The Numbers News - January 2018

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Theater Averages: Padmaavat Spices Up the Theater Average Chart

January 31, 2018

Padmaavat

Padmaavat was the only film to hit the $10,000 club earning an average of $13,179 in 324 theaters. More...

Home Market Releases for January 30th, 2018

January 31, 2018

Professor Marston & The Wonder Women

This is one of the worse times of year for the home market. Until we start getting the holiday blockbusters landing on DVD / Blu-ray, there’s not much to talk about. That’s not to say there are no good releases, as God’s Own Country, The Square, and Steven Universe: Season One are all easily worth picking up. There are just no big releases. For example, the Pick of the Week goes to Professor Marston & The Wonder Women on Blu-ray, which was sadly ignored by moviegoers when it first hit theaters. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Maze Runner Leads 2018 to a Photo Finish with $24.17 million

January 30, 2018

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Maze Runner: The Death Cure beat expectations by a little bit with $24.17 million. In fact, every film in the top five this this weekend, except one, topped expectations, including the other new release, Hostiles. This helped the overall box office rise 2.6% from last week. It did fall 0.8% from last year, but 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by $18 million or 2.1% at $908 million to $890 million. More...

Unsane Trailer

January 30, 2018

Psychological horror movie starring Claire Foy, directed by Steven Soderbergh, opens March 23 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Gringo Trailer

January 29, 2018

Black comedy starring David Oyelowo and Charlize Theron opens March 9 ... Full Movie Details.

Mild-mannered businessman Harold Soyinka finds himself in Mexico, and at the mercy of his back-stabbing business colleagues back home, local drug lords, and a morally-conflicted black-ops mercenary. Crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal, Harold battles to survive his increasingly dangerous situation in ways that raise the question: Is he out of his depth—or two steps ahead? More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Steven Universe: Season One

January 29, 2018

Steven Universe: Season One

Steven Universe came out in 2013 and season five is currently airing. However, the first season is making its DVD debut this week. I don’t know if this late entry to the DVD market will hurt sales, but it will likely need something special in way of extras to entice fans who have been able to watch these episodes in reruns for more than four years at this point. More...

Weekend Estimates: Maze Runner Trilogy Ends with $23.5 Million Opening

January 28, 2018

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

The delayed final film in the Maze Runner trilogy, The Death Cure, will open with $23.5 million, per Fox’s Sunday morning estimate. With another $82 million overseas so far, the film will have earned a little over $100 million by the end of the weekend, and its early international pace looks a little better than The Scorch Trials, which amassed $78 million over its first two weekends back in 2015. (Scorch Trials had a more staggered release, making a direct comparison difficult.) More...

Friday Estimates: The Maze Runner Franchise Sputters in the end with $8.4 million

January 27, 2018

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

As expected, Maze Runner: The Death Cure opened in first place on Friday. The film pulled in $8.4 million during its opening day, which is about 30% lower than its immediate predecessor. If this film has the same legs, it will open with $23 million during the weekend. I think that seems likely, as the two films have earned nearly identical reviews and both films earned a B plus from CinemaScore. This should be enough for the film to nearly match its $62 million production budget domestically, so if it can top $150 million worldwide, it will break even. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Can an Indian Film Find Mainstream Appeal?

January 26, 2018

Padmavati

Padmavati is the biggest release of the week and unlike most Indian films, it is earning a lot of buzz. It could be a crossover hit. There are also a couple of films earning 100% positive reviews: the Chinese Indie animated film, Have a Nice Day, as well as Kickboxer: Retaliation. I don’t think the latter’s reviews will remain 100% positive for too much longer. More...

Game Night Trailer

January 26, 2018

Comedy starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams opens February 23 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Maze Runner Chases Down $1.5 Million

January 26, 2018

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Maze Runner: The Death Cure started its box office run with $1.5 million in previews. By comparison, the first film earned $1.1 million, while the second pulled in $1.7 million. If this film had the same legs as its immediate predecessor, then it will open with between $26 million and $27 million. I think its opening weekend will be a little bit lower, as the entire genre is off its peak, but this is still better than our prediction and enough to keep the studio happy. More...

Pacific Rim: Uprising Trailer

January 25, 2018

Sci-fi action movie starring John Boyega opens March 23 ... Full Movie Details.

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse. More...

