The Numbers News - October 2017

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Roman J. Israel, Esq. Trailer

October 31, 2017

Drama starring Denzel Washington, written and directed by Dan Gilroy, opens November 17 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Home Market Releases for October 31st, 2017

October 31, 2017

It’s Halloween, so most people are concerned with how much Halloween candy they can eat before there’s not enough for trick or treaters, so they are not paying attention to new home market releases. At least I assume that’s why there are so few top-notch releases on this week’s list. The Dark Tower is the biggest release of the week, but it is not worth renting, and it is certainly not a Pick of the Week contender. So what is the Pick of the Week? There’s not a lot of competition, but I think any film history bull will love Dawson City: Frozen Time on DVD or Blu-ray. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office is Cut to Pieces, Earning Just $75 million

October 31, 2017

It was a terrible weekend at the box office with only two films cracking $10 million, Jigsaw and Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Madea Halloween. Geostorm earned third place with just $5.90 million. Overall, the box office fell 21% from last weekend to just $75 million. More importantly, this is 15% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2017 continues to struggle with a running tally of $8.57 billion. This is $470 million or $5.2% below last year’s pace, meaning we fell behind last year’s pace by a further 0.2 percentage points. The box office really needed to be eating into the deficit during the month of October, but that hasn’t been the case. More...

Lady Bird Trailer

October 30, 2017

Drama starring Saoirse Ronan, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, opens November 3 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Friday Estimates: Jigsaw Cuts Its Way to the Top with $7.17 million

October 28, 2017

As predicted, Jigsaw led the way on Friday. However, it didn’t do as well as previews suggested, as it earned $7.17 million during its opening day. I don’t expect its legs to improve during the rest of the weekend, as its reviews are just 37% positive, and it earned a B from CinemaScore. It will still do better than our $14 million prediction, but not by as much as we thought it would yesterday. Look for $17 million over the weekend, which is the second weakest opening in the franchise and the weakest in terms of ticket sales. I really think Lionsgate will end this franchise, at least for a while. Perhaps, in ten years or so, we will get a remake. More...

Pitch Perfect 3 Trailer

October 27, 2017

Musical comedy starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, and Anna Camp opens December 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Jigsaw Grabs a $1.6 million Piece of the Box Office

October 27, 2017

Jigsaw earned $1.6 million during its midnight previews last night. Happy Death Day earned an even $1 million during its previews on its way to a $26 million opening. However, there are many factors that will result in shorter legs. For instance, Happy Death Day earned better reviews, while Jigsaw is the latest installment in a long-running franchise. Finally, Happy Death Day’s target audience skewed female, while Jigsaw skews male and men are more likely to rush out to see a movie than women are. That said, this is a great start and the film should easily top our prediction with at least $20 million during its opening weekend. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Get Hip to these Square Releases

October 27, 2017

We don’t have a long list of limited releases this week, but there are a few that stand out as worth checking out and might actually do well in theaters. These include Bill Nye: Science Guy, God’s Own Country, The Square. The Square has the advantage, at least for the opening weekend, but I would be surprised if any of them expanded significantly over the coming weeks. More...

Contest: End of the World

October 27, 2017

Next weekend is the beginning of November and the beginning of the last Christmas contests. There are only two wide releases coming out next week, including A Bad Moms Christmas. However, it’s a Wednesday release and that’s bad for the contest. Fortunately, we have a back up movie to pick, Thor: Ragnarok. I’m joking about it being a back up film, as it is going to crush the competition during the opening weekend. In fact, early tracking has it becoming the biggest opener of the month with over $100 million. Because of this, Thor: Ragnarok is the clear choice for the target film in this week’s box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening three-day weekend box office number for Thor: Ragnarok.

This is our first Christmas contest of the year, which means each winner will get a Frankenprize that is either present or a lump of coal. The present will include a couple of movies, TV shows, maybe some kids DVDs, etc., while the lump of coal will be the last of my HD-DVD titles, while they last, as well as something from the prize pool.

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, as described above. 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 win a Frankenprize, as described above.

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

Weekend Predictions: Can Jigsaw Still Fit at the Box Office?

