February 15th, 2016
There's no major release this week. I was tempted to give Spectre the Pick of the Week honor, but the screener arrived too late to get the review done over the weekend. None of the big releases are worth the Pick of the Week title. There are a number of smaller releases that are worth considering for Pick of the Week, including The Kid, which tops the list.
On a side note, this week's list is a little shorter than I would have liked, because the people who run Amazon are morons. They've changed the New Releases page, again, making it even harder to find a list of new releases for the week. Additionally, there are some films, like Black Mass, that weren't on the list of releases for this week before the changes were made. I understand why physical stores reorganize every once and a while, because if people have to walk to the store to find something, they are more likely to buy something else on a whim. However, these people physically walked to the store, so if they don't buy what they came for, it will be a wasted effort. On the other hand, people go to Amazon by clicking a button. Making it harder to find new releases for that week won't make it more likely they will buy something else. It means they are more likely to not buy anything at all.
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September 16th, 2015
Sleeping with Other People wasn't expected to do well in theaters, because it only earned mixed reviews, while it was also playing on VOD. Despite this, it led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $17,820 in five theaters. Goodbye Mommy was in second place with an average of $15,063. It could do well in the art house circuit, but expanding wide will be nearly impossible for this German film. Meet the Patels was right behind with an average of $14,436. It too could do well in the art house circuit, but it is a documentary, so expanding wide is likely out of the question. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution was the only holdover in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,288 in three theaters. The overall number one film, The Perfect Guy, was next with an average of $11,656. The final film in the $10,000 club was A Brilliant Mind with an average of $10,469 in three theaters.
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September 13th, 2015
The movie business will make its best ever start to the Fall Season in dollar terms this weekend, thanks to a couple of openers that are handily out-performing expectations. The second weekend in September is traditionally the weakest of the year for the industry, with the combined box office for all movies in release only reaching $100 million on two previous occasions (2008 and 2013). This year will be the third time it’s happened, and final numbers will take 2015 comfortably past 2013’s record of $103.2 million (see complete rankings here). In terms of ticket sales, we’ll still fall short of 1999’s high mark of 15.1 million, but we should see a weekend in the top 5 by that measure too.
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September 9th, 2015
There was just one film in the $10,000 club, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, which earned $20,215 in its lone theater over the weekend. This is even more impressive, as it was a Wednesday release and earned $28,580 over five days. While it was the only film to reach $10,000 over the three-day weekend,
Un gallo con muchos huevos did earn an average of $11,030 if you include Monday.
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September 6th, 2015
Summer, 2015 comes to a sedate finish this weekend, with The Transporter Refueled falling flat, and War Room moving to the top of the chart in its second weekend in release. The faith-based drama is expected to earn $9.3 million for the three-day portion of the weekend, comfortably clear of Straight Outta Compton’s $8.8 million in its fourth weekend. War Room will top the chart while playing in only 1,526 theaters, the fewest theaters for a number one film since the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour topped the chart from 683 theaters back in 2008 (see fewest theaters for number one movie since 2000).
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September 4th, 2015
As bad as the overall box office looks, the list of limited releases is arguably worse. The biggest limited release in terms of buzz is Before We Go, a film that was earning zero positive reviews when I checked late last night. (A couple of positive reviews have since trickled in.) That's not to say there are no films earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and Elle L'Adore are both being praised by critics. However, as a documentary and a foreign-language film respectively, their box office chances are not strong.
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