The Numbers News - May 2013

May 31, 2013

There are a few new releases that could do well in limited release, including The East, which has an excellent pedigree, but its reviews are only good and not great. Hannah Arendt has perfect reviews and it is a subject that is just made for the art house circuit. However, I'm most interested in seeing The History of Future Folk, which is too bizarre to really describe. There are also four Canadian films coming out this week, including one, American Mary, that is playing in Canada and the States. More...

Contest: Binge and Purge

May 31, 2013

There are two wide releases coming out next week: The Internship and The Purge. I'm not sure which one will have the better start and I was going to flip a coin to determine the target movie for this weeks' box office prediction contest, but I couldn't find a coin. ... So I'm picking The Purge. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for The Purge. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or not , will win a copy of Space Warriors on Blu-ray. (The link is to the DVD, because the Blu-ray is a Walmart exclusive.)

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Will After Earth Have a Magical Start?

May 31, 2013

Post-holiday weekends tend to feature weak releases and this time is no exception. After Earth is a film that should be a massive summer blockbuster, given its genre and its star, but the buzz is terrible. Now You See Me is the counter-programming release, but it should have a better opening than After Earth, relative to expectations and production budget. That said, Fast and Furious 6 will very likely remain on top of the box office chart. This weekend last year was the weekend Snow White and the Huntsman debuted and it earned $56 million. There's pretty much no chance any film will earn that much during this weekend. In fact, the two wide releases might not make that much combined. More...

Home Market Numbers: April 14th, 2013: Home Market Sinks to Yearly Low

May 31, 2013

The overall home market again sank for the week of April 14th, 2013 falling to what was arguably the lowest level for the year. Since there was only one new release to reach the top ten, it should come as no surprise that the total sales fell from last week, but it is still troubling. In total, there were 688,000 units sold and $17.95 million in revenue generated. This was 24% fewer units and 37% less revenue when compared to last week. Even more troubling, this was the lowest units sold all year and second lowest by revenue. Fortunately, and more importantly, it was better than the same weekend last year by 26% in terms of units and 34% in terms of revenue. The overall Blu-ray share was mostly flat at 31% in terms of units and 38% in terms of revenue. It will be this way for most of the summer, until the flood of TV on DVD releases start coming out, at which time the Blu-ray share will drop. More...

Blu-ray Sales: April 14th, 2013: Hobbit Stretches Its Legs

May 31, 2013

Like the DVD sales chart, there were almost no new releases to find a place on the April 14th, 2013 edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey rose to the top of the chart 104,000 units / $2.60 million for the week and 1.93 million units / $45.02 million after four. More...

DVD Sales: April 14th, 2013: Bible Doesn't Resurrect Sales Numbers

May 31, 2013

There were only three new releases to reach the top 30 on the April 14th, 2013 edition of the DVD sales chart and none of them reached the top five. This left the top five identical to last week. The Bible: The Epic Miniseries sold 161,000 units and generated $5.29 million in sales for the week, lifting its running tallies to 597,000 units / $19.60 million. More...

Contest: Epic Win: Winning Announcement

May 30, 2013

The winners of our Epic Win contest were determined and they are... More...

Per Theater Chart: We've Seen This Result Before

May 29, 2013

As expected, Before Midnight led the way on the per theater chart with an average $49,383. This is the third best per theater average so far this year, behind just The Place Beyond the Pines and Spring Breakers. The overall box office leader, Fast and Furious 6, was next with an average of $26,620. Fill the Void was relatively close behind with an average of $19,721 in three theaters. The final film in the $10,000 club was The Hangover 3 with an average of $11,722. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Start Helps Set Records

May 29, 2013

Memorial Day long weekend has come and gone and it was a boon to the box office numbers. Not only did Fast and Furious 6 reach the high end of predictions, as did Epic. On the other hand, The Hangover III struggled. The positives overrode the negatives by a large margin and the overall box office rose to $254.37 million, which is a new record for a three-day Memorial Day weekend. Adding in Monday, and the box office made $313.18 million. The three-day portion of the weekend rose 65% compared to last weekend and 67% compared to last year. This weekend earned more than $100 million more than the same weekend in 2012. That is something that usually only happens when there's a misalignment in holiday weekends. If you add in Monday, 2013's Memorial Day long weekend earned 63% more than the Memorial Day long weekend from 2012. Granted, 2013 is still far behind 2012, but this is great news. Hopefully it will keep up for a while. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 28th, 2013

