Contest: Green With Envy: Winning Announcement

July 20th, 2016

The winners of our Green With Envy contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Ghostbusters opening weekend were... More...

Home Market Releases for July 12th, 2016

July 12th, 2016

It is a very slow week for the home market. The biggest release of the week is The Divergent: Series Allegiant, which is a movie most people should avoid. (Looking at its box office numbers, most people did avoid it.) As for the best releases, Belladonna Of Sadness is amazing, but the screener arrived late and I don’t like handing out that title when I haven’t had a chance to check out the full release. Fortunately, we do have a backup contender, Everybody Wants Some on Blu-ray Combo Pack. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Green Room

July 11th, 2016

Green Room open with strong buzz, it earned stunning reviews, and it opened really well. However, it struggled as it tried to expand and by the time it was nationwide, its per theater average was below $2,000. Is this something that will only appeal to critics like many other limited releases I’ve reviewed? Or is there another reason it failed to find a mainstream audience? More...

Contest: Green With Envy

July 8th, 2016

It is an easy week to pick the target film for the Box Office Prediction Contest. I’m not 100% sure The Infiltrator is opening truly wide, plus it is a Wednesday release. On the other hand, if Fandango is correct, Ghostbusters will be the biggest comedy of the summer and if early tracking is correct, it will have the best non-family film opening since X-Men: Apocalypse. Regardless if they are correct, Ghostbusters is the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Ghostbusters.

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 Green Room on Blu-ray, plus an additional previously reviewed movie. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a Frankenprize, consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win a Frankenprize, consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Contest: Big Fun Prizes: Winning Announcement

July 6th, 2016

The winners of our Big Fun Prizes contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The BFG opening weekend were... More...

Home Market Releases for June 28th, 2016

June 28th, 2016

Usually, this time of year is terrible for the home market. However, this week, Kung Fu Panda 3 hits the home market. I'm still waiting on the screener, but its reviews are a step above most of its competition, so at the very least it is a contender for Pick of the Week. It's not the only contender, but there can only be one winner and this week it's Eye in the Sky on Blu-ray Combo Pack. More...

Theater Averages: Weiner Wins Weekend Race with $16,835

May 25th, 2016

Weiner earned first place on the theater average chart, which is terrible news for me, because there are so many immature puns that I want to be using right now. The film earned an average of $16,835 in five theaters, which is fantastic for a documentary. The Lobster was right behind with an average of $16,212 in 24 theaters during its second week of release. The film has already hit $1 million in total and has plenty of room to grow. Maggie's Plan was next with an average of $12,662 in five theaters. It has a shot at expanding significantly, but it likely won't expand truly wide. Love and Friendship remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,911. Its better than expected theatrical run appears to have pushed back its VOD release. More...

Theater Averages: Civil War Sets Yearly Mark with $42,390

May 10th, 2016

Captain America: Civil War not only had the best theater average of the weekend, but it also had the best theater average for any film released in 2016. Its average of $42,390 was just ahead of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while Midnight Special remains the best average for a limited release this year. Other films in the $10,000 club this week include A Bigger Splash, which earned an average of $22,884 in five theaters over the weekend for an average of $27,697 from Wednesday through Sunday. Eva Hesse saw its average rise 8% to $13,816, but it did open on a Wednesday last week, so that likely depressed its weekend numbers last week. Dheepan just made it into the $10,000 club with an average of $10,125 in two theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Fang has Teeth with $14,506

May 3rd, 2016

The Family Fang led the way on the theater average chart with $14,506 in one theater. This is the last time we will talk about this film's box office numbers, because it opens on VOD this Friday, thus ending its chances of box office success. Then again, clearly VOD is more important to a limited release than the theatrical box office is. The Man Who Knew Infinity was next with an average of $13,388 in six theaters. That's good, but likely not good enough to expand significantly. Eva Hesse was playing in just one theater earning $12,780 over the weekend and $17,912 from Wednesday through Sunday. The Jungle Book made the $10,000 club for the third weekend in a row with an average of $10,818. More...

Theater Averages: Green Room Pulls in the Green with an average of $29,328

April 20th, 2016

Green Room led the way with an average of $29,328 in three theaters. This is yet another success for A24 and whoever is in charge of acquisitions over there needs to get a raise. The overall number one film, The Jungle Book was next with an average of $25,636. Sing Street was well back with an average of $12,715 in five theaters. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt, which was down a mere 18% to $10,814 in its lone theater. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jungle Book projected to top $100 million

April 17th, 2016

2016 is shaping up to be just about the perfect year on all fronts for Disney. They started the year with Star Wars at the top of the box office; Zootopia far out-performed expectations; Captain America: Civil War, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Finding Dory position them perfectly for the Summer; and Doctor Strange and Star Wars: Rogue One are two of the most talked about movies coming at the end of the year. (Oh, and they’re slipping a long-awaited Steven Spielberg family-friendly film in the middle of all that.)

All-in-all, this could be a year of studio dominance the likes of which we haven’t seen since, well, last year, when Universal could do no wrong. Their incredible year really took flight at the beginning of April, when Furious 7 posted a monthly record $147 million opening weekend. The Jungle Book won’t hit those heights, but it will most likely be the second film to top $100 million in April, with Disney projecting a weekend of $103.57 million as of Sunday morning. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Looking to Rake in the Green

April 1st, 2016

There are a handful of films on this week's list earning great reviews and/or loud buzz. Of these four films, Green Room is the one I want to see the most, but Everybody Wants Some is the one most likely to become a box office hit. More...