The Numbers News - April 2015
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International Box Office: The Age of Ultron is Upon Us
April 30, 2015
The Avengers: Age of Ultron got its international run underway a week before its domestic debut and it was an explosive start, with the film earning $200.2 million in 44 markets. These 44 markets represent about 55% of the total international marketplace, while the $200.2 million represents a 44% increase over the first film's debut in those markets. The biggest weekend result came in the U.K. where it pulled in $27.84 million on 583 screens. In South Korea, the film's total opening was $27.97 million on 1,876 screens with $23.05 million of that coming over the weekend. Its U.K. opening was a record for the month of April and the biggest opening of the year so far, but it was less than 10% more than its predecessor's debut there. On the other hand, it more than doubled the original's debut in South Korea.
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Contest: Age of Prize, Part I: Winning Announcement
April 29, 2015
The winners of our Age of Prize, Part I contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Age of Adaline opening weekend were...
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Per Theater Chart: Calm Before the Storm
April 28, 2015
There were no films in the $10,000 club this week and no new releases really came close. The closest was Full Moon in Paris, which rose 58% from last weekend to $7,987, still in one theater. Felix et Meira was next with an average of $6,590 after expanding from one to four theaters. Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll was the biggest new release with an average of $6,402 in three theaters over the weekend for an average of $8,465 from Wednesday to Sunday.
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DVD and Blu-ray Releases for April 28th, 2015
April 28, 2015
This is usually a terrible time of year on the home market with the dredges of January and February coming out and precious little else. However, this week is actually really strong with not only one of the best films of the year, Paddington, as well as a number of summer shows coming out on TV on DVD. Unfortunately, it is also a really shallow week and with the May monthly preview due on Friday, I'm not even going to pretend it's a deep week and I'm ignoring anything below second-tier releases. As far as Pick of the Week is concerned, there are really only two contenders. The first is the aforementioned Paddington DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. The second is Mommy a Canadian movie coming out on DVD this week. Paddington is the Pick of the Week, but Mommy earns the rarely awarded Puck of the Week.
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Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Completes Sweep
April 27, 2015
As expected, Furious 7 completed the sweep winning every single weekend in April. Thankfully, every film in the top five matched or exceeded predictions, including The Age of Adaline, which had a solid third place opening. However, the overall box office still fell 18% from last weekend to just $97 million. This was also 16% lower than the same weekend last year. 2015 is still ahead of 2014 by a margin of 2.3% at $3.13 billion to $3.06 billion.
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Home Market Numbers: Home Market Crashes Back to Earth
April 27, 2015
Last week, the home market was boosted by Easter, but this week, the home market returned to Earth. It returned to Earth and crashed through the crust and halfway to the mantle. With no new releases in the top ten on the Blu-ray chart, while Interstellar had no legs on top. Overall, the Blu-ray market was down 66% in terms of units and 60% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. When compared to last year it was even worse down 66% in terms of both units and revenue. DVDs also fell, but were a lot stronger than Blu-ray were this week and the overall Blu-ray share slipped to 34%. That's really bad.
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DVD Sales: Interstellar Completes Another Orbit
April 27, 2015
There were no new releases to chart this week. However, there was a new film in top spot, or to be more accurate, a returning film in top spot. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies reclaimed first place with 109,000 units / $1.63 million for the week, giving it totals of 1.06 million units / $15.82 million after three weeks of release.
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Blu-ray Sales: A Most Lonely Week
April 27, 2015
There was only one new release to chart this week and it didn't reach the top five. It barely reached the top 20. This means the top of the Blu-ray sales chart is mostly the same as it was last week. Interstellar remained in first place with 120,000 units / $2.46 million for the week and 839,000 units / $16.68 million after two.
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Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Taken 3
April 27, 2015
Taken 3 is the second movie I've reviewed this weekend. The first was atrocious, but unfortunately, this one earned even worse reviews. Is it that bad? Is it simply a mindless action film that can take up two hours of your life?
