September 1st, 2017
It’s not a good week for limited releases. It is too late for a limited release to take advantage of the summer, while it is still too soon to take advantage of Awards Season buzz. There are some movies that are worth checking out, including the documentary Dolores, but none jump out as having a lot of box office potential. Personally, the film I’m most intereted in seeing is Goon: Last of the Enforcers.
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November 11th, 2015
It is not a particularly strong week for limited releases, as there are none that really jump out as potential breakout successes. Man Up is earning some of the best reviews, but it is the wrong genre for limited release, as Rom Coms rarely do well enough in limited release to expand wide. (On a side note, one of the exceptions was My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The trailer for the sequel just came out. Nearly 15 years is a long time between the original and the sequel.) James White feels a lot more like a traditional limited release, one that can do really well in the art house circuit.
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May 1st, 2014
It has been a great year so far and April was again a strong month. The box office was led by Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as it became the second film of the year to reach $200 million, while Rio 2 is on pace to become the seventh $100 million hit of the year. Big picture, 2014 has already hit $3 billion, which isn't a record for this time of the year, but it is $250 million ahead of 2013. That streak ends in May. Don't get me wrong. There are six films opening this month that at least have a shot at $100 million and two of those should earn more than $200 million and there are two others that at least have a shot at that milestone. Leading the way is The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is looking to top The Winter Soldier and become the second biggest hit of the year so far. Its main competition this month is X-men: Days of Future Past, while Godzilla also has a shot at $200 million. Unfortunately, this month last year, Iron Man 3 earned more than $400 million, while two other films took in $200 million and seven films in total reached the century mark. That is going to be really hard to replicate this year and 2014 will likely lose some of its lead over 2013. Fortunately, 2014 has such a big lead that unless the box office really slumps, it will end the month with at least a small lead over 2013.
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January 20th, 2014
The home market picks up steam this week, sort of. We are starting to get some of the Awards Season hopefuls coming out, which is great news for fans of great movies. However, there's not a lot of depth to go with the award-worthy movies. The two films that were the main contenders for Pick of the Week were Captain Phillips on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and In a World... on DVD or Blu-ray. It was a close decision, but in the end, I went with In a World...
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November 28th, 2013
Independent Spirit Award started the Awards Season this week, handing out its nominations. 12 Years a Slave led the way with seven nominations, but it wasn't the only film to pick up multiple nominations.
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August 28th, 2013
The winners of our
Around the World and Back contest were determined and they are...
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August 16th, 2013
Next weekend there are three wide releases, the biggest of which is The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. However, the film is opening on a Wednesday, which complicates things when it comes to the weekly box office prediction contest. Instead, we will use one of the two smaller releases: The World's End or You're Next. Maybe it's personal bias, but I think The World's End will have the bigger opening, plus the prize also has "World" in the title, so it works. Thus, it is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for The World's End.
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 signed copy of the In a World... poster, signed by the writer / director / star, Lake Bell.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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August 9th, 2013
It is not a good week for limited releases with a couple of higher profile releases failing to win over critics. Lovelace had been earning a lot of buzz before its release, but the reviews suggest it won't be able to capitalize on this buzz. On the other hand, In a World is earning surprisingly strong reviews and it does have a lot of name recognition in the cast, so hopefully it will thrive.
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July 29th, 2013
It's a good thing I didn't get Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four on Blu-ray reviewed last week. I was tempted, because there were so few new releases worth considering for Pick of the Week; however, there are even fewer contenders for Pick of the Week this week. Both Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four and Redemption are worth picking up, but the former is better value and it is the Pick of the Week. The only other real contender is Cloudburst on DVD, which is the winner of this week's Puck of the Week, for best new Canadian release. Samurai Pizza Cats: The Complete Series is also worth picking up, but I would wait till the price drops.
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