October 2nd, 2012
There was a wide variety of new releases to reach the top ten on the Blu-ray Sales Chart this week. Indiana Jones Blu-ray Box Set opened in first place with 239,000 units / $15.55 million, which is excellent for a box set.
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September 18th, 2012
It's quite a busy week on the home market front, but most of the new releases are TV on DVD. This includes Modern Family: Season Three on DVD or Blu-ray, which is a contender for Pick of the Week. The best limited release of the week is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on DVD or Blu-ray, while the Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Blu-ray Box Set is also a contender for Pick of the Week. However, in the end I went with The Cabin in the Woods Blu-ray, which is practically the only first-run release of the week.
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September 17th, 2012
Indiana Jones makes its Blu-ray debut this week in a massive five-disc box set. I swear I've reviewed all four films in the past, but I can only find the review for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Since this is one of the most famous franchises of all time, and it has been released on the home market repeatedly, I think I can spend less time talking about the movies and more about the Blu-rays.
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November 19th, 2008
The same two new releases that topped the sales chart this week also topped the rental chart with Get Smart generating about 40% more revenue than Kung Fu Panda.
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November 11th, 2008
New releases were not as strong this week as they were last week, and this hurt overall sales. However, Tinker Bell still did very well, especially for a direct-to-DVD release, selling 1.94 million units and generating $30.73 million in sales during its first week of release. Had the movie opened in theaters, I would suspect it would have been a much bigger hit than Space Chimps and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, probably bigger than those two films combined, and perhaps even earned $100 million or more, depending on its release date.
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November 11th, 2008
New releases were spread thin on the rental chart this week, but one of them, Journey to the Center of the Earth, did earn first place and earned nearly 25% more than the second place The Incredible Hulk.
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November 11th, 2008
I have just one word to describe this week's DVD Release Report, and that word is, 'Ggrrghfuul.' 'Ggrrghfuul' is the sound one makes after reviewing 19 DVDs in one week, and I wasn't even able to put a dent in my pile of late DVDs. (On a related note, I have never been late reviewing a movie, as long as it arrives before the weekend before the movie is released. Given how busy some weeks have been, that's quite a feat.) As for the actual releases, there are a number of top-notch offerings coming out on Tuesday, and one that came out on Sunday. These include Firefly - The Complete Series - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon, Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army - Buy from Amazon: 3-Disc DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Collector's Edition, and Sunset Boulevard - Centennial Collection - Buy from Amazon. All three are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week, and I'm not going to bother to narrow it down further. Additionally, there are two late releases featured on this week's list, Futurama - Bender's Game - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Kung Fu Panda - Buy from Amazon: DVD, With Secrets of the Furious Five, or Blu-ray, and both of these are also worthy of DVD Pick of the Week Honors. As expected with such a massive amount of releases, the list has been split into two and the second part can be found here.
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November 4th, 2008
Plenty of new releases did fantastic business this week, earning first place and three of the top five spots. That new number one release was The Incredible Hulk, which earned $51.33 million from 2.15 million units sold.
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November 4th, 2008
Most of the new releases that charted on this week's sales chart also charted on this week's rental chart, and they even shared the same new number one film, The Incredible Hulk.
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October 28th, 2008
There were more than half-a-dozen new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's sales chart, including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That film topped the charts with 3.03 million units sold for sales of $70.57 million. However, the Franchise Collection placed sixth with 177,000 units sold and $10.85 million in sales. Add in the individual releases and the total sales were more than $80 million from 3.3 million units sold.
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October 28th, 2008
There were fewer new releases that were able to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week, but the same film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was able to come out on top.
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October 15th, 2008
The DVD Release Report finally comes out this week after a couple of delays. At least it is worth the wait as one of the most anticipated films of the year, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, comes out on both Two-Disc Collector's Edition and Blu-ray. This release is clearly the DVD Pick of the Week, either format, while there are so many other releases that the list had to split into two. You can find the first part here.
