The Numbers News - May 2016
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Weekend Wrap-Up: X-Men has Okay Opening with $79.81 million, Alice suffers Apocalyptic Opening
May 31, 2016
Last Memorial Day was bad with Tomorrowland leading the way with $33.03 million / $42.68 million. This year things were a bit better, with X-Men: Apocalypse earning $65.77 million / $79.81 million. Again, this is okay, but not outstanding. It's record-breaking compared to Alice Through the Looking Glass, which took in $26.86 million / $33.51 million. It's Disney's first bomb of the year. Don't feel bad for them, as they also set the record for fastest to $4 Billion Worldwide over the weekend. Overall, the box office was at $164 million, which was 20% better than last weekend and 18% better than last year. Including Monday, the box office pulled in $205 million, which was 6.3% more than last Memorial day. Year-to-date, 2016 has earned $4.39 billion, which is 5.4% or $220 million more than last year's figure of $4.16 billion. (This does include Monday of last year, because of the misalignment of holiday. This is the last misaligned holiday till Labor Day.)
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Home Market Releases for May 31st, 2016
May 29, 2016
It's a big week for first-run releases with four such films coming out. However, none of them are top-notch releases. Race is the best, but even then it is only worth a rental. Sadly, none of the limited releases, TV on DVD releases, catalog releases, etc. are really big releases either. Hello, My Name is Doris is a great movie, but it is only coming out on Video on Demand this week. I'm going with Veggie Tales: And Now It's Time for Silly Songs with Larry: The Complete Collection on DVD as the Pick of the Week. It really is a slow week for new releases.
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Weekend Estimates: X-Men Debuts to $80 Million Long Weekend
May 29, 2016
The X-Men franchise has an impressive track record of Memorial Day openings, starting with X-Men: The Last Stand, which became the first film to gross $100 million over the 3-day part of the long weekend back in 2006. Days of Future Past grossed $90 million this weekend two years ago. In that context, a 3-day opening of $65 million for X-Men: Apocalypse is very much on the low end of expectations, although not too far behind the $72 million we were expecting earlier in the week. It’s a start that points towards a total domestic box office between $130 million and $150 million, even with the extra boost of another $15 million or so expected on Monday. That leaves the international markets with a lot to do, and the news overseas hasn’t been that great, with about $115 million in the bank after most markets opened last weekend.
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May 28, 2016
Memorial Day long weekend got off to an okay start on Friday with X-Men: Apocalypse dominating the chart. It pulled in $26.4 million. Two years ago, Days of Future Past opened with $35.51 million on its opening day. If the two films have the same internal multiplier, then Apocalypse will have a four-day haul of $82 million. This film’s reviews will make that number unlikely, but its CinemaScore is an A-, so a complete collapse is also unlikely. Look for an opening weekend of just under $80 million. This won't be enough to get to $200 million domestically, but it is enough to break even early in its home market run.
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May 27, 2016
X-Men: Apocalypse started off the Memorial Day long weekend with $8.2 million in 3,565 theaters during its Thursday previews. This is well back from Captain America: Civil War or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, both of which earned more than $25 million. However, it is better than Days of Future Past, which earned $8.1 million, so there's a chance it will cracked $100 million over the four-day weekend. I think the reviews will be a major hindrance in that goal, unless fans like it a whole lot more than critics did. This time tomorrow, we will have the opening day numbers, as well as its CinemaScore, so we will have a better grasp on its opening weekend run.
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May 27, 2016
There are only two non-documentary releases on this week's list, which is really low. Neither of them are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews, but The Ones Below's reviews came the closest. The documentaries fair better with a number of them that should please fans of the genre, including Presenting Princess Shaw, Lasseter's Bones, etc.
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May 26, 2016
Next week is the first weekend of June and there are three wide releases opening that week: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Me Before You, and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. The TMNT is the only film that has a shot at being a $100 million hit. There's a chance it will make more during its opening weekend than the combined totals of the other two films. 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 forTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
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 Confirmation on Blu-ray, plus a randomly selected previously reviewed movie.
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 movies.