May 28, 2013

It's the day after Memorial Day, which means we are in the summer season, which is a terrible time for the home market. The only first-run release of the week is Dark Skies, which is hardly a major release. There are a few summer TV shows that are coming out on DVD and / or Blu-ray, some of which are interesting. The latest season of Doctor Who is coming out this week, but it is being split, and not just into two parts, so that precludes it from being a Pick of the Week contender. There are not a lot of options for Pick of the Week, but I'm going with Beetlejuice: The Complete Series, but keep in mind there could be some nostalgia at work here and Lore on DVD or Blu-ray is arguably the better release. Meanwhile, Hellbound? on DVD earns the rarely awarded Puck of the Week for best Canadian release. More...

Final Weekend Numbers

May 28, 2013

Final weekend numbers:
- 3-Day Weekend Friday-Sunday
- Friday Daily Numbers
- Saturday Daily Numbers
- Sunday Daily Numbers
- Monday Daily Numbers

We are now publishing our weekend and daily charts with updates as they are received from the studios. Most major studios, and many independent distributors report by about 1pm, Pacific Time and final numbers are available by 3.30pm. To be included in our charts, please send box office reports and release schedule updates to bodata@the-numbers.com. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: The Great Escape

May 28, 2013

The Great Escape is one of the greatest movies ever made. It recently made its Blu-ray debut on a 50th anniversary disc. However, early reviews were not great. The movie still stands the test of time, but many Blu-ray critics complained about the video quality. Were they being overly snobbish? Or is the video quality really that bad? More...

Featured DVD Review: Hellbound?

May 27, 2013

Hellbound? is a documentary that sets out to answer two simple questions. Why is there Hell? And who goes there? I am fully aware that while those questions can be stated simply, they are far from simple questions. Filmmaker Kevin Miller travels around the United States, and the world, talking to various individuals about their ideas of Hell and who goes there. Will it engage religious moviegoers? Will it have wider appeal? More...

Weekend Estimates: Fast and Furious Weekend

May 26, 2013

Memorial Day weekend will be one for the record books, thanks to a gigantic opening for Fast and Furious 6 and a gaggle of good results for a trailing pack of three films. The Hangover III will pick up $42.4 million (the worst opening weekend for the franchise, but still a solid performance by any measure); Star Trek Into Darkness is looking at a good hold with around $38 million Friday-Sunday and $121 million so far; and Epic gets off to a good start with $34.2 million, which is comfortably the most ever earned by a 4th-place finisher, besting Madea's Witness Protection's opening last year. But the real accolades must be reserved for Fast and Furious. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Dark Skies

May 26, 2013

Dark Skies opened in theaters with no reviews, it missed the top five during its opening weekend, and then quickly disappeared from theaters. This week, it reaches the home market, but is it as bad as that sounds? Or should the studio have more faith in the film? More...

See a Limited Release Before the End of the Day

May 24, 2013

It is a rather short list for limited releases this week, but there is at least one, Before Midnight, that has a really good shot at earning some mainstream success. It is not the only film earning great reviews, but not every film that earns great reviews thrives in limited release and films like Fill the Void and We Steal Secrets will likely find more limited success. More...

Contest: Scarred for Life

May 24, 2013

The weekend after Memorial Day tends to be rather weak, but there are two films hoping to buck that trend: After Earth and Now You See Me. Neither are likely to be monster hits, but After Earth has a better chance than Now You See Me does and it is the choice for the target movie for this weeks' box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for After Earth. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Visible Scars 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 a copy of Visible Scars on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Fast Be Fast Enough?

May 24, 2013

It's the Memorial Day long weekend and there are three new films looking to take advantage of the holiday, plus a number of holdovers that will likely still bring in a lot of money. Fast and Furious 6 is leading the way in terms of box office potential and many think it will crack $100 million over four days; some think it will crack $100 million over three days. The Hangover III debuted on Thursday, which will give it a jump on the competition, but soften its weekend numbers. Finally, there's Epic, a family film that seems like a sure hit, except there is a lot of competition this weekend. Star Trek into Darkness, Iron Man 3, and The Great Gatsby are all still doing well and should provide some competition for the three new releases. All combined, those six films should make as much as the entire box office did last year and 2013 will start to close the gap with 2012. More...

