The Numbers News - September 2019

September 30, 2019

Thriller starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren opens November 15 ... Full Movie Details.

Career con artist Roy Courtnay can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish online. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life. More...

Weekend Estimates: Abominable Earning Average-Sized Opening

September 29, 2019

It is a mixed bag at the box office this weekend. None of the films are bombing, there are also no wild success stories either. Abominable is leading the way with an estimated $20.85 million opening. This is a little below expectations, but still a fine opening for this time of year. Additionally, its prospects have improved over the weekend, so it is clear its reviews and its A rating from CinemaScore have helped its word-of-mouth and that should help its legs going forward. The film also earned an estimated $8.8 million internationally in 30 markets for an early international total of $10.2 million It is still too early to judge how the film will do overseas. More...

Friday Estimates: Abominable Grows on its Opening Day

September 28, 2019

Abominable bounced back a bit during Friday to earn $5.69 million. This is still behind Smallfoot’s opening Friday, but it is better than its previews. This is strong evidence that the film’s reviews and its A rating from CinemaScore is already having a positive effect. $20 million is now much more likely than it was yesterday at this time, while with a little luck, it will match our $22 million prediction. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: A Lot to Love on This Week’s List

September 27, 2019

There are a lot of excellent films on this week’s list. Not only that, but there are a wide selections of films as well. Do you want to watch a documentary? Anthropocene: The Human Epoch is your best bet. Want to watch a potential Oscar-winning performance? Then Judy is for you. Want a Neo-Noir love story? First Love has what you need. Want to stay home and watch something on VOD? There are several choices there, both big and small. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Smallfoot Towers over Abominable

September 27, 2019

Abominable opened with just $650,000 during its previews on Thursday, which is significantly lower than the $850,000 Smallfoot opened with this time last year. Both films have nearly identical reviews, so they will likely have nearly identical legs, which is bad news for Abominable, as it means it will only make between $17 million and $18 million. This is well below expectations, but not a disaster. More...

Doctor Sleep Trailer

September 27, 2019

Supernatural horror movie starring Ewan McGregor opens November 8 ... Full Movie Details.

Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before—at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Abominable Live Up to Its Name or will it be ... Bominable?

September 26, 2019

The last weekend of September has been a great week to release a second-tier animated film and there have been several $100 million hits released this week in the past. This year, Abominable is hoping to succeed in this role. It does have a lot going for it, including no competition, direct or otherwise, and reviews that are, while not spectacular, certainly a selling point. On the other hand, the buzz hasn’t grown the way it should. This weekend last year, Night School led the way with Smallfoot having a strong second place opening. Unfortunately, it looks like 2019’s small winning streak will come to an end, because it is unlikely Abominable will match last year’s number one film. It might not even match last year’s second place film. More...

Theater Averages: Where’s The $10,000 Club?

September 26, 2019

The $10,000 Club didn’t have many members this week and none of them were really able to shine. Where’s My Roy Cohn? did the best with an average of $10,591 in four theaters. Meanwhile the overall number one film, Downton Abbey, was close behind with an average of $10,079. More...

International Box Office: Ad Astra is the Real Star of the International Chart

September 26, 2019

Last week, the international box office was dominated by international releases with six of the top seven films coming from overseas. This week, there is only four films that earned more than $10 million and only one of them wasn’t a Hollywood release. Ad Astra led the way earning $26 million in 44 markets during its first weekend of release. The film’s biggest market was the U.K., where it opened in second place with $2.83 million in 616 theaters. It did as well in South Korea with $2.32 million on 853 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.68 million. The film also cracked $2 million in France ($2.7 million) and Japan ($2.2 million). The film has yet to open in several major markets, so it is far from done. That said, it was an expensive movie to make and while it is doing better internationally, it isn’t doing well enough to break even any time soon. More...

Motherless Brooklyn Trailer

September 26, 2019

Noir drama written and directed by, and starring, Edward Norton opens November 1 ... Full Movie Details.

Lionel Essrog, a lonely private detective living with with Tourette Syndrome, ventures to solve the murder of his mentor and only friend, Frank Minna. Armed only with a few clues and the engine of his obsessive mind, Lionel unravels closely-guarded secrets that hold the fate of the whole city in the balance. In a mystery that carries him from gin-soaked jazz clubs in Harlem to the hard-edged slums of Brooklyn and, finally, into the gilded halls of New York's power brokers, Lionel contends with thugs, corruption and the most dangerous man in the city to honor his friend and save the woman who might be his own salvation. More...