Theater Counts: Death Cure Opens in 3,787 Theaters

January 25, 2018

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Just two weeks ago, Paddington 2 had the second-widest opening ever in January, playing in 3,702 theaters. This weekend, Maze Runner: The Death Cure will claim that second place spot by opening in 3,787 locations. Kung Fu Panda 3 will still hold the record, with 3,955 theaters, and Death Cure isn’t expected to challenge many other January records, with our prediction standing at $22 million, but that won’t be for lack of theaters. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Maze Runner Sprint to the Finish Line?

January 25, 2018

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Maze Runner: The Death Cure, is the final installment of the Maze Runner trilogy and is the only wide release of the week. It is guaranteed first place, unless something horrible happens, but there’s almost no chance it will live up to the other two installments. Hostiles is expanding wide, but I don’t have a lot of faith in the film’s box office chances. It is almost the exact wrong time to expand. This weekend last year, Split had a surprisingly good hold earning $25 million, while four other films earned more than $10 million at the box office. That’s not going to happen this year, so 2018 will lose in the year-over-year comparison. It shouldn’t be a complete blowout, on the other hand. More...

Analysis: Does Having The Most Oscar Nominations Affect Box Office Performance?

January 25, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

With so much attention paid to what wins the most noms I began to wonder, what effect do the hundreds of articles that on Tuesday carried the title “The Shape of Water gets the most Oscar nominations with 13” have on film’s performance this weekend? It has the most nominations right, so it must mean most people will go see it, right?

More...

International Box Office: Jumanji is King of the Market with $32.6 million

January 24, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle remained in first place with $32.6 million on 33,000 screens in 83 markets for totals of $450.8 million internationally and $767.3 million worldwide. Had the film earned half of that, it still would have been a financial success worthy of a sequel. China was the film’s biggest market, both of the weekend and overall, as it earned $7.71 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $66.50 million. The film will have no trouble getting to $800 million worldwide, probably by the end of this coming weekend, while $900 million isn’t completely out of the question. More...

Every Day Trailer

January 23, 2018

Romantic drama starring Angourie Rice opens February 23 ... Full Movie Details.

Rhiannon, a 16-year old girl, falls in love with a mysterious spirit named “A” who inhabits a different body every day. Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and A work each day to find each other, not knowing what or who the next day will bring. The more the two fall in love, the more the realities of loving someone who is a different person every 24 hours takes a toll, leaving Rhiannon and A to face the hardest decision either has ever had to make. More...

2017 Awards Season: Oscars Nominations

January 23, 2018

The Shape of Water

The Oscar nominations were announced starting at just after 5 am Pacific time. They do this every year and no one has been able to adequately explain why to me. At least there were some interesting results this year. The Shape of Water led the way with 13 nominations, which is one below the current record and nearly as many as the next two films combined. Overall, there were seventeen films that earned two or more nominations. More...

Theater Averages Chart is Hostile Territory

January 23, 2018

Hostiles

No film reached the $10,000 club. In fact, Hostiles was the best film with an average of $6,666 in 49 theaters. Mary And The Witch’s Flower looks like it had a better weekend; however, its numbers are complicated. The film earned $1.17 million during its Thursday special showings in 573 theaters for an average of $2,037. Then it earned $330,000 in 161 theaters over the weekend in regular screenings for an average of $2,050. This shows that Anime fans are not numerous, but they are very eager for special screenings. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: New Releases Can’t Outshine Jumanji’s $19.51 million Weekend Haul

January 23, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Nearly every film we talked about in our predictions beat expectations over the weekend. This includes Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which earned first place with $19.51 million. All three wide releases did better than expected, with 12 Strong leading the way with $15.82 million. The overall box office still fell 15% from last weekend to $135 million. A 15% drop-off for a post-holiday weekend isn’t bad. Compared to this weekend last year, 2018 was down by 7.0%, which isn’t good, but it could have been much worse. Year-to-date, 2018 still has a small lead of 2.9% or $20 million at $725 million to $704 million. Granted, it is still way too early for this to matter, but an early lead means you won’t need to fight back late in the year like we did last year. More...

Samson Trailer

January 22, 2018

Biblical epic starring Jackson Rathbone opens February 16 ... Full Movie Details.