Home Market Numbers: April 7th, 2013: Post-Easter Weekend Sinks Home Market

May 23, 2013

The week of April 7th, 2013 was the weekend after Easter, and Easter tends to have a lot of sales for DVDs and Blu-rays, so it should come as no surprise there was a drop in sales. Additionally, the new releases were led by The Bible: The Epic Miniseries, both in terms of units and revenue, which is not a prime Blu-ray release. One could argue The Avengers Megaset, Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One was a more impressive debut, all things considered. Neither release was enough to buoy the overall Blu-ray market, which fell 64% in terms of units and 52% in terms of revenue. Total units fell below the 1 million mark for the first time since January and only the third time this year with 936,000 units, while the revenue fell to $29.28 million. Blu-ray sales fell compared to last year, down 39% in terms of units and 17% in terms of revenue. Granted, there was a misalignment in the Easter weekend, so we shouldn't take too much stock in this one result. With very little in the way of new releases, the overall Blu-ray share fell to 32% in terms of units and 41% in terms of revenue. This isn't a great result, but it's hardly a reason to panic. The market will bounce back, in a couple weeks. More...

Blu-ray Sales: April 7th, 2013: Bible Blues

May 23, 2013

There were a couple of new releases to chart on the April 7th, 2013 edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. This includes The Bible: The Epic Miniseries, which earned first place with 172,000 units / $6.31 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 28%, which is low for the format as a whole, but better than expected, given its genre and target audience. More...

DVD Sales: April 7th, 2013: The Bible Leads the Way

May 23, 2013

New releases were nearly shut out of the April 7th, 2013 edition of the DVD sales chart. That said, the one and only new release to chart was The Bible: The Epic Miniseries, which earned first place with 436,000 units / $14.31 million. More...

Contest: Seeing in the Dark: Winning Announcement

May 23, 2013

The winner of our Seeing in the Dark contest was determined and it is... More...

IMAX: Star Trek Brighter on IMAX

May 23, 2013

Star Trek into Darkness had a fantastic domestic start on IMAX with $13.6 million on 336 screens. Worldwide, the film has made roughly $20 million on IMAX so far. More...

Frances is Lone Bright Spot on Per Theater Chart

May 23, 2013

Frances Ha earned first place on the per theater chart with an average of $34,350 in four theaters. This is strong enough to suggest serious potential to expand. The overall number one film, Star Trek into Darkness, placed second with an average of $18,140. That's a fantastic start, but lower than expected. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 21st, 2013

May 23, 2013

It's an abridged list of DVD and Blu-ray releases report this week due to technical difficulties. The best selling new release of the week is True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season on Blu-ray Combo Pack, which is certainly worth owning for fans. However, the best releases are the Hayao Miyazaki Double-Shot, Howl's Moving Castle on Blu-ray Combo Pack and My Neighbor Totoro on Blu-ray Combo Pack. Most prefer the former, but I prefer the latter. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season

May 22, 2013

The last time I reviewed True Blood, I mentioned the ratings were flat between season four and season three. I also concluded the quality of the show was also flat. Season five saw its ratings drop for the first time during the show's run. Is this drop in ratings accompanied by an equal drop is quality? And if so, is the show no longer worth checking out? More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Star Trek Has A Dim Launch

May 21, 2013

There was some bad news this weekend, mostly at the top. Star Trek into Darkness did open in first place with a very healthy 4-day total, but it opened below its predecessor and not a lot of people were predicting that. The overall box office fell 2.8% from last weekend to $154 million. On the other hand, this was 7.8% higher than the same weekend last year, which is great news, as 2013 has really struggled in the year-over-year comparison. It's going to take a lot more than one good weekend to turn things around. More...

Technical Delay: Feeling Blu

May 21, 2013

There will be a slight delay in the DVD release report, as the final review will be late. While partway through True Blood: Season Five, the Blu-ray laser on my PS3 died. I know it's the Blu-ray laser, because it still reads DVDs. Fortunately, HBO released it as a Blu-ray Combo Pack, so I will be able to complete the review of the season, but not the extras, which are only on the Blu-ray. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Stand Up Guys

May 20, 2013

Stand Up Guys has a very impressive cast with three Oscar winners in the three lead roles. It also opened with an Oscar-qualifying run; however, outside of a Golden Globe nomination for best original song, it was passed over by Awards Season voters. When it opened in limited release, it debuted in several hundred theaters, but barely topped the Mendoza Line on the per theater chart, while it disappeared as quickly as that opening would suggest. Will it find success on the home market? Or will it struggle there like it did in limited release and during Awards Season? More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Last Stand

May 19, 2013

The Last Stand was important for two reasons. Firstly, it was the first starring role for Arnold Schwarzenegger in a decade, while it was also the English-language debut for Kim Jee-woon. Unfortunately, while I wanted the film to do well, it made less in total that I predicted it would make during its opening weekend. Is it really that bad? Or should moviegoers who skipped it the first time check it out on the home market? More...

