February 19th, 2020
-(2019)-2-News.jpg)
There are not a lot of major releases on this week’s list, but what we lack in quantity, we more than make up for in quality. In fact, there are five contenders for Pick of the Week and a couple of other smaller releases that might end up in my collection soon. It is going to be a rough week on my wallet. These include a couple of Oscar contenders, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Jojo Rabbit; a couple of animated releases, The Point! and Tex Avery: Screwball Classics: Volume 1; and a TV on DVD Megaset, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The Complete Series. All five releases are worth picking up, but I’m going with Jojo Rabbit as this week’s Pick of the Week.
More...
February 5th, 2020
It is a slow week for truly great releases. Both Doctor Sleep and The Nightingale are worth picking up, but not Pick of the Week contenders. Last Christmas is also worth picking up, but only if you like Romantic Comedies with magical realism. As for the Pick of the Week, I’m going with That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season One, Part Two and if you really into Isekai Anime, grab Isekai Quartet: Season One as well.
More...
February 4th, 2020
-3-News.jpg)
Our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway so now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. We are continuing our schedule with Best Supporting Actor. This might be the least competitive category we talk about this year.
More...
January 13th, 2020
-1-News.jpg)
The Oscar nominations were announced on Monday, and the results were... well, there were some puzzling results. Joker led the way with eleven nominations. ... A film with 69% positive reviews earned the most nominations. It’s not the worst-reviewed movie to earn a Best Picture Nomination—after all, Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated just last year. However, this film is arguably the worst-reviewed movie to ever earn the most nominations in a single year.
More...
December 12th, 2019
The Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations this week and we are starting to see some patterns with similar names appearing over and over again. This time Bombshell led the way, earning four nominations, but four other films earned two or more nominations.
More...
December 11th, 2019
The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. It is still very early in the year and the predictive value of the Golden Globes is a little suspect, but there are still some things to learn here. (This is especially true on the TV end, as there’s talk about how strange the nominations are this year.) Marriage Story led the way with six nominations, just ahead of The Irishman and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, both of which picked up five nods.
More...
December 10th, 2019
-4-News.jpg)
As expected, the box office collapsed this week, as it always does in a post-holiday weekend. Despite the best efforts of Frozen II and Knives Out, the overall weekend box office fell 50% to $89 million. This is 5.4% higher than the same weekend last year and that’s the more important figure. Year-to-date, 2019 closed ground with 2018, albeit by a tiny margin and this year is still behind last year by 5.9% or $630 million at $10.16 billion to $10.80 billion. It has been a long time since we’ve seen the box office decline by that high of a percentage in one year; however, 2019 is still on pace to be the second highest grossing year of all time and it still has higher ticket sales than 2017 had at this point, so I think we shouldn’t panic over this.
More...
December 8th, 2019
-3-News.jpg)
Frozen II fell both faster than expected, and faster than projections based on Friday’s estimates. However, the film is still managing an estimated $34.67 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $337.59 million. This is enough to push it ahead of Joker and into seventh place on the yearly chart. If this holds up, then it will have an excellent shot at topping the first Frozen’s domestic total, even without the Christmas break coming up. Internationally, the film pulled in $90.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $582.1 million internationally and $919.7 million worldwide. It had no major market openings this weekend, but it is earning an estimated $800,000 in South Africa, which would make it the second biggest opening for an animated film there, behind only Minions. The film has become the biggest animated film in South Korea with $75.5 million. It as also topped its predecessor in Russia ($23.0 million) and Mexico ($21.1 million) and a lot of smaller markets.
More...
December 7th, 2019
-2-News.jpg)
As expected, Frozen II earned first place on the Friday box office chart. However, the film fell further than anticipated, earning $7.84 million—off 77% from last Friday. That was a holiday, so obviously it will bounce back over the rest of the weekend, but projections have the film earning about $36 million compared to our $38 million prediction. This is close enough that I’m satisfied with the result and it is more than enough to keep it in wide release until after the new year.
More...
December 5th, 2019
-2-News.jpg)
The weekend after Thanksgiving is one of the worst weeks of the year to release a film wide. In fact, many years there are no wide releases. This year, Playmobil gets thrown to the wolves, or to the mercy of Frozen II, to be more specific. I can’t imagine it will survive the competition. In fact, most think the wide expansion of Dark Waters will beat it at the box office and that film isn’t expected to land in the top five. This weekend last year had no wide releases and Frozen II should earn more than last year’s top two films, Ralph Breaks the Internet and The Grinch, earned combined. December should get off to a fast start on the year-over-year competition and hopefully that’s a good omen going forward.
More...
