January 20th, 2010
Thanks to the holidays, DVD sales numbers were not reported on our usual schedule, but next week we should be back to normal, so it's a perfect time to wrap up some of the interesting notes from over the holidays.
The week after Black Friday saw the release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Terminator Salvation, neither of which matched expectations, although made up for their poor DVD performance somewhat by selling well on Blu-ray.
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December 8th, 2009
According to Amazon, there are about 300 DVDs and Blu-ray being released or re-released this week and about half of them are Harry Potter releases. Well, maybe not, but it almost feels that way. The only one of these that is really worth picking up is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Blu-ray; in fact, it is the DVD Pick of the Week. Also sharing that honor is The Cove on DVD, Julie & Julia on DVD or Blu-ray, and Lost - Season Five on Blu-ray. My bank account is going to take a big hit this week.
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November 30th, 2009
It's the week after Black Friday, which is widely reported as the busiest shopping day of the year, so it comes as no surprise that there are fewer releases this time around than there have been in recent weeks (including just a trio of spotlight reviews).
After all, it makes sense to release a DVD / Blu-ray before Black Friday rather than after.
That said, we are still in the heart of holiday shopping season, which means there are a couple of $100 million hits on this week's list, as well as some titles that are of interest.
Unfortunately, when it comes to most of the really interesting releases, I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive, so I can't tell if they are DVD Pick of the Week material.
The best of this week's releases that I can give a more detailed review for is Mystery Science Theater 3000 - XVI - Limited Edition Box Set.
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August 30th, 2009
Summer is mostly over and we're moving back to the normal schedule for the international box office columns. Mostly. There are still not enough multi-million dollar films to fill out the top 30, but as the blockbusters make way for smaller releases, that will change. Meanwhile, The Hangover remained in sixth place with $7.65 million on 2782 screens in 46 markets for a total of $152.38 million internationally and $420.65 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Brazil with $1.13 million on 205 screens, while it remained in first place in Mexico with $1.04 million on 398 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.56 million after two. Other million dollar markets include Spain where it was down just 18% to $1.27 million on 319 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.88 million after two, and Germany where it added $1.02 million on 427 screens giving the film a total of $15.29 million after a month of release.
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August 22nd, 2009
Public Enemies remained in fifth place with $8.74 million on 2919 screens in 49 markets for a total of $76.20 million. The film opened in first place in Spain with $2.44 million on 460 screens, but had to settle for fifth in South Korea with $1.22 million on 375 screens over the weekend and $1.70 million in total. With Debuts in Italy and Japan still ahead, the film should have no trouble topping $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide. However, it was a costly film to make, so it will have to show some strength on the home market to show a profit.
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July 12th, 2009
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen fell to second place with $57.50 million on 9158 screens in 61 markets for a total of $301.64 million. This puts the film less than $100 million behind the original internationally, which is a lead that won't last long. The film's biggest market of the weekend was South Korea where it placed first adding $7.76 million on 1076 screens to its total of $27.81 million. It also was impressive in China adding $5.2 million on 1009 screens for a total of $41.6 million, while it remained in first place in Australia with $4.95 million on 456 screens over the weekend and $21.51 million after two, and in Italy with $1.39 million on 565 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.06 million, also after two.
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July 5th, 2009
The Hangover climbed into second place with $11.14 million on 2091 screens in 28 markets for a total of $47.81 million. This was actually 2% lower than last week's performance. Its only major market opening came from France where it placed second with $3.31 million on 251 screens, but that was for the full week. (This is still impressive.) In the U.K. it was down just 15% to $3.15 million on 425 screens over the weekend and $18.50 million after three. It is a couple of weeks away from overtaking Terminator Salvation in that market. Over in Australia it managed to dip just 30% to $1.80 million on 227 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.07 million. It will also top Terminator Salvation in this market, and could beat out Angels and Demons as well. Massive. On the other hand, I'm not sure the film will do as well in most non-English speaking markets, as comedy tends to be harder to translate into other cultures.
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June 30th, 2009
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen rewrote the record book during its opening weekend on IMAX, earning $14.4 million on 169 IMAX screens for an average of $85,000.
It had the biggest day on IMAX ($3.9 million); the biggest 5-day opening ($14.4 million); the biggest international day ($770,000 on Saturday); and the biggest three-day international weekend ($2.1 million).
Worldwide, the film has $18.3 million in the super-large format, with plenty more upside to come.
In comparison, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian managed $15.4 million worldwide during its run.
