November 30th, 2015
By the time these releases go on sale, Black Friday and even Cyber Monday will be over. It's not a good time to release a DVD or Blu-ray just after a major sale has ended. People tend to not have a lot of money left to spend, so, unsurprisingly, there are no top-tier releases this week. However, there are lots of limited releases and specialty items that are worth checking out. (Including four releases where I'm still waiting for screeners.) There are a number of Pick of the Week contenders, but I'm going with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXIV. And while you are buying that DVD, throw a few bucks to the Kickstarter. I would love to see a full 12-episode season.
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September 16th, 2015
Sleeping with Other People wasn't expected to do well in theaters, because it only earned mixed reviews, while it was also playing on VOD. Despite this, it led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $17,820 in five theaters. Goodbye Mommy was in second place with an average of $15,063. It could do well in the art house circuit, but expanding wide will be nearly impossible for this German film. Meet the Patels was right behind with an average of $14,436. It too could do well in the art house circuit, but it is a documentary, so expanding wide is likely out of the question. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution was the only holdover in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,288 in three theaters. The overall number one film, The Perfect Guy, was next with an average of $11,656. The final film in the $10,000 club was A Brilliant Mind with an average of $10,469 in three theaters.
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September 9th, 2015
There was just one film in the $10,000 club, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, which earned $20,215 in its lone theater over the weekend. This is even more impressive, as it was a Wednesday release and earned $28,580 over five days. While it was the only film to reach $10,000 over the three-day weekend,
Un gallo con muchos huevos did earn an average of $11,030 if you include Monday.
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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.
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August 16th, 2015
Straight Outta Compton is smashing all sorts of records this weekend, as Universal’s miracle year continues. The studio is already enjoying its best year ever, and will pass $2 billion at the domestic box office this weekend, becoming the second studio to ever hit the mark, after Warner Bros.’ $2.1 billion year in 2009. Universal’s achievement is even more remarkable given they’ve only had 14 movies playing this year, compared to Warner’s 36 in 2009.
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August 14th, 2015
It is both a very busy week with nearly a dozen releases on this week's list and a disappointing one. The slate of new releases is really weak, with only Mistress America having a decent shot at box office success. There are a couple of other releases that have the reviews to do well, but are playing on VOD. Of these, People Places Things is my choice for Video on Demand Pick of the Week, although I'm hoping Final Girl is better than its early reviews would indicate.
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