May 23rd, 2012
The same four new releases that charted on the DVD sales chart also charted on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, with just one addition. (And that one addition is actually related to the top film.) Leading the way was Underworld: Awakening, which earned $11.77 million from 590,000 units sold. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 56%, which is becoming commonplace for action films.
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May 8th, 2012
There were only two new releases to earn a spot on the Blu-ray sales chart, but one of them, Contraband, took top spot on the chart. The film sold 510,000 units / $10.19 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 52%. At this point, any action film that doesn't open with a 50% Blu-ray share should be considered a disappointment.
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November 30th, 2011
The Harry Potter franchise held three of the top four spots on this week's Blu-ray sales chart with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 earning top spot with 1.29 million units / $28.83 million during its first full week of release for totals 3.40 million units / $76.27 million.
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November 23rd, 2011
This weekend is Thanksgiving and as always that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in-between. And as always, I've already done my Christmas shopping, for the most part. (I'm still waiting to see if the B.C.Lions win the Grey Cup. If not, I'll need to look for an alternative gift.) For everyone else who is still searching, we present the first part in our annual Holiday Gift Guide. As usual, the gift guide is divided into several sections, starting with Major Movie Releases. These are first run releases, franchise box sets, etc. However, before we get into the individual titles, we will start with an update on...
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November 16th, 2011
Not only did Cars 2 lead the way on the DVD sales chart, it led the way on the Blu-ray sales chart as well. It dominated new releases and holdovers alike, selling 1.76 million units and generating $44.57 million in opening week sales. Its opening Blu-ray ratio was 47%, which is very good for a kids movie and an unexpected boon for the format.
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November 16th, 2011
While there were only four new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD Sales Chart, three of them took the top three spots. Cars 2 earned first place with ease, selling 1.98 million units and generating $31.24 million in opening week sales.
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November 10th, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger led all new releases earning first place on the Blu-ray sales chart by a similar margin to its victory on the DVD sales chart. It sold 1.54 million units and generated $40.08 million in opening week sales. Its Blu-ray ratio was a stunning 68%.
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November 8th, 2011
The DVD sales chart returned to normal, at least what passes for normal as we witness the decline of DVD sales. There were not a lot of new releases to chart, but at least the best of them was able to move a lot of units. Captain America: The First Avenger was dominant earning first place with 726,000 units / $12.56 million.
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November 7th, 2011
It's a rather mixed week on the home market. Granted, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is coming out this week, but it doesn't make its home market debut till Friday. Also, after the Harry Potter releases, there's a huge drop in quality. Given the issue with the Harry Potter releases, it's best to wait till next year and grab the ultimate editions. I'm not sure there's anything here that rises to the level of Pick of the Week. In the end I went with Captain America: The First Avenger on Blu-ray Combo Pack, even though it didn't come out this week. However, the screener was late and it is the best release on this week's list.
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November 4th, 2011
The Avengers is truly a rare case. While franchise crossovers have happened in the past, it's very rare for a movie franchise to be created with the intent of creating a crossover. Granted, Hulk and Iron Man made their theatrical debuts before The Avengers was given the green light, but Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were made specifically with the other franchises in mind. It's a daring plan, but is the latest installment a promising sign for next year's main event?
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October 25th, 2011
It's a rather strong week on the home market with several top-notch releases and no matter what your tastes are, you should find something to enjoy here. Even if you just look at contenders for Pick of the Week, there are first run releases (Captain America: The First Avenger on Blu-ray Combo Pack); limited releases (Attack the Block on DVD); TV on DVD releases (Robot Chicken: Season Five on Blu-ray), Box Sets (Jurassic Park: Trilogy Box Set) and even classics (Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection on DVD). In the end, I went with the Winnie the Pooh Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which should pick up an Oscar nomination and might be the favorite to win Best Feature-Length Animated Film.
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September 14th, 2011
The Smurfs have taken top spot on the international chart for the fifth weekend in a row, this time earning $14.78 million on 6,425 screens in 80 markets for a total of $321.17 million internationally and $457.18 million worldwide. The film opened in Japan over the weekend, but was a non-entity placing fifth with $857,000 on 235 screens over the weekend and $994,000 in total. It opens in Australia and Italy this weekend and if it can do well in those two markets, it should reach $500 million worldwide before long.
