The Numbers News - June 2017

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War for the Planet of the Apes Final Trailer

June 30, 2017

Sci-fi action movie starring Andy Serkis and Woody Harrelson opens July 14 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Hours of Entertainment

June 30, 2017

It is not a great week for limited releases, as there are none that are expected to earn any measure of mainstream success. Okja is earning the loudest buzz, but it is playing on Netflix, so its box office chances are close to zero. The Little Hours has the best cast and its reviews are over 80% positive, but black comedies rarely do well in theaters. Finally, The B-Side is earning some of the best reviews, but documentaries rarely escape the art house circuit. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Despicable Me 3 Finds $4.1 million During Previews

June 30, 2017

Despicable Me 3 earned $4.1 million during previews last night, which is both good and bad. It is the best previews for an animated film this year, topping the $2.8 million Cars 3 earned earlier this month. However, it is weaker than the $4.7 million Despicable Me 2 earned and that film was a Wednesday release, so that would have depressed its previews even more, which makes this comparison even worse for Despicable Me 3. The Secret Life of Pets opened on a Friday and earned $5.3 million during its previews. If we use that film as a gauge, then Despicable Me 3 will earn $81 million over the weekend. Despicable Me 3 has earned weaker reviews than those The Secret Life of Pets earned, while it is also a sequel, which tends to hurt legs. We predicted $82 million, but that might be a little optimistic now. It should come close, on the other hand. More...

Contest: Bring Home a Prize

June 29, 2017

Next weekend, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the only film opening wide, therefore it is the only possible 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 Spider-Man: Homecoming.

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 their choice of either one TV on DVD release, two movies, or a kids package (could be a theatrical release, a couple of single-disc TV-on-DVD releases, or a full season TV-on-DVD release). 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, as described above.

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

Theater Counts (Updated): Despicable Me 3 Sets New Record for Widest Opening Ever

June 29, 2017

Universal are pulling out all the stops this weekend, getting Despicable Me 3 into a monumental 4,529 theaters, and thereby setting a new record for the widest opening of all time. The record was previously held by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which debuted in 4,468 locations back in 2010. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Despicable have a Picable Opening?

June 29, 2017

Despicable Me 3 should dominate the box office this weekend, which is good news, because the last few weeks have been underwhelming. In fact, we haven’t had a monster hit since Wonder Woman started the month off with a bang. The House is an R-rated comedy, but since the last such film to come out bombed, I’m a little worried about its chances. Baby Driver opened on Wednesday and its early numbers are promising. It won’t be a $100 million hit, but it should earn a solid profit for Sony. This weekend last year, there were no monster hits at the box office, but there was solid depth. This weekend, we should be much stronger on top, while the depth won’t be that much weaker, leading to 2017 ending its mini-losing streak. More...

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Trailer

June 29, 2017

Adventure starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, and Karen Gillan opens December 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

International Box Office: Last Knight Shines Bright with $196.2 million

June 29, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight dominated the international box office chart earning $196.2 million in 40 markets, picking up first place in each of those markets. There’s good news and bad news. Good news, this is slightly ahead of Age of Extinction’s combined opening in these markets. Bad news, most of it came from China, where studios only get 25% of the box office, instead of an average 40% in other international markets. The Chinese debut was impressive, $127.24 million on 7,800 screens, including previews. It also did well in South Korea with $9.53 million on 1,727 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $12.87 million. It was nearly as potent in Russia with $8.45 million on 1,456 screens. On the other hand, its openings in the U.K. ($5.90 million in 577 theaters) and in Australia ($3.39 million on 539 screens) were actually worse than its opening here, given the relative size of the markets involved. The film has yet to open in several major markets, including France, where it opens this weekend, so it should remain active on the international chart for a while. More...

Contest: Go Go Power Prizes: Winning Announcement

June 28, 2017

The winners of our Go Go Power Prizes contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Transformers: The Last Knight’s opening weekend were... More...

Do You Take This Man Trailer

June 28, 2017

Drama starring Anthony Rapp and Jonathan Bennett opens July 7 ... Full Movie Details.

An intimate group of friends and family gather at the home of two gay men to celebrate their nuptials. When the wedding hits a snag, this group helps the grooms to see that all marriages have their challenges, and love is just the beginning. More...