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 another Frankenprize, consisting of two previously reviewed movies.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 26, 2016
It's Memorial Day long weekend and there are two wide releases trying to take advantage of the holidays. X-Men: Apocalypse is the latest installment in the X-Men franchise, but it is earning among the worst reviews. Alice Through the Looking Glass is the sequel to Alice in Wonderland, which was a surprise $1 billion hit back in 2010. Neither film is expected to live up to its predecessor, but both are expected to be hits. This weekend last year, San Andreas opened with $54.59 million over three days. Apocalypse will top that over three days, while it might take Alice four days to get there.
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May 26, 2016
Much as I would like to have a sophisticated excuse, sometimes it’s better to just ’fess up. The final tallies and determination of winners from this year’s Predict the Academy Awards contest just got lost in my to-do list this year. Today I finally wrapped up all the calculations and can announce the winners…
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May 25, 2016
X-Men: Apocalypse started its international run in first place with $103.2 million. At first glance, that's a good start. On the other hand, the film is playing in 75 markets, so it doesn't have a lot of markets left to open in. Back to the original hand, one of the markets it has yet to open in is China. The film's biggest single market was the U.K., where it opened in first place with $10.99 million in 598 theaters. This is nearly 30% less than Days of Future Past earned and with weaker reviews, it will likely have weaker legs. The movie-to-movie decline was even steeper in Russia, where it was down 38% to $6.41 million on 1,208 screens, and in Australia, where it was down 39% with $4.68 million on 574. On the other hand, it was down a mere 6.4% in Mexico to $8.8 million and actually rose 22% in the Philippines to $4.9 million. If it can get to $600 million worldwide, then the film will break even some time during its home market run.
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May 25, 2016
The winners of our Anger Management contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Angry Birds Movie opening weekend were...
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May 25, 2016
Weiner earned first place on the theater average chart, which is terrible news for me, because there are so many immature puns that I want to be using right now. The film earned an average of $16,835 in five theaters, which is fantastic for a documentary. The Lobster was right behind with an average of $16,212 in 24 theaters during its second week of release. The film has already hit $1 million in total and has plenty of room to grow. Maggie's Plan was next with an average of $12,662 in five theaters. It has a shot at expanding significantly, but it likely won't expand truly wide. Love and Friendship remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,911. Its better than expected theatrical run appears to have pushed back its VOD release.
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May 24, 2016
There are not a lot of first-run releases on this week's list and none that are contenders for Pick of the Week. That's not to say there are no contenders, but they come from catalog releases, TV on DVD, etc. Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 on Blu-ray tops that list. However, I'm going with Mustang on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack as the Pick of the Week. The screener arrived late, but it was worth it.
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May 24, 2016
While each film in the top five on this weekend's box office chart finished in the right place, none of them matched expectations, save for The Jungle Book, which earned fifth place. The Angry Birds Movie debuted on top of the chart with $38.16 million, which is an okay opening for a family film at this time of year and nothing more. Likewise, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising struggled compared to its predecessor, but did well compared to its budget. The Nice Guys will need long legs to break even. The overall box office rose 4.5% from last weekend, reaching $137 million, but fell 11% from the same weekend last year. 2016's lead over 2015 shrank to 5.1% or $200 million at $4.14 billion to $3.94 billion. This is a very impressive figure, but might not be enough to keep 2016 in the lead throughout the rest of the year. Jurassic World came out last June and there's little hope any film this June will match it.
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May 23, 2016
Zoolander came out in 2001. It wasn't beloved by critics and wasn't a major hit in theaters, but did well enough on the home market to develop a loyal following. Zoolander 2 hit theaters earlier this year and failed to live up to its predecessor at the box office. Is this because its target audience had forgotten about the first film? Or did it fail at the box office, because it was just really bad?
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May 23, 2016
Sci-fi adventure starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, directed by Justin Lin, opens July 22 ... Full Movie Details.
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May 22, 2016
Mustang is a French film set in Turkey. It earned nearly perfect reviews and even picked up an Oscar Nomination. Is it as good as its critical praise? If so, does the Blu-ray do it justice?
