The Numbers News - April 2016

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Friday Estimates: New Releases are as Quiet as a Purr

April 30, 2016

The Jungle Book easily remained in first place on Friday’s box office chart, earning $10.25 million. That is down just 38% from last Friday and if the weekend as the same internal multiplier as last time, then we are looking at a $49 million weekend haul. That’s a lot more than we predicted and would push the film’s running tally well over $250 million. However, this seems overly bullish—I would expect a weekend total of a few million less. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Keanu Mews - Update

April 29, 2016

Keanu earned $560,000 during its previews last night. This is hardly a roar, but it isn't bad either. Barbershop: The Next Cut earned $735,000 two weeks ago and if the two films have similar day-to-day growth, then Keanu will open with $15 million during the weekend. This is exactly in line with predictions and should be enough to make the studio happy. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: To Infinity, and Beyond

April 29, 2016

The list of limited releases isn't very long, but there are several films that look interesting. Of these, The Man Who Knew Infinity is the film I want to see the most. The reviews are not great, but I'm a math nerd. More...

Contest: Boy Oh Boy

April 29, 2016

Next weekend is the start of summer and Captain America: Civil War has the weekend all to itself. With the hype and the reviews, it should have no trouble becoming the biggest hit of the year so far. More importantly, 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 Captain America: Civil War.

The prize this week is The Boy, which just hit Video on Demand this past Tuesday and hit DVD and Blu-ray on the tenth of May.

Greta (Lauren Cohan) is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village. She soon discovers that the family’s 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that they care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta’s worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.

(On a side note, the screener for The Boy has arrived, but I won't be getting to that review this weekend, because the Monthly Preview is due on Sunday.)

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 Boy on 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 copy of The Boy on Blu-ray. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will win the final copy of The Boy on Blu-ray. a Frankenprize consisting of two previously reviewed movies, most likely.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Kitten vs. Jungle Cat

April 28, 2016

There are three wide releases coming out this week, but none of them look like they will challenge The Jungle Book for top spot. In fact, it looks like all three combined won't come close to The Jungle Book weekend haul. Keanu is the best of the new releases and it has a shot at becoming a midlevel hit. Mother's Day could have been a midlevel hit as counter-programming, especially with Mother's Day just over a week away. However, early reviews are hurting its chances with moviegoers. Finally there's Ratchet and Clank, which is one of those animated movies that feels like it should have gone Direct-to-Video. As for this weekend last year... this weekend last year was the first weekend of May, so year-over-year comparison has to deal with The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Obviously 2016 is going to get crushed this weekend. It should bounce back next weekend. More...

International Box Office: Jungle Book Laps the Competition with $96.0 million

April 27, 2016

The Jungle Book earned nearly three times as much money as its nearest competition with $96.0 million in 53 markets for totals of $337.0 million internationally and $529.2 million worldwide. More impressively, it did this with no major market openings this past weekend. As for individual markets, the film became the biggest Hollywood film in India earning $28.8 million after three weeks of release. The previous record holder was Furious 7 at $23.4 million. The film's biggest weekend haul came from China, where it made $29.78 million over the weekend for a total of $99.03 million after just 11 days of release. More...

Contest: Freeze Out: Winning Announcement

April 27, 2016

The winners of our Freeze Out contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Huntsman: Winter's War opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: The Jungle Book Meddles with the Limited Releases

April 26, 2016

It wasn't a great week for new limited releases, which left a holdover / wide release on top of the theater average chart. The Jungle Book led the way with an average of $15,278. The only other film in the $10,000 was The Meddler, which opened with an average of $14,256 in four theaters. More...

Home Market Releases for April 26th, 2016

April 26, 2016

We are in Q2, which is historically the slowest time of the year on the home market. The last of the monster Christmas hits were released weeks ago and none of the yearly year hits have come out yet. Ironically, the biggest release of the week is actually a Christmas film, Krampus, and its Blu-ray Combo Pack is a contender for Pick of the Week. (It is admittedly a slow week.) Its two biggest competitors are both foreign-language films: Phoenix: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Son of Saul - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray. Son of Saul won the Oscar this year for Best Foreign-Language Film, but I'm going with Phoenix instead. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Jungle Sets 2016 Sophomore Record with $61.54 Million

