June 22nd, 2013
There were a quartet of new releases this week, but it was a matter of quantity over quality and Django Unchained remained on top of the DVD and Blu-ray carts. The Gangster Squad settled for second place with 314,000 units / $5.04 million on DVD and 149,000 units / $3.52 million It's opening week Blu-ray share was 32%, which is solid for a drama, but nothing too impressive. Its running totals are 532,000 units / $8.31 million on DVD and 236,000 units / $5.69 million on Blu-ray.
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April 23rd, 2013
This time of year tends to be really bad on the home market. By this late in spring, there are only a few late winter releases still finding their way on the home market. Last weekend it was Django Unchained and next weekend it will be Silver Linings Playbook. This week, there are no such releases. The best selling release according to Amazon.com is Jurassic Park, which makes its home market 3D debut. (It is still in the top ten at the box office, so that might be helping the sales.) I hope to get a screener to review but so far it is late, so I'm not sure if the 3D upgrade is worth the triple-dip. As far as Pick of the Week Contenders, there are not many. The Impossible is probably the best bet, but I'm still waiting for the screener. The week is so bad, that I took the time to review Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Three on Blu-ray a week in advance, just so I would have something to choose as Pick of the Week this week. It is expensive, but there are several classic episodes that aired this season and there is a ton of new extras on the six-disc set.
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February 21st, 2013
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. This week we will look at the four acting categories, finishing with Best Lead Actress. This race is easily the most competitive of the four acting categories this year. The person seen as the favorite has switched, more than once, and at the moment, I'm not sure who is going to win.
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February 5th, 2013
The Gatekeepers led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $22,226 in three theaters. The only other member of the $10,000 club was Koch with an average of $17,598 in two. Both films should continue to do well on the art house circuit, but as documentaries, I doubt they will expand significantly.
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January 30th, 2013
There was a relatively close race on top of the international chart, but Django Unchained came out on top for the second week in a row. This time it earned $43.10 million on 6,421 screens in 64 markets for a total of $111.61 million after just two weeks of release. It is rapidly closing in on Inglourious Basterds as Quentin Tarantino's biggest hit of his career. It is also the most expensive film in his career. The film opened in first place in Australia with $3.95 million on 330 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $5.61 million. It also remained in top spot in Germany with an incredible $8.08 million on 650 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $21.32 million.
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January 27th, 2013
January will go out like a lamb at the box office, with three new releases failing to catch on with moviegoers this weekend and not much action among the holdovers. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters will win the weekend more-or-less by default, with a modest $19 million bow from 3,372 theaters. That spells financial disaster for a film that reportedly cost $50 million to make. FilmDistrict's $30 million-budgeted Parker will have a similarly tough time recouping its investment, although lower marketing costs will help. It starts out with $7 million and a per theater average of $3,147. Even more disappointing is Movie 43, which is set to open with $5 million, although its $6 million budget and likely long shelf life on video will avert catastrophe.
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January 23rd, 2013
Amour continues to show legs most limited releases can only dream of. Despite expanding its theater count to 36, the film topped the per theater chart with an average of $11,479. It is very rare for a wide release to reach the $10,000 level during this time of year, but that's exactly what Mama did, as it opened with an average of $10,730 during the three-day portion of the weekend. Quartet might have reached the $10,000 mark. We are still relying on studio estimates and at the moment the studio says it made $320,000 in 32 theaters for an average of exactly $10,000.
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January 20th, 2013
For all the Oscar hype, moviegoers are voting with their feet this MLK weekend for a more straightforward entertainment bang for their buck. Mama is set to win the weekend by a large margin, with Universal estimating a $28.1 million three-day weekend and about $33 million over four days. With the film playing in a relatively modest 2,647 theaters, that translates into a per theater average of $10,625, comfortably ahead of any other wide release. Jessica Chastain has dual reasons to celebrate, with Zero Dark Thirty set to finish second for the weekend with $17.6 million. Fellow Oscar-hopeful Silver Linings Playbook will be third with about $11.35 million over three days in its first weekend in wide release.
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January 16th, 2013
Life of Pi remained in first place on the international chart with $34.95 million on 9,291 screens in 67 markets. Its totals reached $359.11 million internationally and $453.91 million worldwide. The film's biggest market of the weekend was Russia, where it earned $4.45 million on 1,575 screens over the weekend for a total of $25.07 million after two.