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May 22, 2016
The Angry Birds Movie is performing at the top end of expectations this weekend, and will top the box office chart with a commendable $39 million. While that’s a long way behind the $75.1 million earned by Zootopia on its opening weekend back in March, it’s a very respectable figure, and gives Sony the increasingly-rare bragging rights over Disney this weekend, with Captain America: Civil War dropping to second place with $33.1 million.
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May 21, 2016
The Angry Birds Movie earned first place on Friday’s box office chart with $11 million. This is in line with our reduced prediction after Thursday’s previews. The film’s reviews have fallen to just 42% positive, while its CinemaScore is just a B+. Both of those results are fine, for a kids film, I guess. (It’s hard to get worked up either way.) It won’t have the same internal multiplier that Zootopia had, so look for an opening weekend of just under $40 million and more than $100 million domestically. The film cost $80 million to make, so Rovio Animation needs the film to make about $300 million worldwide to have a shot at breaking even. (Sony is taking a 7% cut to distribute the movie, but didn’t pay for its production or advertising.)
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May 20, 2016
It's a slow week for limited releases with the total films on this week's list in the single-digits. Of these, only Maggie's Plan is likely going to be a hit in theaters. There are a few others that could do well on the home market.
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May 20, 2016
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising led the way during Thursday night previews pulling in $1.67 million in 2,627 theaters last night. This is a third less than Neighbors earned, while the its internal multiplier will also be smaller, due to weaker reviews and the Sequel Effect. That said, it is still aiming at $30 million over the weekend, which is very likely more than it cost to make.
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May 19, 2016
There are two films opening wide next week: X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Neither is earning good reviews, but one of them has to be the number one film of the weekend. I think Apocalypse is the clear favorite here and 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 X-Men: Apocalypse.
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 of previously reviews DVD and / or Blu-rays. I grabbed a few more boxes from storage, so we can do winner's choice again. The choices are, two movies, one TV on DVD release, three single-disc kids DVDs, or two items from the mystery box.
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, as described above.
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 Frankenprize.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 19, 2016
There are three wide releases coming out this week, all of which are aimed at different target audiences. The Angry Birds Movie is aimed at families and will likely be the biggest hit of the weekend. Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is an R-rated comedy that is hoping to avoid a Horrible Bosses 2 drop-off. Finally there's The Nice Guys, which is aiming for counter-programming success. If it tops $15 million over the weekend, it will be seen as a success. Captain America: Civil War will still be in the mix and could earn the threepeat, but could also fall to third place. This weekend last year, all five films in the top five earned at least $20 million. That won't happen this year. 2016 will lose, but it won't be a disaster in the year-over-year comparison.
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May 18, 2016
Captain America: Civil War remained in top spot as it races towards $1 billion worldwide. Over the weekend, it added $84.2 million in 55 markets lifting its international total to $645.0 million, while its worldwide total hit $941.0 million. The film had no new openings this past weekend, but it pulled in $31.87 million in China for a total of $155.95 million after 11 days in that market. The film will top $1 billion by Friday, at the latest.
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May 18, 2016
The winners of our Money, Money, Money contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Money Monster opening weekend were...
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May 17, 2016
The Lobster had the best theater average of any film opening in 2016 earning an average of $47,563 in four theaters. It beat the previous record set by Captain America: Civil War, a record that lasted all of one week. The second best theater average of the week was pulled in by Love and Friendship with an average of $33,378, also in four theaters. Captain America: Civil War remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $17,188. The final film in the $10,000 club was Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero, which managed $15,215 in 4 theaters.
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May 17, 2016
The weekend box office was weaker than predicted at the top, but stronger in the second and third spots. Captain America: Civil War led the way with $72.64 million. This was lower than expected, but still more than the rest of the films combined earned. Money Monster was better than expected with $14.79 million. Overall, the box office was down 45% from last weekend to $130 million, while it was down 29% from this weekend last year. 2016 is still ahead of 2015 by a massive $230 million or 6.2% at $3.97 billion to $3.73 billion. I was worried 2016 and 2015 would be in a virtual tie by now, so this is great news.