Theater Averages: Big Sick has a Very Healthy $84,315 Opening

June 28, 2017

Two limited releases that came out this past weekend topped the previous theater average record for 2017. The Big Sick earned an average of $84,315 in five theaters, which bodes well for its planned wide expansion in a couple of weeks. The Beguiled was next with an average of $57,323 in four theaters. Both of these are well ahead of the $41,508 average Beauty and the Beast earned during its opening weekend. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall number one film, Transformers: The Last Knight, which earned an average of $10,981. More...

Home Market Releases for June 27th, 2017

June 27, 2017

It’s a really slow week on the home market. (Next week is even worse. ) The Fate of the Furious is the biggest release of the week, but it is only coming out on Video on Demand, so I would wait. The biggest release of the week is Power Rangers, but it feels like a pilot to a TV show and not a self-contained movie. The best new release of the week is T2: Trainspotting and the Blu-ray Combo Pack. That said, if you don’t have Home Movies yet, then buy the Complete Series right now. More...

The Dark Tower Trailer

June 27, 2017

Sci-fi Western starring Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey and Tom Taylor, based on the books by Stephen King opens August 4 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Wrap-up: Knight is First for the Weekend, Last for the Franchise with $44.68 million

June 27, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight had the weekend to itself, but it couldn’t take advantage earning $44.68 million / $68.48 million over the full five days. It earned less over five days than last year’s winner, Finding Dory, earned over three days. Wonder Woman remained in second place becoming just the third film released in 2017 to hit $300 million, but there was not much else to celebrate at the box office. This explains why the overall box office fell 27% from last weekend down to $139 million. More importantly, this is 26% lower than the same weekend last year. 2017 is still ahead of 2016, but its lead was cut in half to just 1.3% or $70 million. This is a little distressing. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: T2 Trainspotting

June 26, 2017

The original Trainspotting came out 20 years ago and earned amazing reviews and was one of the biggest limited release hits of the year. It was also not a film that usually gets a sequel. T2 Trainspotting failed to live up to the original at the box office, but does that mean it is a bad movie? Is it a pale imitation of the original film? Or should more people have given it a chance? More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Power Rangers

June 25, 2017

Power Rangers, the TV show, has been around for more than 20 years and it is still going strong. Power Rangers, the movie, was supposed to setup a six-part franchise, but its box office numbers probably killed any chance of that happening. Were moviegoers spared five more of these? Or was there enough here that fans would have been looking forward to more? More...

Weekend Estimates: Will International Earnings Be Enough to Save Last Knight?

June 25, 2017

A tepid $45.3 million Friday-to-Sunday domestic weekend for Transformers: The Last Knight is pretty much unmitigated bad news for Paramount Pictures. The studio is in desperate need of a hit, and the Transformers franchise is by far their biggest property. Even including the film’s grosses from Wednesday and Thursday, its $69 million debut is barely in the top ten for the year so far, and poor reviews and a B+ CinemaScore mean that it won’t have significant legs, even with a bit of help from the upcoming July 4 weekend. So all eyes are going to be on its overseas performance. More...

Friday Estimates: Dawn of a New Day for Last Knight

June 24, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight suffered a 48% plummet on Thursday to earn just $8.14 million; however, it bounced back on Friday with $13.69 million. If we again compare this to Dark of the Moon, which is the last film in the franchise to open on a Wednesday, we get mixed messages. The Last Knight fell faster on Thursday (48% to 43%) but bounced back more on Friday (68% to 53%). If we assume The Last Knight will continue to outperform Dark of the Moon over the rest of the weekend, then it will earn about $42 million over the three-day weekend and $66 million over five. This is the worst opening in the franchise by a wide margin, but there is good news for Paramount, as the film earned $41.46 million during its first day in China, and $47.55 million if you include previews. The international numbers will save this film and justify more sequels. More...

Contest: Me Me Me

June 23, 2017

Despicable Me 3 is going to win next weekend’s box office race. There’s no doubt about that. In fact, it will make more than Baby Driver and The House will make combined. 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 three-day weekend box office number for Despicable Me 3.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprise consisting of their choice of either one TV on DVD release, two movies, or a kids package (could be a theatrical release, a couple of single-disc TV on DVD releases, or a full season TV on DVD release). 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, as described above.

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

Limited and VOD Releases: Sick and Tired

June 23, 2017

Not many limited releases are earning any real buzz this week. The Beguiled has the best pedigree and its reviews might be good enough to help it thrive in theaters. The Bad Batch is the biggest in terms of theaters, but its box office potential is close to zero. This leaves The Big Sick as the best new release. That said, if you are not near one of the five theaters it is playing, you could always stay home and binge GLOW on Netflix. I reviewed it this week and it is worth the praise. More...