Home Market Releases for September 24th, 2019

September 26, 2019

It is a horrible week on the home market, at least from my perspective. There are no monster hits to talk about, but a flood of middling releases that I can’t really ignore. The biggest first-run release of the week is Yesterday and it is the closest we have to a Pick of the Week contender on this week’s list. That is if you don’t count Crawl and Midsommar, which are hitting VOD this week. More...

Parasite Trailer

September 24, 2019

Thriller from director Bong Joon Ho opens October 11 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Downton Opens High with New Focus Features Record

September 23, 2019

It was a strong weekend with almost every film in the top five topping predictions. Downton Abbey dominated the chart with $31.03 million, breaking the record for an opening weekend by a Focus Features film in the process. Both Ad Astra and Rambo: Last Blood also beat expectations, albeit by much, much smaller margins. This helped the overall box office grow 12% from last weekend to $123 million. More importantly, this is 34% higher than the same weekend last year. I was expecting substantial growth, but not this much growth. Granted, 2019 is still behind 2018, but the lead has been cut to 5.5% or $470 million at $8.14 billion to $8.61 billion. Furthermore, if we have a few more good weeks, then optimism will actually return to the box office analysis. More...

Frozen II Trailer 3

September 23, 2019

Animated adventure with the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Mazel, and Josh Gad opens November 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Featured TV on DVD Review: Elementary: Season Seven

September 23, 2019

Elementary started out in the top 20 in the ratings, but it wasn’t able to stay there more than a couple of seasons. By season six, it was moved to the summer and even the showwriter thought that season would be the last and it was written to be the finale. Then the show got a seventh season. Was this one season too many? Does the show end on a low note? More...

Weekend Estimates: Downton goes Downtown with $31 million

September 22, 2019

Downton Abbey is not only going to earn first place on the weekend box office chart, but it is going to set the record for Focus Features with an opening weekend of $31.0 million. This is substantially more than predicted and substantially more than Focus Features’ previous best opening weekend of $22.69 million earned by Insidious Chapter 3. Additionally, thanks to its reviews, its A-rating from CinemaScore, and its more mature target demographic, it has a real chance at $100 million domestically. Or it could have a serious Fanboy Effect, because it is a TV adaptation. We will know more next weekend. More...

Friday Estimates: Downton Abbey has Class

September 21, 2019

Downton Abbey stunned analysts with an opening day of $13.38 million on Friday. However, this does include two days of previews, so keep that in mind going forward. The film’s reviews are in the 80% range, while it managed an A from CinemaScore. Both of these results suggest longer than average legs, but not enough to deal with the two days of previews. It should open with more than $30 million, which is not only much better than anticipated, it will be the best opening weekend for Focus Features. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: The Pros and Cons of Limited Releases

September 20, 2019

Most of the positively reviewed films on this week’s list are documentaries, including Midnight Traveler, which could find a receptive audience on the art house circuit. On the other hand, Promare is the film I’m most interested in seeing. More...

Thursday Night Previews: New Releases Are Not Exactly Reaching the Stars

September 20, 2019

Downton Abbey is going to top expectations this weekend, unless something really strange happens. The film earned $2.1 million during last night’s previews, making it easily the best of this weekend’s crop. (It also made $2.2 million in previous paid previews, so it is off to a $4.3 million start.) Additionally, its reviews are solid, even if its average score is below 7 out of 10. Finally, its target audience isn’t the type to rush out to see a movie opening night, so this start is even more impressive. I am a little concerned that the Fanboy Effect is in play here, despite the target audience, so keep that in mind. More...

The Rhythm Section Trailer

September 20, 2019

Thriller starring opens January 31, 2020 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will the New Releases Shoot for the Stars?

