We are in the slowest time of year on the home market, and it is really showing on the Blu-ray sales chart. There were only three new releases to place on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, and only one of them earned a respectable opening week Blu-ray share. Haywire opened in first place with 185,000 units / $3.69 million giving it a Blu-ray share of 49%. That's a solid percentage for a film that struggled to find an audience in theaters. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7268 The winners of our Hiding in the Shadows were determined and they are... ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7267

No new releases managed to earn a spot in the $10,000 club on this week's per theater chart. That doesn't mean it was empty, as The Avengers remained potent with an average of $23,696 during its second weekend of release. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was arguably even more impressive, as it expanded into more than 150 additional theaters, but its per theater average only fell to $15,012. It did well enough to grab eighth place overall, and with this average, it will certainly expand more. On the other hand, the best new release was Dark Shadows with an average of $7,906. This is good, but not great. The best limited release was Girl in Progress. That was was playing in more than 300 theaters and managed an average of $4,298. That's a good start, but I don't think it will expand greatly. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7266

New releases dominated the top of the DVD sales chart this week. This includes two films that could make a claim for first place: Joyful Noise and New Year's Eve. Joyful Noise led the way in terms of units at 399,000 units to 390,000 units, but New Year's Eve led the way in terms of raw dollars at $7.02 million to $6.38 million. Given their respective production budgets, this is a good start on the home market. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7265

For the first time ever, a film earned more than $100 million during its sophomore stint. The Avengers again led the way at the box office and again broke records. It wasn't all good news as Dark Shadows missed modest expectations and the overall box office slid 34% from last weekend to $171 million. That is still 22% higher than the same weekend last year, while 2012's lead over 2011 grew to 17.5% at $3.83 billion to $3.26 billion. I don't know how long The Avengers can keep 2012 ahead in the year-over-year comparison, but it sure is helping build up its lead in the short term. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7264

It's not a bad week, for this time of year, with three films that are selling well, and two of those earned really good reviews. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for those screeners. Also, after those three big releases, there's a sharp drop-off in sales strength and we quickly find releases that would be overlooked most weeks. As for the best of the best, both Chronicle and The Grey are contenders for Pick of the Week, but like I said, I don't have the screeners to judge the extras. Therefore, I'm giving that title to Being John Malkovich Criterion Collection Blu-ray. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7263 Final weekend numbers for all studios reporting:

- 3-Day Weekend Chart
- Friday daily numbers
- Saturday daily numbers
- Sunday daily numbers

- Joyful Noise tops DVD sales chart ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7262

Albert Nobbs was made to win awards. I don't think it is a stretch to make that claim. It was released in late December, it is a period piece, it gives its lead a daring role to play. However, while it was made to win awards, its record during Awards Season was mixed. It did pick up a number of major nominations, mostly for the performances by Glenn Close and Janet McTeer. However, it came up empty handed during awards night. Did the movie deserve to do better? Or was it a couple good performances in an otherwise mediocre movie? ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=7261

A second-weekend drop-off of 50% for a major release is considered a very respectable performance these days. But when it occurs for a film that opened with over $200 million, that puts the performance into a different league. Those legs will mean The Avengers will cruise to another major record this record, with its predicted $103.2 million the biggest second weekend in history. The film will have $373 million by the close of the day on Sunday, according to Disney, and about $1 billion worldwide. ]]>