Theater Counts: Transformers Dominates New Releases

June 23, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight opened in 4,069 theaters on Wednesday, and will continue in those venues through the weekend. With most of those theaters coming from The Mummy, It Comes at Night, and Baywatch, and no other wide releases, there is still plenty of room for the likes of Wonder Woman and 47 Meters Down to maintain or increase their theater count. Next week will be a lot tougher. More...

Stronger Trailer

June 23, 2017

Real-life drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany opens September 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Step Trailer

June 22, 2017

Documentary opens August 4 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Predictions: Last Knight Opened Last Night with $15.65 million

June 22, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight got off to a weak start on Wednesday earning only $15.65 million. That’s not a great start. Fortunately, Cars 3 and Wonder Woman should have strong holds this weekend and that will help the overall box office numbers. They probably won’t help enough to top this weekend last year in the year-over-year comparison, but it should be close. More...

International Box Office: The Mummy Tumbles, Still Tops Chart with $53.0 million

June 22, 2017

The Mummy remained on top of the international box office chart, but it fell more than 60% to $53.0 million in 68 markets for totals of $239.1 million internationally and $296.2 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in France, but with just $3.0 million on 615 screens. Its biggest market overall was China, where it was down 77% to $11.63 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $81.62 million. Its best market is arguably South Korea, where it added $3.73 million on 933 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $23.64 million. The only major market left for the film is Japan, where it opens at the end of the month. It is on pace for about $400 million worldwide, which is not enough to pay for its $195 million production budget. Even if it is a bigger than expected hit on the home market, it will have trouble covering its combined production and advertising budget, which is at least $300 million. More...

Contest: Vroom Vroom: Winning Announcement

June 22, 2017

The winners of our Vroom Vroom contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Cars 3’s opening weekend were... More...

Tuesday Night Previews: Last Knight Finishes Last Among Transformers with $5.5 million

June 21, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight got off to a weak start with $5.5 million during Tuesday night previews. This is the worst in the franchise, not counting the first film, which opened before previews like this were commonplace. As for more recent comparisons, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales earned an identical amount, but that opened on a Friday, so it is not a great comparison. Perhaps Dark of the Moon is a better comparison, as it was also a Wednesday release. It earned $13.5 million in 2011, $5.5 million on Tuesday and another $8 million after midnight. (Studios no longer split the preview box office up like that.) If The Last Knight has the same legs, then it would open with $40 million / $66 million over the three-day / five-day weekend. Unfortunately, its reviews are simply awful at just 16% positive. Furthermore, early reports suggest the audience reaction won’t be much better. It’s too soon to tell if this film is going to underperform already low expectations, but this is not a good sign. More...

The Emoji Movie Trailer

June 21, 2017

Animated adventure with the voices of T.J. Miller and James Corden, and Anna Faris opens July 28 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Theater Averages: Audiences Take a $22,310 Journey with Hare Krishna

June 21, 2017

Hare Krishna! The Mantra, The Movement and the Swami Who Started it All earned first place on the theater chart with $22,310 in one theater. The Journey debuted in second place with an average of $16,448 in two theaters. Up next were a trio of wide releases, including the overall number one film, Cars 3, with an average of $12,615. All Eyes on Me opened with an average of $10,698. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was Wonder Woman, which spent its third week in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,271. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will The Last Knight Transformer Paramount’s Predicament?

June 21, 2017

We have early predictions this week, as Transformers: The Last Knight is out in theaters on Wednesday. (We will get to the holdovers at the regular time.) The Last Knight has to be a monster hit, because the studio, Paramount, is in a slump the likes of which you rarely see. The last time they had a $200 million hit domestically was the last Transformer movie to hit theaters. The last time they had more than a 10% share of the box office was the last time they had the distribution rights to some of the MCU movies. Speaking of combined universes, The Last Knight is supposed to be the creation of a new Hasbro Combined Universe with this franchise and G.I. Joe being the heart of the new universe. This could fail for the same reasons The Mummy failed to jump start the Dark Universe franchise. Namely, the reviews are terrible and audiences are tired of combined universes being forced instead of growing organically. More...

Home Market Releases for June 20th, 2017

June 20, 2017

Summer time is usually the worst time of year on the home market and that is certainly the case this week. The biggest release of the week is Life, which only made $30 million at the box office. As for the best new release on this week’s list... I’m going to have to go with GLOW: Season One, which hits Netflix on Friday. More...