October 26, 2017

There are three wide releases coming out this week, although only Jigsaw is expected to make any real impact at the box office. The other two, Suburbicon and Thank You for Your Service, are opening in barely more than 2,000 theaters and neither of them are expected to do well at the box office. Meanwhile, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Madea Halloween, has an actual shot at repeating in first place, mostly because of the weak competition. This is terrible news for the overall box office, as it means we are going to have a hard time matching last year’s box office, even though last year there was only one wide release, Inferno. More...

Theater Counts: Jigsaw Has Halloween, But Thor Looms Large

October 26, 2017

Although technically this isn’t Halloween weekend, it looks like we’re going to celebrate it early this year, judging by the line-up of films playing in theaters. Jigsaw joins the throng this weekend, and is the widest new release, playing in 2,941 theaters. That’s not a huge amount, to be honest, but its path into theaters is blocked by a plethora of horror alternatives: Happy Death Day adds 233 new theaters, and is the widest release playing at the moment, with 3,531 locations in total; It is still showing in 2,538 movie houses; and, if your taste runs towards lighter fare, Boo! 2 is available in 2,388 theaters this weekend. More...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Trailer

October 26, 2017

Comedy starring Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, and Jonathan Pryce opens November 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

International Box Office: Kingsman Retakes Gold with $48.7 million

October 26, 2017

Kingsman: The Golden Circle returned to top spot with $48.7 million in 61 markets for totals of $250.3 million internationally and $344.9 million worldwide. Nearly all of the film’s weekend haul came from China, where the movie earned $39.15 million over the weekend for a total opening of $39.83 million. This is almost double what the original opened with in this market, meaning Kingsman: The Golden Circle could top the original’s international numbers making a third film in the franchise almost a sure thing. More...

Contest: Jump Scare: Winning Announcement

October 26, 2017

The winners of our Jump Scare contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween’s opening weekend were... More...

Just Getting Started Trailer

October 25, 2017

Comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Rene Russo opens December 8 ... Full Movie Details.

Duke Diver is the freewheeling manager of the luxury Palm Springs resort, the Villa Capri. Diver may have a mysterious past, but he’s a pro at making sure that life for the high-spirited residents is one big, non-stop party. But the status quo is challenged when ex-military charmer Leo checks in, triggering a competition between Duke and Leo for the top spot of Alpha male, as well as for the affections of the newly-arrived Suzie. When Duke’s past suddenly catches up with him, the rivals put aside their differences and the two men reluctantly team up to stop whoever is trying to kill Duke, and also save the Villa Capri. More...

Theater Averages: Sacred Deer makes a Killing with an Average of $28,780

October 25, 2017

It was a good weekend with three films earning more than $10,000 on the theater chart, led by The Killing of a Sacred Deer, with an average of $28,780 in four theaters. Its Tomatometer Score is merely good, but its average is even better at 8 out of 10. An average score of 8 out of 10 is close to award-worthy. Meanwhile, Jane did even better with an average of $19,449 in three theaters, which is amazing for a documentary. Its reviews remain 100% positive and the average critic simply loves the movie and it could be an Oscar winner. Wonderstruck rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $16,471 in four theaters. Its reviews are merely good, so its might have trouble growing. That said, it is more accessible and mainstream than most other limited releases, so that could help. More...

Home Market Releases for October 24th, 2017

October 25, 2017

There are not many films on this week’s list of home market releases, but there are several bigger titles making their home market debut. Some, like Cars 3, are only coming out on Video on Demand, but there are also some serious Pick of the Week contenders hitting DVD / Blu-ray as well. Of these contenders, War for the Planet of the Apes has the best combination of reviews and extras on the Blu-ray Combo Pack. More...

Phantom Thread Trailer

October 24, 2017

Paul Thomas Anderson drama starring Daniel Day-Lewis opens Christmas Day ... Full Movie Details.

Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and his sister Cyril are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: By earning $21.23 million, Boo 2 is the only Non-Disaster Film of the Weekend

October 24, 2017

The weekend box office was weaker than expected with only one of the new releases topping predictions. Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Madea Halloween wasn’t that one film, but it still led the way with $21.23 million. The only other film to top $10 million was Geostorm with $13.71 million, but it lived up to its disaster genre due to its $100 million production budget. Overall, the box office fell 6.5% from last week to $95 million. That decline is positively glowing compared to the year-over-year comparison. Compared to this weekend last year, 2017 was down 25%. Year-to-date, 2017 is now behind last year’s pace by 5.0% or $440 million at $8.46 billion to $8.90 billion. Unless November and December are stellar, there’s no way 2017 is going to catch up to 2017. More...