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August 24th, 2011
The Smurfs remained in first place with $35.18 million on 10,737 screens in 47 markets for a total of $211.52 million internationally and $329.07 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, but did add $3.95 million on 504 screens during its third weekend in Brazil and it now has $21.91 million in that market. That's like earning more than $200 million domestically. With openings in Italy, Japan, and Australia still ahead, the film should have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which means it is on pace to earn a profit before the home market.
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August 18th, 2011
The Smurfs continued to expand this past weekend and reached first place with $61.48 million on 11,055 screens in 40 markets for a total of $143.23 million internationally. Its biggest opening came in China where it debuted in first place with $13.4 million on 3,110 screens from Wednesday through Sunday. It also opened in first place in Russia with $4.28 million on 662 screens, but had to settle for second place in the U.K. with $6.16 million on 447 and third place in South Korea with $2.07 million on 455 screens over the weekend and $2.42 million in total. It also held on really well in Brazil, down just 21% to $5.34 million on 559 over the weekend for a total of $15.36 million after two.
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August 10th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 became just the third film in history to reach $800 million internationally, and that wasn't the only big news of the week. Over the weekend, the film pulled in $62.43 million on 14,316 screens in 62 markets for totals of $801.32 million internationally and $1.14 billion worldwide. It is now the highest grossing non-James Cameron film of all time. The film opened with just shy of $30 million in China, which is more than twice the previous film's debut there. In fact, it is about 10% less than the previous film's final box office there. There is a chance Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 will break the century mark in this market. Other big news of the weekend came from the U.K. where it earned $4.61 million on 525 screens for a total of $102.39 million. It's still very rare for films to earn $100 million or more in any individual box office, so this is good news. Its next biggest individual market is Japan at $82.19 million, including $4.76 million on 822 screens this past weekend. Looking forward, the film should have no trouble reaching $900 million internationally and it should top Titanic's international number worldwide.
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August 8th, 2011
It seems summer is still around as the box office was stronger than expected. Not only did Rise of the Planet of the Apes earn more than last year's number one film, The Other Guys, by a large margin, but the rest of the box office was also able to gain ground on 2010. Granted, with a total haul of $167 million, it was down 7% from last weekend. But more importantly, it was up by 26% from last year. Year-to-date 2011 has pulled in $6.68 billion, which is still 5% lower than this point last year, but we are closing the gap and if the fall is as strong as the summer was, we could still squeeze out a win.
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August 4th, 2011
August begins with two wide releases, include one opening in well over 3,000 theaters, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and one that's just below the saturation level, The Change-Up. This time last year, the one-two punch came from The Other Guys and Step Up 3D, which combined to earn just over $51 million. There are some who think Rise of the Planet of the Apes will earn that much by itself. That's a little too bullish for me, but it does suggest 2011 should extend its winning streak over 2010 to four weeks.
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August 3rd, 2011
It took just 17 days for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 to reach the $1 billion milestone at the worldwide box office, matching a record set by Avatar. Over the weekend it pulled in $65.91 million on 13,156 screens in 61 markets for a total of $698.92 million internationally and $1.02 billion worldwide. It is only the ninth film in history to reach that milestone, but amazingly, it isn't the first, nor is it the last film of the year to do so. The film remained in first place in Germany with $7.93 million on 899 screens over the weekend for a total of $61.70 million after three. It also topped the chart in the U.K. with $7.43 million on 576 screens over the weekend for a total of $90.29 million after three. It was pushed into second place in Japan ($6.93 million on 853 screens over the weekend and $68.74 million in total); France ($5.16 million on 815 screens over the weekend and $44.80 million in total); and in Australia ($4.20 million on 663 screens over the weekend and $48.87 million in total). At this pace, it should overtake Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides before too long, especially since it hasn't opened in China yet. While it has its sights set on the record for biggest worldwide box office for a non-James Cameron film, currently held by Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
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August 1st, 2011
It was a very, very close race for top spot at box office this weekend with the top two films separated by less than $1 million. In the end, it was Cowboys and Aliens that came out on top, even though it finished on the low end of predictions. However, with The Smurfs earning much more than expected, the overall box office take was a surprisingly brisk $180 million. This was still 6% lower than last weekend, but more importantly, 24% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2011 has brought in $6.42 billion, or about 6% less than last year's pace. With a little luck, 2011 will be able to close that gap a bit more before the end of summer.