September 20, 2019

A better than expected opening by Hustlers and a stronger than expected hold by It: Chapter Two helped 2019 earn its second win in the year-over-year comparison last weekend. Meanwhile, we have three new releases hoping to extend the winning streak this weekend. Unfortanately, all three films have something holding them back. For example, Ad Astra was made by Fox before the merger with Disney and I’m not sure Disney is 100% behind this movie. Downton Abbey is based on a recent TV show and people are not always willing to go to the theater and spend money on something they could recently watch on TV for free. Finally, Rambo: Last Blood is earning weak reviews and that could hurt its box office chances. Meanwhile, this weekend last year, The House with a Clock in its Walls opened with $26.61 million, while A Simple Favor was the only other film to earn more than $10 million. This weekend, we could have no movie earn more than $20 million, but there are five films that should have no trouble getting to $10 million. This depth could help extend 2019’s winning streak to three weeks. More...

Theater Averages: They Call Me Mr. Klein

September 19, 2019

Mr. Klein, a 40-year old re-release, earned first place on the theater average chart during its second weekend of release with $18,546 in one theater. Up next was The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos with an average of $14,418 in two theaters. The final film in the $10,000 club was Hustlers, which barely got there earning an average of $10,210 in 3,250 theaters. More...

International Box Office: It Leads a Very International Week

September 19, 2019

There were seven films to earn more than $10 million on the international chart this past weekend and It: Chapter Two was the only Hollywood release among them. The film managed $46.6 million on 20,605 screens in 78 markets for totals of $169.4 million internationally and $322.1 million worldwide. The film’s only opening this weekend came in France where it earned first place with $4.6 million on 600 screens. It also did well in the U.K. with $3.9 million on 630 screens earning second place during its second weekend of release for a total of $16.5 million after two weeks of release. It also earned $3.9 million during its second weekend of release in Germany for a total of $12.6 million so far. More...

Dark Waters Trailer

September 19, 2019

Real-life drama starring Mark Ruffalo opens November 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Home Market Releases for September 17th, 2019

September 18, 2019

It’s one of those weeks on the home market. There are almost no new releases to talk about and the ones worth talking about all have caveats when it comes to my recommendations. That is to say, while there are a number of DVDs / Blu-ray that I recommend buying, there are none that really rise to the level of Pick of the Week. This leaves Spider-Man: Far from Home as the Pick of the Week, despite it coming out only on VOD so far. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Hustlers Helps Box Office Thrive

September 17, 2019

It: Chapter Two and Hustlers both topped expectations by large margins over the weekend and that helped the overall box office earn $110 million. Granted, this is 20% lower than last weekend; however, this was also 2.2% higher than the same weekend last year and that is by far the more important detail. 2019 is still behind 2018, but the gap closed by a little bit and is now at 5.9% or $500 million at $7.98 billion to $8.48 billion. Fortunately, the international box office is doing better and overall 2019 is merely mediocre and it still has time to improve. More...

Countdown Trailer

September 16, 2019

Horror movie starring Elizabeth Lail opens October 25 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Estimates: Hustlers and It Both Surprise Over Weekend

September 15, 2019

It is shaping up to be a great weekend at the box office with both Hustlers and It: Chapter Two topping expectations. It: Chapter Two is going to repeat on top, with an estimated sophomore stint of $40.74 million for a running tally of $153.80 million. This represents a 55% decline, which is certainly fantastic for a horror sequel. It still likely means $250 million domestically is out of the question, but even $200 million is amazing for a movie that cost less than $70 million to make. Internationally, the film pulled in another $47 million in 78 markets for a two-week total of $169.5 million. It has already made over $300 million worldwide, which might be enough to break even, depending on its advertising budget and exact share of the box office. If not, it will break even very shortly. More...

Friday Estimates: Hustlers Helps the Box Office Get Lucky on Friday the 13th

September 14, 2019

Hustlers did surprisingly well to earn first place on Friday with an estimated $13.1 million. This puts it on pace for $32 million over the full weekend, which is more than enough for the biggest opening in STX Entertainment’s history and the biggest live-action opening in Jennifer Lopez’s career. It is not that far behind Crazy Rich Asians’ five-day opening and will also be Constance Wu’s best opening. There’s more good news: The film’s reviews are the best in the top ten at 87% positive and STX Entertainment has tended to have a lot of success giving their films long legs. The Bad Moms franchise is evidence of that. On the downside, the movie only managed a B minus from CinemaScore, but it is a dark comedy and those can be divisive. Additionally, while it earned first place on Friday, it won’t stay there for long. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Will Monos Thrive, or will Fate Hand it a Loss?