A Bad Moms Christmas Trailer

October 23, 2017

Comedy starring Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, and Mila Kunis opens November 3 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming

October 23, 2017

It was a terrible summer at the box office, but Spider-Man: Homecoming was one of the few bright spots. It was one of three films to cross $300 million domestically and has a slim shot at finishing in the top five for the year. Does it deserve this success? Or did it thrive just because it’s part of the MCU? More...

Weekend Estimates: Boo Too Much for the Competition

October 22, 2017

Boo! 2 is arguably slightly under-performing this weekend, with Lionsgate projecting a weekend total of $21.6 million as of Sunday morning, a figure that is down about $7 million from the debut of Boo! A Madea Halloween. But, in the bigger picture, it represents the continuation of a remarkable run for the Madea franchise that stretches now to eight films, all but one of which have opened with more than $20 million, and which have all topped $50 million, so far. Boo! 2 will be helped by Halloween, which should be just enough to take it over $50 million, and put the franchise close to $500 million at the box office. The only other comedy franchises with close to this longevity at the box office are The Pink Panther, and The Muppets, although neither of those have relied on a single actor (take a bow, Tyler Perry) for the entirety of their run. More...

Friday Estimates: Boo 2 Scares Up $7.47 Million, Other New Releases are just Scared

October 21, 2017

As expected, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Madea Halloween led the way on Friday with $7.37 million. Granted, its reviews are terrible, as its Tomatometer Score has fallen into the single-digit range. On the other hand, it earned a A minus from CinemaScore, which is the same score its predecessor earned. If this film has the same legs as the original did, then it will earn $22.4 million during the opening weekend. However, it is a sequel, so it will likely miss that mark with about $22 million. That’s approximately 10% below our prediction, so I’m happy with that result. It is also likely more than the film cost to make, so Lionsgate should also be happy. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Tragic Fate for Those who Miss these Films

October 20, 2017

There isn’t a huge selection of limited releases this week, but there are several earning excellent reviews, such as 120 Beats Per Minute, Jane, Tragedy Girls, and others. Additionally, films like The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Wonderstruck are earning merely good reviews, but have enough buzz that they could still do well in theaters. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Boo 2 Misses Boo’s Debut with $760,000

October 20, 2017

Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Madea Halloween earned $760,000 during its previews last night, which is lower than the $855,000 the first Boo! managed last year. Its early reviews are lower than the original’s reviews were, so that will also likely mean lower legs. This will make it difficult to match our $25 million prediction, but it should come relatively close. More...

Keep Watching Trailer

October 20, 2017

Horror movie starring Ioan Gruffudd opens on Halloween night ... Full Movie Details.

A family imprisoned by intruders is forced to play a terrifying game of “Kill, Or Be Killed.” As the night unfolds, the game’s mysterious rules become clear, and the family realizes their nightmare is being streamed live to riveted viewers all over the world, who are compelled to keep watching… not knowing if what they’re seeing is real, or staged. More...

Contest: Seen It

October 20, 2017

There are three wide releases coming out next weekend, but only one of them is definitely opening truly wide, Jigsaw. (The other two are both expected to open in 2,000 theaters, but both could also fail to reach that level and thus open semi-wide.) Because of this, Jigsaw 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 three-day weekend box office number for Jigsaw.

This is our final Halloween Trick or Treat contest. Each winner will get a Frankenprize that is either Halloween Treat, a Horror film plus another prize, or a Halloween Trick, a movie so bad it is scary it was made, plus another prize.

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

Weekend Predictions: Will Moviegoers Want to View Boo 2?