December 2nd, 2019
-8-News.jpg)
2019 hasn’t been a great year and has consistently been behind 2018. However, 2018 was the biggest ever year at the box office and 2019 has been in a battle for second place for much of the year. Thanksgiving beat expectations and the overall performances over the Thanksgiving weekend really helped 2019’s chances to secure second place. Frozen II broke records earning first place for its three-day and five-day Thanksgiving weekends. In fact, its three-day weekend haul of $85.98 million would have landed in third place on the all-time five-day chart. Additionally, both new releases, Knives Out and Queen and Slim, topped expectations leading to a robust box office. Granted, the overall box office was a little lower, down 12%, from last weekend at $180 million. This is common for Thanksgiving, as the Wednesday and Thursday holidays are so popular with moviegoers that they reduce the box office potential of the Friday through Sunday weekend. This is 56% higher than the same weekend last year, but this is due to a misalignment in the holidays. This Thanksgiving was 16.5% lower than last year’s Thanksgiving, but the misalignment of the holidays does have an effect there as well, so it isn’t a perfect comparison either. Next weekend will be a lot better when it comes to the year-over-year comparison. Year-to-date, 2019 is still behind 2018 by a large margin, but 2019 was able to close to the gap a bit to 6.0% or $640 million at $10.03 billion to $10.67 billion. Getting that gap lower is the goal for December, as it is virtually impossible that 2019 will catch up completely. I would be really impressed if they can cut that gap in half.
More...
December 1st, 2019
-7-News.jpg)
Frozen II’s weekend haul wasn’t quite up to the level it was during the week, but it was still impressive. In fact, it is matching our prediction nearly perfectly with $85.25 million, giving it $123.75 million over five days and a running tally of $287.57 million. It will break the three-day and the five-day Thanksgiving records, topping the second place film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, by substantial margins. Frozen II will have no trouble getting to $300 million shortly, while topping $400 million is practically assured at this point. Meanwhile, it is adding $163.8 million in 45 markets internationally for totals of $451.0 million internationally and $738.6 million worldwide. The film had a trio of first-place openings in major markets this past weekend, including Russia with $13.7 million, which Disney is reporting as the best opening for an animated film in that market. In Italy, it earned $7.7 million over the weekend and $8.6 million including previews, which is the best for a Disney animated film. It wasn’t as impressive in Australia with an opening of $6.6 million, but this was still 59% more than the first Frozen opened with in that market. At this point, the film has fully paid for its production budget, and while it likely cost between $150 million and $200 million to advertise, it should last in theaters long enough to cover that as well. That’s assuming the film had no more markets to open in, which isn’t the case. It has yet to open in Brazil and some smaller markets, so it should get a boost at the box office over the next month and a bit.
More...
November 30th, 2019
-6-News.jpg)
Frozen II remains on pace to top expectations and set a couple of Thanksgiving weekend records. It should earn both the three-day and the five-day records. In fact, with a Friday haul of $34.03 million, it is on pace for about $85 million from Friday through Sunday, meaning its three-day Thanksgiving weekend won’t be too far behind the first Frozen’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend haul of $93.59 million. Even with weaker legs thanks to weaker reviews, a lower A minus CinemaScore, and being a sequel, it is still on pace to top its predecessor and hit $400 million domestically with ease.
More...
November 29th, 2019
-5-News.jpg)
Frozen II slipped faster than anticipated on Thursday, pulling in $14.72 million. Family films tend to fall faster on Thanksgiving Thursday, because families spend time with each other rather than going to the theaters, but I was hoping it wouldn’t fall quite this fast. Frozen II fell fast enough that the more adult oriented The Hunger Games: Catching Fire remains the Biggest Thursday in November, albeit by a very close margin. Furthermore, the film is still well ahead of our prediction, helping it crack $200 million domestically on Thursday. Projections have the film destroying the 5-Day Thanksgiving record, with $130 million, maybe more, so there’s plenty to celebrate. As for the film’s long term chances, it doesn’t have any direct competition until Christmas Day, so it will have no trouble remaining in wide release until the New Year.
More...
November 28th, 2019
After breaking the record for Biggest Monday of November and the Biggest Tuesday of November, Frozen II had to settle for second place for the Biggest Wednesday of November, as it earned $23.78 million on Wednesday. This puts it just shy of The Matrix Revolutions’s record of $24.31 million; however, that was The Matrix Revolutions’ opening day, so I think it is safe to assume Frozen II will be back on top on Thursday. Furthermore, this puts the film on pace to top our prediction by a substantial margin. In fact, it looks like it will top its three-day opening weekend over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend. It’s chances of matching its predecessor have increased dramatically.
More...
November 27th, 2019
Our latest site improvement is the ability to sort the columns on the Acting Credits and Technical Credits tables. These tables now allow you to arrange in ascending or descending order an actor or crew member's filmography by release date, title, role, domestic box office, international box office, and worldwide box office.
To find a specific person's page, simply use the Search bar or go to a film's main page and click the Cast & Crew tab. Click on the person's name and then the Acting Credits tab or Technical Credits tab. There will be separate tables for each type of acting role and type of technical credit along with links to the latest acting and technical box office record lists.
More...
November 27th, 2019
-1-News.jpg)
There are two wide releases this Thanksgiving, both of which are earning stellar reviews. Unfortunately, only one of those two films, Knives Out, is expected to make any real impact at the box office. Queen and Slim is just hoping to reach the top five. That said, both films will be crushed by Frozen II, which broke records last weekend and it is expected to have a strong hold during the holidays. This weekend last year was the weekend after Thanksgiving and the biggest new release was The Possession of Hannah Grace. Queen and Slim should top that at the box office. In fact, Knives Out might top Ralph Breaks the Internet’s sophomore stint, so even without Frozen II, the weekend would be looking good. 2019 might do well enough on the year-over-year competition that it will save November and give the year a real shot at ending on a strong note.