April 26, 2016

Both The Jungle Book and The Huntsman: Winter's War were a little weaker than predicted over the weekend. The Jungle Book was still able to earn the biggest sophomore weekend of 2016 at $61.54 million. For The Huntsman: Winter's War, it was a disappointing $19.45 million. Overall, the box office fell 28% to $128 million. However, this was still 32% more than the same weekend last year. Unfortunately, next weekend is going to be damn awful in the year-over-year comparison, because of a misalignment in the weekend. Year-to-date, 2016 has earned $3.37 million, putting it ahead of last year's pace by 8.5% or $260 million. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Krampus

April 25, 2016

Krampus, the mythological being, is suddenly one of the hottest movie monsters around. While searching for the the Amazon link to this movie, I found six movies that either had Krampus in the name, or Krampus was on the cover of the DVD / Blu-ray. However, of these, only Krampus earned a wide box office release and it became a low-budget hit earning more during its opening weekend than it cost to make. Did it deserve this success? Will it thrive on the home market, even though it is a long way from Christmas? More...

Weekend Estimates: Jungle Book Brushes Off Huntsman

April 24, 2016

What in theory should have been a battle at the box office has turned into a rout this weekend, with The Jungle Book set to earn $60 million, according to Disney’s Sunday morning estimate, and The Huntsman: Winter’s War limping into second place with $20.1 million, per Universal. More...

Friday Estimates: Jungle Preys on the Huntsman with a $16.38 Million Friday

April 23, 2016

The Jungle Book remained the top draw on Friday with $16.38 million, which was more than twice as much as The Huntsman: Winter’s War opened with. With its reviews and family-friendly nature, Saturday will be even better for Jungle Book, and it should top $60 million over the weekend. That’s a great sophomore weekend, even if it is below our prediction of $65 million. It also won’t quite take the film past $200 million by the end of the weekend, but it will be close enough that Disney will be able to celebrate that milestone shortly. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Huntsman Hits $1 Million Mark during Previews

April 22, 2016

The Huntsman: Winter's War earned $1 million during its previews last night. This is not a bad result for this time of year, but it is a mere fraction of the $4.2 million The Jungle Book brought in last week. Assuming these numbers are correct, the film is on pace to earn $20 million to $25 million during its opening weekend. However, I think the lower end is more likely, because its reviews are going to hurt the word-of-mouth. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Plenty of Tales that Need to be Told

April 22, 2016

There are several limited releases on this week's list, including three that have a shot at earning a spot in the top ten. However, the best-reviewed releases are among the smaller releases: Tale of Tales and The Meddler included. However, if you don't want to go out, Holidays is good bet on Video on Demand. More...

Contest: Good Kitty

April 22, 2016

There are three wide releases coming out next week: Keanu, Mother's Day, and Ratchet and Clank. I'm not 100% sure which movie will come out on top, but I really, really hope its Keanu. So I'm going to pick it as 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 Keanu.

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 two previously reviewed movies, maybe. 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 two previously reviewed movies, potentially. 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 movies, most likely.

The Twist for the month of April is April Fools. One winner will get what I consider the ultimate April Fools prize... two previously reviewed movies... on HD-DVD!!! Yes, one winner will get two movies on a dead format. (Who knows... maybe they will be collector's items one day.)

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Jason Bourne Trailer

April 21, 2016

Thriller starring Matt Damon and Tommy Lee Jones, directed by Paul Greengrass, opens July 29 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Jungle Leave Huntsman Out in the Cold?

April 21, 2016

It's a bad week for new releases, as The Jungle Book is widely expected to dominate the box office. The only truly wide release is The Huntsman: Winter's War, but its reviews are simply terrible. There are also three films opening in select theaters and one of them should earn a spot in the top ten. They only need a little more than $1 million to do so. This weekend last year, the only true wide release was The Age of Adaline, which opened with $13 million on its way to becoming a midlevel hit. The Huntsman could double that opening, but it won't have the same legs. More...

International Box Office: Jungle Book Mauls the Competition with $136.1 million

April 21, 2016

The Jungle Book roared to first place with $136.1 million in 49 markets for very early totals of $187.4 million internationally and $290.7 million worldwide. This includes a first-place, $49.26 million opening in China. It also dominated the chart in the U.K. with $14.80 million in 594 theaters. It also opened in first place in France ($7,99 million on 653 screens) and Germany ($5.13 million on 934). These openings are great, but not as great as its domestic debut. Then again, its domestic debut was stunning. More...

