble earning second place, but how much Insurgent's crossover audience hurts Cinderella will go a long way in determining Cinderella's legs. This weekend last year, Divergent opened and it looks like Insurgent will have no trouble topping that number. Additionally, Muppets Most Wanted opened in second place with $17.01 million and Cinderella should make twice that this weekend. This should give 2015 an easy win over the weekend in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Cinderella Story

March 18, 2015

Cinderella led the way on the international box office, but it can't be described as a Cinderella opening, as every one expected it to earn first place. The film pulled in $62.4 million in 31 markets during its first weekend of release. This includes $25.01 million during its first weekend in China, which was easily enough for first place. It also earned first place in Russia with $2.62 million on 1,550 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $7.06 million. The film placed first in Mexico ($5 million) and Italy ($4.6 million). It is still too early to tell where it will finish, but this is a strong start. By this time next week, it will likely have pulled in enough to cover its entire production budget. More...

Contest: Burnt to a Cinder: Winning Announcement

March 18, 2015

The winners of our Burnt to a Cinder contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Cinderella opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: It Follows in Shadows’ Footsteps

March 18, 2015

It Follows was one of five new releases to reach the $10,000 club, based on theater averages this weekend. It opened with an average of $40,022 in four theaters, which is the second-best for a film opening in 2015, just behind What We Do in the Shadows. The overall box office leader, Cinderella, was well back in second place with an average of $17,653. Seymour: An Introduction opened with an average of $13,294 in two theaters. 3 Hearts earned $11,794 in its lone theater. Tales of Hoffmann was right behind with an average of $11,670 in two theaters. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 17th, 2015

March 17, 2015

It's a busy / short week on the home market. There are four first-run releases coming out this week, which is more than most weeks. However, it is also a very shallow week and we run into filler on the first page of Amazon's list of best-selling new releases. The best of the first-run releases is Top Five, but the DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack isn't quite Pick of the Week material. For that honor, we have to look to a smaller release, Song of the Sea on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Cinderella Helps Box Office Bounce Back

March 16, 2015

As expected, Cinderella easily won the race to the top of the box office. However, it didn't quite do as well as expected. Additionally, Run All Night's opening was also a little softer than expected. Fortunately, despite this, the overall box office still bounced back from last weekend growing by 47% to $132 million. This was also higher than last year by 16%, which is really high for a year-over-year comparison. Year-to-date, 2015 is ahead of 2014 by 2.3% at $2.01 billion to $1.97 billion. This is not a huge lead, but it is still enough growth that the overall industry should be happy. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Star Trek: The Original Series: Captain Kirk's Boldest Missions

March 16, 2015

The latest home market release for Star Trek: The Original Series is a two-disc DVD... DVD? You would think there would at least be a Blu-ray option. What episodes are on this two-disc DVD? And is the DVD worth the asking price? More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Top Five

March 16, 2015

Top Five is the latest film written and directed by Chris Rock. Chris Rock is one of the biggest stand-up comics around; however, his film career has never truly taken off. He has had some missteps with critics, but even films that earned amazing reviews failed to find an audience in theaters. For instance, this film pulled in just $25 million during the holidays. Does it deserve to find a wider audience? Or will critics like this more than the average moviegoer? More...

Home Market Numbers: Hero Helps Home Market Grow Bigger

March 15, 2015

Big Hero 6 dominated the list of new releases and was nearly 80% of the total Blu-ray sales for the week. This helped the overall sales skyrocket compared to last week, up 66% in terms of units and 93% in terms of revenue. Overall sales were not as strong when compared to last year, as Thor: The Dark World was tougher competition than anything that came out this week. Sales grew, but by a more subdued amount of 2.3% in terms of units and 9.8% in terms of revenue. Blu-ray sales growth was stronger this week than DVD sales growth was, so much so that the overall Blu-ray share rose to 55%. That's an unsustainable level, but it is nice while it lasts. More...

