2019 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part III - Limited Releases, Classics, Foreign Imports

December 16th, 2019

The first two installments of our Holiday Gift Guide had plenty of first-run releases and several TV on DVD releases. This installment includes limited releases and foreign imports. The list of classics isn’t up to the usual standards for the same reasons the TV on DVD list was rather short. Streaming is taking over that part of the market. Did you know The Criterion Collection has their own streaming service? So does Magnolia Pictures. On the one hand, that’s a lot of amazing movies for one price. On the other hand, as a fan of physical media, I’m not happy streaming is becoming so popular. There are still some great smaller titles worthy of the season. More...

Home Market Releases for August 27th, 2019

August 28th, 2019

This week, the main list of new releases is particularly short for two reasons. Firstly, it is a slow week. Secondly, I’ve filtered out the TV on DVD releases for their own section. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and we are entering the heart of TV on DVD season on the home market, so it made sense to do it this week. (I’m including all TV on DVD releases, both individual seasons and full series Megasets.) As for the biggest new releases, there are not a lot to talk about. Godzilla: King of the Monsters and The Secret Life of Pets 2 both missed expectations at the box office, but both are worth picking up for their respective target audiences. As for the best, only The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Rocketman are contenders for Pick of the Week. The latter has far better extras, but the former is the better movie and wins that title. More...

Theater Averages: Lion King Can’t Be Dethroned

July 31st, 2019

The Lion King remained in first place on the overall chart and the theater average chart. It managed an average of $16,216 on the latter, putting it ahead of Honeyland, which landed in second place with an average of $15,000 in two theaters. The Farewell remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,246 in 135 theaters. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood was the final film in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,228. More...

Theater Averages: Endgame Bids Farewell to One of Its Records

July 18th, 2019

The Farewell topped the theater average chart with an average of $87,833 in four theaters. This was not only the best of the weekend, it overtook Avengers: Endgame for the best theater average of the year. Anytime a film does better than Endgame, it is serious reason to celebrate. The Art of Self-Defense was well back with an average of $16,339 in seven theaters. This is still a good start, but I don’t know if it is good enough for its planned wide expansion. The final film in the $10,000 club was Sword of Trust with an average of $11,256 in two theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Quiet Weekend

June 27th, 2019

There weren’t many new releases to talk about, but a surprising percentage of them landed in the $10,000 club. This includes the overall box office champ, Toy Story 4, which opened with an average of $26,428. Wild Rose was the best of the limited releases earning an average of $13,235 in four theaters, while Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am was right behind with an average of $12,013, also in four theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Nothing New to Report

June 20th, 2019

There were no new releases in the $10,000 club this past weekend. That’s not to say there were no films that reached that mark, but neither of them were new. Paris is Burning is a re-release of a 1991 documentary and it earned $10,839 in its lone theater. Meanwhile, The Last Black Man in San Francisco spent a second weekend in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,581 in 36 theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Late Night Gets Off to an Early Start

June 13th, 2019

2019 set a new record on the theater average chart, as Late Night got off to the fastest start for a limited release so far earning an average of $61,576 in four theaters during its opening weekend. This is better than Echo in the Canyon managed just two weeks ago, although Avengers: Endgame still owns the overall record with an average of $76,601. The Last Black Man in San Francisco also did incredibly well with an average of $33,610 in seven theaters. This Ones for the Ladies was well back with an opening of $13,688 in one theater. Meanwhile, the overall number one film, The Secret Life of Pets 2, was the final film in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,229. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Will it be Good Night for Limited Releases?

June 7th, 2019

Late Night should be the biggest box office hit of the week with an already scheduled wide expansion next weekend. However, it isn’t the only film that has a chance to do well. The Last Black Man in San Francisco is also earning some strong buzz, while there are a number of documentaries vying for audiences this week. More...