Weekend Estimates: Star Treks into Mehness

May 19, 2013

Paramount downplayed talk of a $100 million opening weekend for Star Trek Into Darkness, and the results for the weekend show that they were right to do so. The film is predicted to earn $70.5 million over the three-day weekend for a total of $84.1 million after four days. That compares to a three-day opening of $79.2 million for the previous Star Trek outing, which means the franchise is essentially treading water in spite of generally good reviews and enthusiasm among its core audience. This clearly won't be the breakout into super-blockbuster territory that some were hoping for, although it should set a franchise record thanks to improved international numbers. More...

Home Market Numbers: March 31st, 2013: Lincoln Can't Unite Home Market

May 19, 2013

The overall Blu-ray market suffered a little setback for the week of March 24, 2013. The new releases were not very strong and the chart was led by Lincoln, which is not the type of film that needs to be seen in high definition. This left the overall Blu-ray market down 10% in terms of units and 12% in terms of revenue. Granted, this still means it sold 2.61 million units and generated $61.23 million in sales, which is great for the time of year. In fact, it was 136% better than last year in terms of units and 145% better in terms of revenue, but this was due in part by a misalignment in the Easter weekend. On the other hand, DVD did even better thanks to the Easter sales and the overall Blu-ray share fell to 34% in terms of units and 41% in terms of revenue. It won't bounce back next week, but more on that down below. More...

Blu-ray Sales: March 31st, 2013: Lincoln Feels Miserable(s)

May 19, 2013

There were quite a few new releases to reach the upper echelon of the March 31st, 2013 edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. Lincoln was the best of these earning first place with 496,000 units / $14.24 million during its first week of release for a Blu-ray share of 38%. This is really good for a drama. More...

DVD Sales: March 31st, 2013: Lincoln Leads and Holdovers Soar

May 19, 2013

The week of March 31st, 2013 was a strange week on the home market, as it contained Easter weekend. Easter sales helped a lot of older releases rise on the DVD sales chart. Even so, a new release, Lincoln, led the way with 818,000 units / $15.62 million. More...

Limited Releases Will Make You Laugh

May 17, 2013

I mentioned last week that every summer there is usually one limited release that has break out success and expands, if not wide, at least wide enough to earn a real measure of mainstream success. This week, we have that first film that might reach that level of success. Frances Ha not only has the best reviews on this week's list, but it also has an impressive pedigree. There are also a couple foreign language films that might find an audience on the art house circuit, Augustine and Pieta, but their chances to expand significantly are much more limited. More...

Contest: Epic Win

May 17, 2013

Next weekend, there are three films coming out in saturation level theater counts: Epic, Fast and Furious 6, and The Hangover 3. The Hangover 3 opens on Thursday, which makes it unsuitable for the Box Office Prediction contest. Epic is opening in more theaters and does work better when coming up with a name for the contest, but Fast and Furious 6 will easily have the bigger opening. As a result, it is the clear choice for the target movie for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Fast and Furious 6. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Dexter: Season Seven on Blu-ray. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Laverne and Shirley: Season Six on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Disneynature: Wings of Life

May 16, 2013

The latest film in the Disneynature line is Wings of Life. However, unlike Earth or Oceans or most of the rest, this one didn't get a big theatrical release, but instead came out direct-to-DVD. Is there a reason it wasn't released in theaters? More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Star Trek Brighten Up the Box Office?

May 16, 2013

The second big summer release comes out this week, Star Trek into Darkness. The film has already opened internationally and has proven to be a bigger hit than its predecessor was, which is good news for its opening weekend. Iron Man 3 will likely take a pretty big hit due to the direct competition, while The Great Gatsby is a bit of a wild card. This weekend last year there were three wide releases, but the best of them was Battleship, which only made $25.53 million during its opening weekend, while all three new releases made a total of $53 million. Star Trek into Darkness should easily make more than that combined. However, The Avengers still dominated the chart last year and it will be that film that will be the biggest challenge in the year-over-year competition. More...

