June 11th, 2014
This week's list of new DVD and Blu-rays includes a couple of first run releases, but neither are really must haves. Of all of the theatrical releases coming out this week, Alan Partridge on DVD or Blu-ray is the one I'm most interested in seeing, but the screener is still late. I'm also waiting for the screener for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, but I saw every episode on TV and the DVD or Blu-ray is clearly a contender for Pick of the Week. So is True Detective: Season One on DVD or Blu-ray. It was a bit of a coin toss, but in the end I went with Cosmos.
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June 5th, 2014
In 2004, Napoleon Dynamite was a small independent film that earned buzz at the Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by MTV films. MTV pushed the film hard and it worked, as the film earned more than $40 million starting in limited release. I didn't get a chance to see it, but saw it when it came out on DVD and really liked it. A few months later, I watched it a second time and I wasn't as impressed. Now that it has been ten years since it came out, will I like it like the first time, or has it aged poorly?
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February 3rd, 2009
Wow. That was... Due to technical difficulties, late deliveries, and some misfiled DVDs, this week's list is a little later than normal (but it's still Tuesday, so it's not technically late). It is also a lot larger than normal with a record number of Spotlight reviews (23 in all, or 30 if you count individual movies). There are also some very high quality releases including Zack and Miri Make a Porno on either DVD or Blu-ray. However, given the subject matter of that film, I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. The best release of the week is, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist on DVD or Blu-ray, but especially the Blu-ray, which is worth the upgrade. That film is the DVD Pick of the Week. With a record number of spotlight reviews, it goes without saying that the list had to be split up this week, with the second part found here, while the third part can be found here. (First time I had to separate the list into three parts.)
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July 9th, 2007
Another slow week with little in the way of top-notch DVD releases. The best of the bunch is Extras - The Complete Second Season, but I'm a little worried about the inside nature of the humor. That said, it is still worth picking up, especially if you are the kind of person into movies enough to check out box office numbers, and I think that includes most people reading this column right now. On a side note, we only have two spotlight reviews this week, both of them for DVDs that were released last week. However, the double-shot of Canada and Independence Day meant they didn't arrive until it was too late for last week's column.
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May 27th, 2006
It was a very close race for the top of the rental charts between two new releases.
The Ringer won that race with a surprising $6.32 million while
When a Stranger Calls had to settle for second best with $6.18 million.
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May 15th, 2006
It's a pretty average week for DVD releases with a handful of DVDs worth checking out. That said, there wasn't many that were in competition for DVD Pick of the Week and in the end
Home Movies - Season Four was the only one in serious contention. The only other DVD on this week's list than I would rate as a must have is
These Girls, but I admit, that is partially due to my pro-
Canada bias.
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July 23rd, 2005
To call Million Dollar Baby's debut on the home market a knockout is very apt.
Perhaps too apt.
Not only did the film easily win the week with $12.42 million in combined rentals, every other film in the top five saw serious drop-offs, sending the overall market sharply downwards.
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March 26th, 2005
As expected,
The Incredibles topped the home market this week taking first place in DVD and VHS rentals, ($8.16 million and $1.48 million respectively) as well as DVD and VHS Sales. As mentioned
last week,
The Incredibles sold 5 million DVDs on its first day of release alone, however, no figure has been released for its weekly sales total.
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March 5th, 2005
Thanks in part to a slow week for DVD releases,
Saw remained the top DVD rental on this weeks charts with $6.80 million this week, a drop of 28% from last week, and a two week total of $16.27 million so far. On the VHS side, the film dropped first to third with $1.09 million, down 38% for a total of $2.83 million.
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December 20th, 2004
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the winners of the DVD Pick of the Week, Shaun of the Dead - Buy from Amazon and Napoleon Dynamite - Buy from Amazon
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December 2nd, 2004
That's right, it's officially award season as the IFP Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees. This year the leader of the pack was
Sideways, which was nominated 6 times. Topping the list of studios was
Fox Searchlight with 14 nominations.
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October 19th, 2004
Vera Drake, which opened last Sunday, topped the Per Theatre Charts this week with $20,435. It's Sunday to Sunday performance was very flat, which bodes well for its legs.
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September 28th, 2004
It's been a lonely few weeks on the per theatre charts as once again only one film topped $10,000 per theatre average. It was the
road trip film,
The Motorcycle Diaries that topped the charts with an incredible $53,273 average in 3 theatres. I expect to see this film on the charts for a few more weeks.
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September 24th, 2004
There are a lot of questions that need answering with regards to the box office this weekend. Will any new release come in first? Or will they all be dead on arrival, making this a weekend the studios would rather forget? And, are these questions mere cheap excuses to put links into the summary?
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September 20th, 2004
None of the new films could live up to expectations, but the holdovers held up better than expected, especially as you went farther down the list. This helped the box office remain relatively flat from last weekend, down just 1.3% from last weekend, hardly worth noting. The yearly comparison is not as bright with 2004 down more than 25% from the same weekend last year. With the Fall box office stumbling, 2004's lead over 2003 is shrinking. As of last weekend this year is ahead $6.712 billion to $6.450 billion, just 4% ahead.