Featured VOD Review: GLOW: Season 1

June 20, 2017

GLOW is a new Netflix TV show loosely based on the real-life G.L.O.W., a.k.a. Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, a late 1980s female wrestling show. It is a fictional account of how G.L.O.W. got started, but is it worth checking out? Does it take this obviously sensational material and create real drama? Or is it exploitative and do a disservice to G.L.O.W.’s legacy? More...

Thank You for Your Service Trailer

June 20, 2017

Drama starring Miles Teller and Haley Bennett opens October 27 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Cars 3 Crosses the Finish Line with $53.69 million

June 20, 2017

As expected, Cars 3 earned first place over the weekend, but it did so with just $53.69 million, which is lower than anticipated. On the other hand, Wonder Woman remains one of the most impressive wide releases of 2017 when it comes to legs. Even if it didn’t earn another dollar, it would still have above average legs. All Eyez on Me went off to a fast start, but has a troubling internal multiplier, which doesn’t bode well for its future. Overall, the box office rose 31% from last weekend to $189 million. Unfortunately, it fell 19% from the same weekend last year and that’s more important. Fortunately, 2017 still has a sizable lead over 2016 at $5.16 billion to $5.00 billion. More...

A Ghost Story Trailer

June 19, 2017

Drama starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara opens July 7 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Logan

June 18, 2017

Logan is supposedly Hugh Jackman’s last film as Wolverine. Not every X-Men movie has been worth the price of admission, so if this is the end of the road, does Hugh Jackman get to go out on a high note? Or does he end his run with a whimper. More...

Weekend Estimates: Cars 3 Has Fast Opening Lap

June 17, 2017

As anticipated, Cars 3 is cruising to the top of the box office chart this weekend, with Disney predicting a weekend of $53.547 million, as of Sunday morning. While that’s a very respectable figure in anyone’s book (and continues Disney’s domination at the box office this year), it’s down markedly from Cars 2’s $66.1 million opening weekend in 2011, and points towards a final domestic box office around $150 million. If that proves to be the case, it’ll be the second-worst performer ever for Pixar, beating only The Good Dinosaur. Talk of a decline at Pixar is over-blown, in my opinion, but this is still a so-so result by their high standards. More...

Friday Estimates: Cars Doesn’t Burn up the Track, Still Wins Friday with $19.5 million

June 17, 2017

As expected, Cars 3 earned first place on Friday, but it was a little more subdued than expected, with just $19.5 million for the day. This is a higher opening day than The Lego Batman Movie managed, but family films have a much higher internal multiplier outside of summer, because kids won’t be able to see the movie during matinees on the Friday. If it has the same internal multiplier as Finding Dory had, it would open with $48 million. While Cars 3’s reviews are not as good, it earned an A from CinemaScore, the same as Dory did. Furthermore, Cars 3 is being seen much more by kids than Dory was, as that film had a larger share of adult animation fans, so this should also help its legs. It won’t match our prediction of $58 million, but $51 million is still a great result. More...

Atomic Blonde Trailer

June 16, 2017

Thriller starring Charlize Theron opens July 28 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Feeling Maudlin

June 16, 2017

It is not a particularly good week when it comes to limited releases and almost none of the films on this week’s list have a shot at box office success. The Book of Henry is the widest release by far, but its reviews will likely result in a really poor theater average. On the other hand, Maudie might be able to earn some measure of mainstream success. Its reviews are certainly a positive sign. More...

Thursday Night Previews: The Eyez Have it earning $3.1 million

June 16, 2017

All Eyez on Me surprised analysts earning $3.1 million during its previews last night. This is better than The Mummy’s $2.66 million earned last weekend, while its reviews are also marginally better. Granted, its Tomatometer score is just 27% positive, so that could kill the film’s legs by Saturday, but this is still a very positive start and the movie will almost assuredly top our prediction of just under $20 million. More...

Contest: Go Go Power Prizes

June 16, 2017

There’s only one wide release coming out next week, Transformers: The Last Knight. However, it is coming out on the Wednesday, so that complicates our weekend Box Office Prediction Contest, because we will have at least one full day of numbers before the contest ends. Since it is the only wide wide release next week, it is the only choice for the target film in this week’s box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening three-day weekend box office number for Transformers: The Last Knight.

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 Power Rangers on Blu-ray Combo Pack. The movie is already out on Video on Demand, but doesn’t come out on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD till the 27th. 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 Power Rangers on Blu-ray Combo Pack. 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 a random prize from our prize pack.