September 13, 2019

There are many interesting limited releases on this week’s list I want to check out, including Chained for Life, Freaks, Neither Wolf Nor Dog, One Cut of the Dead, Riot Girls, and Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken. However, I think Monos has the best shot at box office success. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Hustlers Grab $2.5 million From Eager Costumers

September 13, 2019

Hustlers started its box office run with $2.5 million in previews last night. This is a faster start than other comparable releases, including the $2 million earned by Bad Moms in 2016. There is some bad news, but only for analysts like myself. There are not a lot of films like this released each year, so there is still a lot of uncertainty going forward. On the positive side, its reviews remain just shy of 90% positive, so the word-of-mouth should be phenomenal. Meanwhile, its target audience isn’t the kind that rushes out to see a movie opening night, so it should do even better during the rest of the weekend. On the low end, it will open with $20 million, which is very close to its $20.7 million production budget. On the high end, it could reach $30 million and break records for both the studio, STX Entertainment, and the lead actress, Jennifer Lopez. (Although in the latter case, it would be her live-action record.) I think the higher end is more likely, which means the movie should top our $24 million prediction. More...

Joker Trailer

September 13, 2019

Psychological thriller starring Joaquin Phoenix opens October 4 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Hustle Con Its Way Past It?

September 12, 2019

There are only two wide releases this weekend, Hustlers and The Goldfinch. The buzz surrounding Hustlers has grown at the perfect time, but it has a non-zero chance of topping It: Chapter Two for top spot on the weekend box office chart. On the other hand, The Goldfinch is seen as busted Oscar-bait and will only open in the top five due to extremely weak competition. This weekend last year, The Predator earned first place with close to $25 million, while the other two wide releases earned about that combined. This means last year’s three new releases will be more potent than this year’s two new releases, but I think 2019 will earn a comfortable win, in part thanks to this year’s much better depth. More...

Theater Averages: Chapter Two Earns Another Number One

September 12, 2019

It: Chapter Two not only earned first place on the overall box office, it earned first place on the theater average chart with an average of $19,926. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice was next with an average of $16,176 in seven theaters; this is an excellent result for a documentary. Next up might be my favorite box office result of the year, as Mr. Klein and Ms. Purple had nearly identical openings at $15,915 and $15,734 respectively. Mr. Klien and Ms. Purple just seem like a nice couple. I’m glad they met. ... Moving on. More...

International Box Office: It Earns Itself First Place

September 12, 2019

It: Chapter Two matched its domestic opening weekend internationally, earning $94.0 million on 26,790 screens in 75 markets over the weekend. Unlike the film’s domestic debut, its international opening was close to on par with the first It’s debut, in local currencies not counting inflation. In fact, Chapter Two had a faster start in Russia earning $9.20 million to $7.28 million for its predecessor. The film had nearly identical openings in both Mexico ($9.14 million) and in the U.K. ($9.06 million). The film opens in France this weekend, while it doesn’t finish off its international run until it debuts in Japan in November. More...

Like a Boss Trailer

September 12, 2019

Comedy starring Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne opens January 10 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Home Market Releases for September 10th, 2019

September 11, 2019

There are two monster hits coming out this week, Aladdin and John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, and this has scared away almost all of the competition. Fortunately, John Wick is amazing and a clear Pick of the Week contender. There was only one other film in contention for that title, Echo in the Canyon. Granted, I like Parabellum more, but it was already awarded the Pick of the Week when it hit VOD, so Echo in the Canyon gets the honor this week. More...

Abominable Trailer

September 11, 2019

Animated adventure from DreamWorks Animation opens September 27 ... Full Movie Details.

When teenage Yi encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin and Peng, name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish, a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara, to help Everest get home. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: It Dominates the Chart, Maybe Reinvigorates the Box Office

September 10, 2019

It: Chapter Two dominated the box office by almost as large a margin as expected. It certainly did well enough that I’m considering it a victory. It earned $91.06 million over the weekend, which is almost exactly what the total box office made last weekend. More importantly, it is almost as much as the top five made this weekend last year, giving the weekend box office a massive increase of 48% from last weekend to $136 million and more importantly, this was 12% more than the same weekend last year. 2019 is still behind 2018 by a massive margin of $500 million or 6.0% at $7.83 billion to $8.33 billion. However, we did catch up to 2017’s ticket sales pace, so as long as we can maintain this pace for the rest of the year, it won’t look like a disaster at the end of the year. More...