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September 17th, 2004
This weekend is a little busier than most with 4 movies opening wide and another film having a preview. Most of the films are also earning better than average reviews, especially for this time of year. This should give a little boost to the box office, but don't expect to see any major breakout hits or records broken along the way.
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September 15th, 2004
No film could reach the $10,000 mark on the per theatre average chart. The top film on the charts,
Testosterone missed the mark by quite a margin earning an average of $7,363 in its four theatres.
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September 13th, 2004
There were very few surprises over the weekend, however, the box office as a whole was slightly depressed compared to expectations. This led to a 10.3% drop from last weekend, and more importantly a 9.4% drop from last year. After a summer that can best be described as mixed, Fall 2004 is getting off to a dubious start. Year to date 2004 has brought in $6.607 billion in ticket sales, up 4.8% from this time last year, inline with estimated ticket price increases.
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September 10th, 2004
Historically speaking, the weekend after the Labor Day long weekend tends to be the slowest weekend of the year. But this year looks to buck the odds, as we should see a slight bounce from last weekend. And this increase should be thanks entirely to
one movie, while this week's other
new release will have to settle for a distant second place. The rest of the top five, and indeed the top ten, will finish way back but within a couple million of each other.
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September 9th, 2004
There were one or two films that managed to cross the $10,000 per theatre milestone, depending on if you counted Labor Day's box office. Taking into account the whole long weekend, Red Lights took top spot with an average of $17,802 in four theatres. While Tae Guik Gi: The Brotherhood of War missed $10,000 over the 3-day weekend, it managed $12,532 per theatre once Monday was taken into account.
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September 1st, 2004
Only one film managed to break the $10,000 per theatre barrier this week, and it was the controversial
The Brown Bunny, which earned $50,601 in just 3 theatres for an average of $16,867.
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August 27th, 2004
The transition from Summer Blockbuster Season to September Dumping Ground underway, there's an awkward mix of movies hitting arthouse theatres tonight. It's a little late in the summer for effective counter programming and its too early for award show hopefuls to come out. On the plus side, several other limited releases expand this weekend including
Mean Creek,
Garden State and
Napoleon Dynamite
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August 25th, 2004
Just two films topped $10,000 per theatre this weekend, led by
Ramones: End of the Century, which earned $18,422 in its lone theatre. Next was
Bright Young Things with an average of $15,642 in just three theatres.
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August 18th, 2004
Just a week ahead of expanding into more than 2000 theatre, Open Water repeated on top of the per theatre charts. However, it's average of $16,268 was 30% lower that last weekend, which makes repeating The Blair Witch Project's success unlikely, as that film saw its per theatre figure grow during its second weekend. The only other films to top $10,000 per theatre was We Don't Live Here Anymore with $14,471 and overall box office leader Alien Vs. Predator with $11,279 per theatre.
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August 11th, 2004
Open Water had the kind of opening most limited release film can only dream of. $1.1 million dollars is just 47 theatres for an average of $23,424. How well it can hold up as the film expands is the real test for this film. Coming in second place was
Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism with $15,611 average in 5 theatres. This is even more impressive when you realize the film has already been released on DVD. Last week's winner,
Garden State, dropped to third place with an average of $14,617, which is a drop of just 35% despite nearly quadrupling its theatre count. Big things are in store for this film.
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July 28th, 2004
It was a busy week on the per theatre charts, both in terms of the number of films to hit $10,000 per theatres and the number of films to hit milestones. Surprisingly,
Maria Full of Grace repeated at the top of the per theatre chart with $19,562, which is a drop of only 1.5% from its opening. Next was the overall box office champ,
Bourne Supremacy with a $16,595 average in 3,165 theatres. Very close behind in third place was
Zatoichi with $15,276. Rounding out the $10,000 club was
Home at the End of the World and
Festival Express with averages of $12,946 and $12,074 respectively.
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July 23rd, 2004
Today sees the opening a few more limited releases, but perhaps more significantly, it also will see the expansion of a few other, previously released limited release films.
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July 21st, 2004
Only two films topped $10,000 per theatre this weekend, and they were at opposite ends of the release spectrum. Coming in first was Maria Full of Grace with a weekend take of $139,066 in just 7 theatres for an average of $19,867. Next was the overall box office champ, I, Robot with a $15,257 average in 3,420 theatres.
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July 14th, 2004
The documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which some are describing as a real life Spinal Tap, pulled in $46,359 in three theatres for an average of $15,453. Two other films topped $10,000 including De-Lovely with a $14,212 average and the overall box office champ, Spider-Man 2 with $10,845.
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June 23rd, 2004
A trio of films topped $10,000 in a very close race on the Per Theatre Charts. Coming out on top was The Hunting of the President with $11,649 per theatre in its two theatres. Just behind was the overall chart topper Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story with $11,162 and last week's winner Napoleon Dynamite with an average of $10,750.
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June 16th, 2004
Just the lone film earned more than $10,000 per theatre this past weekend.
Napoleon Dynamite $19,444 average in 6 theatres was double the nearest competitor,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which earned an average of $9,056.
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June 11th, 2004
There are only two limited releases on our list this week. However, there are also two limited releases undergoing major expansions this week as well. And since this was a slow week, why not have them on the list one more time.
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June 10th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Garfield -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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