Contest: Animal Instinct: Winning Announcement

April 20, 2016

The winners of our Animal Instinct contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Jungle Book opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: Green Room Pulls in the Green with an average of $29,328

April 20, 2016

Green Room led the way with an average of $29,328 in three theaters. This is yet another success for A24 and whoever is in charge of acquisitions over there needs to get a raise. The overall number one film, The Jungle Book was next with an average of $25,636. Sing Street was well back with an average of $12,715 in five theaters. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt, which was down a mere 18% to $10,814 in its lone theater. More...

Home Market Releases for April 19th, 2016

April 19, 2016

The biggest release on this week's list is The Revenant. There are no other releases that come close to that film's box office run and / or Awards Season run. However, personally I think it is well overrated and would be considered a merely good film if it weren't for its reputation for being a difficult shoot. As for the Pick of the Week, there were only a couple of contenders. In the end, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead on Blu-ray was the clear choice. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Jungle is King of the Box Office pulling in $103.26 million

April 18, 2016

Wow. As expected, The Jungle Book easily won first place on the box office chart, but did so with a much, much better than anticipated result of $103.26 million during its opening weekend. This is more than the rest of the box office earned. Barbershop: The Next Cut did well as counter-programming earning $20.24 million. On the other hand, Criminal missed the top five and barely managed to avoid the Mendoza Line. The overall box office was $176 million, which was 68% more than last weekend and 47% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2016 has earned $3.19 billion at the box office, which is 9.2% / $270 million more than last year's pace. I didn't think 2016 had a chance to top 2015, but I'm really getting optimistic now. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead

April 18, 2016

Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead is a documentary about the rise and fall of National Lampoon, which at one time was the most influential force in American comedy. If you are old enough to remember National Lampoon at its peak, will this film tell you something new? If you only know the label from the terrible films that have come out over the last decade or so, will this documentary give you more respect for the once-giant force in comedy? More...

Weekend Estimates: Jungle Book projected to top $100 million

April 17, 2016

2016 is shaping up to be just about the perfect year on all fronts for Disney. They started the year with Star Wars at the top of the box office; Zootopia far out-performed expectations; Captain America: Civil War, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Finding Dory position them perfectly for the Summer; and Doctor Strange and Star Wars: Rogue One are two of the most talked about movies coming at the end of the year. (Oh, and they’re slipping a long-awaited Steven Spielberg family-friendly film in the middle of all that.)

All-in-all, this could be a year of studio dominance the likes of which we haven’t seen since, well, last year, when Universal could do no wrong. Their incredible year really took flight at the beginning of April, when Furious 7 posted a monthly record $147 million opening weekend. The Jungle Book won’t hit those heights, but it will most likely be the second film to top $100 million in April, with Disney projecting a weekend of $103.57 million as of Sunday morning. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Veep: Season 4

April 17, 2016

Veep stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who at the beginning of the show, was the Vice President of the United States. Things have changed. So far during the show's four-year run, it has earned excellent reviews and this past year was one of the biggest winners at the Emmys. Does it deserve this praise? Or am I in the minority here? More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Silicon Valley: Season 2

April 16, 2016

Silicon Valley started in 2014 with an eight-episode first season. I didn't get a chance to review the first season, but I did see a few of the episodes and liked what I saw. Does it get better in season two? And is the DVD or Blu-ray worth picking up? More...

Friday Estimates: Jungle Roars to the Top

April 16, 2016

Friday's box office had some good news, some bad news, and some ugly news. The Jungle Book opened with an amazing $32.41 million on Friday. Given its family-friendly target demographic and its 95% positive reviews, it should have a great internal multiplier. For example, Cinderella opened with $23.00 million during its opening day on the way to an opening weekend of $67.88 million. If The Jungle Book has the same internal multiplier, it will earn $96 million over the weekend. However, films that open bigger have a harder time maintaining those numbers. An opening weekend of $90 million is possible, but I think it will fall just short of that mark. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Jungle Made a Lot of Noise Last Night

April 15, 2016

The Jungle Book has stellar previews pulling in $4.2 million in Thursday. That's not as big as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or Deadpool made earlier this year. However, it is more than the $2.3 million Cinderella earned last year. This bodes well for its weekend run. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Singing Praises

April 15, 2016

There are not a lot of new releases on this week's list, but four of the seven of of them are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Additionally, one of the other three, Fan, doesn't have enough reviews for a Tomatometer Score, but the first two reviews are positive. Of the best films, Sing Street is the one I expect to do the best at the box office. More...