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October 15th, 2008
The DVD Release Report finally comes out this week after a couple of delays. At least it is worth the wait as one of the most anticipated films of the year, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, comes out on both Two-Disc Collector's Edition and Blu-ray. This release is clearly the DVD Pick of the Week, on either format, while there are so many other releases that the list had to split into two. You can find the second part here.
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October 12th, 2008
German Unification Day helped The Baader Meinhof Complex grow by 10% as it remained in second place in Germany with $4.82 million on 594 screens for a total of $10.99 million after two weeks. Adding in two smaller markets and the film made $5.35 million on 660 screens in 3 markets for a total of $12.06 million.
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August 10th, 2008
Hancock fell from second to sixth with $12.03 million on 5425 screens in 68 markets, however, it still reached $300 million internationally since last week and now has a running tally of $319.43 million. Its best market of the weekend was Spain where it added $1.92 million on 567 screens over the weekend for a total of $20.56 million after two. Meanwhile, its best market overall remains the U.K. where it has $47.09 million after a month of release, including $900,000 on 318 screens this past weekend. With Japan and Italy still ahead, the film should become Will Smith's second $600 million movie, but it will end well back of Independence Day.
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August 3rd, 2008
Hancock fell 56% to $20.22 million on 7516 screens in 70 markets, however, that was still enough for second place on the international chart this week, and lifted its totals to $295.58 million internationally and $502.06 million worldwide, reaching a major milestone. The film's best market of the week was Spain where it remained in first place with $3.98 million on 575 screens for a total of $16.86 million. It is also performing well in Germany where it held on to second place with $1.70 million on 755 screens over the weekend and $33.62 million after four. However, it is starting to slip in the U.K. falling to fifth place with $1.40 million on 400 screens, but its total of $45.15 million in that market is still fantastic. Hancock likely hit $300 million early last week, and it has yet to open in Japan and Italy.
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July 27th, 2008
For the third week in a row, Kung Fu Panda performed excellently on the international scene, but was not on par with the top of the chart. Over the previous weekend, the film finished in third place with $29.02 million on 4460 screens in 51 screens for a total of $273.20 million. This week the film opened three of the four Scandinavian markets including Denmark where it opened in first place with $1.10 million on 87 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. Meanwhile, the film only managed third in Norway with $834,000 on 105 screens over the weekend and $1.2 million in total and it managed third place in Sweden with $689,000 on 149 screens and $840,000 in total. Additionally, the film made $3.02 million on 466 screens over the weekend for a total of $27.57 million after three weeks. Next up for the film is Japan this weekend while it opens in Italy at the end of the month.
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July 20th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda grew to its biggest yet pulling in $45.32 million on 6314 screens in 49 markets for a total of $221.64 million. This includes openings in France where it placed second with $8.64 million on 743 screens for the full week and in Spain where it topped the charts with $6.29 million on 581 screens. The film's best holdover was The U.K. where it slipped a spot to third with $5.55 million on 456 screens for a two-week total of $21.57 million. It also held well in Germany adding $4.54 million on 838 screens for a two-week total of $11.14 million while it now has $20.38 million in Australia, including $3.17 million on 361 screens during this past weekend. Meanwhile, the film has yet to open in Italy or Japan, as well as a few other smaller markets, and should have no trouble reaching $300 million before long.
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July 13th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda saw its weekend numbers climb by close to 70%, and its weekend haul of $40.16 million on 5325 screens in 40 markets was the best of its run so far. A run that has brought in $154.13 million so far. However, it still remained in second place thanks to the opening of Hancock. The film had a pair of second place openings including the U.K. where it made $8.63 million on 446 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.96 million. Meanwhile in Germany it was not as strong with $4.48 million on 831 screens, but it still managed second place. The film also slipped to second place in Australia, but it held well down just 24% to $3.83 million on 363 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.63 million.
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July 6th, 2008
Sex and the City fell more than 40% this past weekend, but still eared $12.94 million on 5991 screens in 53 markets over the weekend for a total of $198.97 million after a month of release. The film had no major, or even midlevel openings, in fact, it's only market of note where it hasn't opened in yet is Japan, where it does make its nationwide debut at the end of August. However, it still did well in a number of markets cracking $1 million in Australia ($1.58 million on 365 screens), Russia ($1.50 million on 496), U.K. ($1.18 million on 388), and Spain ($1.08 million on 359). In fact, in the U.K. the film has earned $49.24 million after a month of release, which is even better than it managed domestically, if you take into account the relative size of the two markets.