Based on the biblical epic of a champion chosen by God to deliver Israel. His supernatural strength and impulsive decisions quickly pit him against the oppressive Philistine empire. After being betrayed by a wicked prince and a beautiful temptress, Samson is captured and blinded by his enemies. Samson calls upon his God once more for supernatural strength and turns imprisonment and blindness into final victory. More...

Home Market Releases for January 23rd, 2018

January 22, 2018

Jane

It’s a really slow week on the home market. There are only a few releases that went anywhere at the box office, led by Jigsaw, which is a bad movie. Meanwhile, Geostorm is so bad it’s good. It’s fun, if you are into B movies, but it’s not Pick of the Week material. The only real contenders are Jane, which is only coming out on Video on Demand, and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, which is getting a Two-Disc Special Edition. In the end, I went with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, mainly because Jane doesn’t come out on DVD / Blu-ray until next month. More...

2017 Awards Season: SAG Winners

January 21, 2018

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The Screen Actors Guild announced their winners on Sunday night and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won every category it was nominated in. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jumanji Holds Off 12 Strong, Den of Thieves

January 21, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji will win at the box office for a third straight weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. Its weekend total of about $20.04 million is down just 29% from its MLK Holiday numbers, in spite of losing over 100 theaters (its theater average is off just 26%). With $317 million to date, it is now Sony’s most successful non-Spider-Man movie at the domestic box office, not accounting for ticket price inflation. Inflation-adjusted, it’s at number 8 for the studio, and should end up their fifth-best ticket seller ever.

Jumanji’s strength is far from the only good news this weekend. More...

2017 Awards Season: PGA Winners

January 20, 2018

The Shape of Water

The Producers Guild of America awards were handed out last night. There are only three theatrical awards, plus a special award previously announced, and none of the results were truly surprising. In fact, two of them were completely predictable. More...

Friday Estimates: 12 and Thieves Start Strong with $5.66 million Apiece

January 20, 2018

12 Strong

As expected, 12 Strong opened in first place on Friday. Technically it tied for first place according to the estimates. It did do a little bit better than expected, earning $5.66 million, which puts it on pace for about $15 million over the weekend. Its reviews got a little bit better since Thursday and are now 56% positive, while it is earning an A from CinemaScore. Clearly this movie is connecting with its target audience. This is great news for Warner Bros., as they only spent $35 million making the movie and likely a little under that advertising it. Strong legs would be a good omen for strong home market sales. On the other hand, I don’t think its going to find an audience internationally. More...

2017 Box Office Totals: $11.09 billion Isn’t Enough

January 20, 2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

NATO, the North American Theater Owners, have released their annual box office numbers, and 2017 had some mixed results. The total box office was down 2.55% to $11.09 billion, which is the third-biggest yearly box office total of all time, behind $11.12 billion earned in 2015 and $11.37 billion earned in 2016. Meanwhile, ticket prices rose 4% to $8.97. This means total attendance was 1.236 billion, the lowest since 1995. That is troubling, but not as apocalyptic as some have made it out to be, as it is only 2.7% lower than 2014’s attendance figure. Obviously, we would like to see increases in this figure every year, but we shouldn’t panic just yet. If 2018 bounces back, then we can still say the overall box office is healthy. If we see another 6-point drop in attendance in 2018, then we can panic. More...

Tomb Raider Trailer

January 19, 2018

Action movie starring starring Alicia Vikander opens March 16 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Thieves Steal Top Spot with $950,000

January 19, 2018

Den of Thieves

Den of Thieves surprised analysts with $950,000 on Thursday, putting it just ahead of 12 Strong, which managed $900,000. However, 12 Strong does have better reviews and a more mature target demographic, so it should have better legs and still has a better shot at the box office overall. Den of Thieves will beat our prediction and will likely earn a spot in the top five. We will have a better idea where it will end up this time tomorrow when Friday’s numbers are in. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: These Limited Releases are Actually Really Good

January 19, 2018

This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy

There are two major awards ceremonies this weekend, so it is no surprise there are not many great limited releases to talk about. The art house aficionados are distracted. That’s not to say there are no films worth checking out. Mary And The Witch’s Flower and This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy both look good. Neither look like they will be hits at the box office, but I do want to watch them. More...

Weekend Predictions: Are the New Releases Strong? Or will Jumanji Rule Forever?