Contest: Freeze Out

April 15, 2016

The Huntsman: Winter's War is the only truly wide release coming out next weekend, so 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 Huntsman: Winter's War.

The Twist for the month of April is April Fools. One winner will get Me...Jane...and More Stories about Girl Power on DVD, plus another DVD aimed at a similar age group. One other will receive two randomly selected movies. The third will get whatever I put in the box marked "Misc." I'm not even going to look before I pull something out.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Welcome to the Jungle

April 15, 2016

Hollywood's attempt to redefine the start of summer as "some time in April" continue this week with the release of The Jungle Book. This film is expected to dominate the box office this weekend and possibly next weekend as well. Barbershop: The Next Cut is also expected to do well, perhaps earning the biggest opening in the franchise, not taking into account inflation. Finally there's Criminal, which should just be happy with a spot in the top five. This weekend last year, Furious 7 led the way, but Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Unfriended were close behind. Fortunately, it looks like The Jungle Book will earn more than those three made combined. 2016 should have a good week on the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Batman v Superman Maintains First Place with $31.92 million

April 15, 2016

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earned first place with $31.92 million in 67 theaters for totals of $486.8 million internationally and $783.4 million worldwide. At this pace, the film will hit $800 million early this weekend, but it looks like $900 million might be out of reach. This is bad news for the studio, as the film reportedly needed to hit $1 billion to break even. On other other hand, if the other films in the D.C. Extended Universe are good, then each time one of them comes out, BvS will gets a small boost on the home market. Maybe that will be enough to break even eventually. More...

Contest: Don't Boss Me Around: Winning Announcement

April 14, 2016

The winners of our Don't Boss Me Around contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Boss opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: Vita Activa has a Spirited Opening with $13,244 / $18,468

April 14, 2016

Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt was the only film in the $10,000 club with an opening of $13,244 over the weekend in one theater. From Wednesday through Sunday, the film pulled in $18,468. More...

Home Market Releases for April 12th, 2016

April 13, 2016

It is a very slow week on the home market. The only first-run release is The Forest, which earned a single-digit Tomatometer Score. The best-selling release of the week is Justice League vs. Teen Titans which continues to prove animated D.C. is better than live-action D.C. As far as Pick of the Week contenders are concerned, there are a few releases that interest me, including Suspicion on Blu-ray. However, I went with The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun on Blu-ray. I will admit it dances deep into the Style over Substance territory, but it's a style I have really got into. More...

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Trailer

April 12, 2016

Magical adventure starring Eddie Redmayne, directed by David Yates, opens November 18 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Bossing the Competition Around

April 12, 2016

The Boss was a little better than anticipated and that helped it overtake Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice during its opening weekend. The fact that BvS couldn't get first place three weekends in a row despite the lack of top-tier competition is really bad news. It's not the only film struggling at the box office, as Hardcore Henry missed the Mendoza Line during its opening. The overall box office fell 20% from last weekend to $105 million. It was also down 20% from the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2016 has pulled in $2.99 billion, but its lead over 2015 has shrunk to 8.0% or $220 million. That's still a good figure, one that should grow next weekend when The Jungle Book opens. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun

April 11, 2016

The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun is a French movie with an annoyingly long name. The film earned excellent reviews, but it debuted on Video on Demand, so it bombed in theaters. Additionally, while the Critics gave the film an 80% rating, moviegoers only gave it a 38% rating. Is this something that will appeal to critics, but not the average viewer? More...

Weekend Estimates: Boss tied at the top with Batman v Superman

April 10, 2016

Critics have not been kind to The Boss, and audiences are split 50–50 between liking it and hating it, but it will still post a respectable $23.48 million opening, according to Universal’s Sunday projection. Among recent Melissa McCarthy outings, that’s a little ahead of Tammy ($21.6 million on opening weekend), and a little behind Spy! ($29.1 million). Of more immediate interest, it’s almost exactly tied with Batman v Superman at the top of the chart. More...

Friday Estimates: The Boss Opens in First with $8.08 million, but is a Demotion Coming?

April 9, 2016

As anticipated, The Boss earned first place on Friday earning $8.08 million to push Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice into second place, for now. That won’t last, probably. Bad reviews won't help its legs, but it is aiming at more mature women, which is a positive. Assuming those two things balance out, more or less, The Boss should earn $21 million to $22 million over the weekend. More...