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Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Boy Next Door
April 26, 2015
The Boy Next Door only cost $4 million to make and even if its P&A budget was just north of $20 million, it made enough worldwide to cover that. All it needs to do on the home market is cover any additional production and advertising costs to break even. However, it earned reviews that were just 11% positive. Is it really this bad? Or were the critics unfairly harsh on the movie?
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Weekend Estimates: One Last Furious Weekend
April 26, 2015
Furious 7 will once more hold on to the title of top movie at the box office this weekend, becoming the first film since Guardians of the Galaxy to do so for four weekends, and the first since The Hunger Games to be number one for four straight weeks. Furious 7 will also become this weekend only the third title, after Avatar and Titanic, to hit $1 billion in international box office earnings. Universal is estimating an international total of $1.001 billion, including $323 million in China—an all-time record for that territory.
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Featured TV on DVD Review: The Book of Negroes
April 25, 2015
The Book of Negroes is an award-winning Canadian novel by Lawrence Hill that came out in 2007. It was turned into a six-part TV mini-series, also called The Book of Negroes that aired in its native Canada early this year. The mini-series earned the best ratings for an original program in 25 years. So it was a popular mini-series, but is it also award-worthy like the book was? Are there enough extras on the three-disc DVD to be worth picking up?
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Limited Releases: Are There any Divine Limited Releases?
April 24, 2015
If there is a theme with this week's limited releases, it is actors making their directorial debuts. There are three such films, including The Water Diviner. None of these film are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews, but The Water Diviner comes the closest.
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Contest: Age of Prizes 2: Electric Boogaloo
April 23, 2015
Next week The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens wide and will very likely break records during the weekend. Since it will be so dominant at the box office, it is the only real 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 The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
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 The Marine 4: Moving Target on Blu-ray, as well as a 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 win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously-reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven’t won, or haven’t won recently, and they will also win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously-reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don’t delay!
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Weekend Predictions: Is the Age of Furious 7 Over?
April 23, 2015
The Age of Adaline is the only true wide release this week, and that could give it a boost at the box office. However, I seriously doubt that will give it a large enough boost to top Furious 7, which is looking to sweep the month of April. There is one other new release, Little Boy, that has a shot at the top ten. Finally, Ex Machina is expanding “nationwide.” I don't have a theater count for the film, but many think it will be truly wide, which would give it a shot at the top five. The Other Woman opened in first place this weekend last year, earning nearly $25 million. There’s no chance any film will match that figure this year. The top two films combined might not match that figure this year, so April will end on a losing note in the year-over-year comparison. That’s disappointing, but we will make up for the loss next week.
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International Box Office: Furious has Billion Dollar Run
April 22, 2015
Furious 7 again dominated the weekend international box office chart earning $166.9 million on 17,834 screens in 67 markets for totals of $857.86 million internationally and $1.152 billion worldwide. This is the first film from Universal to reach $1 billion during its initial run (Jurassic Park got there during its 3D re-release). After opening in China last Sunday, the film made $186.60 million for the week giving it an eight-day total of $250.02 million there. It got to that milestone faster than any film and it is just $70 million behind Age of Extinction in that market. This is simply a stunning result. On the other hand, the film only managed third place in Japan with $6.2 million.
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Contest: Unfriendly Wager: Winning Announcement
April 21, 2015
The winners of our Unfriendly Wager contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Unfriended opening weekend were...
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Per Theater Chart: Felix et Machina
April 21, 2015
Ex Machina remained in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $20,478 in 39 theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Felix et Meira, which earned $15,018 in its lone theater.
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Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office Falls, but Furious Still Fast
April 21, 2015
The top three films all missed expectations this past weekend, which suggests people are starting to become excited about The Avengers: Age of Ultron over anything in theaters at the moment. Furious 7 still won the race on the weekend chart and will top $300 million shortly. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2's and Unfriended's openings were fine, but nothing more. Overall, the box office fell 8.9% from last weekend down to $120 million. Compared to last year, the box office was 10% lower. Year-to-date, 2015 is still ahead of 2014 with the current margin being 2.3% at just under $3.00 billion to $2.93 billion.