October 20, 2017

There are five films opening wide or semi-wide this week, but only one of them, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Madea Halloween, has a real shot at top spot. The best-reviewed new release of the week is Only the Brave, while the Geostorm is the widest release. Then there are the two semi-wide releases, The Snowman and Same Kind of Different as Me. Because there are so many new releases coming out this week, one or two of them are practically guaranteed to slip between the cracks. This weekend last year, the box office was led by the original Boo! with $28.50 million, while the new releases made just over $70 million combined. That seems out of reach for this year’s crop, so 2017 will likely lose in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Never Say Die Falls, but Still Wins with $30 million

October 19, 2017

Never Say Die remained in first place on the international chart with $30 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $281 million. Almost all of that has come from China, where it made $29.74 million this weekend for a total of $278.99 million. By the end of the weekend, it was less than $1 million away from overtaking Meet the Fockers as the biggest Comedy hit in any one single market. It got there on Monday. More...

The Numbers Turns 20: New at The Numbers: People Records and Weekly Breakdowns

October 19, 2017

The Numbers celebrates is 20th anniversary this week and we have previously looked at the history of the site and its present size and scope. We wrap things up with a look at the future. The future will involve a lot more new features and this week we introduce two of the most recent two: Box Office Records for people and Weekly Breakdowns in the Annual Summaries. More...

Contest: Feeling Happy: Winning Announcement

October 19, 2017

The winners of our Feeling Happy contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Happy Death Day’s opening weekend were... More...

Theater Counts: Death Day Ahead of Pack of Newcomers

October 19, 2017

After delivering an impressive opening weekend last time around, Happy Death Day is adding 147 theaters this weekend, to become the film in widest release. To be fair, 3,296 theaters isn’t all that much to write home about, and the fact that none of the new releases will top that number speaks to the fact that we’re in a time of year where studios are either dumping their duds, or looking for niche audiences. Identifying which films are which is left as an exercise for the reader. More...

Pacific Rim: Uprising Trailer

October 19, 2017

Sci-fi action movie starring John Boyega opens on March 23 ... Full Movie Details.

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse. More...

The Numbers Turns 20: Database Census Report

October 19, 2017

The Numbers celebrates is 20th anniversary this week and as we previously stated, the site has grown a lot over those 20 years. How big has it grown? Let’s look at some of the stats. More...

Theater Averages: Human Flows to the Top with $15,226

October 18, 2017

Human Flow earned first place on the theater average chart with an average of $15,226 in three theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was last week’s winner, The Florida Project, with an average of $11,156 in 33 theaters. More...

Wonderstruck Trailer

October 18, 2017

Drama starring Oakes Fegley, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Millicent Simmonds opens on Friday ... Full Movie Details. More...

Home Market Releases for October 17th, 2017

October 18, 2017

It is one of those weeks. There’s a massive release coming out, which has scared away nearly all of the competition, so it is a really shallow week. Fortunately, that huge release is Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is not only one of the biggest hits of the year, it is also one of the reviewed. It isn’t the only contender for Pick of the Week, but the Blu-ray Combo Pack wins that honor. More...

The Numbers Turns 20

October 17, 2017

On Friday, October 17, 1997 I hit a button in an Access database, uploaded some HTML pages to Geocities, and made a brief announcement on the Hollywood Stock Exchange message boards to let people know that I was starting to analyze box office for films to help them pick MovieStocks to trade on HSX. People responded positively, and soon the site, which I had decided to call The Numbers, was getting 200 or more page views a day, according to the little counter I had embedded at the bottom of the page.

That was 20 years ago. Today, The Numbers reaches around a million readers a month, and we provide the most complete, accurate, and up-to-date reporting on movie industry finances. Beyond The Numbers web site, our services help movie producers, exhibitors, distributors, and investors around the world analyze their movies’ and the industry’s financial prospects.

What started as a hobby to keep up my coding and analytical expertise, and help people play the HSX has long since become a broad-based movie financial business. But as The Numbers has grown and changed, the fundamentals have remained the same: leveraging our team’s skill and curiosity to connect the movie business and data analysis. More...

