Home Market Releases for January 12th, 2016

January 12th, 2016

It is a busy week for first run releases with four of them on this week's list. Of these, The Martian is the biggest and the best. It would have been the Pick of the Week except for two things. One, the screener is late. Two, David Bowie passed away over the weekend. He died after an 18-month battle with cancer and just two days after his last album came out. This is the the most poignant Rock'n'Roll death since Freddie Mercury and it seems fitting to give Blackstar the title of Pick of the Week. More...

Per Theater Chart: Mistress's Opening is American Dream Come True

August 19th, 2015

We are inching towards Awards Season and the number one film on this week's per theater chart is a potential Awards Season player. That film, Mistress America, earned an average of $23,302 in four theaters. That's more than enough to suggest it will expand, but not enough to suggest it will expand truly wide, or even semi-wide. Second place went to the overall number one film, Straight Outta Compton, with an average of $21,835. Meru was well back with an average of $13,040 in seven theaters. Assassination saw its average rise to $10,111 in 29 theaters. It is very rare for films to have their averages rise week-to-week. More...

Per Theater Chart: Profitable Start for Prophet

August 12th, 2015

There were only two films in the $10,000 club on the per theater chart, but while it wasn't a crowded field this week, the two films had nearly identical averages. Kahlil Gibran's the Prophet led the way with an average of $13,718 in two theaters. Meanwhile, The Diary of a Teenage Girl was right behind with an average of $13,084 in four. More...

Per Theater Chart: Strong Beginning for The End

August 4th, 2015

The End of the Tour is the latest success for A24, as it topped the per theater chart with an average of $30,810 in four theaters. Up next were a pair of documentaries, Best of Enemies and Listen to Me Marlon, with averages of $16,913 and $15,034 respectively. The overall number one film was next, as Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation earned an average of $14,034. The final film in the $10,000 club was Phoenix. Its theater count doubled, but its per theater average dropped just 20% to $12,004. That's amazing and it could be an omen that it will expand wide enough to earn some measure of mainstream success. More...

Per Theater Chart: Irrational has Very Reasonable Debut

July 22nd, 2015

The $10,000 club was led by Irrational Man with $175,312 in five theaters for an average of $35,062. While this was the best average of the weekend, it was the weakest opening weekend for a Woody Allen movie since You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. The Stanford Prison Experiment was next with an average of $18,757 in two theaters. Its reviews are good, but not great, so its chances to expand significantly are still just 50/50. Up next is a pair of wide releases, Ant-Man and Minions, which earned averages of $14,841 and $11,430 respectively. The final entrant in the $10,000 club was Bajrangi Bhaijaan with an average of $10,239; however, it was playing in 256 theaters and arguably it had the most impressive opening for any limited release this week. This is the second weekend in a row a Bollywood film did this well on the per theater chart. More...

Weekend Estimates: Ant-Man Misses Out, Trainwreck Breaks Out

July 19th, 2015

Perhaps we’re seeing the first signs of multiplex fatigue? In the midst of a buoyant Summer at the movies, Ant-Man will debut with around $58 million, according to Sunday estimates, about 10% below expectations, and well short of the $94 million earned by Guardians of the Galaxy this time last year. It’s a very good opening, to be sure, but the second slightly disappointing debut from the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year, after The Avengers: Age of Ultron’s $191 million opening weekend back in May. We’re talking disappointment of the level of seeing Babe Ruth only hit one home run in a game here, so we need to put things in perspective. It’s the twelfth straight $50 million-plus opening for the franchise in seven years—an unprecedented box office run. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Holmes is on the Case

July 17th, 2015

There are very few films on this week's list that have a real shot at earning mainstream success. I would like to think Court or A Hard Day could do so, but they are both foreign-language films and that's usually too big of an obstacle to overcome. Mr. Holmes has both the cast and the reviews to thrive, but it is playing in more than 300 theaters. That might be too many to thrive. Let's hope I'm being too pessimistic. More...