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July 28th, 2011
Summer is starting to wind down and while there are no sure-fire monster hits opening from now until November, there are still a few more potential $100 million hits coming out before we can close the book on the summer. Cowboys and Aliens is one of these films, and while it is clearly the biggest new release of the week, it still has competition from Captain America: The First Avenger during its opening weekend. On the high end, the film could earn more than the combined openings of last year's three wide releases. Even on the low end, it should have no trouble topping last year's number one film. This should help 2011 win over 2010 for the third week in a row, which is enough to be considered a streak.
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July 28th, 2011
The winners of our One - Two - Three contest were determined and they are...
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July 26th, 2011
Sarah's Key found its way to the top of the per theater chart with $23,142 in five theaters. Another Earth was also a strong performer earning an average of $19,435 in four theaters. Captain America: The First Avenger led the way on the overall chart and earned an average of $17,512 on the per theater chart. Last week's winner, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Part 2, fell to fourth place with $10,839.
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July 25th, 2011
The weekend race at the box office turned out to be not quite as close as expected with Captain America: The First Avenger running away with things. Fortunately, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 fell a little faster than expected, the overall box office was a little stronger than expected. It still fell 27% from last weekend, but a 30% decline would not have been surprising here. Compared to last year, the weekend total of $191 million was 17% higher, while the gap between 2011 and 2010 has close from just over $600 million to just over $400 million in roughly ten days. Revenue is still down by 6%, while ticket sales are close to 8% lower, but if we can end summer less than $300 million off 2010's pace, we might be able to close the gap entirely by the end of the year.
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July 24th, 2011
After last week's fireworks, this weekend was another good one for the industry thanks to a better-than-expected opening for Captain America: The First Avenger. The superhero movie is set to gross about $65.8 million at the box office this weekend, which is almost exactly the same as Thor's $65.7 million opening back in May. Captain's estimate does rely on a slightly better Sunday than Thor, so it might not quite top the list of superhero opening weekends in 2011, but the difference will basically be a rounding error. What was billed as a potentially close race for top spot this weekend turned in to a very one-sided battle, with Deathly Hallows dropping a steep 72% from its massive opening to an estimated $48.1 million. $274 million after 10 days is still a best for the franchise, however.
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July 21st, 2011
This weekend the battle will be between the last Harry Potter movie and The First Avenger. As long as the two films are close, the box office should be strong. In fact, The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 could break the record for largest week-to-week drop off (in terms of raw dollars) and still top last year's number one film. As long as Captain America comes close and Friends with Benefits doesn't bomb, we should see strong growth on a year-over-year basis.
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July 14th, 2011
The celebrate the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, we are giving away two copies of iCarly's three-disc box set. The two releases have nothing in common, but it sets up the name of the contest. (I know it is technically The First Avenger and not Avenger Number One, but work with me here.) In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Captain America: The First Avenger.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of iCarly: The I <3 iCarly Collection on DVD.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of iCarly: The I <3 iCarly Collection on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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June 28th, 2011
July starts with one of the most important holidays of the year, which is good news for the industry, as June was a little weaker than expected, at least on average. None of the films were shockingly bad at the box office, even if a few missed early predictions by significant degrees. But conversely, none really shocked analysts with their box office prowess. As such, 2011 continued to slide a little further behind 2010's pace, a trend the movie industry hopes will end this month. Fortunately, that is a reasonable goal. Last July was home to two $100 million movies, two $200 million movies, and a one $300 million movie, assuming you count The Twilight Saga: Eclipse as a July film. This time around, we could see two films top $300 million, assuming you count Transformers: Dark of the Moon as a July release. Meanwhile, there are several potential $100 million films. I count up to six films with a statistically significant shot at reaching the century mark, but I would be amazed if more than half of them got there.
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May 11th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Spirit, Iron Man 2, The Avengers and more!
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