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May 17, 2016
The Deadpool Blu-ray arrived last Tuesday, which is par for course for Fox, as their screeners always seem to arrive as late as possible while still technically not being late. There are updates below with the extras. On a side note, the film is so good, I was tempted to make it the Pick of the Week for the second week in a row. However, in the end I went with Dark Passage, a classic Film Noir with a famous hook. The Blu-ray is the Pick of the Week.
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May 16, 2016
The Witch only cost $3.5 million to make and barely opened in more than 2,000 theaters during its opening weekend. It was never going to be a monster hit. Even becoming a midlevel hit was likely out of the question. It did, on the other hand, earn more than $25 million, which is enough to make the studio happy, but likely not enough to break even just yet. In order to become a financial success, it will need to do as well on the home market. On the positive side, the reviews were 90% positive. On the negative side, the audience reaction on Rotten Tomatoes was a lot lower at 55% positive. Is this a horror film that will only please critics and leave the average moviegoer wanting more?
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May 15, 2016
After recording the 5th-biggest opening weekend of all time last weekend, Captain America: Civil War will decline 59% this time around to $72.56 million, according to Disney’s Sunday projection. If that number holds, it will put Civil War 8th on the list of best second weekends, almost exactly tied with Iron Man 3. That comparative slip in the rankings isn’t of huge consequence, given that the film will sail past $300 million domestically on either Monday or Tuesday, and has already racked up $645 million worldwide, putting it on the brink of $1 billion worldwide a little over two weeks after its international rollout. The Marvel juggernaut continues to roll on.
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May 14, 2016
As expected, Captain America: Civil War dominated the box office chart on Friday, earning $19.44 million. However, this is down 74% from its opening Friday, which is a sharper-than-expected drop. It will bounce back over the weekend to earn $70 million, but that’s a loss of over $100 million from its opening weekend. It is also not enough to get it to $300 million this weekend. It will get there on Monday, on the other hand. Again, I must emphasize that this is only bad when compared to monstrous expectations. Its sophomore decline will be about 60%, which is in line with Age of Ultron. Additionally, Civil War is already the biggest hit for the Captain America franchise at the worldwide box office and will be the first of the three films to reach the $1 billion mark. There’s no reason to be upset at its box office run so far.
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May 13, 2016
It's a relatively good week for limited releases with several that are earning excellent reviews. Of these, The Lobster is the one I think will do the best at the box office. Kill Zone 2, Love & Friendship, and some others are also earning excellent reviews, but are playing in VOD.
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May 13, 2016
Money Monster earned $600,000 during its Thursday night previews. That's better than Hail, Caesar! ($543,000) or Mother's Day ($250,000). However, it is still nothing to truly celebrate. It still has a chance to match our predictions, but $10 million seems more likely.
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May 13, 2016
It is actually challenging to decide which film should be the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. The Angry Birds Movie is expected to be the biggest hit opening next weekend, but Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising could open faster, but not have as strong legs. (The Nice Guys will be a midlevel hit, at the most.) Sorority Rising's international numbers are weaker than expected, so I'm going with The Angry Birds Movie 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 Money Monster.
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 of previously reviews DVD and / or Blu-rays. I grabbed a few more boxes from storage, so we can do winner's choice again. The choices are; two movies, one TV on DVD release, three single-disc kids DVDs, or two items from the mystery box.
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, as described above.
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 Frankenprize.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 12, 2016
There's not much mystery over what movie will come out on top of the box office this weekend. Captain America: Civil War will repeat as champion, as neither Money Monster nor The Darkness are expected to be box office hits. In fact, both of them combined will earn less in total than Civil War will make over the weekend. Unfortunately, this weekend last year had a one-two punch with Pitch Perfect 2 and Mad Max: Fury Road. Civil War will beat those two individually, but 2015's depth is going to be really hard to top. Fortunately, 2016 has such a lead so far that it can weather this storm.
