February 24th, 2014
It's a very impressive week at the top of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases. There's not one, but two $200 million hits coming out this week. Likewise, there are not one, but two major Awards Season hits coming out as well. One film, Gravity, is in both groups. All three films, Gravity, Thor: The Dark World, and Nebraska, are all contenders for Pick of the Week. Gravity is the only one I didn't get a chance to review, but the Blu-ray Combo Pack or the 3D Combo Pack are clearly the Pick of the Week. It's an amazing movie and the Blu-ray releases are loaded with extras.
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October 22nd, 2013
12 Years a Slave opened with a stellar average of $48,617 in 19 theaters. With a planned expansion, this is a great start. All is Lost was well back with an average of $15,597 in six theaters. This isn't a bad start and its reviews suggest long legs, but it might get overshadowed by 12 Years a Slave. The final film in the $10,000 club was Kill Your Darlings, which was right behind with an average of $14,750 in four theaters.
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October 15th, 2013
Gravity remained on top of the Per Theater Chart with an average of $11,800. Unfortunately, it was the only film in the $10,000 club.
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October 15th, 2013
Both Gravity and Captain Phillips topped expectations, which is a reason to celebrate. However, it's practically the only reason to celebrate. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 did well, but from that point on, the box office was a disaster. Overall, the total box office was $116 million, which was down 8% from last week. Compared to last year, the box office was down by 10%. How can this year's top film earn more than twice as much as last year's number one film, but still lose out overall? Last year, the fourth place film was Hotel Transylvania, which earned $17.24 million. This year the fourth place film was Machete Kills, which earned just $3.84 million. The depth this year is simply terrible. Year-to-date, 2013 is still ahead of 2012, but by less than 1% at $8.21 billion to $8.15 billion.
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October 9th, 2013
There were a ton of new releases this week, but Gravity was pulled down by the mass of new releases. It lead the way on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $15,604. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Linsanity, which earned an average of $11,051 in nine theaters.
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October 8th, 2013
Gravity crushed expectations, and records, over the weekend with more than $55 million. This topped the previous biggest October weekend by more than $3 million. On the other hand, Runner Runner went nowhere opening well below the lower end of predictions. Overall, the box office rose 16% from last year reaching $127 million. Unfortunately, last year had much better depth and 2013 was 11% lower in the year-over-year comparison. 2013 is still ahead of 2012, but the lead has been cut to just 0.9% at $8.05 billion to $7.98 billion.
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October 6th, 2013
Success at the box office is no guarantee of awards, but it certainly doesn't do any harm. And by that metric, Gravity's chances of picking up an Oscar or three is taking a considerable turn for the better this weekend as the sci-fi thriller heads towards a celestial $55.6 million debut, according to Warner Bros.'s Sunday projection. That will comfortably set a record for the biggest weekend in October, overtaking Paranormal Activity 3's $52.6 million back in 2011. With Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave opening in the next two weeks, awards season is getting interesting.
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October 4th, 2013
There are ten limited releases on this week's list, but only one of them is earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Let the Fire Burn is the standout, with a 92% positive response. The Summit is earning 73% positive reviews, which is good, but not great. Then there's Grace Unplugged, which is opening in more than 500 theaters, but with no reviews. That's a horrible combination. Overall, there's nothing that jumps out as a potential limited release hit.
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