January 18, 2018

12 Strong

The post-holiday weekend is rarely a good week to release a movie and none of the three new releases are expected to be box office successes. 12 Strong is the biggest release and it is also earning the best reviews, although its Tomatometer Score is just 50% positive. Den of Thieves isn’t opening as wide, while its reviews are not as good. It also shares its target audience with 12 Strong, which will hurt its box office chances even more. Finally there’s Forever My Girl, which is barely opening semi-wide and will likely miss the top ten. This weekend last year, Split had a shockingly big opening. In fact, the second place film, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, opened with just over $20 million, which is more than any film is expected to earn this weekend. 2018’s mini-winning streak is about to come to a painful end. More...

Theater Counts: 12 Strong Leads New Releases

January 18, 2018

12 Strong

A trio of films with somewhat modest box office ambitions arrive in wide release this weekend, and two films with significant awards ambitions expand into wide release. 12 Strong is the biggest new release of the weekend, and will open in a sturdy 3,002 theaters. If it can find its target audience, it has a real shot at toppling Jumanji from the top of the chart. More...

New at The Numbers: Analysis of Actors’ Career Trends

January 18, 2018

In our continued quest to provide the most in-depth analysis of the movie industry, we’re pleased to announce some updates to our people pages today. We have new analysis of career histories, breakdowns for acting and technical credits, and summaries of the acting or technical records people can lay claim to. Let’s look at these new features one at a time, using the cast and crew of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as example. More...

Maze Runner: The Death Cure Trailer 2

January 18, 2018

Sci-fi action movie starring starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster opens January 26 ... Full Movie Details.

Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze. More...

International Box Office: Jumanji is Welcomed to First Place with $81.75 million

January 18, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle leaped into first place with $81.75 million on 33,000 screens in 83 markets for totals of $385.03 million internationally and $669.27 million worldwide. The film debuted in first place in China with $39.74 million on 20,000 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $40.23 million. Had the film only earned $385.03 million in total, it still would have been enough to to break even before the home market. The film will eventually hit $800 million worldwide, which is enough to cover its entire budget and the production budget of the inevitable sequel. More...

Contest: Last Chance to Win: Winning Announcement - Final Announcement

January 17, 2018

Game of Thrones: Season Seven

In our last box office prediction contest, aptly named Last Chance to Win, there was a little problem with the prizes, but that’s all been sorted out. The winners have been selected and the prizes are all ready to ship. They should still get to the winners within in the six to eight week limit. The final winners are... More...

Theater Averages: Phantom Hangs on by a Thread with $18,513

January 17, 2018

Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread was the only film in the $10,000 club this past weekend, earning an average of $18,513 in 62 theaters. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Jumanji Nears $300 million after $35.18 million MLK Long Weekend

January 16, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle continues to surprise analysts earning $35.18 million over the MLK long weekend. At this point, I would be shocked if it didn’t finish with $350 million domestically, while I assume Sony has a planned trilogy in the works. The best “new” release of the week was The Post, which expanded into second place with $23.06 million, while the best truly new release of the week was The Commuter at $15.80 million. Overall, the box office fell 4.7% from last weekend, earning $165 million over the the three-day weekend. This was still 5.9% higher than the same weekend last year, and that’s the more important number. It is still very early in the year, extremely early, but 2018 does have a $27 million / 5.1% lead over 2017 at $553 million to $526 million. 2018 could lose that entire lead next weekend, but I chose to focus on the positive for now. More...

The 15:17 to Paris Trailer

January 16, 2018

Clint Eastwood’s real-life thriller starring Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone opens February 9 ... Full Movie Details.

In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris—an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board. More...

Home Market Releases for January 16th, 2018

January 15, 2018

I, Daniel Blake

It’s not a particularly good week on the home market with no one film that is a must have dominating the rest of the pack. However, this is actually a good thing, as there are several smaller releases that get a chance to shine and there are several Pick of the Week contenders as a result. This includes the biggest release of the week, Blade Runner 2049, as well as a limited release, Loving Vincent, and a forgotten film, Matinee. In the end, I went with I, Daniel Blake: The Criterion Collection as the best of the week. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jumanji Rules MLK Weekend

January 14, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will come out an easy winner at the box office this MLK weekend. Over three days, the family adventure is headed for an estimated $27 million, for $283 million to date. With another $8 million or so on Monday, the film will finish the holiday on the threshold of $300 million domestically. Partly helped by the long weekend, it will record the 10th-best fourth weekend of all time—remarkable strength for a movie that ran the risk of being over-shadowed by The Last Jedi when it came out at Christmas. More...