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May 11, 2016
Before Captain America: Civil War came out, it was estimated that the film would need to make more than $600 million worldwide to break even. It did so after just two weeks of release. This weekend, the film earned $220.0 million in 55 markets for totals of $496.6 million internationally and $675.7 million worldwide. The film's biggest market this past weekend was China, where it pulled in $96.07 million, including Thursday's previews. South Korea was the strongest holdover earning $11.75 million on 1,771 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $52.63 million. At this pace, the film has likely already crossed $700 million worldwide, while $1 billion is an easy target for the weekend. Speaking of billions of dollars, Disney has cracked $3 billion worldwide in record time. The previous record was set last year by Universal.
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May 11, 2016
The winners of our Boy Oh Boy contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Captain America: Civil War opening weekend were...
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May 10, 2016
Captain America: Civil War not only had the best theater average of the weekend, but it also had the best theater average for any film released in 2016. Its average of $42,390 was just ahead of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while Midnight Special remains the best average for a limited release this year. Other films in the $10,000 club this week include A Bigger Splash, which earned an average of $22,884 in five theaters over the weekend for an average of $27,697 from Wednesday through Sunday. Eva Hesse saw its average rise 8% to $13,816, but it did open on a Wednesday last week, so that likely depressed its weekend numbers last week. Dheepan just made it into the $10,000 club with an average of $10,125 in two theaters.
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May 10, 2016
The Curse of Great Expectations hit Captain America: Civil War, as it had a monster opening, but still missed even the low end of expectations at $179.14 million. This is the best opening for any film this year, so Disney should be more than happy with this result. Overall, the box office pulled in $237 million, which is 121% more than last weekend. Granted, it is the official start of summer, so an increase like that is to be expected. More importantly, it is 80% higher than the same weekend last year. Even if you compare this weekend to the start of summer last year, 2016 still comes out ahead, albeit by a much smaller margin of 1.8%. Year-to-date, 2016 padded its lead, which grew to 7.0% at $3.77 billion to $3.53 billion.
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May 9, 2016
It is officially the summer blockbuster season, which is historically the worst time of year for the home market. We are usually flooded with duds from January and February. However, this year we have the biggest hit of the year so far, Deadpool, which is coming out on DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and 4K. Unless your eyesight is better than 20/20, 4k is not worth the upgrade, but the Blu-ray is the Pick of the Week. It isn't the only contender for that title. Mustang (DVD or Blu-ray) and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (Blu-ray) are also must haves.
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May 9, 2016
Deadpool is proof that a troubled production doesn't necessarily result in a bad product. A Deadpool film with Ryan Reynolds was first proposed more than a decade ago, while this version has been in some form of production on and off since 2010. Now that the film has finally been made, was the wait worth it? And is the DVD / Blu-ray worth picking up? ... I won't be able to answer that second question, because I only have a digital screener. This also means I have to watch the movie on my computer, which is a pain. At least I don't have to stream it.
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May 8, 2016
Another weekend, another triumph at the box office for Disney. After a hattrick of wins for The Jungle Book, the studio’s Captain America: Civil War will top the chart this weekend with a year’s-best $181.8 million, according to the studio’s weekend projection, released on Sunday morning. Our model projects that it will fall just short of $180 million, but either way it will set easily a new best weekend in 2016, beating the $166 million debut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and record the fifth-best weekend of all time, landing in between The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3. The Marvel Cinematic Universe now claims four of the top six spots on the all-time list.
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May 7, 2016
It has become common for a horror film or two to be released very early in the year. These films tend to have very low expectations with both critics and with moviegoers. This year, The Boy was one of the first horror releases of the year and while most critics attacked the film, it did rather well at the box office, all things considered. $64 million worldwide isn't enough to be considered a midlevel hit, but it is a solid run for a movie that cost just $10 million to make. Is it better than the critics said it was? Is it a solid horror movie?
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May 7, 2016
Friday’s estimates are in and Captain America: Civil War did amazing business during its opening day. According to Disney, it earned the 8th-biggest single day of all time with $75.25 million. However, to paraphrase Uncle Ben, with great powers comes great expectations and there are some who consider this a disappointment, because the film isn’t living up to the hype. There is some very good news going forward.