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July 1st, 2008
June ended on a high at the box office with the combined ticket sales reaching $185 million. That's close to 30% more than last weekend and nearly 20% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2008 was able to extend its lead over 2007, but it is still above last year's pace by less than a percent, $4.52 billion to $4.49 billion. With almost nothing but good news recently, it's hard not to get optimistic about the state of the industry right now.
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June 25th, 2008
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull saw its prospects rise in Japan as it had the best opening of the year, pulling in $13.09 million on 789 screens. The film is still earning 7-digit weekends in the U.K. and France with $2.86 million on 493 screens and $1.30 million on 739 million respectively. After a month of release, the film has made $74,28 million in the former and $35.99 million in the latter. Overall, it made $23.75 million on 5,664 screens in 58 markets for a total of $391.21 million internationally and $682.17 million worldwide. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is now in the top 30 all-time, and it shouldn't have any trouble climbing a few more spots at the very least.
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June 22nd, 2008
Sex and the City was knocked out of top spot with $23.71 million on 5591 screens in 44 markets for a total of $136.00 million after three weeks of release. Its biggest opening came from the Netherlands, which is a midlevel market at best, but it earned $810,000 on 108 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. This is a very strong opening and the film will have little trouble topping Iron Man in the market and will even come relatively close to Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's total. Additionally, the film earned $4.29 million on 452 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $14.88 million while in the U.K. it pulled in $3.50 million on 470 screens over the weekend lifting its total of $39.80 million after three.
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June 19th, 2008
The outlook for this weekend is mixed. On the one hand, very few people are expecting this week's two new releases to match last week's openings. However, most expect them to top last year's new entries, which is the more important task. This, along with the better holdovers, could be enough to push 2008 over 2007's pace for the first time in a long time.
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June 16th, 2008
Another strong weekend at the box office with the new releases topping expectations, at least combined. Overall, theaters pulled in close to $180 million over the weekend, which was up nearly 3% from last weekend. More importantly, it was up nearly 24% from the same weekend last year. This helped the summer season shoot ahead of last year's pace while year-to-date 2008 is behind 2007's pace by less than 1% at $4.06 billion to $4.07 billion. Before this weekend, 2008 should take the lead in terms of raw dollars, and while it is still more than 3% behind 2007 in terms of attendance, that too could change before long.
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June 12th, 2008
There was a chance The Incredible Hulk and The Happening would open with nearly identical weekends of around $50 million each. However, the box office potential of the two films has diverged lately with The Incredible Hulk going up a little and The Happening going way down. Combined, they should still top last year's group of new releases, and perhaps even help close the gap on the year-to-date race.
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June 11th, 2008
An explosive opening in Australia helped Sex and the City climb into first place on the international box office with $37.64 million on 6588 screens in 39 markets for a total of $92.16 million. In Australia the film opened in first place with an outstanding $7.73 million on 452 screens, which was nearly double its nearest competition. On the other hand, it was not as strong in South Korea where it made $2.33 million on 412 screens over the weekend and $2.92 million in total, which was enough for third place. It also managed third in Brazil with $1.15 million on 166 screens while it only placed fifth in Mexico with $1.20 million on 420 screens. As for holdovers, it made the most in the U.K. but fell 65% to $6.10 million on 469 screens for a total of $31.75 million. On the other hand, it actually rose to first place in Italy down just 28% to $1.99 million on 531 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.35 million after two.