Coco Trailer

October 17, 2017

Pixar’s animated adventure opens November 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Death Day Made the Box Office Happy with $26.04 million

October 17, 2017

Happy Death Day led the weekend, as expected, but did so with a surprisingly strong $26.04 million. The only other truly wide release of the week was The Foreigner, which also beat expectations, albeit by a smaller margin. The overall box office still fell from last weekend, down 4.2% to $100 million. This is 1.4% higher than the same weekend last year. On the one hand, this is not enough to compensate for inflation. On the other hand, at this point, any win is worth celebrating. Year-to-date, 2017 is still behind 2016 by a large margin, but at least it was able to close the gap by a little bit at $410 million / 4.7% at $8.34 billion to $8.75 billion. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: American Gods: Season One

October 16, 2017

American Gods came out about 15 years ago. Since it was first released, lots of people wanted to turn it into a movie, but it never went far, because turning the 465 page book into a 2 hour movie seemed fool-hardy. Turning it into a TV series, on the other hand... Was this the wiser path to take? Or is the book just too hard to adapt? More...

Black Panther Trailer

October 16, 2017

Super-hero action movie starring Chadwick Boseman opens February 16 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Estimates: Young Women Power Death Day to Victory

October 15, 2017

This weekend will be another winner for horror movies, with Happy Death Day powering into first place with a projected $26.5 million, according to Universal’s Sunday morning numbers. That puts it miles ahead of Blade Runner 2049, which failed to broaden its audience this weekend, and is down 54% to $15.1 million, for $60.6 million in total. More...

Friday Estimates: Friday was a Happy, Happy Day as Death Pulled in $11.6 million

October 14, 2017

Happy Death Day topped expectations by earning $14.3 million on Friday. Even with short legs, it will still make $25 million over the weekend, possibly a little more. This is likely more than it cost to make and advertise, at least initially. I suspect Universal will up their ad buy after this result and will also increase the initial print run for the DVDs / Blu-rays as well. The film’s reviews are 68% positive, while it earned a solid B from CinemaScore. Earning a B would be bad for most movies, but horror films routinely fall in the C range, as horror fans tend to be very negative. For example, gorehounds will hate anything without enough blood, but torture porn will turn off even more fans. Pleasing even half of the opening day audience is impressive. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Don’t Waste this Opportunity to see a Limited Release

October 13, 2017

The two biggest limited releases in terms of buzz, Breathe and Goodbye Christopher Robin, both failed to live up to expectations with critics and likely won’t have long legs at the box office. On the other hand, there are several documentaries worth checking out, like 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, The Departure, Human Flow, and Wasted! The Story of Food Waste. More...

The New Mutants Trailer

October 13, 2017

Superhero horror movie starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams opens April 13, 2018 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Should Happy Death Day be Happy with $1 million

October 13, 2017

Happy Death Day started its box office run with $1 million during its previews. This is a mere fraction of what It earned earlier this fall, but it is better than the $772,000 Ouija: Origin of Evil earned this time last year. If Happy Death Day earns the same legs, then it will pull in about $18 million this weekend. Its reviews are not as good, but it is also not a sequel, so those two factors should balance out. This is exactly what we predicted, so I’m happy with this result. Since the film only cost $5 million to make and likely less than $20 million to advertise, the studio should also be happy. More...

Contest: Jump Scare

October 12, 2017

Next weekend will be a busy weekend with up to five new releases coming out. I would be very surprised if all five films do actually open truly wide, while only Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween has a real shot at first place. 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 three-day weekend box office number for Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween.

We are continuing the Halloween Trick or Treat contests this week. Each winner will get a Frankenprize that is either Halloween Treat, a Horror film plus another prize, or a Halloween Trick, a movie so bad it is scary it was made plus another prize.

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

Theater Counts: Crush of Newcomers Dampens Opening Numbers

October 12, 2017

This weekend and the four before it have been the five busiest weekends for new releases in 2017, with an average of just over 30 films being released in theaters each week, by our count. Aside from sending our data team scrambling, it makes it hard for distributors to secure screens, and the results can be seen in the theater counts for this weekend, and the current projections for next weekend. Happy Death Day has a shot at winning the weekend, but won’t be helped by playing in more than 900 fewer theaters than incumbent champion Blade Runner 2049. Death Day’s 3,149 venues, however, is quite a bit more than its competition. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Happy Day be the Death of the Box Office?