DVD Sales: Hero Saves the Day

March 15, 2015

New releases earned the top three spots on the DVD sales chart this week. This includes Big Hero 6, which opened in first place with 963,000 units / $14.44. This isn't at the same level as Frozen opened with, but it is already the second best selling DVD in 2015. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hero is Bigger than Big

March 15, 2015

While Big Hero 6 wasn't the only new release on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, it might as well have been. Not only did it crush the competition for the week, it is already the best selling Blu-ray of 2015 by a massive margin. It sold 1.99 million units generating $37.59 million in the process. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 67%, which is stunning. This would be stunning for a visually intensive action film aimed at Fanboys. For a family film, it is hard to comprehend. More...

Contest: Easy Breezy: Winning Announcement

March 15, 2015

The winners of our Easy Breezy contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Chappie opening weekend were... More...

Weekend Estimates: Cinderella Comes to Ball with $70 Million or so

March 15, 2015

Disney’s live action remake of Cinderella dominates this weekend’s box office chart with an opening that the studio is projecting will hit $70 million. That’s probably a little on the high side, based on the numbers we’re seeing, but the film will certainly be in the high 60s, which will comfortably put it in the top 10 weekends in March. By way of comparison, it’s a long way short of the $116 million opening enjoying by Alice in Wonderland during 3D’s heyday back in 2010; it’s a bit back from Oz the Great and Powerful’s $79 million start in 2013; and almost exactly on par with the $69 million pulled in by Maleficent last year. Maleficent opened in late May last year, while the other two opened in March, during school Spring Break season. The numbers suggest that Disney will continue to recycle old material in new ways in years to come. Indeed, Spring 2016 will see not one, but two more franchise recycles, with The Jungle Book and Through the Looking Glass already slated for release. More...

Limited Releases: Following You Around

March 13, 2015

We have a mixed bag of limited releases this weekend. There are some good films, like It Follows, which has good reviews, but is the wrong genre for a limited release. However, there are a couple of limited releases could find an audience, like The Wrecking Crew and Seymour: An Introduction, but neither is expected to expand wide enough to find much mainstream success. More...

Contest: Wrestling with Your Prediction

March 13, 2015

Insurgent will dominate the box office next weekend, which makes it the clear choice for the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Insurgent.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown on Blu-ray Combo Pack. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize: some DVDs and Blu-rays that I have previously reviewed. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Cinderella (Ella Ella)

March 12, 2015

Last weekend was a disaster, the worst weekend at the box office so far this year. This weekend should bounce back with the opening of Cinderella. Its the first family film to come out since The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and its reviews are excellent. The other film opening wide this week is Run All Night, which is the latest Liam Neeson action film. There's not much more that needs to be said about that. This weekend last year was led by Mr. Peabody and Sherman with $21.81 million. Cinderella will crush that figure. In fact, Cinderella might make more than the top five made combined last year. More...

International Box Office: Jupiter Ascends to the Top

March 12, 2015

Jupiter Ascending returned to the international chart in first place with $25.3 million in 53 markets for a month-long total of $107.0 million internationally. This includes a first place, $23.08 million debut on 7,028 screens in China. If the film can have even middling legs in China, it will overtake its production budget on the global box office. However, it needed to make twice that to break even. More...

Per Theater Chart: Grey Skies Ahead

March 12, 2015

There was only one film to reach the $10,000 level on the per theater chart, Grey Gardens, which opened with $13,845 in its lone theater. This is surprising, as the Criterion Collection Blu-ray came out more than a year ago. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 10th, 2015

