September 3rd, 2013
It's a really slow week on the home market. There's only one first-run release of note, Now You See Me, while the best-selling TV on DVD release is from the CW, The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season. That doesn't mean there are no new releases worth picking up. In fact, there are a couple of contenders for Pick of the Week. Blancanieves is one such contender, but while the DVD or Blu-ray is worth picking up, I think the target audience is a little too limited for Pick of the Week. Instead, that honor goes to From Up on Poppy Hill on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
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April 30th, 2013
While there were two films in the $10,000 club this week, Kon-Tiki and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, one could argue Mud had the best opening on the per theater chart this past weekend. Kon-Tiki earned an average of $11,084 in two theaters, while The Reluctant Fundamentalist earned an average of $10,307 in three. However, Mud earned an average of $6,103 while playing in 363 theaters. It missed the top ten by just $160,000.
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April 23rd, 2013
There was only one film in the $10,000 club this week, In the House, which earned an average of $11,738 in three theaters. However, Filly Brown had a more impressive opening with $1.48 million in 188 theaters for an average of $7,863. You rarely see limited releases playing in that many theaters earning that high a per theater average.
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April 21st, 2013
Given the news over the past week, and the shutdown of Boston on Friday, there was some uncertainty over how much sci-fi action moviegoers would have an appetite for this weekend. Sunday's studio estimates provide the answer: quite a lot. Oblivion will open with about $38.2 million according to Universal, which is on the high end of expectations. That's enough to put it firmly in the top ten April weekends, in between Rio and Hop, but a long way behind Clash of the Titans, which debuted with $61.2 million in 2010 and is probably the closest comparison film to Oblivion among recent April openers.
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April 19th, 2013
There are not a huge number of films on this weeks list, but there are some big releases in terms of theater counts. In fact, there is a trio of films opening in more than 100 theaters and there is a slim chance one of them will be a breakout hit. If I were a betting man, I would go with Home Run. Its reviews are weak, but churchgoers tend not to listen to critics. There are also a trio of documentaries, and a trio of Canadian films. Hopefully there will be at least a couple surprise hits in the bunch.
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April 18th, 2013
It is no secret that 2013 has been a bad year at the box office so far. There's only one film debuting wide this week, Oblivion, which should benefit from the lack of competition this weekend. (Although we are already seeing plenty of hype for Iron Man 3, which could hurt this film's chance at the box office.) There are also several films opening in more than 100 theaters: Filly Brown, Home Run, and The Lords of Salem. There's a chance one of them will be a better than expected hit and reach the top ten; it's a slim chance, but a chance. Finally, The Place Beyond the Pines is expanding to an additional 1,000 theaters and should climb higher in the top ten. Last year, there were three wide releases led by Think Like a Man. That film was a bigger than expected hit, but hopefully Oblivion will have an even better start, but not everyone is positive it will.
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