DVD and Blu-ray Releases for April 24th, 2012

April 24th, 2012

It's slow week for new releases, a really slow week. According to Amazon.com, the best selling new release is Contraband. It was the biggest box office hit released in January, but it was still no more than a midlevel hit. The second best selling release of the week is The Innkeepers, which is a sign that it is a slow week. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, but it is a limited release that struggled to find an audience in theaters and it shouldn't be the high on the chart. The third best selling new release of the week is the latest Fullmetal Alchemist release, which is even more surprising, as Anime is still very much a niche market release. The fourth best selling release is Car 54 Where Are You?. Really? I'm surprised anyone remembers that TV show. Are there any releases that are worth picking up? Perhaps even contenders for pick of the week? Actually, The Innkeepers on Blu-ray is in the running, as is Pariah on Blu-ray. However, in the end I went with Todd and The Book Of Pure Evil: Season 1, giving it the rarely awarded Puck of the Week. More...

Melancholia has a Finite Result on Per Theater Chart

November 16th, 2011

Melancholia led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $13,535 in 19 theaters. It was playing in more theaters than most limited releases debut in, but for a film with Oscar aspirations, this was a weaker result that I would have liked. It also might hurt the film's Oscar chances; after all, people can't vote for films they haven't seen. The overall box office leader, Immortals, placed second with an average of $10,349, which is about $3,000 more than I was expecting. More...

Melancholia and the Limited Releases

November 11th, 2011

We are getting into Awards Season with a real contender, Melancholia, opening this week. There are a few other releases with incredible reviews, like The Conquest, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within and Into the Abyss. I would love to think all four films will be able to find an audience during their limited release. However, odds are Melancholia will be the only one to do so, as foreign language films and documentaries rarely escape the art house circuit. More...

2011 Preview: November

November 1st, 2011

October was a bit of a write-off. After the last weekend of September, the 2011 box office was about $280 million behind 2010's pace, but after the final weekend in October, that gap increased to $340 million. November will obviously bring in more box office dollars than October did. After all, it has one of the most important long holiday weekends of the year, Thanksgiving. However, the important question is not, "Can this November top last month?" It's, "Can this November top last year?" The biggest hit of last November was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I, which earned just shy of $300 million. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 should match that figure. Tangled reached $200 million and maybe Happy Feet 2 will match that figure, but that's far less certain. There's a chance The Muppets will match Megamind while Tower Heist should top Due Date. If Jack and Jill and / or Hugo can become surprise $100 million hits and one of the limited releases can become a monster hit, like The King's Speech was able to, then suddenly the box office looks whole lot rosier going into the final month of the year. It's possible, but it's kind of like getting a backdoor full house in Texas Hold'em to beat a straight. I wouldn't bet on it. On the other hand, there doesn't appear to be many Skyline, The Next Three Days or Faster films that bombed at the box office. So while we might not be as strong at the top, there is better depth this year and hopefully that will be enough. More...