March 11, 2015

It's a short list this week for two reasons. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1's DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack came out on Friday and this scared away the competition. This is also partially due to the fact that I'm dealing with what is clearly an alien disease. Friends came over on Saturday and one of them must have been infectious, because on Sunday my mouth tasted like salt. I Googled reasons why that could happen (never a good idea) and it turns out it could be from an infection. I used some Listerine to get rid of whatever bacteria was causing it, but the salty taste overpowered the flavor of the Listerine. That tells you how strong the salty taste was. The next day, the salty taste wasn't as bad, but my throat was killing me. I figured it was Strep throat. The next day, the salty taste was gone, my throat felt fine, but my sinuses were so clogged that the sinus pressure was making my teeth hurt. The next day, the sinus pressure was down dramatically, but I had sneezing attacks ever few minutes, including while I was trying to sleep. Today, the sneezing isn't as bad, but I have a bad cough and it feels like I broke a rib while sneezing. Clearly this isn't a normal cold, but instead I believe I am the subject of an alien experiment. Regardless, the best new release of the week is The Legend of Korra: Book Four: Balance and the DVD or Blu-ray is absolutely worth picking up. However, the best release on this week's list is The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I finally got to the review of the Blu-ray Combo Pack and it is the Pick of the Week. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: The Legend of Korra: Book Four: Balance

March 11, 2015

The Legend of Korra ended late last year. The DVD or Blu-ray came out this week, but for the first time ever, my review is late. I know I've done late reviews in the past, but that's because the screener arrived late. But over the weekend, I developed the worst head cold I've ever had in my life, so it appears this review will be late, even though the screener arrived on time. Did the show go out on a high note? Or did it fizzle out in the end? More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Chappie Leads Worst Weekend of the Year

March 10, 2015

It was the worst weekend of the year so far with two of the three wide releases bombing compared to expectations. It was so bad, that the three wide releases combined were lower than the high end predictions for Chappie. Unfinished Business missed the Mendoza Line and will be quickly forgotten by the end of the month. Only The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has a future. Overall, the total box office was just under $90 million, which was 16% lower than last weekend. It was also 38% lower than the same weekend last year. The top five this year barely made more than the number one film from last year, 300: Rise of an Empire. The combined opening of the three new releases this year was dwarfed by the opening of Mr. Peabody and Sherman last year. Granted, 2015 is still ahead of 2014 in the year-to-date comparison, but the lead has shrunk to under 1% at $1.85 billion to $1.84 billion. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

March 9, 2015

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya earned 100% positive reviews and picked up an Oscar nomination. On the other hand, it only managed $1.5 million in limited release, so it wasn't a big enough film to win on Oscar night. Should the film earn a wider audience? Or is the movie aimed more at critics than the average moviegoer? More...

Home Market Numbers: New Releases Help Home Market Survive

March 8, 2015

There were a ton of new releases to reach the top twenty of the Blu-ray sales chart this week. Unfortunately, while Game of Thrones: Season Four, Birdman, and others did well, the overall box office wasn't particularly sharp. There were 1.1% fewer units sold when compared to last week, but because the number one release was a TV on DVD release, the revenue rose by 7.1%. Compared to last year, Blu-ray sales were up 24% in terms of units and 3.5% in terms of revenue. The overall Blu-ray share returned to normal at 43%. More...

DVD Sales: Eight is Enough for DVD

March 8, 2015

Every single film in the top five of the DVD sales chart were new releases, as were eight of the top ten films. Game of Thrones: Season Four earned first place with 241,000 units / $7.23 million during its first week of release. It is hard to be upset about that start. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Game of Thrones is Not Playing Around

March 8, 2015

The top four films on this week's Blu-ray sales chart and nine of the top twenty were new releases. The number one release was Game of Thrones: Season Four, which sold 286,000 units and generated $9.98 million in sales. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 54%, which is incredible compared to the average TV on DVD release. Then again, Game of Thrones isn't the average TV show. More...

Weekend Estimates: Chappie Tops Soft Weekend

March 8, 2015

A soft opening for Chappie and a weak returning field will combine to make this the worst weekend at the box office since the dark days of early December last year. Total spending will be around $90 million, down substantially from this time last year when 300: Rise of an Empire opened with $45 million. Chappie won’t manage a third of that, with a $13.3 million weekend projected by Sony as of Sunday morning. A slightly stronger $8.6 million opening from 1,573 theaters for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel won’t help the overall numbers much, but does add a bit of diversity to the top of the chart. More...