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DVD and Blu-ray Releases for April 21st, 2015
April 20, 2015
It is another terrible week on the home market. There is only one big movie coming out this week, Taken 3, but its Tomatometer Score is in single digits. It is infinitely skippable. As for contenders for Pick of the Week, there are not a lot. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (DVD or Blu-ray) is the only real contender, while A Most Violent Year is on the list because the screener arrived late and it is the only other release that is an easy recommendation.
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Home Market Numbers: Interstellar Helps Home Market Reach for the Stars
April 20, 2015
The home market was good, for the most part, thanks in large part to Interstellar. The Blu-ray sales chart was mixed when compared to last week up 13% in terms of units, but down 9.7% in terms of revenue. It was much stronger when compared to last year with 21% more units sold and 16% higher revenue. DVDs were even stronger, on the other hand, so the overall Blu-ray share slipped to 42%.
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DVD Sales: Interstellar's Earthbound Opening
April 20, 2015
Interstellar was the top new release and the top selling DVD. However, its opening week numbers were decidedly not stellar. The film sold 291,000 units and generated $4.45 million in revenue. This is barely more than The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies managed during its second week of release.
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Blu-ray Sales: Easter Week was Out of This World
April 20, 2015
It was Easter the week the March 31st new releases came out and this had an effect with several, mostly family friendly films earning a boost on the Blu-ray sales chart. Even so, Interstellar opened in first place dominating the rest of the market. The film sold 732,000 units and generated $14.46 million in revenue, for an opening week Blu-ray share of 72%. Granted, this is a film that relies heavily on its special effects to draw in the audience, but that is still a shockingly high percentage.
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Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: A Most Violent Year
April 19, 2015
A Most Violent Year came out last Awards Season and earned some serious pre-release buzz. After all, it stars Jessica Chastain. She's only been acting four roughly five years since she made Jolene, but since then, five of her previous films have earned some measure of Awards Season Buzz. Unfortunately, nothing really came from that buzz and the film wasn't able to expand truly wide. Did it deserve better? Or is the term "Busted Oscar-bait" applicable?
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Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Tops $1 Billion Worldwide
April 19, 2015
Furious 7 continues its cruise into the record books this weekend with a third straight weekend at number one domestically, an international weekend estimated at $167.9 million (including $93.3 million in China to take it to $250 million there), and a worldwide total estimated at $1.153 billion as of the end of Sunday. It’s now the biggest film in Universal’s history, and their second after Jurassic Park to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The film’s 51% decline in its third weekend in the domestic market suggests it’s running out of steam and will probably end with around $330 million here. It still has one weekend to cash in though, before Avengers: Age of Ultron will start on its own march to $1 billion on May 1.
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Aloft Trailer
April 18, 2015
Drama starring Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy and Mélanie Laurent, directed by Claudia Llosa opens May 22... Full movie details...
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Limited Releases: Going Dark
April 17, 2015
There's a lot of films that might be opening in limited release this week, but many of them have not enough reviews to have a Tomatometer Score. (I'll be skipping most of those.) Worse still, many that do are earning terrible reviews. There are some that are worth watching, like Alex of Venice, Felix and Meira, and Tangerines. On the other hand, I wouldn't bet on any of them finding success at the box office.
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Contest: Age of Prizes, Part I
April 17, 2015
Next week The Age of Adaline is likely the only film opening truly wide. And the week after that, The Age of Ultron opens wide. ... That's a strange coincidence. Anyhoo... The Age of Adaline is the 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 The Age of Adaline.
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 consisting of previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
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 consisting of previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win a Frankenprize consisting of previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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Weekend Predictions: Will Furious be Friendly to the New Releases?
April 16, 2015
Furious 7 could be knocked out of top spot on the box office chart this weekend, as there are three wide releases coming out this week. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 appears to be the biggest and many think it will earn first place. However, its reviews are currently zero percent positive. Unfriended's reviews are still in the overall positive area, but I'm not sure how long that will last, as they've fallen quite a bit from earlier in the week. The only film with overwhelming positive reviews is Monkey Kingdom, which is opening in barely more than 2,000 theaters. This weekend last year, there were four wide releases and overall there were three films that earned $20 million or more. I think this weekend we could match that and that could give 2015 the victory in the year-over-year comparison. It could be close, on the other hand.