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June 28th, 2009
Terminator Salvation fell to second place with $18.94 million on 9263 screens in 71 markets over the weekend, for a total of $200.84 million internationally and $320.57 million worldwide. The film has been troubled by sharp drop-offs internationally, and that was certainly the case this past weekend, as it was down 65% in Japan. Japan. It was down 65% in Japan, which is a market known for its strong holds. It still added $3.72 million on 697 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.70 million after two, but that's a sharper decline than anticipated.
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June 21st, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian remained in second place adding a solid $18.53 million on 8300 screens in 67 markets for a total of $175.90 million. The film opened in first place in Mexico, no surprise there, but with $3.34 million on 1150 screens its per screen average is not that impressive and being booked on more than 1000 screens, you think the studio was expecting a bit more. The film did hang on better than most in South Korea down just 50% to $2.13 million on 576 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.57 million after two. It also added $1.77 million on 506 screens in the U.K. for a total of $27.96 million, which is its best single market of its run so far.
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June 16th, 2009
It was a rough weekend at the box office as neither saturation level new release was able to live up to expectations.
Even with stronger than expected holdovers, total box office receipts were still down 16.7% from last weekend to $138 million, which is 23.3% below the same weekend last year.
Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $4.55 billion at the box office, which is still 10.9% higher than last year's pace, but we are getting to the point where attendance might show declines, as we've lost a lot of ground in the past few weeks.
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June 14th, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian was pushed into second place in the international chart, but still added $27.88 million on 8350 screens in 66 markets while it lifted its international total to $149.55 million. The film opened in first place in South Korea with $4.33 million on 669 screens over the weekend and $4.75 million in total. It also remained in first place in China with $2.1 million on 818 screens over the weekend and $12.2 million in total, but that was a huge drop-off from last week. On the other hand, the film improved by 18% in the U.K. with $3.96 million on 509 screens over the weekend for a running tally of $25.31 million after three. That's better than the film's performance here, if you take into account the relative size of the two markets. The film opens in Mexico this weekend, and in Japan in August. It has likely reached $300 million worldwide already, and could make it all the way to $400 million before it is done. This is a drop-off from its predecessor, but the film is still well on its way to profitability and will get there before it reaches the lucrative home market.
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June 11th, 2009
We have two new saturation level releases and two holdovers that will play an important part in this week's box office race, and three of them have a legitimate shot at taking first place. This depth should help the overall box office numbers, but the weekend will still have a hard time reaching the box office level of last year when The Incredible Hulk opened with just over $55 million.
In fact, the number one film this year might not earn half that much.
Let's hope that is not the case, but there is certainly a chance of that happening.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is a slim chance the top film surprise by earning $40 million, or more, and coasting to $100 million in total.
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June 9th, 2009
We had a surprise number one at the box office this past weekend, and the films that beat Thursday's predictions outnumber those that failed to reach expected levels, both in terms of the number of films and in terms of total box office generated.
This helped the industry to $165 million at the box office over the weekend; however, this was down about 0.2% from last weekend and 5.4% from the same weekend last year.
That said, this is better than most were expecting, and 2009 is still way ahead of 2008's pace at $4.34 billion to $3.85 billion.
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June 4th, 2009
It looks like we will have another losing weekend at the box office, as none of the three new wide releases look like they will come close to last year's winner. In fact, they might not top last year's second place film, or the sophomore stint of last week's box office champ.
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June 3rd, 2009
There was a tight race for top spot on the international chart with Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian overtaking Angels and Demons $38.26 million to $34.01 million.
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June 1st, 2009
It was a close call, but 2009 wasn't able to keep pace with 2008, despite Up's better than expected opening.
Overall, the box office generated $166 million, which was 6.0% lower than last weekend and 1.4% lower than the same weekend last year.
Year-to-date, 2009 still has an impressive 13.6% lead over 2008 at $4.11 billion to $3.61 billion, and even with weakness over the next few weeks, 2009 should maintain its lead for a while to come.
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May 28th, 2009
There are some people worrying that 2009's winning streak could be coming to an end. Not only was last weekend barely above 2008's pace, but this weekend could see an actual decline due to a number of factors. This includes a surprisingly strong film opening in first place last year, as well as weakness in one of the new releases from last week. Up should carry its weight, but it might not be enough.
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May 28th, 2009
For the first time this summer, we didn't have a new number one film on the international chart, as Angels and Demons repeated as champion. It was able to do this after earning $58.43 million on 11,013 screens in 74 markets for a total of $196.72 million. This is more than it will make during its entire domestic run, but it is nearly 40% lower than its predecessor had earned at this point in its run. This is similar to the franchise's decline domestically, but it is hard to call that good news. "It's not doing any worse internationally than it is doing domestically." That's slim praise indeed.
