December 14th, 2013
Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their Golden Globe nominations this week, and a clear picture is forming. 12 Years a Slave was again the recipient of the most nominations, but this time it was a tie, as it and American Hustle both grabbed seven nominations. If you look down the list of other multi-nominated films, you will find a number of familiar faces.
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November 28th, 2013
Independent Spirit Award started the Awards Season this week, handing out its nominations. 12 Years a Slave led the way with seven nominations, but it wasn't the only film to pick up multiple nominations.
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August 15th, 2013
IMAX movies have incredible legs and can bounce back in the $10,000 club years and years after their first release. Space Station jumped into first place with an average of $30,602 in one theater. In a World was the best new release with an average of $23,514 in three theaters. It is going to expand and we will have a contest starting on Friday to celebrate. Snake and Mongoose was close behind with $20,254 in its lone theater. Blue Jasmine continues to expand and it is now playing in 119 theaters. However, its average remains very strong at $19,709 and it will undoubtedly continue to expand. The Spectacular Now expanded from 4 to 19 theaters, while its average fell to $14,045. This is still strong enough to suggest further expansion and it should reach its first major milestone shortly. Chennai Express broke records for a Bollywood film playing in 196 theaters, while its per theater average was $11,329. That's an incredible start.
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June 25th, 2013
You can tell it's summertime, because the two wide releases topped the per theater chart this weekend. Monsters University earned first place on both the overall chart and the per theater average chart with an average of $20,587. World War Z placed second with $18,412. Unfinished Song earned an average of $12,864 in two theaters. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was 20 Feet from Stardom, which earned an average of $10,744 in six theaters.
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June 12th, 2013
Much Ado About Nothing lived up to the hype earning first place on the per theater chart with an average of $34,388 in five theaters. This is enough to suggest significant expansion, but I think it is too "art house" to expand even semi-wide. Dirty Wars opened in second place with an average of $15,876 in four theaters. This is an excellent start for a documentary. The overall box office leader, The Purge, earned third place with an average of $13,430. The final film in the $10,000 club was Before Midnight with an average of $10,123 in 52 theaters during its third weekend of release.
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June 5th, 2013
Hannah Arendt earned first place on the per theater chart with $31,270 in one theater. That was well ahead of the second-place film, The East, which earned an average of $19,258 in four theaters. The Kings of Summer also opened in four theaters and it earned a per theater average of $14,741. Before Midnight expanded into 31 theaters earning an average of $13,042. It should still expand further and it will have no problem getting to a major milestone or two... or more likely three or four major milestones. Now You See Me earned a surprise second place on the overall chart, while it just managed to reach the $10,000 club on the per theater chart with $10,002. If it were playing in just one additional theater and earned the same overall box office, it would have missed the $10,000 mark.
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May 29th, 2013
As expected, Before Midnight led the way on the per theater chart with an average $49,383. This is the third best per theater average so far this year, behind just The Place Beyond the Pines and Spring Breakers. The overall box office leader, Fast and Furious 6, was next with an average of $26,620. Fill the Void was relatively close behind with an average of $19,721 in three theaters. The final film in the $10,000 club was The Hangover 3 with an average of $11,722.
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May 26th, 2013
Memorial Day weekend will be one for the record books, thanks to a gigantic opening for Fast and Furious 6 and a gaggle of good results for a trailing pack of three films. The Hangover III will pick up $42.4 million (the worst opening weekend for the franchise, but still a solid performance by any measure); Star Trek Into Darkness is looking at a good hold with around $38 million Friday-Sunday and $121 million so far; and Epic gets off to a good start with $34.2 million, which is comfortably the most ever earned by a 4th-place finisher, besting Madea's Witness Protection's opening last year. But the real accolades must be reserved for Fast and Furious.
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May 23rd, 2013
Frances Ha earned first place on the per theater chart with an average of $34,350 in four theaters. This is strong enough to suggest serious potential to expand. The overall number one film, Star Trek into Darkness, placed second with an average of $18,140. That's a fantastic start, but lower than expected.
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May 19th, 2013
Paramount downplayed talk of a $100 million opening weekend for Star Trek Into Darkness, and the results for the weekend show that they were right to do so. The film is predicted to earn $70.5 million over the three-day weekend for a total of $84.1 million after four days. That compares to a three-day opening of $79.2 million for the previous Star Trek outing, which means the franchise is essentially treading water in spite of generally good reviews and enthusiasm among its core audience. This clearly won't be the breakout into super-blockbuster territory that some were hoping for, although it should set a franchise record thanks to improved international numbers.
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May 17th, 2013
I mentioned last week that every summer there is usually one limited release that has break out success and expands, if not wide, at least wide enough to earn a real measure of mainstream success. This week, we have that first film that might reach that level of success. Frances Ha not only has the best reviews on this week's list, but it also has an impressive pedigree. There are also a couple foreign language films that might find an audience on the art house circuit, Augustine and Pieta, but their chances to expand significantly are much more limited.
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