October 12, 2017

I thought this would be a really busy weekend with Blade Runner 2049 repeating in first place and four wide releases competing for spots in the top five. However, last weekend, Blade Runner 2049 missed expectations, so it won’t dominate the chart this weekend. Meanwhile, two of the four wide releases are not going to open truly wide. This leaves Happy Death Day with a relatively easy path to first place. The Foreigner has almost made enough in China to pay for its production budget, so as long as it can cover its advertising budget here, it will break even before it reaches the home market. Meanwhile, Professor Marston & The Wonder Women is opening semi-wide and Marshall is opening nationwide. They may or may not open in the top ten. This weekend last year, The Accountant opened in first place with close to $25 million, while all three wide releases combined made $38 million. It is going to be tough for 2017 to match that. More...

International Box Office: Never Say Die Comes Alive with $66.28 million

October 12, 2017

Never Say Die rose to first place with $67 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $223 internationally. The film added $66.28 million to its running tally in its native China, which now sits at $222.75 million after nine days of release. The film is on track to top Kung Fu Yoga as the biggest comedy hit in China. In fact, it is on pace to top Meet the Fockers as the biggest Comedy hit in any one single market. More...

Novitiate Trailer

October 12, 2017

Drama starring Margaret Qualley and Melissa Leo opens October 27 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Contest: Sharp as a Blade: Winning Announcement

October 11, 2017

The winners of our Sharp as a Blade contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Blade Runner 2049’s opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: Something Good Comes out of Florida

October 11, 2017

The Florida Project dominated the theater average chart earning over $150,000 in four theaters for an average of $39,208. This is easily the best new release of the week. More...

Justice League Trailer 3

October 11, 2017

Super hero action movie starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher opens November 17 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Home Market Releases for October 10th, 2017

October 10, 2017

It’s a good week for the home market with top notch releases in nearly every category. Baby Driver is the biggest first run release of the week and one of the best releases. The Lure is a foreign-language film and one of two Criterion Collection releases in competition for Pick of the Week. Maudie is a Canadian limited release that did surprisingly well in theaters. Finally there’s Othello, which first came out more than 60 years ago. The only thing we are missing is a TV on DVD title. As for the winner, I’m giving Pick of the Week to, Othello, while Maudie wins Puck of the Week for Best Canadian Release. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Blade Runner Tops Chart with $32.75 million, but is it Enough?

October 10, 2017

October started on a soft note with none of the new releases meeting expectations over the weekend. Blade Runner 2049 led the way with $32.75 million, which would have been fine, had the movie not cost $155 million to make. (That’s $185 million on the screen, $155 million cost for the studio, after you take into account tax breaks, etc.) Neither The Mountain Between Us, nor My Little Pony: The Movie made much of an impact at the box office, but at least neither of them bombed. The biggest news was It hitting $300 million. Overall, the box office did climb compared to last weekend, growing 16% to $105 million. This is just 1.2% higher than the same weekend last year, but at this point, a win is a win. Year-to-date, 2017 is 5.1% or $440 million behind 2016 at $8.19 billion to $8.64 billion. We really needed a big win this weekend to put a dent in that number. Unless November and December are really big months, 2017 has already lost the year-over-year competition. More...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer

October 10, 2017

Sci-fi adventure starring Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Adam Driver opens December 15 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Jigsaw Trailer

October 9, 2017

Horror movie opens October 27 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Wish Upon

October 8, 2017

Wish Upon could go down in history as the movie that ended Broad Green Pictures production division. That’s not fair, as the film earned more domestically than it cost to make and only one other film they produced and distributed can make the same claim. The film didn’t ruin their production division. It was just the most recent film to come out when the decision was announced. Does the film deserve this infamy? Or is it a decent horror movie saddled with some bad luck? More...

Weekend Estimates: Blade Runner Stumbles Out the Gate

October 8, 2017

After It smashed the September weekend record a month ago, further proving that films can open huge at any time of the year, prospects looked great for the long-awaited sequel to Blade Runner. Its trailers had created positive buzz, the early reviews were very favorable, and there was little by way of competition. The bar it needed to cross to break the record, Gravity’s $55.8 million wasn’t even all that high. But something went wrong on the way to the multiplex. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Wonder Woman

October 8, 2017

Wonder Woman is the fourth film in the DCEU and apparently it is one of the last. (Warner Bros. recently came out and said they would be focusing on individual stories and downplaying the overall continuity for a while. Smart move.) Wonder Woman broke a number of records during its box office run, including biggest box office hit for a female director, biggest super hero original movie, etc. and in the end, it was the biggest domestic hit of the summer. Did it deserve this success? Or was it only good compared to the previous installments in the DCEU? More...