Limited Releases: No Doubt About This Week's Limited Releases

March 6, 2015

This week, the limited release report is practically the Video on Demand report, as nearly all limited releases are also playing on Video on Demand. The rest are all documentaries, which rarely earn any measure of mainstream success. Worse still, most of the non-documentaries are earning bad reviews, so their box office chances are even worse. Faults is probably the film with the best chance at finding an audience in theaters, but that's not saying much. These Final Hours is also earning great reviews, but it doesn't have the star power that Faults has. Of the documentaries, both An Honest Liar and Merchants of Doubt are worth checking out. More...

Poltergeist Trailer

March 6, 2015

Supernatural horror movie starring Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt, directed by Gil Kenan opens May 22... Full movie details... More...

Contest: Burnt to a Cinder

March 6, 2015

Cinderella will dominate the box office next weekend, while Run All Night will be an afterthought. Because of this, Cinderella is the only real choice for target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Cinderella.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize, led by FrackNation on DVD. So it would be a Frackenprize... get it? Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize, led by FrackNation on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Not the Best New Releases

March 5, 2015

March begins with three wide releases. Or to be more accurate, two wide releases and a semi-wide release. Unfortunately, both wide releases are being attacked by critics. Chappie is being called a smart idea with a dumb execution. Unfinished Business is earning some of the worst reviews of the year and its buzz is really not much better than its reviews. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is earning good reviews, but its theater count is low enough that it might not reach the top five. This weekend last year, there were two $100 million hits that debuted, 300: Rise of an Empire and Mr. Peabody and Sherman. None of the three wide releases this week will get to $100 million in total. In fact, all three films combined likely won't open with as much as 300: Rise of an Empire did. It looks like 2015 will lose in the year-over-year comparison in a significant way. More...

San Andreas Trailer

March 5, 2015

Disaster movie starring Dwayner Johnson and Carla Gugino opens May 29... Full movie details... More...

International Box Office: Shades Completes the Threepeat

March 5, 2015

For the third weekend in a row, Fifty Shades of Grey ruled the international box office, this time pulling in $36 million in 59 markets over the weekend for totals of $337.00 million internationally and $484.40 million worldwide. It will reached $500 million early this weekend [ Copy Ed: Just heard it crossed $500 million today with $352 million internationally and $150 million domestically for a worldwide total of $502 million]. The film opened in South Korea, but struggled earning fourth place with $1.25 million on 510 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.80 million. It might have struggled in South Korea, because by the time it opened there, the word-of-mouth has overtaken the hype. Its biggest single market is the U.K. where it has made $46.27 million, including $3.43 million on 545 screens this past weekend. More...

Contest: You Need to Focus to Win: Winning Announcement

March 4, 2015

The winners of our You Need to Focus to Win contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Focus opening weekend were... More...

Per Theater Chart: '71 is Number One

March 4, 2015

Only two films were in the $10,000 club at the box office this past weekend, and they were in a close race. '71 led the way with an average of $13,940 in four theaters. Meanwhile, The Hunting Ground was close behind with an average of $12,054 in two theaters. More...

Aloha Trailer

March 3, 2015

Romantic drama starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams, directed by Cameron Crowe opens May 29... Full movie details... More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 3rd, 2015

March 3, 2015

This is not a great week for new releases on the home market. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is by far the biggest new title and its DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack is going to sell a ton of units. However, its reviews are not up to the level required to make it our Pick of the Week. Conversely, Foxcatcher is award-worthy, but the DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack doesn't have enough extras to be a Pick of the Week. It seemed like every choice for Pick of the Week wasn't quite up to the level needed, so I'm going to go outside the box and pick To Write Love On Her Arms on DVD, which is a film I've been waiting to see for about three years. More...