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

Weekend Theater Counts: Cars 3 Parks in 4,256 Theaters This Weekend

June 15, 2017

Cars 3 will open in a franchise-best 4,256 theaters this weekend, making it the fourth-widest release of 2017 so far behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (4,347), The Fate of the Furious (4,310), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (4,276). Cars 2 debuted in 4,115 theater in 2011, and earned $66.1 million on opening weekend. We’re expecting the latest installment to fall short of that, but not by much. More...

Girls Trip Trailer

June 15, 2017

Comedy starring Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tiffany Haddish, Queen Latifah opens July 21 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Cars Take the Checkered Flag?

June 15, 2017

It’s a busy week with four truly wide releases, led by Cars 3. The latest film from Pixar is widely expected to earn first place at the box office, but it is part of the only Pixar franchise that isn’t a critical darling. Rough Night is playing in 3,000 theaters, but its early reviews are mixed and that's not going to help its box office numbers. All Eyez on Me is playing in 2,450 theaters, but its early reviews are even worse. Meanwhile, 47 Meters Down’s early reviews were 78% positive, but that has since changed for the worse. This weekend last year, there were two wide releases, Finding Dory and Central Intelligence, which earned a combined $170 million. There’s no way the four new releases coming out this week will match that. Even another strong hold by Wonder Woman won’t make a difference in the year-over-year competition and 2017 is going to lose. More...

International Box Office: The Mummy Comes Alive Internationally with $140.76 million

June 14, 2017

The Mummy debuted in first place on the international chart with $140.76 million on 19,078 screens in 63 markets. The film’s biggest market was China, no surprise there. It earned $52.4 million on 7,364 screens, which is better than Wonder Woman’s opening there last weekend. The film did even better in South Korea, relatively speaking, with an opening weekend of $8.61 million on 1,254 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $17.80 million. This includes a record for opening day in that market of $6.6 million, while the total opening was the best for Universal. On the downside, the film struggled in the U.K. earning second place with $4.2 million in 563 theaters. That’s weaker than its performance here, relative to the size of the two markets. Furthermore, the film only has two major markets left to open in, France and Japan, while its reviews will likely really hurt its legs. It will earn enough worldwide to pay for its production budget, assuming the $125 million reports are accurate. More...

Contest: Wrap It Up: Winning Announcement

June 14, 2017

The winners of our Wrap It Up contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Mummy’s opening weekend were... More...

Black Panther Trailer

June 13, 2017

Super hero action movie starring Chadwick Boseman opens February 16, 2018 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Theater Averages: Beatriz Fills Up with Average of $28,392

June 13, 2017

Beatriz at Dinner led the way on the theater average chart with an average of $28,392 in five theaters. Last week’s winner, Wonder Woman, was pushed into second place with a still impressive average of $14,050. The final film in the $10,000 club was The Hero with an average of $11,329 in four theaters. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Wonder Woman is the Spider-Man of Super Heroes

June 13, 2017

The weekend box office had a few surprises, some positive and some negative. On the positive side, Wonder Woman had the best hold for a major super hero movie since Spider-Man and is on pace for $340 million to $375 million. On the negative side were all three new releases. The Mummy finished on the low side of already low expectations, while It Comes At Night pleased critics, but not moviegoers. Meanwhile, Megan Leavey missed the Mendoza Line. Overall, the box office fell 22% from last weekend to $144 million. This is 5.7% lower than this weekend last year. Fortunately, since this time last week, 2017 expanded its lead over 2016 by about $20 million at $4.90 billion to $4.73 billion. We are almost halfway through the year, so a $175 million / 3.7% lead is solid. It isn’t impossible for that lead to evaporate, but it is enough to be cautiously optimistic about the final tally. More...

The Big Sick Trailer

June 12, 2017

Romantic comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, and Ray Romano, directed by Judd Apatow opens June 23 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Home Market Releases for June 13th, 2017

June 12, 2017

It’s a good week, but a shallow weak. The biggest release of the week is The Lego Batman Movie, which is also one of the best. There are a couple of other big releases that are must haves, like Dark Matter: Season Two, but the size and quality quickly drop-off after that. As for the Pick of the Week, the John Wick: Chapter Two Blu-ray Combo Pack claims that title. More...