Friday Estimates: Post Nearly Ties Jumanji $6.13 million to $5.9 million

January 13, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

There was a two-horse race on the Friday box office chart. In the end, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle came out on top with $6.13 million, for $262.26 million after 24 days of release. Because it is a holdover, it should have better legs over the rest of the weekend, putting it on pace for just over $30 million over the weekend, matching our prediction perfectly. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Mixed Results for New Releases

January 12, 2018

The Post

The Post led the way during previews with $775,000. Dramas aimed at a more mature target audience tend to not do as well in previews as most other films, so this is a good sign. Additionally, the film’s reviews are right on the border of award-worthy, so the word of mouth should be strong. This is right in line with our prediction, so I’m happy with this result. More...

Peter Rabbit Trailer

January 12, 2018

Adventure starring James Corden, Rose Byrne, and Domhnall Gleeson opens February 9 ... Full Movie Details.

Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and adventurous hero who has captivated generations of readers, now takes on the starring role in his own adventure. Peter’s feud with Mr. McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Love Limited Releases for More Than Just a Day

January 12, 2018

Lover For a Day

Awards Season is in full swing, so the moviegoers most likely to head out to see a limited release are preoccupied with the latest surprise / snub. This has resulted in a terrible week for limited releases. It’s so bad that if we stuck with our usual rule of needing 10 reviews to be listed here, there would only be a few movies. Even being more generous, there’s not a lot to talk about this week. The best movie is Lover For a Day, while Saturday Church is its only real competition. More...

2017 Awards Season: DGA Nominations

January 11, 2018

Get Out

Directors Guild of America is one of those awards groups that spread out their nominations, but the last of them were announced today. There are some pleasant surprises and what is possibly the biggest shock of Awards Season so far. The only film to earn two nominations was Get Out. More...

Theater Counts: Paddington 2 Nabs Impressive 3,702 Theaters

January 11, 2018

Paddington 2

Paddington 2 isn’t the favorite to win the box office crown this weekend, thanks to the continued strength of Jumanji, but it will have a shot thanks to an impressively wide opening. Warner Bros. have managed to book it in 3,702 theaters, just 147 less than Jumanji will play in this weekend, and the second-widest opening in January behind Kung Fu Panda 3. It’s also well ahead of this weekend’s other wide openers. More...

Weekend Predictions: Paddington and Post take on Jumanji over MLK Long Weekend

January 11, 2018

Paddington 2

It is the first long weekend of 2018 and we have four films trying to take advantage of the MLK holiday. However, only Paddington 2 and The Post have a real shot at box office success. The Commuter’s buzz is so quiet that its box office chances have taken a real hit. Worse still, Sony’s treatment of Proud Mary is almost bizarre. I’ve seen limited releases with more marketing push than Proud Mary is getting. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’s legs will likely remain really long, helping it repeat as box office champion. More importantly, it should help the 2018 box office get a sizable win in the year-over-year comparison. This weekend last year, there were seven films that earned more than $10 million over the long weekend, but only one film, Hidden Figures, earned more than $20 million. This year, not only will we match that number of $10 million films, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle should top $30 million, while Paddington 2 and The Post should top $20 million. More...

Forever My Girl Trailer

January 11, 2018

Romantic drama starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe opens January 19 ... Full Movie Details.

Country music super-star Liam Page left his bride, Josie, at the altar to choose fame and fortune instead. However, Liam never got over Josie, his one true love, nor did he ever forget his Southern roots in the small community where he was born and raised. When he unexpectedly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his high school best friend, Liam is suddenly faced with the consequences of all that he left behind. More...

2017 Awards Season: BAFTA Nominations

January 11, 2018

The Shape of Water

The BAFTA nominations were announced and this time The Shape of Water led the way with 12 nominations. The same films appear on many of the lists of nominees, but so far no one film has come to dominate the list. This makes it interesting, to say the least. There’s a good chance no one film will win the majority of prestige awards and that multiple films will have lots of reason to celebrate on February 18th when the awards are handed out. More...

International Box Office: Ex Files Flies to Top Spot with $86.96 million

January 10, 2018

Ex Files 3: Return of the Exes

Ex Files 3: Return of the Exes roared into first place with $86.96 million over the weekend for a 13-day total of $200.43 million. Its weekend total was double last weekend’s haul, while every other holdover at the top of the Chinese chart fell by more than 50%. More...

