Home Market Releases for February 26th, 2019

February 26th, 2019

This week’s list includes a number of releases that are worth picking up, mostly of the smaller variety. There’s a foreign-language import, Border; a mostly forgotten comedy from the 1980s, Used Cars; a good movie that is busted Oscar-bait, Mary Queen of Scots; and an Anime slice of life, Love Live! Sunshine!!: Season Two. However, for most people, it’s the two biggest releases that are also the best: The Little Mermaid and Ralph Breaks the Internet. For me, Ralph Breaks the Internet on Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD is the clear Pick of the Week. More...

Home Market Releases for February 19th, 2019

February 20th, 2019

The fall smash hits and the Oscar contenders are starting to come out in full force, making it a great time on the home market. This week, we have one of the biggest hits of the fall, A Star is Born; one of the best movies of the year, Can You Ever Forgive Me?; and the Anime that arguably solidified Moe as powerhouse genre, K-ON: Complete Collection Premium Box Set. Of the three, I like K-ON the most, but I admit that price will scare away a lot of people, so Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the better choice for Pick of the Week. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Calm before the Winter Storm

December 11th, 2018

There were no new releases / expansions / re-releases in the top five over the weekend. In fact, there were no such films in the top ten. Not a single film in the top five even switched positions, so there’s almost nothing to talk about. Ralph Breaks the Internet held on a tiny bit better than predicted, but that didn’t stop the overall box office falling 27% from last weekend to $84 million. This is still ahead of the same weekend last year, but by a tiny 1.5% margin. Year-to-date, 2018’s margin over 2017 barely changed and currently sits at 10.7% or $1.04 billion at $10.82 billion to $9.77 billion. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Ralph Wins, Most Holdovers Hold Strong

December 4th, 2018

The post-holiday weekend matched expectations, more or less. Ralph Breaks the Internet led the way with $25.57 million over the weekend. The Possession of Hannah Grace opened better than expected and earned more than it cost to make, so if it can find an audience on the home market, it could break even. Overall, the box office fell almost exactly $100 million from last weekend, but it is a post holiday weekend, so this 47% drop-off is not unexpected. More importantly, this is 9.5% above the same weekend last year, which continues 2018’s winning streak. 2018’s lead over 2017 is basically within a rounding error of where it was last week at $10.8 million / $1.05 billion at $10.70 billion to $9.65 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Ralph Slips, Still Strong, Hannah Tops Expectations, Still Soft

December 2nd, 2018

Ralph Breaks the Internet will retain top spot on the weekend box office chart with an estimated $25.8 million for a two-week total of $119.3 million. Granted, this is lower than we predicted, but not so much lower than anyone at Disney should be panicking. Internationally, the film added an estimated $33.7 million in 27 markets, lifting its international total to $87.7 million after two weeks of release. Its only major market opening of the weekend was the U.K. where it reportedly earned $5.2 million. This is less than Wreck-It Ralph opened with, but that film debuted during the school holidays, so it got a boost. Ralph Breaks the Internet should have longer than average legs thanks to Christmas, but I don’t think it will match its predecessor in this market. More...

Friday Estimates: Ralph has a mostly Graceful Decline

December 1st, 2018

Ralph Breaks the Internet remained in top spot on the box office chart on Friday earning $5.74 million. This is 74% lower than its opening Friday; granted, that was a holiday, so a sharp decline was practically guranteed, but this is still sharper than anticipated. Look for $25 million over the weekend, which is weaker than our prediction and puts $200 million in jeopardy. It will need help over the Christmas break to get there. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Grace has a Lively Debut

November 30th, 2018

The Possession of Hannah Grace started its box office run with $625,000 during its previews. This isn’t a huge amount, but it is nearly double what I was expecting. Granted, its reviews are not going to help its legs, but it could compete for a spot in the top five with $7 million over the full weekend. That would be a great start for a film that is rumored to cost just $20 million to make and advertise. More...

Weekend Predictions: New Releases don’t look Very Graceful

November 29th, 2018

It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving long weekend, which is one of the worst weekends for a wide release. This weekend, The Possession of Hannah Grace is the only new release and it is only opening in 1,700 theaters. This means Ralph Breaks the Internet will have no trouble remaining in first place. In fact, the top five from last weekend will remain nearly the same. A couple might switch places, but that’s it. This weekend last year, Coco remained in top spot with just under $28 million, while there were no new releases / semi-wide expansions that managed to grab a spot in the top five. Its holdovers vs. holdovers, which gives 2018 a small advantage. More...

2018 Preview: November

November 1st, 2018

October continued 2018’s phenomenal box office run, for the most part. There were a couple of films that missed expectations by $10 million or more, but on the other hand, Vemon and Halloween were smash hits and are now the first and second biggest October debuts of all time. Furthermore, 2018’s lead over 2017 is, as I’m writing this, just shy of $1 billion and if 2018 can maintain this lead, it will be one of the biggest year-over-year increases of all time. It won’t. The fun times end now. Why is that? Last November was amazing. There were only eight wide releases, but six of them earned more than $100 million. Three of those hit $200 million, including Thor: Ragnarok, which earned over $300 million. This year, there are a lot more movies opening in November, but it is a case of quantity over quality. No movie is expected to come close to $300 million and it would take a bit of luck just to have five $100 million hits. The film I’m looking forward to the most is Ralph Breaks the Internet, while it, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald are all aiming for $200 million this month. Fortunately, even if 2018 is behind 2017’s pace by around $300 million, 2018 has built up such a large lead that it should still go into December with an insurmountable lead at the box office. More...

The Possession of Hannah Grace Trailer

October 16th, 2018

Horror movie starring Kirby Johnson and Shay Mitchell opens November 30 ... Full Movie Details. More...