A Hidden Life Trailer

September 10, 2019

Terrence Malick’s historical drama, based on real-life events, starring August Diehl and Valerie Pachner opens December 13 ... Full Movie Details.

The true story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Aladdin Double-Shot

September 9, 2019

This week, the live action Aladdin comes out on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD for the first time, while the original animated Aladdin gets a Blu-ray re-release and debuts on 4K Ultra HD. I’ve previously reviewed the 1992 animated film and I consider it a classic. How does the new remake live up to the original? And is the re-release of the original worth picking up? More...

Weekend Estimates: Chapter Two is Number Two on September Chart

September 8, 2019

It: Chapter Two is missing expectations with an estimated opening weekend of $91.0 million. However, while this is 10% lower than predicted, it is still more than enough to earn second place on the September chart. In fact, it is nearly 70% higher than the third biggest September debut of all time, The Nun, which opened this weekend last year. That’s really going to help the year-over-year comparison. As for the film’s long-range chances, they are mixed. Horror movies rarely have long legs and this is also true of sequels, so horror sequels almost never do well long-term. Additionally, this film’s reviews are much weaker than the first film’s reviews, but on the positive side, it did match its predecessor when it came to the CinemaScore, as both earned B plus ratings. More...

Friday Estimates: It on Pace for Second-Best September Debut

September 7, 2019

It: Chapter Two isn’t living up to predictions or its predecessor, but it is still on pace to become one of the best September debuts of all time. The film pulled in $37.4 million on Friday, putting it on pace for just over $90 million over the full weekend. It is going to have shorter legs that the original had, thanks in part to the Sequel Effect, but also due to its weaker reviews. On the positive side, it matched the original’s B plus from CinemaScore, so that’s a good sign. More...

Thursday Night Previews: It Slips, Still on Pace for Monster Opening

September 6, 2019

It: Chapter Two earned $10.5 million during its previews last night. This is the second best previews in September, behind the original It, which earned $13.5 million. I was expecting the gap to be a closer than that. If the two films had the same legs, then Chapter Two would earn $96 million over the full weekend. However, this is probably asking too much for a number of reasons. Firstly, sequels tend to have shorter legs. Secondly, this film’s reviews are weaker than the reviews earned by the first film. Finally, previews for Chapter Two started two hours earlier than they did for the first film, starting at 5 pm instead of 7 pm. Warner Bros. is projecting an opening weekend of $85 million based on this result, but studios tend to underestimate these things so it looks like the movie overperformed. I think just over $90 million is more likely. More...

Lady and the Tramp Trailer

September 6, 2019

Adventure with the voices of Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux debuts on Disney+ on November 12 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Will Ms. Purple Reign at the Box Office?

September 6, 2019

It is still too early for Awards Season contenders to come out, but that doesn’t mean there are no highly-regarded films on this week’s list. Ága, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, and Ms. Purple all have a shot at doing well at the box office. More...

Weekend Predictions: It is All We Got

September 5, 2019

It’s going to be a short prediction column, because there’s not much to talk about. It: Chapter Two is the only wide release of the week and there weren’t even any wide releases last weekend to give It any real competition. In fact, two of the likely top five films have already been in theaters for more than a month. last year, The Nun led the way with $53.81 million. It: Chapter Two could double that during its opening weekend. More...

Theater Averages: Miles Davis is too Cool for New Releases

September 5, 2019

It was an odd week on the theater average chart, as the number one film was a holdover. Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool’s average was down less than 0.2% to $18,222 and it did this while doubling its theater count to 2. This is very impressive and bodes well for its future. The best new release was Ne Zha, which earned an average $17,649 in 66 theaters. Animated films rarely do well in limited release and 66 theaters is a lot for a limited release, so this average is even more impressive than it looks at first glance. Finally, Official Secrets opened with an average of $16,241. More...

Jexi Trailer

September 5, 2019

Comedy starring Adam DeVine and Alexandra Shipp opens October 11 ... Full Movie Details.