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International Box Office: Furious Eight... Hundred Million
April 16, 2015
Furious 7 remained just as dominant at the international box office this weekend as it did in its opening weekend earning $198.7 million in 66 markets for totals of $550.47 million internationally and $802.0 million worldwide. It became the first film in the franchise and just the 46th film overall to crack the $800 million market worldwide. This past weekend, the film earned first place in China with $63.24 million in just one day. The film opened on Sunday there, with a record opening day for that market, which was close to its opening day domestic box office. The film opened in first place in Russia with $15.86 million on 1,184 screens. At this pace, the film will top $1 billion over the weekend and I can't imagine the studio won't try to make an eighth installment.
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Contest: Long Time Coming: Winning Announcement
April 16, 2015
The winners of our Long Time Coming contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Longest Ride opening weekend were...
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Per Theater Chart: Machina Saves Box Office
April 15, 2015
Ex Machina's opening weekend was surprisingly potent earning an average of $59,316 in four theaters. This is the biggest per theater average for a film that opened in 2015. I was not expecting that. On the other hand, I was expecting Clouds of Sils Maria to do well, and it did, earning an average of $20,603 in three theaters. Furious 7 remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $14,815 in more than 4,000 theaters.
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DVD and Blu-ray Releases for April 14, 2015
April 14, 2015
It is a slow week on the home market. It is a really slow week on the home market. This should have helped me get caught up on all of the late screeners that arrived, but on Saturday I had a coughing fit and heard a loud crack in my ribs. It hurt so much that I couldn't even type. I'm feeling much better now. As for this week's releases, there are none that will likely be huge sellers, but The Babadook on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack is the best and the best-selling, at least according to Amazon.com. It is also the Pick of the Week.
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Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Races into Top Spot for the Year
April 14, 2015
It didn't take long for for Furious 7 to become the biggest hit of the year; in fact, it took just five days to top Cinderella. Over the weekend, it became the first film released in 2015 to reach the $200 million milestone and thanks to a better than expected hold, reached $250 million as well. Home finished well back in second place, while The Longest Ride managed third place. Overall, the box office fell 42% from last weekend down to $131 million, which is 6.3% lower than the same weekend last year. Furious 7 topped Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Rio 2 and the other films of 2014 had better depth giving 2014 the win. 2015 is still ahead in the year-to-date comparison, up 4.1% at $2.85 billion to $2.74 billion.
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Home Market Numbers: Numbers Bounce Back, but Can't Compete with Frozen
April 13, 2015
The Blu-ray sales chart nearly bounced back entirely up 51% in terms of units and 75% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. Having a trio of $100 million hits, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into the Woods, and Unbroken, enter the home market helps. The Blu-ray sales almost caught up to last year, with 11% fewer units sold, but 5.2% more revenue generated. Blu-rays were just a little stronger this week than DVD were and the overall Blu-ray rose a tiny bit to 45%.
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DVD Sales: New Releases were One-Two-Three on DVD
April 13, 2015
The DVD sales chart was top heavy with new releases. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies earned first place with 682,000 units / $10.21 million, which is about on par with expectations. The Trilogy box set landed in 11th place with 33,000 units / $1.19 million.
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Blu-ray Sales: Battle of the Five Releases
April 13, 2015
There were five or six new releases to reach the top twenty on the Blu-ray sales chart. Leading the way was The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies with 832,000 units / $23.28 million, giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 55%. This is a strong result, but not an unexpected one, as the film hits the right marks for strong sales on Blu-ray. It is a visually impressive film, it is a fantasy adventure film, and it is based on a popular franchise. The Battle of the Five Armies was also part of a franchise box set, which is the tenth best selling release of the week with 37,000 units / $1.87 million for a 53% opening week Blu-ray share. Technically these are two separate releases, but obviously they are connected enough to mention together.