Featured DVD Review: Wagner and Me

May 16, 2013

Wagner and Me is a documentary look at Richard Wagner hosted by Stephen Fry, who has a complicated relationship with the controversial composer. It earned very strong reviews, but failed to find an audience in limited release. Will fans of Wager or Fry want to check it out? Will it appeal to fans of documentaries in general? More...

International Box Office: Iron Man Overshadows Into Darkness

May 15, 2013

Iron Man 3 earned first place for the third weekend in a row, this time pulling in $89.3 million on 9,921 screens in 55 markets for totals of $664.4 million internationally and $949.3 million worldwide. At this pace, the film will have no trouble getting to $1 billion this coming weekend, while it should enter the top ten of all time by the end of the weekend. The film's single best market of the weekend was China, where it added $32.7 million over the week to its running tally, which now sits at $97.2 million. More...

Contest: Looking for Greatness: Winning Announcement

May 15, 2013

The winners of our Looking for Greatness contest were determined and they are... More...

Per Theater Chart: Iron Man Has a Story to Tell

May 15, 2013

Iron Man 3 again earned first place on the Per Theater Chart, but this time it was closer with an average of $17,053. The second best film on the per theater chart was the second best film on the overall chart, The Great Gatsby, which earned an average of $14,168. The best limited release was Stories We Tell with an average of $13,527 in two theaters. It had previously opened in Canada, where it made $360,000. One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das earned $11,515 in one theater. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Iron Man Great, but Gatsby is Arguably Greater

May 14, 2013

Iron Man 3 remained on top of the chart, as expected, but the big news of the weekend was The Great Gatsby. The film opened with more than $50 million, which is twice as much as some analysts were expecting and about 50% more than the average. Does this mean 2013 ended its losing streak? Nope. Iron Man 3 missed expectations by a couple of million dollars, while Peeples bombed utterly. This left the overall box office down 27% from last weekend to $158 million. This is 7.5% lower than the same weekend last year. Hopefully Star Trek into Darkness will help end this losing streak next weekend. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 14th, 2013

May 13, 2013

There are not a lot of new releases on the home market this week, and there are very few that are prime releases. The best-selling release is Dexter: Season Seven on Blu-ray, which is worth picking up, but the lack of extras prevents it from being the Pick of the Week. For that I'm going with a lesser known title, The Unbelievable Truth, which is coming out on DVD and Blu-ray this week. More...

Final Weekend Numbers

May 13, 2013

Final weekend numbers:
- 3-Day Weekend Friday-Sunday
- Friday Daily Numbers
- Saturday Daily Numbers
- Sunday Daily Numbers

Featured TV on DVD Review: Dexter: Season Seven

May 13, 2013

During the first five seasons of Dexter, there was only one season that I didn't think was amazing. Season four had the best John Lithgow guest star in the show's run. Season five shook things up, as the main guest star wasn't the big bad for the season. As a result, expectations for season six were incredibly high. The season didn't live up to them. In fact, I thought season six was the weakest season in the show's run so far. The only part that really worked was the cliffhanger finale. Because of this, expectations for season seven are mixed. Will the show live up to the cliffhanger ending? Or is the show on a downward slope in terms of quality? More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Texas Chainsaw 3D

May 12, 2013

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came out on 1974 and helped change the face of horror, if you pardon the pun. Fast forward nearly 40 years and the franchise is one of the longest running horror franchises of all time. However, the franchise has struggled to repeat its early success, either with critics or with moviegoers. Texas Chainsaw 3D is the second attempt to reboot the franchise in the past decade. Can they succeed where the previous sequels / remakes failed? Or is it time to retire Leatherface for good? More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Doc McStuffins: Time for Your Checkup

May 12, 2013

Disney Junior is the rebranded version of Playhouse Disney Channel that launched as a full channel in 2011. Earlier this year they overtook Nick, Jr.'s ratings, Nick, Jr. being the longtime ruler of preschool TV. This is thanks in part to hits like Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins. The latest Doc McStuffins to arrive is Time for Your Checkup, which features five episodes or ten shorts, starting with... More...