Run All Night Trailer

March 3, 2015

Thriller starring Liam Neeson and Ed Harris, directed by Juame Collet-Serra opens March 13... Full movie details... More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office Loses Focus

March 3, 2015

As expected, Focus led the way at the box office, but sadly did so with a much lower opening weekend result than predicted. The rest of the top five were a little stronger than predicted each earning between $10 million and $12 million. That said, the overall box office was still weak, down 10% from last week to $107 million. It was also down 13% from last year. This caused 2015's lead over 2014 to drop. Granted, 2015 is still ahead of 2014 by $110 million or 6.8% at $1.74 billion to $1.63 billion, so it would take a while to lose that lead at this pace. More...

Do You Believe? Trailer

March 2, 2015

Faith-based drama with an ensemble cast led by Ted McGinley and Mira Sorvino, directed by Jonathan M. Gunn opens March 20... Full movie details... More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Captive

March 2, 2015

The Captive was co-written and directed by Atom Egoyan, who has made some amazing films over the years. It stars Ryan Reynolds, who showed he can really act with his performance in Buried. However, the film struggled in its opening weekend and failed to find an audience in theaters. Is it a worthy addition to the two men's filmography? Or is there a good reason audience stayed away? More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast

March 2, 2015

Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast is the latest release in the direct-to-DVD franchise, Tinker Bell. I've reviewed the past installments of the franchise and for the most part they are very good films. Can the latest installment live up to the rest of the franchise? Or are they running out of steam? More...

Home Market Numbers: Gone to the Dogs

March 1, 2015

The new releases were not good, for the most part. The overall Blu-ray sales chart rose from last week, up 9.9% in terms of units and 16% in terms of sales. On the other hand, compared to last year, Blu-ray sales were down 15% in terms of units and 14% in terms of revenue. On the positive side, the DVD sales were even worse, so the overall Blu-ray share jumped up to 51%. That's an impressive figure, but before getting too excited, you have to remember that the number one selling Blu-ray, 101 Damlatians, didn't have a DVD release this week. More...

DVD Sales: Alexander's Really Good, Wonderful, Amazing Start on DVD

March 1, 2015

There were a lot of new releases in the top 30 of the DVD sales chart. However, there were only two new releases in the top five. Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day earned first place, as it sold 345,000 units and generated $5.98 million during its first week of release. More...

Blu-ray Sales: That's a Lot of Spots

March 1, 2015

The Blu-ray sales chart was led by a very old new release. 101 Damlatians made its Blu-ray debut earning first place with 339,000 units / $7.69 million. This is a little lower than The Jungle Book opened with last year. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Birdman

March 1, 2015

Birdman was the big winner at the Oscars this year. It won four times, sharing top spot with The Grand Budapest Hotel; however, it won more prestigious awards, including Best Picture. Did it deserve to win? Or was it carried by hype? More...

Weekend Estimates: Focus Steals a Modest Win

March 1, 2015

Will Smith remains a top 20 force on The Numbers Bankability Index, thanks mainly to his leading turns in tentpoles and franchise films. His draw in smaller movies has always been less of a sure thing, even in his heyday. The performance of Focus this weekend is perhaps not as much of a surprise, with Warner Bros. projecting an OK $19.1 million debut for the film—not a terrible number for the time of year, and broadly in line with the openings for Seven Pounds ($14.8m), The Pursuit of Happyness ($26.5m) and Ali ($14.7m). More...

2015 Preview: March

March 1, 2015

February was strong thanks to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Fifty Shades of Grey, both of which beat expectations. This March could actually be even better, as there are three or four films that have a decent shot at earning $100 million or more. The top film will likely be Cinderella, which has a real shot at $200 million. Insurgent will almost assuredly get beyond the $100 million mark, while Get Hard, Home, and perhaps Chappie will also get to the century mark. Last March, there were four $100 million hits, led by Divergent, which pulled in $150 million. While this March should be better than February, I'm not sure it will be better than last March. I don't think March 2015 will be much worse than last year, but I think its percentage lead will be chipped away at by the end of the month. More...

The Numbers News - March 2015

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