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January 15th, 2013
Quartet opened on top of the per theater chart with an average of $23,561 in two theaters. This is very impressive, especially for this time of year. Amour expanded from 3 to 15 theaters, but you couldn't tell from its per theater average, as it held very well down just 14% to $17,138.
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January 10th, 2013
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions.
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January 10th, 2013
Life of Pi rose to first place with $59.30 million on 10,027 screens in 64 markets for a total of $302.04 million internationally and $393.08 million worldwide. The film reportedly dominated the Russian box office with $14.2 million on 1,600 screens. It had to settle for second place in Australia with $5.18 million on 545 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.36 million. It managed third place in South Korea with $3.06 million on 392 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $5.35 million. This film has yet to open in Japan and a few smaller markets, so it isn't done yet and it should have no trouble getting to $500 million worldwide.
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January 8th, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty remained on the top of the per theater chart with an average of $44,933 in 60 theaters. To emphasize, the film saw its theater count leap from 5 to 60, but its per theater average only dropped 29% from $63,283 to $44,933. That's a lower drop-off than the average film in the top ten. At this point, expanding wide is a given, while the film has a solid shot at $100 million. 56 Up opened very strong with $22,088 in one theater. This should help it expand, but it is a documentary, so it is not going to expand wide. Amour remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $19,944. It is still playing in 3 theaters, but it should have room to expand significantly.
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January 6th, 2013
After a few weeks of family fare at the top of the box office charts, teens and young adults are reasserting themselves in movie theaters this weekend, pushing Texas Chainsaw 3D to a surprise win and Django Unchained above The Hobbit. Both films will earn over $20 million this weekend, according to studio estimates. There's also a lot of strength in depth this weekend, with 21 films set to earn over $1 million. That's not quite a record (25 films topped $1 million the weekends of January 12, 2007 and the following weekend -- for the full list, see our analysis), but it's certainly a healthy way to start 2013.
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January 3rd, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty shot up to the top of the per theater chart with averages of $83,430 during its opening weekend and $63,283 during its sophomore stint. Expanding truly wide is virtually guaranteed. Amour was well back with an average of $20,005 over the past weekend and $22,755 during its opening weekend. The Impossible rose 27% to $12,172 in 15 theaters. This is a great sign and while its reviews are too low to be a major contender during Awards Season, it should still do well enough to expand significantly, but probably not truly wide. The final film in the $10,000 club was Django Unchained, which opened with an average of $10,008.
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January 1st, 2013
December ended on a positive note with 2012 topping 2011 with a week to spare. Hopefully this will translate into strong box office numbers going forward. There are several January releases that actually look very interesting, but you always have to ask, if the films are as good as they look, why are they opening in January? The biggest hit on this list will likely not be a January release, but a limited release from December that is expanding wide in January. Zero Dark Thirty opened in limited release the Wednesday before Christmas and right away it got off to an incredible start. If it can turn some of its Awards Season nominations into wins, which seems very likely at this point, it should be the biggest hit of January. If it can earn some major Oscars, then it might crack $100 million. Unfortunately, no other film on this release list is likely to come close to the $100 million mark. Last January was unseasonably strong with three films opening with $20 million or more and four films finishing with $50 million or more. It is possible that none of the new releases will reach those relatively weak standards.
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December 30th, 2012
2012 comes to an end on a decidedly positive note for the movie industry this weekend, thanks to strong performances from three films. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will come out on top, according to studio estimates released on Sunday, with $32.92 million or so for the weekend and a total to date of $222.7 million. Django Unchained will post an impressive second place with $30.7 million and a per theater average over $10,000. Finally, Les Miserables is set for a little over $28 million, for a six-day total of $67.5 million. With those three films bringing in $90 million between, and plenty of strength in depth, 2012 will finish on a winning note.
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December 20th, 2012
There are not a lot of limited releases on this week's list; however, there are three films that have already found some Awards Season success, plus a couple others that are earning great reviews. Of the Awards Season hopefuls, Zero Dark Thirty is poised to earn the best per theater average, but it likely won't be the only success story over the weekend.
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December 13th, 2012
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the same list of films that have been mentioned since the beginning of Awards Season were rewarded today. Lincoln led the way with seven nods, while Argo and Django Unchained were close behind with five.
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December 12th, 2012
SAG nominations were announced and there were only a few surprises to deal with. Leading the way for total nominations was The Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln, and Les Miserables, all of which earned nominations in four of the six categories.
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