October 5th, 2011
It's a maddening week on the home market. There were more than a dozen featured reviews this week, and what seems like an equal number that are late. (And that's not mentioning the more than a dozen Blu-rays and DVDs that arrived late last week that I still haven't gotten to. At least I don't have to worry about not having enough to do for the next few weeks.) There were a number of contenders for Pick of the Week, including The Walking Dead: Season One on DVD or Blu-ray. But in the end I choose The Lion King Blu-ray Combo Pack.
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September 21st, 2011
Restless won the race to the top of the per theater chart with $15,467 in its lone theater. However, given its reviews, I don't think the word of mouth will be there to help it expand. The Lion King was second with an average of $12,941. The Mill and the Cross was the only other film to cross $10,000 at $11,354 over the weekend and $15,443 from Wednesday through Sunday.
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August 3rd, 2011
Miranda July's second film, The Future, opened about as well as her first film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, did. It earned $27,137 in its lone theater, which was enough for top spot on the per theater chart and suggests a strong potential for expansion. The Devil's Double and The Guard were in a virtual tie with averages of $19,283 and $19,209 respectively. Attack the Block was one of the wider limited releases of the week, and it had the biggest opening in terms of raw dollars. Furthermore, its average of $17,198 suggest potential to expand. El Bulli: Cooking in Progress opened in one theater earning $12,756 over the weekend and $20,699 since Wednesday. Sarah's Key expanded from 5 theaters to 33, but still managed a very strong per theater average of $11,112. The final film to cross the $10,000 per theater average was The Smurfs at $10,489.
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July 19th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Part 2 added another record over the weekend earning the highest per theater average for a wide release with $38,672, surpassing the previous record holder, The Dark Knight. However, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour still holds the record for best per theater average for a number one film at $45,561. That record might not be broken till the $200 million opening weekend milestone is cracked. The only other member of the $10,000 club was Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness, which grew by a few percent to $20,998. Its ability to expand is untested, but growth is always a good sign.
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July 6th, 2011
There were only two films in the $10,000 club with Transformers: Dark of the Moon easily outperforming Terri $23,937 to $10,851. For the former, that was enough to break records over Independence Day. For the latter it's probably not enough to suggest significant expansion, but it might stick around longer than most limited releases.
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June 21st, 2011
A trio of documentaries led the way on the per theater chart starting with Buck. This filmed earned an average of $16,887 in four theaters, which is better than expected. Page One: Inside the New York Times opened with an average of $14,456 in two theaters, while JIG was right behind with an average of $14,086 in five. The overall box office leader, Green Lantern, also topped $10,000 on the per theater chart with an average of $13,935. The Tree of Life barely managed to stay ahead of the $10,000 mark with an average of $10,121; however, it is in its fourth week of release and it is playing in more than 100 theaters, so this is a fantastic result.
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June 19th, 2011
As expected, Green Lantern led the way at the box office this weekend, based on studio estimates released on Sunday, but a weak performance on Saturday and an expected further decline on Sunday will leave it with a fairly modest $52.69 million weekend, according to Warner Bros.' estimate. That puts it behind X-Men: First Class ($55 million) and Thor ($66 million) so far as opening weekends for superhero movies are concerned, and its reviews suggest it won't have the legs of the other two. Mr. Popper's Penguins also under-performed compared to original expectations, although its $18.2 million debut is in line with the numbers Fox was expecting going in to the weekend.
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June 17th, 2011
While looking over the list of limited releases coming out this week, one could be concerned about the lack of a top-tier release. There are a number of films that are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews and could find audiences at the art house circuit; however, it is hard to pick out one that has a legitimate shot at mainstream success.
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