Weekend Estimates: Mummy’s $32 Million Debut No Match for Wonder Woman

June 11, 2017

There are precious few crumbs of comfort to be found from Universal’s launch of The Mummy this weekend. The studio is projecting a $32.2 million opening this weekend from 4,035 theaters. That will be a fairly distant second to Wonder Woman, which is expected to earn about $57.1 million. Even the bright news—that this is Tom Cruise’s biggest global opening weekend—comes with an asterisk. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: John Wick: Chapter 2

June 11, 2017

The original John Wick came out of nowhere. There was no hype machine pumping up the film, so most moviegoers had no real idea what was coming. There was strong buzz from the people who had seen it, but nothing compared to the average midlevel release. Its reviews were amazing, but it still didn’t really find a large audience in theaters. Fortunately for the studio, it was inexpensive enough that it made enough profit to justify a sequel. Can John Wick: Chapter 2 live up to its predecessor? More...

Friday Estimates: Wonder Woman Wows Again with $15.8 million

June 10, 2017

At the beginning of the month, I assumed this weekend would be a close race between Wonder Woman and The Mummy. I assumed The Mummy would at least win on Friday, but that’s not the case, as Wonder Woman remains the number one box office draw. The film earned $15.8 million on Friday, which is 59% lower than its opening Friday. It should bounce back on Saturday and finish the weekend with $53 million, which is just a 49% sophomore stint drop-off. A super hero movie falling less than 50% during its second weekend of release is simply stunning. Granted, its reviews are among the best of the year, so having better than average legs was expect. That said, a 49% drop-off is still an amazing performance and should lead to more than a few movie executives to look for ways to copy its success. More...

Theater Counts: The Mummy Goes Big

June 9, 2017

The Mummy is looking like a big bet that isn’t paying off, but it won’t be for lack of trying. The big-budget creature feature will play in 4,035 theaters this weekend—almost as many Wonder Woman started in last weekend. That’s big by any standards, and the new film is eating up screen space from Pirates of the Caribbean, which is losing 597 theaters this weekend. But it’s a crush for blockbusters right now, and the problem is only going to get worse next weekend… More...

The Book of Henry Trailer

June 9, 2017

Drama starring Naomi Watts and Jacob Tremblay, directed by Colin Trevorrow opens June 16 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Dinner and a Movie

June 9, 2017

It is not a particularly busy week as far as limited releases are concerned. However, there are a few that have a shot at earning some mainstream success: Beatriz at Dinner, I, Daniel Blake, and My Cousin Rachel. There’s a chance none of them will do well this weekend, but hopefully they can all find an audience. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Is The Mummy Dead on Arrival with $2.66 million?

June 9, 2017

The Mummy started its domestic box office run last night earning $2.66 million in previews. This is well below expectations and it was already expected to struggle. To put this into perspective, it only earned approximately a quarter of what Wonder Woman managed last week and less than half of what Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales earned the weekend before that. Add in reviews that are just 20% positive and there’s a chance the film’s word-of-mouth will kill the film’s legs by this evening. At this point, a $30 million opening could be asking too much. $25 million isn’t even a sure thing anymore. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: RWBY: Volume 4

June 9, 2017

RWBY is an animated series made by Rooster Teeth, the company behind Red vs. Blue. I’ve previously mentioned this show a couple of times on our holiday gift guide. It started out as a good show, but four seasons in, is it still a good show? Or has the quality begun to fade? More...

Contest: Vroom Vroom

June 9, 2017

There could be as many as four wide releases coming out next week, but there are only two that will likely make an impact at the box office. Rough Night should do well in the counter-programming role and might even be a surprise $100 million hit, if everything goes well. However, there’s almost no chance it will top Cars 3 at the box office. Since Cars 3 is widely expected to dominated during its opening weekend, 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 Cars 3.

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

The Beguiled Trailer

June 8, 2017

Historical thriller starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning, directed by Sofia Coppola opens June 23 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Mummy Bury the Competition?

June 8, 2017

Last weekend was a great one at the box office with Wonder Woman earning over $100 million during its opening. This weekend isn’t expected to be nearly as potent. The biggest new release is The Mummy, which is supposed to be the start of the Dark Universe, but its reviews suggest this combined universe will be short-lived. It Comes At Night could become A24’s biggest hit, although that’s not a particularly high bar. Finally there’s Megan Leavey. It isn’t expected to open truly wide, but it only needs about $2 million to reach the top ten. This weekend last year was similar in terms of box office strength. The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist led the way with barely more than $40 million, while there were two other new releases to top $20 million. This year’s crop of new films is nowhere near as good as that; however, the holdovers should make up the difference leaving 2017 ahead in the year-over-year comparison. More...