Theater Averages: Post Haunts the Theater Average Chart

January 10, 2018

The Post

None of the new releases reached the $10,000 club, which is not unexpected. The Post remained in first place earning an average of $47,167 in 36 theaters. This is an amazing omen for its upcoming wide expansion. Phantom Thread slipped to $40,040 in four theaters. There was a large gap to the third place film, Ex Files 3: Return of the Exes, which earned an average of $10,418 in 17 theaters, while I, Tonya was right behind with $10,107 in 242 theaters. The best new release of the week was actually the only wide release of the week, Insidious: The Last Key, with an average of $9,493. More...

Home Market Releases for January 9th, 2018

January 9, 2018

It

Usually this is a terrible time of year on the home market, because it is too late for the summer blockbusters, but too early for the holiday hits. However, the home market is terrible this week, because It comes out and it destroyed records at the box office and is scaring away nearly all of the competition. Fortunately, its reviews were very good, so it is a contender for Pick of the Week. Its main competition are two classics, Inherit the Wind and Young Mr. Lincoln. All three are worth picking up, but I’m giving the title to It, because of its wider appeal. More...

12 Strong Trailer

January 9, 2018

War action movie starring Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, and Trevante Rhodes opens January 19 ... Full Movie Details.

In the harrowing days following 9/11, a U.S. Special Forces team, led by their new Captain, Mitch Nelson, is chosen to be the first U.S. troops sent into Afghanistan for an extremely dangerous mission. There, in the rugged mountains, they must convince Northern Alliance General Dostum to join forces with them to fight their common adversary: the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies. In addition to overcoming mutual distrust and a vast cultural divide, the Americans—accustomed to state-of-the-art warfare—must adopt the rudimentary tactics of the Afghan horse soldiers. But despite their uneasy bond, the new allies face overwhelming odds: outnumbered and outgunned by a ruthless enemy that does not take prisoners. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Jumanji is Welcomed to the Top of the Chart with $37.23 million

January 9, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle held on strongly during the first weekend of 2018 earning $37.23 million. Insidious: The Last Key opened with $29.58 million, earning a solid second place. Overall, the box office pulled in $165 million, which is 15% lower than last weekend; however, last weekend was a holiday weekend, so this is a better than expected hold. More importantly, this is 21% better than the same weekend last year. 2018 has a small lead over 2017 at 7.1% to $306 million to $285 million. It has been a while since we’ve seen a lead in the year-over-year comparison, but obviously it is far too early for this lead to be meaningful. More...

Red Sparrow Trailer

January 8, 2018

Spy thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Jeremy Irons opens March 2 ... Full Movie Details.

Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat. When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands. With her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, an American CIA agent tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust. More...

2017 Awards Season: Golden Globes Winners

January 7, 2018

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The Golden Globes winners were announced on Sunday and there were a few surprises worth talking about, starting at the top. I was not expecting Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to be the big winner of the night, but it was with four wins. Only two other movies, The Shape of Water and Lady Bird, won more than one award during the night. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jumanji, Insidious Beat Star Wars

January 7, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

The Last Jedi’s run at the top of the chart came to an abrupt end this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. Disney’s big Christmas hit doesn’t seem to have much by way of legs going into January, as it falls by 55% from New Year’s weekend, the worst performance in the top 10. It will still pick up another $23.551 million or so, according to the studio, for a total of $572.5 million to date domestically. Its global total now stands at $1.2 billion, the 13th-best performance of all time. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Girlfriends: The Complete Series

January 7, 2018

Girlfriends: The Complete Series

Girlfriends was the longest running series with a predominantly African-American female cast. It lasted seven and a half seasons and was cut short due to a writers strike. It is being re-released this week on a complete series Megaset for reasons I’m not too sure about. One of the show’s stars, Tracee Ellis Ross, won a Golden Globe for her performance in Black-ish and was again nominated for a SAG for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series, but that seems like a flimsy excuse. Is it worth picking up for fans of the show? Is it worth the double-dip? More...