Thursday Night Previews: The Boss, Henry Don't Have Hardcore Starts

April 8, 2016

The Boss pulled in $985,000 during its previews last night. This is below the $1.3 million earned by Tammy in 2014 and a little lower than the $1.08 million My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 opened with a few weeks ago. The all three films earned similar reviews. This isn't terrible, but it does make matching our predictions harder. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Getting Demolished

April 8, 2016

It's not a good week for limited releases. Not only is it a short list this week, but none of them look like they will be a hit at the box office. Demolition is the widest release of the week, but it is too wide for a limited release. The Invitation is earning amazing reviews, but it is also playing on Video on Demand. Neon Bull is earning even better reviews, but it is a foreign-language film, so that limits its chances. The rest of the films are not earning strong enough reviews to suggest they will do well in limited release. More...

Contest: Animal Instinct

April 8, 2016

The Jungle Book opens wide next weekend and while it isn't the only wide release of the week, it is the only one with a shot at first place at the box office. Because of that, 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 Jungle Book.

The Twist for the month of April is April Fools. Two of the winners will receive two movies, the other will be the April Fool and will get a couple of exercise videos. I reviewed more of those than I remember.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Getting Bossy

April 7, 2016

There's some good news and some bad news with regards to the two new releases coming out this week. On the positive side, the competition is a lot weaker than it should be. On the negative side, so are the reviews. The Boss's reviews are weaker than Tammy's are. Additionally, Hardcore Henry's reviews went from more than 80% positive to less than 50% positive and it looks like it will continue to drop. It is playing in a lot more theaters than anticipated, so that's good news. This weekend last year, Furious 7 led the way with nearly $60 million. That's not much less than the top five will earn this weekend. 2016 will lose in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Star Wars: Rogue One Teaser Trailer

April 7, 2016

Sci-fi adventure starring Felicity Jones, directed by Gareth Edwards, opens December 16 ... Full Movie Details.

A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans. More...

International Box Office: Batman v Superman Collapses to Just $85.1 million

April 7, 2016

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice remained in first place on the international chart, but it did so with just $85.1 million in 67 markets for totals of $421.4 million internationally and $681.8 million worldwide. The film fell 77% in China to just $12.86 million for a total of $85.68 million after two weeks of release. It might fizzle out before it gets to $100 million in that market. You have to assume the studio was looking forward to twice that figure there. It fell 68% in the U.K. to $6.97 million in 612 theaters over the weekend for a ten-day total of $41.59 million. On the other hand, it held on very well in Brazil down just 39% to $6.44 million on 893 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $20.88 million. More...

Contest: Look Alive: Winning Announcement

April 6, 2016

The winners of our Look Alive contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for God's Not Dead 2 opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: Miles Opens Ahead of the Competition with $28,633

April 6, 2016

Miles Ahead led the way on the theater average chart with $28,633 in four theaters. Vaxxed: From Cover Up to Catastrophe was right behind with $28,339 in one theater. As someone who doesn't want to see measles make a comeback, this is a scary result. Everybody Wants Some earned an average of $16,440 in 19 theaters over the weekend after opening in five theaters on Wednesday. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $12,062. Saturday's Warrior and Chongqing Hot Pot had very close averages at $10,671 and $10,098 respectively. More...

Home Market Releases for April 5th, 2016

April 5, 2016

Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits the home market this week. Needless to say, there are very few other new releases that are tempted to compete with the highest grossing domestic hit of all time. The only other release that is a contender for Pick of the Week is Casual: Season One on DVD. I'm still waiting for the screener for that show, so The Force Awakens is the clear winner of Pick of the Week. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Batman v Superman Pulls a Wolverine plummeting 69% to $51.35

April 5, 2016

As anticipated, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earned first place over the weekend. Unfortunately, it had the worst sophomore stint decline of any major super hero movie, plummeting to just $51.34 million. God's Not Dead 2 only managed fourth place over the weekend with $7.62 million,which is a worse opening than the original managed. Overall, the box office fell 48% from last weekend, pulling in $132 million. The decline from last year was almost as big at 41%; however, there was a misalignment in the Easter holiday and Easter 2016 out-grossed Easter 2015 by 13%. I'm going to call that a victory. Year-to-date, 2016 still leads 2015 by a significant margin at $2.85 billion to $2.52 billion. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

April 4, 2016

After ranking Star Wars: The Force Awakens for those who still haven't seen it, we can do a full featured review. The film smashed box office records here and earned 92% positive reviews. Is it as good as its box office / Tomatometer Score? Or did people just get caught up in the hype? More...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - A Spoiler-Free, and Detail-Free, Review