Friday Estimates: What Happened? Blade Runner Struggles with $12.7 million

October 7, 2017

I was bullish about Blade Runner 2049’s chances for a number of reasons. It was setting October records for pre-sales on a number of sites. Its reviews were over 90% positive. Its previews were a little stronger than expected, so everything was looking up. Then Friday happened. The film only pulled in $12.7 million on Friday, which is well below expectations. This is not a case of critics loved it, but the audiences didn’t, as it scored an A minus from CinemaScore. Perhaps not enough of the target audience even remembers the original Blade Runner and that’s why this movie is struggling. A lot of people thought it had a shot at $50 million this weekend but now $35 million is likely out of reach. $33 million is more likely at this point. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Better Watch these Limited Releases

October 6, 2017

It is a very busy week for limited releases with over 30 films coming out this week. Needless to say we’ve had to be a little callous, culling the list to a more manageable number. We are still left with a number of films that have a shot at finding a receptive audience. Some of these are like Better Watch Out, which will struggle in theaters, but very likely do well on Video on Demand. Others, like The Florida Project, could see its strong reviews turn to Awards Season success and that will be a boon to its financial success. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Blade Runs up a $4 million Tab

October 6, 2017

Blade Runner 2049 pulled in $4 million in previews on Thursday night. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of comparisons we can make here. The record holder for October is Gravity, but it opened in 2013, before previews were a major thing, so we can’t compare its $1.4 million in previews. Even The Martian’s $2.5 million previews isn’t a great comparison. We can say this is a good omen and a $50 million opening is a little more likely than it was yesterday. The reviews and its word-of-mouth should certainly help out, but it likely won’t be enough to break any records. More...

Contest: Feeling Happy

October 6, 2017

It’s a busy weekend with four new releases coming out; however, only one of them, Happy Death Day, has a real shot at topping Blade Runner 2049 for first place. 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 three-day weekend box office number for Happy Death Day.

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

Theater Counts: Blade Runner Cracks 4,000 Theaters

October 5, 2017

It certainly isn’t as hard as it used to be, but anyone hoping for a record-breaking weekend for Blade Runner 2049 will be pleased to see the film crack 4,000 theaters this weekend. Warner Bros. reports it will play in 4,058 locations starting on Friday, which actually breaks one record already: it’s the widest October opening, ahead of (surprisingly) Shark Tale, which debuted in 4,016 theaters way back in 2004. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Blade Runner Sprint to the Finish?

October 5, 2017

September ended on a slow note, but it looks like October will open fast. Blade Runner 2049 has been setting October pre-order records for a few sites, but it will also need strong walk-up sales in order to actually break the October weekend record, currently held by Gravity, with $55 million. I don’t think that’s likely, but at this point I would be shocked if it didn’t land in the top ten weekends for the month. The Mountain Between Us looks more and more like busted Oscar-bait. Its reviews have fallen from just over 70% positive to under 50% positive. As I started writing this, My Little Pony: The Movie still had no reviews, which is almost worse than bad reviews. (Reviews are starting to trickle in.) Finally there’s Victoria and Abdul, which is expanding. It isn’t expanding wide, or even semi-wide; however, it should still earn a spot in the top ten. This weekend last year, The Girl on the Train opened with $24.54 million. Blade Runner 2049 could earn twice that. If 2017 does win in the year-over-year comparison, then it will be on the back of Blade Runner 2049. More...

The Snowman Trailer

October 5, 2017

Thriller starring Michael Fassbender and Rebecca Ferguson opens October 20 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween Trailer

October 4, 2017

Comedy written and directed by, and starring, Tyler Perry opens October 20 ... Full Movie Details. More...

International Box Office: Kingsman Remains Golden with $50.5 million

October 4, 2017

Kingsman: The Golden Circle remained in first place on the international chart with $50.5 million in 77 markets for totals of $125.97 million internationally and $192.61 million worldwide. The film dominated the South Korean market with $11.89 million on 1,677 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $16.49 million there. It also debuted in first place in Mexico, with a less impressive $2.28 million. The film has yet to open in France, China, and Japan, so it should continue to rake in the money. More...