Friday Estimates: Last Key Starts First with $12.74 million

January 6, 2018

Insidious: The Last Key

There will be a fifth installment in the Insidious franchise. That much is practically guaranteed after Friday’s debut. Insidious: The Last Key opened in first place with $12.74 million during its opening day. On the downside, its critical / popular reception has been mixed. Its reviews are only 25% positive and that won’t help it draw in new viewers. The film did earn a B minus from CinemaScore, which is better than a lot of horror films manage, so that could help. It will very likely slip to second place on Saturday, but the film will still top our prediction with between $25 million and $30 million. More...

2017 Awards Season: PGA Nominations

January 5, 2018

Wonder Woman

The Producers Guild of America finally finished announcing their nominations. (They spread out their announcements for reasons I’ve never quite understood.) It is a strange year for the PGAs, as there was a tie resulting in 11 films being nominated for the top prize. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Last Key Shocks Analysts with $1.98 million

January 5, 2018

Insidious: The Last Key

Insidious: The Last Key opened with $1.98 million in previews on Thursday, which is surprisingly strong. Most analysts were expecting closer to $1.5 million. Therefore the film is on pace to top our prediction and could earn more than $20 million during its opening weekend. However, it still has to deal with bad reviews and it could be the weakest in the franchise so far. That said, if it hits $50 million domestically and does as well internationally, then the studio could go ahead with another installment. More...

Last Jedi ends Third Week with $4.3 million

January 5, 2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi finished its third week of release with $4.3 million on Thursday giving it a total of $548.9 million after three full weeks of release. Again, it fell faster than The Force Awakens (down 4% to $6.0 million) and Rogue One (down 8% to $3.9 million). However, The Last Jedi is still on pace to become one of the biggest domestic hits of all-time, so even if it really starts to collapse from now on, it will still be a massive hit. More...

Winchester Trailer

January 5, 2018

Supernatural thriller starring Helen Mirren opens February 2 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: In Between a Rock and a Hard Place

January 4, 2018

In Between

It’s a bad weekend to release a limited release, as the Golden Globes are given out on Sunday. There are still some good films that are trying to find an audience, including Blame, Bob le flambeur, and In Between. I doubt any will have breakout success, but all three deserve to find an audience, either in theaters or on the home market. More...

Theater Counts: Last Jedi Holds Firm

January 4, 2018

Insidious: The Last Key

Insidious: The Last Key starts the ball rolling for 2018 with a wide release in 3,116 theaters this weekend. That’s the widest opening for the Insidious franchise, topping Chapter 2’s 3,049 theater debut in 2013. It’s been more than two years since the last installment, Chapter 3, came out, which is a long time in horror years, so there’s not much expectation that this new outing will top the chart, particularly since it’s only the sixth-widest release this weekend, behind five holiday holdovers. More...

2017 Awards Season: WGA Nominations

January 4, 2018

The Big Sick

The Writers Guild of America is the latest group to announce award nominees. There are a lot of categories that WGA hand out awards for, but only three of them are for theatrical releases. The list of nominees include several major Awards Season players, and not a lot of surprises. The Big Sick, Lady Bird, The Disaster Artist, Get Out, The Shape of Water… We've seen almost all of these films appear on lists of nominations before. More...

Weekend Predictions: Battle of Lasts, Key vs. Jedi, on First Weekend of 2018

January 4, 2018

Insidious: The Last Key

It is the first weekend of 2018 and Insidious: The Last Key is the only true wide release, although Molly’s Game is expanding semi-wide. The Last Key isn’t expected to compete with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle or Star Wars: The Last Jedi for first place, but if it can open with more than $15 million, it should at least help the year get off to a good start. This weekend last year, Underworld: Blood Wars opened in fourth place, while Hidden Figures expanded into first place. Both Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Star Wars: The Last Jedi should top Hidden Figures and while 2018 won’t have the same depth, it should still earn a victory in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Slender Man Trailer

January 4, 2018

Horror movie opens May 18 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Last Jedi has a Wonderful Wednesday with $5.1 million

January 4, 2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi fell 35% from Tuesday to earn $5.1 million on Wednesday for a total of $544.5 million after 20 days of release. This is a sharper decline than The Force Awakens (down 22% to $6.2 million) and Rogue One (down 32% to $4.2 million). However, The Last Jedi remains almost exactly in the middle of those two films and it is maintaining its pace for $650 million to $700 million domestically. The film remains in sixth place on the all-time domestic chart and is closing ground on The Avengers for fifth place. More...

