March 20th, 2012
It's another week were there are a lot of Awards Season players hitting the home market and a lot of screeners that are late. There are a trio of films that are high on the list of contenders for Pick of the Week. These include two serious drama / thrillers: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on Blu-ray Combo Pack and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on Blu-ray. However, in the end, I went with the extreme other end of the serious scale with The Muppets's Wocka Wocka Value Pack
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January 31st, 2012
There was only one film to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this past weekend. An Inconsistant Truth opened with $20,733 in its lone theater, but with still no reviews, its long term chances are still unknown. The phrase, "preaching to the choir" does spring to mind.
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January 18th, 2012
It was a busy week on the per theater chart with five films in the $10,000 club; however, all but one of those films were holdovers. Leading the way was We Need to Talk About Kevin, which returned to theaters after its week-long Oscar qualification run. It earned an average of $21,123 in two theaters. Pina doubled its theater count, but remained strong in second place with an average of $20,740 in six theaters. Even if it doesn't expand significantly, it will reach some major milestones. Despite mixed reviews, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is earning very strong legs. This past weekend it dipped just 8% while earning an average of $15,172 in six theaters. It expands wide on Friday and it should do quite well. The only new release of the week to reach the $10,000 club was Sophomore, which opened with an estimated $13,000 in its lone theater. Finally, we get to A Separation, which earned an average of $11,977 in six theaters. Hopefully it will expand to take advantage of is success thus far.
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December 20th, 2011
It was a busy week on the per theater chart with several films in the $10,000 club. These were led by Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol with $30,083, but given its unusual opening, it's hard to judge this start. (More on its IMAX run later today.) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy expanded from four to sixteen theaters, but remained potent with an average of $28,549. Some measure of mainstream success is guaranteed, even if it is failing to live up to expectations during Awards Season. On the other hand, The Artist is starting to clean up during Awards Season and this is helping its per theater average remain strong at $16,904. It should have no trouble expanding some more, even if the nature of the film will prevent it from becoming a hit in Megaplexes. Carnage debuted with an average of $15,959 in five theaters, which is disappointing given its pedigree. The overall box office leader, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, was the final film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $10,704.
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December 18th, 2011
While openings of about $40 million for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and $23.5 million for Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip Wrecked are good in comparison to recent openings, both films will fall well below the openings of their predecessors. 2009's Sherlock Holmes posted an opening of $62.3 million and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel posted $48.9 million. So the two movies combined are off almost $50 million from their openings two year ago at a time when the industry badly needs a shot in the arm.
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December 16th, 2011
The list of limited releases this week is much shorter and quite a bit weaker than the last few weeks. Carnage is the only film with a real shot at earning some measure of mainstream success, but its reviews are a little weak for a limited release. There are a couple documentaries that are earning better reviews, Addiction Incorporated and Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, both of which deserve to find success. However, documentaries rarely manage to hit any major milestones in limited release.
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December 16th, 2011
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the Awards Season picture started to look a whole lot clearer. The Artist led the way with six nominations, while The Descendents and The Help were right behind with five apiece.
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