Weekend Estimates: Gatsby an Honorable Second

May 12, 2013

To no-one's great surprise, Iron Man 3 will top the box office chart again this weekend, with a very creditable projected $72.4 million, the 4th-biggest second weekend of all time. The more notable number this weekend, however, is the $51 million projected opening for The Great Gatsby. That's Baz Luhrman's best weekend by a huge margin -- in fact, only Moulin Rouge earned more than that in total domestically (and only by a small margin, with $57 million). It's also Leonardo DiCaprio's second-best weekend, behind Inception. In short, it's a great weekend for a movie that looked like a tough sell. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Nickelodeon Favorites: Once Upon a Rhyme

May 11, 2013

I've lost track of the number of DVDs from the Nickelodeon Favorites label that I've reviewed. The latest is Once Upon a Rhyme, which features six episodes with a fairytale theme, starting with... More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Princess Twilight Sparkle

May 11, 2013

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the fourth iteration in the My Little Pony franchise, which began in the 1980s. It is the first to have real crossover appeal, not just with boys, but with older fans. The latest DVD to land on my desk is Princess Twilight Sparkle, which includes five episodes, starting with... More...

Limited Releases have Stories to Tell

May 10, 2013

Most summers there is at least one limited release that manages to find enough success to expand truly wide. There are quite a few new limited releases this week, but most of them are earning weak reviews and will likely fail to find an audience in limited release. There are three films that are earning 80% positive reviews or better: Sightseers, Stories We Tell, and Venus and Serena. Unfortunately, the last two are documentaries and the first one is a Black Comedy, so it is unlikely we will have a true break-out hit this week. More...

Contest: Seeing in the Dark

May 10, 2013

Next weekend, we have a potential monster hit. Star Trek into Darkness is the only wide release next week and it could be a $100 million hit right out of the weekend, so it is the only choice for the target movie for this weeks' box office prediction contest. To celebrate, we have signed CDs from Allie Goertz, a.k.a. Cossbysweater. She describes her music as, "Nerdy love songs." so it is great fit. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Star Trek into Darkness. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a signed copy of Cossbysweater on CD. (The link to Amazon.com is for the MP3 download, but you can buy the physical CD here). 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 a signed copy of Cossbysweater on CD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: How Great Will the New Releases Be?

May 9, 2013

Summer got off to a fantastic start last weekend, but sadly it is not going to continue this weekend. Neither The Great Gatsby nor Peeples have blockbuster potential. In fact, the pair combined won't match Iron Man 3's sophomore stint. This is similar to what happened last year, as Dark Shadows got crushed by The Avengers, which broke yet another record. Iron Man 3 won't be able to do the same this year, but we could have better depth. I'm not saying 2013 will win the weekend, but it won't as bad as it has been either. More...

Home Market Numbers: March 24th, 2013: Hobbit Helps Blu-ray Stand Tall

May 9, 2013

The overall Blu-ray market was spectacular during the week of March 24, 2013. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey led all new releases. Sales soared compared to last week, rising 59% in terms of units and 60% in terms of revenue reaching totals of 2.87 million units / $68.51 million. This is the best weekend sales for a non-holiday shopping season week. Its growth from last year was even better, up 95% in terms of units and 93% in terms of revenue. The overall Blu-ray share rose to 48% in terms of units and 58% in terms of revenue. This was just a fantastic week for the format. More...

Blu-ray Sales: March 24th, 2013: Hobbit Reaches its Expected Destination

May 9, 2013

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was one of three new releases to finish in the top three spots on the March 24th, 2013 edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. It sold 1.36 million units and generated $31.34 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 56%. It wasn't that long ago that reaching the 50% mark would have been record-breaking, but here it was expected. More...

DVD Sales: March 24th, 2013: Hobbit Travels to the Top

May 9, 2013

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey dominated the new releases and easily won first place on the March 24th edition of the DVD sales chart. The film sold 1.07 million units and generated $13.05 million in opening week sales, putting it in the top ten of the year after just one week of release. More...

International Box Office: Iron Man Retains its Shine

May 8, 2013

Iron Man 3 remained in top spot on the international chart with $174.3 million on 29,160 screens in 72 markets for totals of $502.8 million internationally and $676.9 million worldwide. The film opened with $64.07 million in China, which makes China the film's biggest international market, despite playing there for half as long as most other major markets. The film dominated Russia with $22.82 million on 1,188 screens over the weekend, which was more than five times the nearest competitor. It also opened in first place in Germany, but with a more subdued $6.91 million on 618 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $10.07 million. This is not a great opening, but one market is nothing compared to the monstrous international run so far. Iron Man 3 held on very well in South Korea down just 19% to $13.53 million on 1,388 screens over the weekend for a total of $43.23 million after two. In the U.K., the film made $9.80 million on 558 screens for a two-week total of $38.17 million. More...