Contest: Halloween Arrives Early: Winning Announcement

October 4, 2017

The winners of our Halloween Arrives Early contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for American Made’s opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: Victoria and Abdul’s Reign Continues with $14,184

October 4, 2017

Victoria and Abdul did something very few films manage to do, it repeated on top of the theater average chart. This past weekend, the film earned just over $1 million in 77 theaters for an average of $14,184. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Pearl Jam: Let’s Play Two, which earned an average of $10,635 in five theaters. More...

The Leisure Seeker Trailer

October 3, 2017

Drama starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland opens January 19, 2018 ... Full Movie Details.

A runaway couple goes on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker, traveling from Boston to The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West. They recapture their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end. More...

Home Market Releases for October 3rd, 2017

October 3, 2017

It is not a great week for home market releases. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the biggest release of the week, but it is far from the best. As for the Pick of the Week contenders, they are all horror themed. Cult of Chucky is surprisingly good, especially for a franchise that’s lasted seven installments. Don't Torture A Duckling is a giallo film, and an important one in its director’s career. Up next is iZombie: Season Three, which is amazing, but it is always on the edge of being canceled. Finally, there's Vampyr: Criterion Collection Blu-ray. In the end, I went with the Don't Torture A Duckling: Special Edition as the Pick of the Week. Meanwhile, Goon: Last of the Enforcers Blu-ray Combo Pack earned Puck of the Week, for the best Canadian release. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Kingsman Wins Three-Way Race with $16.94 million

October 3, 2017

The top three films on the weekend box office chart landed in the same order as predicted; however, it was a much closer race than most thought it would be. Kingsman: The Golden Circle ended up on top with $16.94 million, just ahead of It with $16.90 million. The best new release of the week was American Made with $16.78 million. The other new releases struggled, to be kind, with Flatliners earning a distant fifth place and Til Death Do Us Part opening in ninth place. Overall, the box office fell 23% from last weekend to just $90 million. It was also 21% lower than the same weekend last year, thus ending 2017’s mini-winning streak. Year-to-date, 2017 has earned $8.06 billion, putting it 4.8% or $410 million behind last year’s pace. More...

The Florida Project Trailer

October 2, 2017

Drama starring Willem Dafoe opens October 6 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Estimates: Threeway Tie at the Top

October 1, 2017

Warner Bros. is claiming a weekend win at the box office for It as of this morning, but whichever way you slice it, we have a threeway tie at the top of the chart, based on Sunday morning estimates. In fact, we might have a rare weekend where three different movies will top the daily chart. American Made took a lead on Friday with a $6.17 million opening day, It won on Saturday with around $7.9 million, and the eventual result for the weekend will depend on whether Kingsman: The Golden Circle wins on Sunday, and by how much. As of this morning, Kingsman is projected to make $17 million, American Made $17.02 million, and It (a slightly optimistic, for my money) $17.3 million. We’ll know the real winner on Monday morning, and It probably has a slight edge. More...

2017 Preview: October

October 1, 2017

September destroyed the previous September monthly record for total box office take, with $800 million or so (we won’t know the exact figure until after the weekend), which tops 2016’s record of $616 million. Granted, this is almost entirely due to It’s record breaking run, and the rest of the month was merely average. Kingsman: The Golden Circle was the only other film to come close to $100 million. October doesn’t look any better, as far as depth is concerned. Blade Runner 2049 is widely expected to be the biggest hit of the month, but it is the only film expected to reach $100 million domestically. Boo 2 should be the second biggest hit of the month, while there are only a couple of other films that have a shot at $50 million. Part of the problem is the level of competition, as there are 16 films opening during the four October weekends. (Needless to say, some of the predictions below will be a little short, as there’s not much to say about a film that will barely open in the top ten and disappear two weeks later.) That’s way too many and most will be buried by the competition. Last October was a flop, as no film earned more than $100 million at the box office. There were a few films that came close, including the original Boo! movie. As long as Blade Runner 2049 matches expectations, 2017 should win the year-over-year comparison by a small margin. If we get one surprise hit, then 2017 has a real shot at closing the gap with 2016 by a significant margin. I choose to be cautiously optimistic. More...

The Numbers News - October 2017

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