It Comes at Night Trailer

June 7, 2017

Horror movie starring Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, and Christopher Abbott opens on Friday ... Full Movie Details. More...

International Box Office: Wonder Woman Opens Above Century Mark with $122.5 million

June 7, 2017

Wonder Woman opened in first place on the international chart with $122.5 million in 55 markets for a global opening weekend of $225.8 million. Unsurprisingly, the film’s biggest market was China, where it opened in first place with $38.96 million. This is about $10 million less than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 opened with recently, but then again, that was a sequel, so it is not an entirely fair comparison. Should Wonder Woman have better legs there, then it could still hit $100 million in that market. Other big markets for the movie include South Korea, where it earned $6.40 million on 1,034 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $8.41 million. This is better than Suicide Squad managed in that market, but behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Brazil and Mexico were close behind with $8.3 million and $8.22 million respectively. This is better than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, but not as good as BvS or Suicide Squad. On the other hand, the film struggled somewhat in the U.K earning $8.00 million in 599 screens, which was still enough for first place. It only managed second place in Russia with $3.99 million on 1,194 screens. Overall, the studio should be happy with these results and I bet there’s a sequel already in early stages of development. More...

Contest: Wonder Why: Winning Announcement

June 7, 2017

The winners of our Wonder Why contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Wonder Woman’s opening weekend were... More...

Theater Averages: Wonder Woman Kisses the Top of the Chart with $24,790

June 7, 2017

Wonder Woman dominated the theater average chart with an average of $24,790. Second place went to The Exception, a.k.a., The Kaiser’s Last Kiss, which earned an average of $10,675 in two theaters. More...

Home Market Releases for June 6th, 2017

June 6, 2017

Summer is usually the slowest time of the year on the home market; however, this week we have the biggest theatrical hit of the year so far coming out. Unfortunately, Beauty and the Beast isn’t really Pick of the Week material. It’s not bad and the DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack hav enough extras to be worth picking up, but that’s not enough to put it over the top. Unfortunately, the film was such a massive hit at the box office that it scared away all of the competition and there’s no real Pick of the Week films on this week’s list. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Beauty and the Beast

June 6, 2017

There have been three previous adaptations in Disney’s recent streak of live-action adaptations. I’ve previously reviewed all of them and only really liked Maleficent. In fact, I like Maleficent more now than I did when it first came out, because it took the characters and made an original story with them, while the other two only had minor changes, but were mostly beat-for-beat remakes. I mention all of this before even mentioning Beauty and the Beast, because this is what I want in these movies. I want a reason to watch this version rather than the original. Does this film give me a reason? More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Wonder Woman’s Wonderful $103.25 million Start

June 6, 2017

The overall box office bounced back after a weak Memorial Day thanks to two critically acclaimed movies. Wonder Woman led the way with $103.25 million, while Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie was way back with $23.85 million. Overall, the weekend box office pulled in $185 million, which is 31% more than last weekend. It is also 37% more than the same weekend last year. This helped 2017’s lead over 2016 grow by nearly a full percentage point to 3.5% at $4.69 billion to $4.52 billion. More...

American Made Trailer

June 5, 2017

Crime caper starring Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, and Sarah Wright, directed by Doug Liman, opens September 29 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Contest: Tall Tales: Winning Announcement

June 4, 2017

The winners of our Tall Tales contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’s opening weekend were... More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Bambi: Anniversary Edition

June 3, 2017

I previously reviewed Bambi when it first came out on Blu-ray in 2011. The film is an animated classic and was absolutely worth picking up then. However, are there enough new extras on the Anniversary Edition to be worth the upgrade? Or is it strictly for those who missed out the first time? More...

Friday Estimates: The DCEU has $38.85 million Reasons to Feel Wonderful

June 3, 2017

As expected, Wonder Woman led the way on Friday; however, its box office was a little lower than I would have liked with $38.85 million. (I was expecting $42 million on Friday.) This still gives the film a slim shot at $100 million, although it will likely fall a little short. Fortunately, there are some positive signs we should focus on, including the reviews, which ticked up a point to 94% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the film earned a solid A from CinemaScore, which should also help its legs. It could still hit $100 million, if it does exceptionally well during matinees on Saturday. We will know this time tomorrow when the weekend estimates are released. More...