Contest: Ironing Out the Details: Winning Announcement

May 8, 2013

The winners of our Ironing Out the Details contest were determined and they are... More...

IMAX: Iron Man Disassembles Avengers

May 7, 2013

After debuting internationally last weekend, Iron Man 3 hit the domestic market this past weekend, and it was just as lucrative. The film earned $15.6 million domestically, making it the best May opening and the second best IMAX weekend of all time. Worldwide, it had the best single weekend in the format's history with $28.6 million on 592 IMAX screens, lifting its total to $39.3 million after just two weeks of release. More...

Per Theater Chart: Iron Man Ices the Competition

May 7, 2013

Iron Man 3 dominated the Per Theater Chart earning an average of $40,946 at over 4,000 screens. Two Millenium Films releases were next with The Iceman and What Maisie Knew earning averages of $21,987 and $21,480 respectively. Free the Mind opened with $12,215 in its lone theater. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 7th, 2013

May 7, 2013

While there are a lot of new releases listed on Amazon.com, it isn't long before you run into filler. Worse still, the top two selling movies, Jack Reacher and Save Haven, are just mediocre movies. The Great Escape is coming out on Blu-ray this week, which would normally be a reason to celebrate. However, a lot of reviewers are complaining about the poor video quality. The film needed, and deserves, a full restoration, but that didn't happen. We need to look further down the list to find a Pick of the Week contender, and we find one in 30 Rock: Season Seven. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: The Grifters

May 7, 2013

There are a flood of Blu-rays from Echo Bridge coming out this week. This includes The Hoax (Buy from Amazon), which I previously reviewed; Dragon Lord (Buy from Amazon), a Jackie Chan film from 1982; Fortress (Buy from Amazon) a middling sci-fi action film; and many others. I was able to get screeners for three of these films, starting with The Grifters. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Jersey Girl

May 7, 2013

This movie came out during the height of the Ben nifer backlash. Gigli did so poorly with critics and moviegoers that a lot of people were prejudging this film as soon as it was announced. It earned three Razzie nominations; however, Raquel Castro won a Young Artist Award for her performance in the film. Now that the mess surrounding the film is nearly a decade in the past, is it worth checking out? Or would it have failed under the best of circumstances? More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: The Nameless

May 7, 2013

The Nameless is written and directed by Jaume Balagueró, who later wrote and directed [REC], which was a great movie. He also wrote and directed Darkness, which wasn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. Is this film closer to his later work, or is it in the same league as Darkness. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Iron Man Earns Silver, but Can't Avenge Weak Yearly Box Office

May 6, 2013

There was some good news and some bad news over the weekend. The good new was Iron Man 3, which lived up to our lofty expectations and became the second biggest opening weekend of all time. This one film earned more than the entire box office earned last weekend, leading to an 136% increase week-over-week to $217 million. The bad news is The Avengers, which did even better when it opened this weekend last year. Year-over-year, 2013 suffered a 16% decline. Meanwhile, year-to-date, 2013 is now behind 2012's pace by 11% at $3.13 billion to $3.52 billion. More...

Final Weekend Numbers

May 6, 2013

Final weekend numbers:
- 3-Day Weekend Friday-Sunday
- Friday Daily Numbers
- Saturday Daily Numbers
- Sunday Daily Numbers

Featured TV on DVD Review: WWII from Space

May 5, 2013

The History Channel started out in 1995 with shows about history, many of which were about World War II. In the past two decades, they've moved away from that focus, and instead have begun to focus on reality TV shows. WWII from Space is an interesting exercise in that regard. There's little more that can be said about World War II that's new, but is there a new way to present this history? Or will this be nothing more than a cheap gimmick? More...

Weekend Estimates: Iron Man 3 is Number Two All-Time

May 5, 2013

As expected, Iron Man 3 has crushed competition (such as it is) this weekend to post a gigantic opening weekend. Disney is predicting a total of $175.3 million over three days, which is even a little better than expectations going in to the weekend and represents the second-biggest opening of all time behind its franchise forebear, The Avengers. This kind of opening will inevitably lead to fairly steep drops over the next few weeks, but a final box office total above $400 million is a good bet at this point (5 out of 7 previous films to open above $150 million hit that mark). More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Jack Reacher