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Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Easily Top Again, Passes $250 Million
April 12, 2015
With little in the way of direct competition, Furious 7 will maintain a comfortable lead at the box office this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. Universal is projecting a $60.6 million weekend, for a total of $252.5 million after 10 days in release. That will make the film the 9th-fastest to the $250 million mark (see current list here). With the film’s international box office total rushing to $548 million so far, it will have topped $800 million globally by the end of the weekend, moving it past Fifty Shades of Grey to become, by a healthy margin, the top-grossing movie worldwide in 2015.
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Limited Releases: Forecast is Cloudy
April 10, 2015
It is an excellent week for limited releases with two films earning stunning reviews and loud buzz: Clouds of Sils Maria and Ex Machina. I think the former has a better chance to expand significantly, but hopefully both will find audiences in theaters. There are also a number of other limited releases earning amazing reviews: About Elly, Black Souls, The Sisterhood of Night, etc. In fact, there are too many to think all of them will thrive.
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Contest: Unfriendly Wager
April 10, 2015
There are four releases next week that we thought were going to open wide, but that turns out not to be the case. Monkey Kingdom was always expected to open semi-wide, but now we have reports that Child 44 will only open in 550 theaters, more or less. This leaves a two-way race between Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Unfriended. Paul Blart could earn more in the long-run, but horror films tend to start faster. Therefore, Unfriended is the 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 Unfriended.
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 consisting of previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
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 consisting of previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.
Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win a Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. I'm going to do this with all contests from now on, to help spread out the winnings. Plus I still have hundreds of DVDs and Blu-rays that I simply don't have the storage for.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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Weekend Predictions: Longest Ride is a Long Shot for Top Spot
April 9, 2015
There's only one wide release this week, The Longest Ride, but it has an approximately zero percent chance of earning first place. Unless Furious 7 falls about 80% and The Longest Ride beats expectations, it will be no where near top spot. In fact, The Longest Ride likely won't be able to score second place, finishing behind Home. As for this weekend last year, there were three wide releases, led by Rio 2, which earned second place with $39.33 million. The Longest Ride might not make that much in total. On the other hand, the sophomore stint for Furious 7 will top the sophomore stint for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 2015 will be stronger on top, but that might not be enough to win in the year-over-year comparison.
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Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Wild
April 9, 2015
Wild is a drama based on a real life person that came out in December. This movie screams Oscar Bait. However, while its reviews were amazing, but it never really became a major player during Awards Season. It did pick up a couple of Oscar nominations, including one for Reese Witherspoon; however, it failed to live up to expectations. Is it busted Oscar-bait? Or should it really have performed better?
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International Box Office: Furious Accelerates Universal to $1 Billion
April 9, 2015
Furious 7 dominated the international chart with $245.05 million on 10,683 screens in 63 markets for a worldwide opening of $392.22 million. Unless the film has terrible legs, it should get to $1 billion. Speaking of $1 billion, Universal announced they reached $1 billion worldwide for the year in the earliest ever time for the studio. The previous record was May 31st, which was set in 2013. So not only did they beat the record, they crushed it. The film's best individual market was Mexico, where it earned $21.5 million on 685 screens. It also cracked $15 million in the U.K. ($18.7 million on 537); Germany ($15.9 million on 650). Additionally, the film topped $10 million in France ($11.4 million on 707); Brazil ($11.4 million on 551); Australia ($11.3 million on 255); Taiwan ($10.3 million on 80). This is an incredible run so far and could be a good omen for the upcoming summer blockbuster season.
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Contest: Think Faster: Winning Announcement
April 8, 2015
The winners of our Think Faster contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Furious 7 opening weekend were...
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Per Theater Chart: Furious Laps the Competition
April 7, 2015
The overall box office leader, Furious 7, was also the leader on the per theater chart earning an average of $36,763. That's the third best average for a 2015 release, with While We're Young still earning top spot on that chart. Speaking of While We're Young, it was the only other film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $14,226 in 34 theaters. Sometime this weekend, it will have reached its first major milestone.
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Weekend Wrap-Up: Seven Does Furious Business
April 7, 2015
As expected, Furious 7 easily won the race for top spot on the weekend box office chart. However, it did so in an unexpectedly robust way, destroying a number of records along the way. This helped the overall box office grow 49% from last weekend to $224 million. More importantly, the overall box office was 34% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2015 is now 3.1% above 2014's pace at $2.64 billion to $2.56 billion. Assuming Furious 7 has any legs at all, this lead will continue to grow next weekend.