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June 10th, 2008
A rain-delayed DVD Report this week. (We didn't have any flooding, nor was there any real wind damage, but the weather was severe enough to disrupt power at times and my internet connection was not as solid as it should be making working online nearly impossible at times.) It wouldn't have been too bad, but there's a massive list of releases this week, so many in fact, that I had to split the list into two. There aren't many first run releases, and nothing stands out as a must-have, or even a solid purchase. There are some contenders for DVD Pick of the Week, but to find them you have to head over to the TV on DVD department (Army Wives - The Complete First Season - Buy from Amazon), the limited releases market (The Grand - Buy from Amazon), the classics category (High Noon - Buy from Amazon) or the foreign flicks (Invisible Target - Buy from Amazon). High Noon is the best of the group, but it is a double, or even triple-dip, and that costs it some points. I recommend picking up all four, but for DVD Pick of the Week, I'm going with Army Wives - The Complete First Season, which is a bit of a surprise as I didn't think I would enjoy the TV series as much as I did.
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June 9th, 2008
It was a very strong weekend at the box office with the two new releases earning nearly $100 million combined. This helped the overall box office shoot up to $175 million, or 4% higher than last weekend, which is nice, but not spectacular. What is spectacular is the weekend's 29% increase from the same frame last year. Year-to-date, 2008 is still behind 2007, but by less than 2% at $3.81 billion to $3.87 billion. With a little luck, 2008 could catch-up by this time next week.
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June 5th, 2008
June starts off with two potential blockbusters. Fortunately, they share nearly none of their respective target audiences and this could help them both reach their potential. Kung Fu Panda and You Don't Mess With the Zohan are both opening in more than 3,000 theaters (4,000 in the case of the former), and both should hit $10,000 on the per theater chart. Considering this weekend last year was weaker than expected, this bodes well for 2008's shot at playing catch-up.
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June 4th, 2008
After just its second weekend of release, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has become the biggest hit on the international marketplace this year topping Iron Man's month-long total. It did see its weekend haul sliced in half, but it still earned a very impressive $71.37 million on 8411 screens in 56 markets for a total of $266.65 million internationally while its worldwide total reached $482.29 million after Sunday. While it is impossibly to confirm 100% without internal studio documents, it is very likely that given the information we have, the film has already shown a small profit. Additionally, it could still earn close $100 million more domestically and $200 million internationally ob top of these already impressive numbers.
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June 3rd, 2008
The overall box office leader, Sex and the City, was also the leader on the Per Theater Chart with $17,305. Second place went to Savage Grace, which earned an average of $11,156 in two theaters. Last week's winner, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, snagged third place this weekend with and average of $10,496. On the other hand, War, Inc. just missed the $10,000 by the tiniest of tiny margins at $9,985.
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June 2nd, 2008
Sex and the City started off huge on Friday, but it quickly crashed as the weekend wore on. However, its first day was still enough to propel the film into first place and help the overall box office reach $168 million. That was lower than last weekend's total by just over 2%, but that's a very soft decline for a post-holiday weekend. Also, it was nearly 25% higher that the same weekend last year, which is huge growth. 2008 is still behind 2007's pace $3.57 billion to $3.68 billion, but any time it closes the gap is good news.
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May 29th, 2008
There could be quite a battle for top spot at the box office this weekend between the opening of Sex and the City and he sophomore stint of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Hopefully this will help May end with a a stronger box office than the comparable weekend last year. It is possible since the former should open with a bigger box office than Knocked Up while the latter could hold with more than At World's End did.
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May 29th, 2008
The second true worldwide released happened this past weekend with the long awaited debut of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That film opened in first place with $146.39 million on 8427 screens in 55 markets, which was the sixth biggest international opening of all time. Including Memorial Day Monday, the film already has nearly $300 million worldwide, which is likely enough to pay for the film's production budget.
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May 28th, 2008
The winners of our Box Office Predictions are a Cottage Industry contest were determined and they are...
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May 28th, 2008
The $10,000 club was a little more crowded than expected with a few surprise entries, but there was no surprise on top. Not only did Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull top the overall box office chart, it also came in first place on the per theater average chart with $23,507 over the three-day weekend, and nearly $30,000 over four. The Edge of Heaven opened with $18,593 in one theater, which is made even more impressive since it opened on a Wednesday. War, Inc. opened to weak reviews, but managed a surprisingly strong per theater average of $17,668. The final film in the $10,000 club was A Jihad for Love with $10,519 over three days and $17,284 including its box office over Wednesday and Thursday.