May 5, 2013

During the holiday season of 2011, Tom Cruise starred in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. I thought it was arguably the best action movie of the year and it became the stars biggest hit globally and his best domestic hit in a decade (not counting a cameo in Goldmember). A year later, Jack Reacher opened with barely a fraction of the buzz. I was one of the most Bullish analysts and I was only predicting $75 million. The film did pull in $80 million domestically, which is better than expected, but nothing compared to MI:IV. Is it really that much weaker? Or did it struggle in comparison, because it wasn't part of a popular franchise. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Mama

May 5, 2013

January is generally a terrible time of the year to release a movie. Not only are people still dealing with Christmas shopping bills, but there will be several Oscar contenders and holiday blockbusters that are still going strong. Because of this, January tends to be filled with bad films that struggle just to become midlevel hits. Mama opened in the middle of the month and earned enough during its opening weekend to cover its production budget. Worldwide, it managed $130 million on just a $15 million budget. Unless it cost an unreasonable amount to market, it has already broken even. Will it be an ever bigger hit on the home market? More...

Limited Releases: Maisie Knew You Should See Limited Releases

May 3, 2013

There are not a lot of top-notch releases on this week's list, as Iron Man 3 is scaring away all of the competition. Dead Man's Burden is earning great reviews, but it doesn't have a lot of buzz. The Iceman has better buzz, but only good reviews and limited releases generally need great reviews to thrive. What Maisie Knew has great reviews and some strong buzz, so perhaps it will be the biggest hit on this week's list. More...

Contest: Looking for Greatness

May 3, 2013

There are a couple of films opening wide next weekend, The Great Gatsby and Peeples; however, nearly everyone assumes The Great Gatsby will be the bigger of the two films. (It will likely be crushed by Iron Man 3.) It is the clear choice for the target movie for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for The Great Gatsby. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Three on Blu-ray. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Best of Both Worlds on Blu-ray. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Iron Man Be as Golden as Before?

May 2, 2013

Summer finally begins. 2013 has been a really bad year so far and after four months, it is 12% or $384 million behind last year's pace. On the one hand, the summer blockbuster season should boost 2013's overall numbers right out of the gate. A lot of people, myself included, think Iron Man 3 will have the second-best opening weekend of all time. On the other hand, the film with the biggest opening weekend of all time was The Avengers, which opened this weekend last year. We can't even look for a counter-programming film or holdovers to help 2013 over the top, as there are no counter-programming films and none of the holdovers are likely to reach $10 million over the weekend. Look for yet another loss in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Iron Man Turns Competition to Rust

May 2, 2013

Iron Man 3 debuted internationally a week ahead of its domestic debut and its was record-breaking. The film earned $198.4 million on 13,633 screens in 45 markets, which is technically more than The Avengers made during its opening weekend. Granted, The Avengers were playing in fewer markets and on fewer screens, while it also had previews that boosted its total opening to $218.2 million, but this is still nothing short of fantastic. More...

Analysis: How Medium Data Can Address Big Data's Woes

May 1, 2013

We live in a world that is being transformed by Big Data. The ability to gather and process vast amounts of information, and the development of analytical tools to find meaning in it all, promises to change business, science and social practices.

It's already changing the way companies like Target and WalMart do business and how the CDC plans for 'flu season. It's a hot topic for good reason. But it also has its limitations and problems, which are becoming more apparent as Big Data becomes more widely used. Ultimately, the solution to these problems will lead us to a new way of looking at analytical work -- a more focused and rigorous approach. Medium Data. More...

Contest: Hoping for Gain without Pain: Winning Announcement

May 1, 2013

The winners of our Hoping for Gain without Pain contest were determined and they are... More...

2013 Preview: May

May 1, 2013

As April ends and summer begins, we see the 2013 box office on a losing streak. There is some good news, as May should be much, much, much better than April was. Much better. During the five weekends in May, there are nine films opening wide. Of those film, there are seven that at least have a shot at $100 million. And of those seven films, four at least have a shot at $200 million, two have a shot at $300 million, and we might even have a $400 million hit this month. Iron Man 3 should turn out to be the biggest hit of the month, while there are some who think Star Trek: Into Darkness could be a close competitor for that honor. There's also some bad news. The Avengers opened last May and earned more than $600 million. No film opening this month will come close to that figure. There's a chance the top two films opening this month won't match that combined. On the other hand, last year there was a huge drop-off from the biggest hit of the month to the second biggest hit of the month. There were so many high-profile failures last year, that 2013 might actually start winning some weekends in the year-over-year comparison. More...

The Numbers News - May 2013

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