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Home Market Numbers: Exodus Rules Over a Horrendous Home Market
April 7, 2015
The home market was a disaster this week. There's really no way around that fact. Exodus: Gods and Kings and the rest of the new releases led the way, but it wasn't nearly as good as last week's number one film, Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, so that led to declines of 8.8% in terms of units and 6.7% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. Compared to last year, Blu-ray sales were down 74% in terms of units and 73% in terms of revenue. Granted, this week last year, Frozen was released, so that explains the absolute destruction in the year-over-year comparison. There is some good news, sort of. DVD sales were even worse in the week-over-week comparison, so the overall Blu-ray share rose to 44%.
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DVD Sales: Annie vs. Kings
April 7, 2015
Just as it was on the Blu-ray Sales Chart, there was a tight race for top spot in the DVD sales chart, only the combatants weren't entirely the same. Exodus: Gods and Kings topped Annie in terms of units at 226,000 units to 202,000 units, but the pair finished in the opposite order in terms of revenue with $3.59 million to $3.38 million.
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Blu-ray Sales: Penguins Become King in Tight Race
April 7, 2015
New releases earned the top three spots on the Blu-ray Sales Chart this week, including a tight race for top spot. Penguins of Madagascar earned first place over Exodus: Gods and Kings in terms of units, 269,000 vs 257,000. However, in terms of revenue, the pair finished in the reverse order at $5.91 million to $5.38 million. As far the their opening week Blu-ray shares are concerned, Penguins managed a very strong 58%, while Exodus managed a very healthy 54%
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DVD and Blu-ray Releases for April 7th, 2015
April 6, 2015
It is a slow week on the home market, because it is the Tuesday after Easter. Easter tends to be a busy weekend for DVDs and Blu-rays, mostly family-friendly films. It is also post-Christmas on the home market. The final big releases from the holiday season have mostly come out and there are only a few limited release stragglers to deal with, but for the most part we are entering the summer dead zone on the home market. That doesn't mean there are no releases worth picking up. In fact, there are a few contenders for Pick of the Week, led by A Most Violent Year (Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack). Meanwhile, we have a Puck of the Week, The Book of Negroes on DVD, for the best Canadian release of the week.
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Featured TV on DVD Review: Macgyver: The Complete Collection
April 6, 2015
This week, there are a number of TV on DVD Complete Series Megasets coming out from Paramount. This includes Frasier, Matlock, The Brady Bunch, as well as the one I'm reviewing this week, MacGyver.
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Featured DVD Review: Liars, Fires, and Bears
April 5, 2015
One of the best parts of my job is being able to give smaller films a boost in publicity. They don't get much smaller than Liars, Fires, and Bears. There's only one review on Rotten Tomatoes and it is a broken link. Does this film deserve to be seen by more? Or is it being ignored for good reasons?
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Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Blasts Off with $143.6 Million Weekend
April 5, 2015
After a massive $67.3 million on Friday, all eyes were on a $150 million weekend for Furious 7. It doesn’t look as though that is to be, with Universal projecting a weekend mark of $143,623,480 on Sunday morning. That’s the biggest April weekend of all time, and the biggest weekend outside the Summer or Thanksgiving holidays. It’s also the ninth-biggest weekend of all time, and, needless to say, franchise record. (Click here for a full list of records.) The studio will be delighted at its biggest weekend ever, and the industry as a whole will be looking forward to a lucrative Summer season with some optimism.
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Furious 7’s Record-Breaking Box Office
April 5, 2015
Here’s a round-up of the records broken by Furious 7 this weekend:
- Biggest weekend in April ever
- Biggest, 2nd-biggest and 8th-biggest days in April
- Biggest weekend of 2015 to date and biggest opening weekend since The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in November, 2013.