International Box Office: The Last Jedi Completes the Hat-Trick with $68.0 million

January 3, 2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

We’ve been tracking Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s international numbers on a daily basis, since it debuted, so talking about the weekend numbers would actually be behind our most recent report. Just a quick recap: The film earned $68.0 million in 54 markets for totals of $523.3 million internationally and $1.040 billion worldwide. The film is on pace for $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion worldwide, including China, where it opens on Friday. More...

Theater Averages: 2017 Ends on a Lucky Note, with Seven Members of the $10,000 Club

January 3, 2018

The Post

The Post remained the top film on the theater average chart for the second weekend is a row, earning an average of $62,342 in nine theaters and has earned nearly $2 million at the box office. It wasn’t the only film in the $10,000 club; in fact, there were seven such films. Second place went to Phantom Thread, with an average of $54,124 in four theaters. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was the best of the wide releases earning an average of $13,294. I, Tonya earned an average of $12,461 in 49 theaters during its fourth weekend of release. The overall number one film, The Last Jedi, was right behind with $12,410. Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds earned an average of $11,370 in 17 theaters, while the final film in the $10,000 club was Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, which earned an average of $11,298 in four theaters. More...

Last Jedi Continues its Path to $600 million with $7.88 million on Tuesday

January 3, 2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi remained in second place with $7.88 million on Tuesday for a total of $539.39 million after 19 days of release. By comparison, The Force Awakens earned $7.97 million and Rogue One earned $6.27 million during their respective 19th days of release. Using these two figures as guides, The Last Jedi remains on pace for $650 million to $700 million domestically. I think the lower figure is more likely than the higher figure, because Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has taken over first place, so theater owners will be slightly more likely to drop this film for new releases. That said, it is already the biggest domestic hit of 2017 and the sixth biggest hit on the all-time domestic chart. It should be able to grab third place by the end of its run. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Last Jedi and Jumanji Nearly Tie Over 4-day Weekend with $67 million

January 2, 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

It was a really close weekend with Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle both earning around $67 million during the four-day weekend. In fact, Jumanji beat The Last Jedi on New Year’s Day. Overall, the box office grew 11% from last weekend to $194 million, which was 4.3% more than the same weekend last year. It’s going to take a bit before we have the final numbers for all studios to compare how 2017 did compared to 2016, but it is safe to say 2016 will come out on top. More...

Home Market Releases for January 2nd, 2018

January 2, 2018

Lucky

This is the first Tuesday of the year, so it should be no surprise that there are not a lot of top-tier releases on this week’s list. In fact, there were so few releases worth mentioning that I had to pad the list with some films that were not selling well enough to be worth mentioning during most weeks. As for the Pick of the Week contenders, there were only two: Lucky and Battle of the Sexes. It was a close race, but in the end, I gave that title to Lucky on DVD. More...

Den of Thieves Trailer

January 2, 2018

Heist movie starring Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson, Jr., and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson opens January 19 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Last Jedi Starts the New Year with $14.5 million for $531.9 million

January 2, 2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi started the year in second place with $14.5 million on New Year’s Day giving it a total of $531.86 million after 18 days of release. Due to misalignment in Holidays, we can’t really compare this film’s New Year’s Day results with the New Year’s Day results of The Force Awakens or Rogue One. By tomorrow we can get back to regular comparisons. The film is now the biggest 2017 domestic hit and is in eighth place on the all-time domestic chart. More...

Featured DVD Review: Lucky

January 1, 2018

Lucky

Lucky is the directorial debut for John Carroll Lynch and the second last performance by its star, Harry Dean Stanton, who sadly passed away just before the film was released. Does the film celebrate the acting talents of Harry Dean Stanton? Does John Carroll Lynch show he’s got the talent to be a director in his first film? More...

2018 Preview: January

January 1, 2018

Paddington 2

2017 wasn’t a good year. It started out well and ended on a high note, but the summer was a disaster and that proved to be too much for the rest of the year to overcome. Fortunately, The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle are still doing very well and will help January get off to a fast start. Unfortunately, the biggest new release of January is Paddington 2 and it isn’t expected to match its predecessor at the box office; it certainly won’t top $100 million domestically. It is unlikely any of the Oscar contenders will hit the century mark in January either. This is really bad news, as last January, we had a new release, Split and an Oscar contender, Hidden Figures, which both topped that milestone with ease. 2018 should get off to a faster start in the first two weeks, but overall, this month will end with a loss. More...