August 2nd, 2019
It is a slow week for limited releases with only six films on the main list. Fortunately, four of those six films are earning excellent reviews and a couple of them could do well at the box office. This includes both Luce and The Nightingale. Meanwhile, Love, Antosha could do well for a documentary.
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November 17th, 2017
I think it will be a bad week at the box office for new limited releases. Mudbound is the best film on this week’s list, but it is playing on Netflix, so it will likely go no where at the box office. Sadly, there’s no other film that can take advantage of the lack of competition.
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October 31st, 2016
Long time readers don’t need me to explain how much I love Star Trek in all of its incarnations. ... Okay, most of its incarnations. I haven’t been a fan of the first two installments in the reboot franchise. The third film, Star Trek Beyond, was the weakest of them at the box office. Is it also the weakest of the three in quality? Or was the third the charmed?
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July 11th, 2016
Green Room open with strong buzz, it earned stunning reviews, and it opened really well. However, it struggled as it tried to expand and by the time it was nationwide, its per theater average was below $2,000. Is this something that will only appeal to critics like many other limited releases I’ve reviewed? Or is there another reason it failed to find a mainstream audience?
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June 19th, 2015
While there are a huge number of limited releases on this week's chart, almost none of them have a real shot at mainstream success. There are two films that at least have a legitimate chance at expanding significantly: Infinitely Polar Bear and The Overnight. There are also a number of documentaries and foreign-language films that could do well in limited release, but they won't expand enough to earn significant amounts.
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March 25th, 2014
It is a good, but very shallow week on the home market. The Wolf of Wall Street is leading the pack, with the Blu-ray Combo Pack earning first place and DVD earning second. This is a $100 million hit and a multi-Oscar nominee, so it is not surprising it is earning the top two spots. On the other hand, third place currently belongs to Monster High: Frights, Camera, Action! on DVD. That's a real sign that it is a shallow week. That's not to say some of the smaller releases are not worth picking up. Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXIX is certainly a contender for Pick of the Week, but in the end I went with The Wolf of Wall Street. On a side note, Continuum: Season 2 on Blu-ray earned the Puck of the Week, for Best Canadian Release.
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February 28th, 2014
It is Oscar weekend, so it should come as no surprise there are not a lot of limited releases with the usual target audience. Art house aficionados will be paying more attention to the Awards than to new releases. Ernest & Celestine is the lone exception, which is the only Oscar-nominated film on this week's list and the best reviewed as well. Most of the rest of the movies are earning reviews that range from mixed to outright terrible. The Lunchbox could be the break-out hit of the weekend, if there is a break-out hit.
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September 2nd, 2013
From Up on Poppy Hill is the latest film from Studio Ghibli to reach our shores. The film opened in limited release earlier this year and became the first film released by GKIDS to cross $1 million. Can the film live up to Studio Ghibli's previous films? If not, is it still good in its own regard?
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May 1st, 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.
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