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May 28th, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle of the Smithsonian opened on 160 IMAX screens over the weekend earning an impressive $5.4 million for an average of $34,000. Adding in $520,000 internationally, and the film made nearly $6 million on the format. While this was good, it was significantly lower than the opening of Star Trek. This may have to do with the extremely limited run Star Trek had on IMAX, as it was guaranteed just two weeks till Night at the Museum 2 took over. We will see if this movie has better legs this coming weekend.
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May 28th, 2009
The winners of our Kids Night Out contest were determined and they are...
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May 27th, 2009
The top two films on the overall chart were also the top two films on the per theater chart with Night at the Museum 2 earning an average of $13,226 while Terminator Salvation pulled in $12,056. Easy Virtue got off to a faster-than-expected start with an average $11,044, and this suggests some ability to expand.
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May 26th, 2009
Two new releases opened over Memorial Day long weekend, and while neither was able to compete with last year's champion, their combined total helped the box office grow. Over the three-day period, there were $176 million in ticket sales, which was 28% more than last weekend and 2.4% more than the same weekend last year. Over four days, the box office brought in $222 million, which was 1.2% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $3.90 billion, which is 14.4% higher than last year's pace of $3.41 billion.
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May 24th, 2009
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian pulled off a close but decisive win over Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins over the weekend, according to 3-day studio estimates released on Sunday morning.
Terminator took good momentum into the weekend, earning over $13 million in evening shows on Thursday, and finishing neck-and-neck with Smithsonian on Friday.
But, with family audiences dominating on Saturday, and expected to do so again today and Monday, the weekend winner was already fairly clear.
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May 24th, 2009
For the first time in a long time, we have two wide releases battling for top spot on the weekend box office. I thought this would encourage competition on the websites, but Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian's Official Site was clearly the best of the week.
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May 22nd, 2009
For the first time this summer, we have two new releases battling for number one on the box office chart.
This is causing quite a bit of debate over which film will take top spot; in fact, many think the two films will trade off first place over the weekend.
Will this competition drive ticket sales enough for the market to keep pace with last year?
Well, there's almost no chance any film this year will top Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the new films should do so collectively.
And with better holdovers than this time last year, the overall box office could still show growth over the weekend.
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May 20th, 2009
The second weekend for Star Trek saw even more records fall as it added $5.3 million on 138 screens over the weekend for a per screen average of $38,000, both of which are records. Overall the film has made $19.9 million worldwide playing on 163 screens, which is also a record for this point in a film's IMAX run. That's the good news. The bad news is on Friday, the film will be booted out of IMAX theaters to make room for Night at the Museum 2.
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May 15th, 2009
Next week is the Memorial Day long weekend, which does complicate things on the weekly box office prediction contest. Our target film is Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which should benefit thanks to its target audience (something it shares with this week's prizes). However, while it's a long weekend, we are only looking for the Friday to Sunday numbers. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
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 A Plumm Summer on DVD, as well as Imagination Movers - Warehouse Mouse Edition on DVD.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of A Plumm Summer on DVD, as well as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey's Big Splash on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 14th, 2009
The Star Trek prequel re-wrote the history of the franchise a little bit, but while that didn't please all fans, the box office results should. In fact, the film broke records on IMAX earning $8.5 million on 138 screens for a record setting per screen average of $62,000. It also made $1.1 million internationally on 25 screens.
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May 1st, 2009
Last May was strong with two films that cracked $300 million at the box office. This May we might not have any movies reach that milestone. Then again, there are six films that have a shot to reach $200 million. I'm not saying all of them will get there, but I would be surprised if at least two of them don't get there, while all six should reach at least $100 million, which is two more than the same month last year. There are also a few midlevel hits in the waiting, as a few limited releases of note. This latter category includes The Brothers Bloom, Departures, and Pontypool.
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March 31st, 2009
Monsters vs. Aliens broke several records over the week on IMAX screens on its way to a weekend haul of $5.1 million on 143 screens, which is the highest opening for an IMAX 3-D film.
Additionally, the film earned $2.02 million on Saturday, which was the highest Saturday box office for any IMAX film, 3-D or not.
The film's per screen average on IMAX was $35,682 compared to its non-IMAX per screen average of roughly $8,400.
Internationally, the film broke IMAX records in a number of markets, including Russia, the Ukraine, and the Philippines, but numbers were not immediately available.
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July 5th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Appaloosa, Bad Lieutenant, Night at the Museum 2, and more!
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February 28th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Driving Lessons, Night at the Museum 2, Shutter Island, and more!
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February 24th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Hoodwinked 2, Shanghai, and more!
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December 16th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains not only the general weekly update, but also an a number of release updates we had missed earlier.
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November 1st, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Game, Meet the Browns, The Taking of Pelham 123, and more!
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September 6th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Valkyrie, the Love Guru, and more!
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September 4th, 2007
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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