- 9th-biggest weekend of all time
- 9th-biggest opening weekend of all time
- 9th-best Friday at the box office
- 9th-fastest film to $100 million in total box office (to be confirmed)
- 11th-biggest single day of all time
- Equal 55th-widest opening
- Full franchise history
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Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
April 5, 2015
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is the third film, and likely final film, in the Night at the Museum franchise. The previous two films were very profitable, but the films have never really won over critics. This film had the weakest run at the box office, but is it also the weakest in terms of quality?
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Furious 7 Opens with Record $67.3 Million on Friday
April 4, 2015
Riding a wave of solid reviews and audience approval, Universal will report an estimated $67.3 million at the box office on Friday for Furious 7, based on early tallies. That includes $15.8 million from early shows on Thursday evening, making Friday itself a $50 million day for the film. If the $67.3 million figure holds, it will be the 11th-biggest day reported by a studio, and land just marginally ahead of The Hunger Games’ $67.26 million as the biggest day outside of the Summer and Thanksgiving holidays.
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Limited Releases: Any Gold to be Found?
April 3, 2015
It is a busy week, but not a good week for limited releases. The two biggest releases, Effie Gray and Woman in Gold, are both earning weak reviews. The film on this list I'm most interested in seeing is Cheatin'. I own a number of Bill Plympton movies / shorts and this one looks like it is worth adding to my collection.
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Contest: Long Time Coming
April 3, 2015
Next week there is only one wide release, The Longest Ride, but there's a good chance it will be stuck in second place behind Furious 7. Because there is only one wide release, there is only only one 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 The Longest Ride.
Weekend Predictions: Lucky Number Seven
April 3, 2015
There's only one wide release this week, but it is expected to be a record-breaking debut. Furious 7 is widely expected to become the first film of 2015 to crack $100 million during its opening weekend. This would also give it the record for biggest April opening, topping the current record-owner, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Additionally, Home should do well in a counter-programming role and that will also help the box office. This weekend last year was the weekend The Winter Soldier set the April record. Since nearly everyone thinks that record will fall and this year is expected to have better depth, 2015 should win in the year-over-year comparison with relative ease.
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International Box Office: Cinderella Swaps Spots with Insurgent
April 2, 2015
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Cinderella returned to first place after a week in second. It did so with $40.0 million in 53 markets for totals of $187.7 million internationally and $337.3 million worldwide. The film opened in a number of major markets, including the U.K., where it earned first place with $5.65 million in 554 theaters. The film took $3.8 million in France and $3.7 million in Australia, while Brazil was close behind with $3.4 million. The film's debut in Spain wasn't as strong at $2.1 million, but that was still the best result of the weekend and the third best opening of the year. Meanwhile in China, the film added $12.33 million over the full week for a total of $65.92 million after three. At this pace, the film will have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which will be enough to cover its entire production budget and perhaps all of its P&A budget.
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Contest: Hard Target, Easy Contest: Winning Announcement
April 1, 2015
The winners of our Hard Target, Easy Contest contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Get Hard opening weekend were...
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Per Theater Chart: Young and Healthy
April 1, 2015
While We're Young has set a new record for 2015 earning the best per theater average for a film that opened in 2015 with an average of $56,922 in four theaters. The most negative thing you can say about this result was that it wasn't that unexpected, as several Noah Baumbach films have earned similar opening weekend per theaters averages. Up next was the first of two wide releases in the $10,000 club, Home, with an average of $14,053. The Salt of the Earth earned an average of $11,234 in four theaters. This is excellent for a documentary. The final film in the $10,000 club was the second wide release on this week's list, Get Hard, which pulled in an average of $10,647.
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2015 Preview: April
April 1, 2015
March ended on a good note and helped 2015 maintain its lead over 2014 thanks to a trio of $100 million movies: Cinderella, Insurgent, and Home. April isn't as strong as far as depth goes, as only Furious 7 is expected to come close to $100 million at the box office. On the positive side, it could earn $100 million during its opening weekend, becoming the fastest starting film of the year, so far. On the negative side, it is expected to earn more than double the rest of the films' combined box office totals. Even worse, last April, there were two $100 million hits, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as two others that came close. There's no way April 2015 is going to live up to April 2014. I just hope the collapse isn't so bad that 2015 loses its lead over 2014 completely.
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