Phil is a smart, funny, lovable guy with a major dependency issue. From the time he gets up in the morning until the minute his head hits the pillow at night, every waking moment is made possible by his mobile device. When he is forced to buy a new phone, the latest model comes with a digital assistant named Jexi. At first, his new artificially intelligent friend is helpful and solicitous, challenging Phil to change his life for the better, whether it be asking for a promotion at work or pursuing the girl of his dreams. But as Phil becomes more independent, Jexi turns from helpful to hostile… and suddenly Phil is confronted with a trash-talking tech nightmare who has very specific ideas about what constitutes a service contract. More...

International Box Office: Hobbs and Shaw Plummet in China Still Top the International Chart

September 4, 2019

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw had a very steep decline in China, but still managed to earn first place on the international chart with $37.9 million in 68 markets over the weekend for totals of $528.7 million internationally and $$687.9 million worldwide. The film plummeted 72% during its second weekend in China earning $27.65 million for a two-week total of $170.36 million. This drop-off is extreme, even for China. However, it doesn’t matter. The movie will hit $200 million in that market and $700 million worldwide, which is more than enough to break even and get yet another installment in the franchise. More...

Home Market Releases for September 3rd, 2019

September 4, 2019

It’s another short week with not a lot to talk about. The biggest release of the week is Men in Black International, but it missed expectations by a significant margin. The best first-run release is Booksmart, which also missed expectations by a significant margin, but it is still good enough to be a Pick of the Week contender. In fact, it’s only competition is My Hero Academia: Season Three, Part Two. It came down to a literal coin toss and My Hero Academia won, but both deserve the title. More...

Gretel & Hansel Trailer

September 4, 2019

Fairytale horror starring Sophia Lillis opens January 31 ... Full Movie Details.

A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Almost Nothing Worked on Labor Day Long Weekend

September 4, 2019

There were no new wide releases this past weekend and unfortunately, the holdovers weren’t able to take advantage. Angel Has Fallen remained on top, but it did so with only $11.80 million over the three-day weekend. This wasn’t enough to match expectations or last year’s number one film, Crazy Rich Asians. The overall box office fell 18% from last weekend, falling to $89 million. Worse still, this is 10% lower than this weekend last year, putting 2019 behind 2018 by a 6.2% or $510 million at $7.64 billion to $8.15 billion. On the positive note, this is likely the low point of the year and the Fall looks a lot stronger, starting with It: Chapter Two this coming weekend. More...

The Goldfinch Trailer

September 3, 2019

Drama starring Ansel Elgort opens September 13 ... Full Movie Details.

Theodore “Theo” Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day… a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum

September 2, 2019

The John Wick franchise has experienced phenomenal growth. The second film earned more domestically than the first film earned worldwide. Meanwhile, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum earned more worldwide than the first two films combined. Is the franchise also experiencing high quality? Or should fans of these movies be worried about the upcoming fourth film? More...

Weekend Estimates: Everyone Takes it Easy on Labor Day

September 1, 2019

There were no wide releases this weekend, so I really thought the holdovers would hold on a lot better than they did. According to estimates, Angel Has Fallen has fallen 46% during its second weekend of release to $11.58 million and is projected to earn $15 million over the four-day weekend. A 46% sophomore stint decline would have been great, if this weren’t a holiday weekend. As it is, it’s a little disappointing, but the film will still do well enough to earn a profit. ... “Profitable disappointment.” How many times can that phrase be used this year? More...

2019 Preview: September

September 1, 2019

Summer ended on a thoroughly mediocre note, with more August releases missing expectations than topping them. That said, it wasn’t a complete mess, with Hobbs and Shaw doing extremely well internationally, and some others heading towards profitability, if not becoming spectacular hits. September, on the other hand, should be one of the best months in the year, at least on the year-over-year competition. The month starts with It: Chapter Two, which could open with more than $100 million. By comparison, last September, only one film, The Nun, earned more than $100 million in total. Additionally, Abominable has a slim but realistic chance at reaching the $100 million milestone, so it should be a great month on the year-over-year comparison. 2019 isn’t going to catch up to 2018, but it should narrow the gap considerably. More...

The Numbers News - September 2019

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