More...
November 26th, 2019
Frozen II beat expectations over the weekend, and earned several records along the way. In fact, its three-day opening of $130.26 million is better than the previous 5-day Thanksgiving weekend for an animated film, a record previously held by Frozen. The other two new releases, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and 21 Bridges, missed expectations, but were close enough that the overall box office was very healthy. In fact, the box office rose 89% from last weekend to $204 million. This was 5.7% lower than the same weekend last year, but this weekend last year was Thanksgiving, so being down by 5.7% during a holiday misalignment is a fantastic result. We did lose the weekday holidays, so year-over-year, 2019 lost a lot of ground to 2018 and is now behind last year’s pace by 7.4% or $770 million at $9.71 billion to $10.48 billion. We should gain a lot next weekend, thanks to Thanksgiving, and by the first weekend of December, things will settle down.
More...
November 24th, 2019
It didn’t look like Frozen II would match our $125 million prediction based on Friday’s estimate, but if weekend estimates hold, it will did so with $127.0 million. This is not only the highest opening weekend for an Animated film in November, but anytime outside of summer. This greater-than-anticipated internal multiplier stronger suggests better legs overall. It is a family film opening just before Thanksgiving, so it was expected to have long legs regardless, but its reviews and its A minus from CinemaScore were merely good and not great. Add in the sequel effect and the film leg’s wouldn’t be nearly as stunning as the first Frozen’s legs were. However, after this result, I’m a lot more confident the film will still be at least a truly wide release come January, if not a saturation level release, as its predecessor was.
More...
November 23rd, 2019
As expected, Frozen II started with a record-breaking Friday, as the film pulled in $41.8 million during its opening day, the best day in November for an animated film. Combine this start with its reviews and its A minus from CinemaScore and the film should have decent legs. The audience reaction is a little disappointing, so I think our prediction of $125 million is unlikely. It will come close enough to become a huge hit domestically. In fact, it is on pace to smash the November 3-day weekend for an animated film by the middle of Saturday and the five-day Thanksgiving weekend for any film by the middle of Sunday, and it isn’t even Thanksgiving. Those records are currently held by The Incredibles ($70.5 million) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($109.9 million). The Incredibles record will obviously be broken, but we’ll have to wait until next week to see what Thanksgiving looks like. Frozen II is the fastest-starting November animated release of all time, but I don’t think it will have the legs to catch Frozen’s domestic total, unless it is able to remain in saturation level wide release until the New Year.
More...
November 22nd, 2019
Frozen II is giving box office watchers a reason to celebrate after earning $8.5 million during its previews on Thursday, setting the record for an animated film in November. This is not as much as The Lion King ($23 million) or Toy Story 4 ($12 million) made during their previews, but those two films opened during summer holidays and family films’ performances during previews is proportional to the number of kids who are on holidays. A better comparison is Aladdin, which earned $7 million during its previews back in May before the vast majority of kids were out of school. It turned that preview into an opening weekend haul of $91 million. This film does have better reviews and I think there isn’t much difference between a sequel and a remake when it comes to legs, so that should help this film’s legs. I’m cautiously optimistic that the film will match our $125 million weekend prediction. We will know more when we get Friday’s estimates.
More...
November 21st, 2019
The winter holiday season unofficially began on the first weekend of November and so far performance at the box office has been less than acceptable. That needs to—and should—turn around this weekend. According to most industry trackers, Frozen II should break records. Its reviews are far from award-worthy, but they are great for a family film. On the other hand, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’s reviews are award-worthy and the film should have really long legs, especially if major nominations start rolling in. Finally, 21 Bridges has the weakest reviews and the lowest box office potential of the three wide releases this week. This weekend last year was led by the one-two punch of Ralph Breaks the Internet and Creed II. Frozen II should easily earn more than those two’s combined $92 million. Unfortunately, last year there were four films that topped $20 million over the weekend, while this year there will be only one. Last year’s depth will likely result in 2019 losing yet another weekend in the year-over-year competition. At least it should be close.
More...
November 1st, 2019
-1-News.jpg)
Joker single-handedly saved October. Had the film merely matched expectations, then the month would had suffered a major loss in the year-over-year competition. We sill lost a little ground, but not so much that we will look to October as the reason 2019 missed last year’s pace. As for November, we have some potential monster hits with Frozen II leading the way. If that film doesn’t earn at least $1 billion worldwide, I will be shocked. Additionally, every week has at least one movie coming out that has a somewhat realistic shot at $100 million, although not all of them will get there. Unfortunately, last November was much better, with five films that topped $100 million, including three that earned more than $200 million. I think 2019 will be better at the top, but it just won’t have the depth to keep pace with last year.
More...
July 22nd, 2019
Real-life drama starring opens November 22 ... Full Movie Details.
After a jaded magazine writer is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America’s most beloved neighbor. Based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod.
More...
.jpg)