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May 6, 2016
Summer officially started last night at 7 pm with Captain America: Civil War Thursday previews. The film pulled in $25 million, which is the second best figure for a Marvel Cinematic Universe. The only MCU film to top it was The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which earned $27.6 million last year. On the other hand, Civil War does have better reviews than Age of Ultron earned, so it should have better legs. Likewise, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earned $27.7 million earlier this year, but its legs were hurt by its reviews. I still think Civil War will earn $200 million, more or less, over the weekend.
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May 6, 2016
Out of all of the new releases this week, A Bigger Splash is the only one earning lots of buzz. Of course, Captain America: Civil War's buzz is so great that it is drowning out all limited releases, which explains why there's not a lot of films on this week's list.
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May 5, 2016
Next weekend there is only one movie opening truly wide: Money Monster. (It appears The Darkness is opening in less than 2,000 theaters.) Because of this, 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 Money Monster.
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 of previously reviews DVD and / or Blu-rays. I grabbed a few more boxes from storage, so we can do winner's choice again. The choices are, two movies, one TV on DVD release, three single-disc kids DVDs, or two items from the mystery box.
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, as described above.
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 Frankenprize.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 5, 2016
According to Fandango, Captain America: Civil War has had the best prerelease sales of any comic book film and the second best overall, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It should come as no surprise that no other studio was willing to take a chance and go head-to-head with Civil War. However, it won't be the only film earning tens of millions of dollars this weekend. The Jungle Book will finally relinquish top spot, but I would be shocked if it didn't earn at least $20 million over the weekend. None of the rest of the box office will earn a fraction of that. Due to a misalignment in the calendar, the biggest new release from this weekend last year was Hot Pursuit, while The Avengers: Age of Ultron topped the chart with $77.75 million. Civil War should make more than that opening day.
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May 4, 2016
Captain America: Civil War started its international run a week before its domestic run and it was a huge success earning $200.2 million in 37 markets. It broke the all-time opening weekend record in both Mexico ($20.4 million) and Brazil ($12.9 million) as well as the biggest opening weekend of 2016 in France ($9.9 million). However, its biggest market was South Korea, where it earned $20.75 million on 1,990 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $28.39 million. The U.K. could also claim that title with an three-day opening weekend of $21.1 million. The film opens in China this weekend, among other countries, so it should have no trouble remaining in first place on the international chart.
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May 3, 2016
The winners of our Good Kitty contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Keanu opening weekend were...
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May 3, 2016
The Family Fang led the way on the theater average chart with $14,506 in one theater. This is the last time we will talk about this film's box office numbers, because it opens on VOD this Friday, thus ending its chances of box office success. Then again, clearly VOD is more important to a limited release than the theatrical box office is. The Man Who Knew Infinity was next with an average of $13,388 in six theaters. That's good, but likely not good enough to expand significantly. Eva Hesse was playing in just one theater earning $12,780 over the weekend and $17,912 from Wednesday through Sunday. The Jungle Book made the $10,000 club for the third weekend in a row with an average of $10,818.
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May 3, 2016
This past weekend was the weekend before the start of summer, so you knew the wide releases weren't going to be massive hits. However, I was still hoping for more than what we got. Fortunately, The Jungle Book did beat expectations earning first place with $43.71 million. The best of the new releases was Keanu, which only managed third place with $9.45 million. Overall, the box office fell 16% from last weekend to $108 million. The year-over-year comparison is devastating; however, that's because the same weekend last year was the first weekend of May when The Avengers: Age of Ultron debuted. Compared to last year, this weekend's box office was 54% lower. Year-to-date, 2016's lead has shrunk to 5.7% at $3.51 billion to $3.32 billion. Next weekend, 2016 should bounce back when Captain America: Civil War opens.
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May 2, 2016
This week the biggest releases are busted Oscar-bait, Joy; a post-apocalyptic young adult adaptation, The 5th Wave; and the latest from Nicholas Sparks, The Choice. Joy is worth at least a rental. The other two are not. There are no major releases that are contenders for Pick of the Week, so that title will go to a smaller release, East Side Sushi on DVD. It has earned unanimously positive reviews, but no buzz.
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May 1, 2016
It’s another bloodbath at the box office this weekend, with the combined efforts of three new wide releases barely earning half of the third weekend’s gross for The Jungle Book. With Captain America: Civil War also posting over $200 million overseas this weekend, Disney’s reign of terror is just getting started.