Murder on the Orient Express Trailer

June 2, 2017

Murder mystery with an ensemble cast led by Kenneth Branagh opens November 10 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Some Smart Choices for Moviegoers

June 2, 2017

A few films on this week’s list are earning really good reviews, including Past Life, Handsome Devil, and Band Aid. On the other hand, 3 Idiotas is the widest release of the week and the one with the best shot at earning some mainstream success. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Wonder Woman has Wonderful $11 million Start

June 2, 2017

Wonder Woman had the third best previews for 2017 so far at $11 million. Only Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 ($17.0 million) and Beauty and the Beast ($16.4 million) have topped it, while it is double what Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales earned just last weekend. This represents the biggest previews for a movie directed by a woman, surpassing Fifty Shades of Grey and I'm very happy this film took away a record from Fifty Shades. So what does this tell us about the film’s box office chances? Sadly, not much. It is right were most people were expecting, so I don’t feel the need to adjust our prediction, but there are a lot of unknown factors that could affect the weekend number. Firstly, the film’s reviews are 93% positive and the word-of-mouth should be just as strong. However, the Fangirl Effect could frontload the film’s box office numbers, thus hurting its legs. There have not been enough female led superhero movies to come out to make a judgment at this time. At the moment, $100 million seems safe, but that could change this time tomorrow when the Friday estimates come in and that number could drop to $90 million or rise to $120 million. Hopefully it is the latter. More...

Contest: Wrap It Up

June 2, 2017

There are two, maybe three wide releases coming out next week; however, if Wonder Woman lives up to expectations, it will have a great shot at repeating in top spot. The only film with a chance of earning first place is The Mummy. Because it is clearly the biggest new release, 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 Mummy.

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

Weekend Predictions: New Releases are Going to be Wonderful

June 2, 2017

It’s the first weekend of June and it looks like it could be a monster weekend. Wonder Woman could earn over $100 million during the weekend, while Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is hoping to hit $100 million in total. Both have a great chance of getting there. Add in some solid holdovers and this weekend should earn close to $200 million. By comparison, this weekend last year was nowhere near as strong with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows earning first place with just $35.32 million. Wonder Woman will earn more than that opening day. There’s a chance Wonder Woman will earn more over the weekend than the top five earned this weekend last year. More...

International Box Office: Pirates Sail International Waters with $208.4 million

June 1, 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales dominated the international box office earning five times more than the rest of the top five combined. The film pulled in $208.4 million in 54 markets and had $271.4 million worldwide by the end of its first weekend. Its biggest single market was China, where it earned $68.55 million over the weekend. This is bigger than its domestic opening. While this is impressive, it is only the third biggest opening in China for a Disney film, behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. On the other hand, the film had a big opening in Russia with $19.10 million, which is the biggest opening weekend in that market of all time. However, it wasn’t all good news, as the only market left to open in is Japan, so it will have to rely on long legs to continue its run. More...

Theater Counts: Wonder Woman Debuts in 4,165 Theaters

June 1, 2017

Wonder Woman will launch in 4,165 theaters this weekend, according to Warner Bros.’ Thursday morning report. That makes it the fifth-biggest new release of 2017, and should be enough theaters to propel the film to a healthy opening weekend, particularly on the back of excellent reviews. Roughly two thirds of films opening in 4,150 theaters or more break $100 million on opening weekend, and the ones that have missed have mostly, like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, hit with bad reviews. More...

The Mountain Between Us Trailer

June 1, 2017

Survival thriller starring Idris Elba and Kate Winslet opens October 20 ... Full Movie Details. More...

2017 Preview: June

June 1, 2017

May was a really soft month with only one unqualified hit, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, which is climbing towards $375 million domestically. The second biggest hit of the month will be Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and I would be surprised if it tops $150 million by any serious margin. June looks a lot more profitable. There are five weeks and every week there is at least one film with a great shot at $100 million or more. In fact, there are four films with at least a decent shot at $200 million and we could double the number of $300 million hits released so far this year. Wonder Woman is widely expected to start the month with an explosive debut and pulling in more than $100 million during its opening weekend is more and more likely. That said, Despicable Me 3 will probably end up being the biggest hit overall with over $300 million. Meanwhile, Cars 3 and Transformers: The Last Knight are both aiming for $200 million. Last June was not particularly strong, outside of one hit. Finding Dory earned nearly $500 million domestically, while the second best film, Central Intelligence, barely earned a quarter of that. I don’t think any film will come close to Finding Dory, but there’s a lot more depth this time around and I have high hopes 2017 will extend its lead. More...

The Numbers News - June 2017

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