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May 28th, 2008
The first long weekend of the summer has come and gone and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was able to earn the tenth best opening weekend of all time, assuming you don't count Iron Man's Thursday night box office. (Which apparently we are supposed to.) However, while this is good news, the overall box office is still in a slump. Sure, the 3-day total was $172 million, which was 31% higher than last weekend, but it was more than 16% lower than the same weekend last year. Add in Monday and the box office pulled in $219 million, which was 14% lower than last year's 4-day total. Year-to-date, 2008 is now 4% behind last year's pace at $3.51 billion to $3.37 billion.
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May 24th, 2008
Another week with just one massive release dominating the box office. This time around it is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which as expected, has the best site this week. However, the best of the week is still not enough to justify giving it the Weekly Website Award.
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May 22nd, 2008
For the first time in nearly two decades, there is an Indiana Jones movie opening in theaters. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is arguably the most anticipated new release of the year and should crush the competition at the box office. In fact, there are more than a few people who expect records will the broken this weekend. With expectations this high, it might be almost impossible for the film to match them.
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May 21st, 2008
Paramount announced the final theater count for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this afternoon: a heroic 4,260.
That makes the movie the 3rd widest release of all time behind the gargantuan release of Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End last year (4,362 theaters) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which opened in 4,285 theaters.
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May 16th, 2008
May completes its hat trick of potential monster hits as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuts next week. Not only does this film have the potential to be the biggest hit of the year, it is also this week's target film.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win Southland Tales on DVD and The Cottage on DVD.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win Southland Tales on DVD and The Cottage on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 1st, 2008
2008 has stumbled pretty badly recently, but, with the past two weekends beating their 2007 counterparts, it looks like it is getting back on track. Hopefully this can continue in May. On the one hand, the start of the Summer should reinvigorate the box office numbers with a few potential $300 million hits opening over the five weekends and two more films that should reach $100 million. Here's the problem: Last year, there were three monster hits that opened in May and they earned a combined box office close to $1 billion. If any of the big three this month (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Iron Man) stumble, then there will be almost no way 2008 can keep pace with 2007.
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September 16th, 2007
A stronger week for website than we've seen in a few weeks, including the launch of a potential fall blockbuster. However, that site is mostly marked coming soon allowing Elizabeth - The Golden Age - Official Site to take the Weekly Website Award this week.
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August 18th, 2007
Busy week with more than 30 sites featured on the list. However, none really stand our as award-worthy; in fact, most only stand because of a lack of style. Hopefully as the fall season progresses and we near the holidays, we will get bigger and better sites launching.
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July 29th, 2007
Server upgrades went... less smoothly than anticipated, which delayed this column, but at least there are a huge number of sites to check out. Many of these sites are making their first appearance on the list while quite a few are making their last appearance. Unfortunately, while it's a big list, there are not many that are even close to being award worthy at the moment. 30 Days of Night - Official Site comes the closest, but I'm waiting for the missing features to be added before I make that decision.
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July 14th, 2007
One of the last summer blockbusters launched its full site this week. This means two things, The Bourne Ultimatum - Official Site is the clear winner of the weekly website award. And secondly, there will likely be a slowdown in top-notch sites as we approach the dog days of summer, and the even worse days of September.
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June 24th, 2007
One of the most anticipate films of the summer became the best site of the week. The Simpsons Movie - Official Site is finally here and the winner of the Weekly Website Award.
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February 11th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Indiana Jones 4, The Mummy 3, Hellboy 2 and more.
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January 9th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains the announcement for Indiana Jones 4 and more.
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January 6th, 2007
Big list as I try to catch up after the holidays. I think I caught all the updates. Not only are there a lot of sites on this week's list, several of them are potential award winners with the best of the best being
Smokin' Aces -
Official Site.
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January 3rd, 2004
The New Year makes for an interesting time to look at how last year's blockbusters have affected our All Time Top Box Office Stars list.
As usual, there are some familiar names doing well, and some surprise new entries.
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