April 3, 2016

Despite what the box office numbers would indicate, there are some people who have never seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. [Copy Ed: Some of us have never seen any Star Wars movie]. Because of that, we are going to have two reviews. The first is going to contain absolutely no spoilers... okay, just one spoiler. The big boat sinks in the end. ... On the one hand, I feel the need to apologize for that joke. On the other hand, I will never not find that joke funny. So how do you do a review without a single spoiler? Simple, nothing but lists. I will rank The Force Awakens in a trio of lists. How does this film compare to others in the Star Wars Franchise? How does it compare to the biggest hits of 2015? And finally, how does it compare to the biggest all-time hits? More...

Weekend Estimates: Batman v Superman down 68% in second weekend

April 3, 2016

Last weekend, Batman v Superman posted the 7th-biggest opening weekend of all time. This weekend, if Sunday’s estimate proves to be accurate, it will record the 27th-biggest 2nd weekend. That stat tells you most of what you need to know about the film’s box office performance: it hit big at the beginning, but is proving to have very little staying power. Warner Bros.’ Sunday morning projection for the weekend is $52.385 million, down 68% from last weekend, for a total of $261.5 million to date. With $419.8 million overseas so far, the film is well on its way to $700 million worldwide, and should make about $900 million in total. That’s certainly short of what the studio was hoping for—the consensus was that the film needed $1 billion globally to make a profit—but surely enough to keep their plans for the franchise on track for now. More...

Friday Estimates: BvS Sinks 81% Friday over Friday to $15.35 million

April 2, 2016

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is officially in trouble after falling 81% on the Friday over Friday comparison. It only managed $15.35 million at the box office yesterday, which is 5.4% less than Deadpool earned during its second Friday of its release. Granted, BvS still has a nearly $30 million lead over Deadpool after 8 days of release, but unless it bounces back on Saturday, that lead isn't safe. Look for between $50 million and $51 million over the weekend. Also look out for panicked Warner Bros. executives and possible rescheduling of some of the D.C. Extended Universe upcoming releases. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Looking to Rake in the Green

April 1, 2016

There are a handful of films on this week's list earning great reviews and/or loud buzz. Of these four films, Green Room is the one I want to see the most, but Everybody Wants Some is the one most likely to become a box office hit. More...

Contest: Don't Boss Me Around

April 1, 2016

There are two wide releases next week, but The Boss should dominate Hardcore Henry at the box office. Because of that, 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 Boss.

The Twist for the month of April is April Fools. Two of the winners will receive two movies, the other will be the April Fool and will get a couple of exercise videos. I have reviewed more of those than I remember.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Thursday Night Previews: New Releases Start in the Black

April 1, 2016

God's Not Dead 2 started its box office run with $400,000 during its Thursday previews. This is a little lower than Risen ($425,000) and The Young Messiah ($475,000), but faith-based films are unpredictable enough that we can't use this result to make any clear predictions going forward. Perhaps predictions were a little generous and $11 million is more likely. We will know by this time tomorrow. More...

Weekend Predictions: Is the Box Office Dead?

April 1, 2016

This is going to be a short prediction column, because a computer crash meant I had to redo the entire monthly preview in one day. Not been a fun day. Fortunately, there's only one new wide release, God's Not Dead 2, so there's not a lot to talk about. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will remain in first place, but all eyes will be on its sophomore stint drop-off. This weekend last year, Furious 7 debuted with $147 million. There's no chance the total box office will top that this year, so 2016 will get pummeled in the year-over-year comparison. More...

2016 Preview: April

April 1, 2016

March was a really good month, for the most part. There were a few bombs, but the two biggest films, Zootopia and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, both beat expectations by significant margins, so overall the box office was better than expected. Unfortunately, April is a mess, which makes prognosticating really tough. Every single week has at least one film that either moved, switched from wide to limited release, or disappeared entirely. The Jungle Book appears to be the biggest film of the year, but The Huntsman: Winter's War could also be a $100 million hit. Sadly, last April was led by Furious 7, which earned more than $350 million at the box office. That's very likely more than both The Jungle Book and The Huntsman: Winter's War will make combined. Worse still, there were only four weekends in April last year, meaning the month ends by going head-to-head with The Avengers: Age of Ultron. By the time the month ends, 2016's lead over 2015 might be gone. Let's hope it is not that bad. More...

The Numbers News - April 2016

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