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May 1, 2016
April started on a soft note and ended weak, but thanks to The Jungle Book, overall the month was actually really good. That's what happens when you get a surprise $300 million hit. This bodes well for May, which is both a slow month and a fantastic month. There are only four weekends and only eight movies coming out, but of those eight films, five have a shot at $100 million. The potential blockbusters are led by Captain America: Civil War, which is not only going to be the biggest hit of the month, but according to a Fandango survey, it is the most anticipated film of the summer. (On a side note, Finding Dory is the most anticipated family film of the summer and Ghostbusters is the most anticipated comedy of the summer. I was surprised by the last result.) Both Alice Through the Looking Glass and X-Men: Apocalypse have real shots at $200 million. One of them could get to $300 million, if they weren't opening against each other. Overall, the month looks excellent. Even better, last May there was only one monster hit, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and most analysts think Captain America: Civil War will beat it at the box office. (There's also the issue of the misalignment in the weekends, which hurt April, but will really help May.)
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Friday Estimates: Apocalypse Okay with $26.4 million
Thursday Night Previews: Apocalypse gives a Glimpse of the Future with $8.2 million
Limited and VOD Releases: Below Average Releases
Contest: Turtle Power
Weekend Predictions: Apocalypse vs. Alice
Predict the Academy Awards Contest Results
International Box Office: Apocalypse Leaves World Intact with $103.2 million
Contest: Anger Management: Winning Announcement
Theater Averages: Weiner Wins Weekend Race with $16,835
Home Market Releases for May 24th, 2016
Weekend Wrap-Up: Birds should be Happy with a $38.16 million
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Zoolander 2
Star Trek Beyond Trailer
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Mustang
Weekend Estimates: Angry Birds Win Civil War with $39 Million Debut
Friday Estimates: Angry Birds have Nice Opening
Limited and VOD Releases: Plan to see a Limited Release
Thursday Night Previews: Neighbors 2 Rises
Contest: Apocalypse Wow
Weekend Predictions: Will Angry have a Reason to Blow Up?
International Box Office: Billion Dollars Loom Large for Civil War with Weekend Haul of $84.2 million
Contest: Money, Money, Money: Winning Announcement
Theater Averages: The Lobster has Tasty Opening of $47,563
Weekend Wrap-Up: Civil War Dominates, buy Money Monster has Moderate Debut
Home Market Releases for May 17th, 2016
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Witch
Weekend Estimates: Disney still dominant, but Money Monster solid on debut
Friday Estimates: Civil War Falling Fast, But Monster Makes Good Money
Limited and VOD Releases: Limited Releases Served with Drawn Butter
Thursday Night Previews: Money Monster Has Timid Previews
Contest: Anger Management
Weekend Predictions: Civil War will Win Weekend, but will New Releases Earn any Money?
International Box Office: Civil War's Fights its Way to Profitability with $220.0 million
Contest: Boy Oh Boy: Winning Announcement
Theater Averages: Civil War Sets Yearly Mark with $42,390
Weekend Wrap-Up: Civil War's Opening Missed Mark, but still Tops Yearly Chart with $179 million
Home Market Releases for May 10th, 2016
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Deadpool
Weekend Estimates: Civil War Sets New 2016 Benchmark with $181.8 Million Projected Weekend
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Boy
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Friday Estimates: Curse of Great Expectations Strikes Civil War
Thursday Night Previews: Civil War's Explosive Start Doesn't Quite set Preview Records
Limited and VOD Releases: What New Releases will Make a Splash?
Contest: Money, Money, Money
Weekend Predictions: Will Civil War have an Unruly Opening?
International Box Office: Civil War's Preemptive Strike Nets film $200.2 million
Contest: Good Kitty: Winning Announcement
Theater Averages: Fang has Teeth with $14,506
Weekend Wrap-Up: The Jungle Book wins Three-peat with $43.71 million
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Home Market Releases for May 3rd, 2016
Weekend Estimates: Jungle Book Still Miles Ahead of Competition
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2016 Preview: May