March 1st, 2012
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 and Lady and the Tramp switched places on the Blu-ray sales chart. The former rose to first place during its first full week on the home market selling 455,000 units / $10.46 million giving it an early total of 1.24 million units / $28.58 million.
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February 28th, 2012
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 remained on top of the DVD sales chart, although it fell to 1.45 million units / $26.03 million for the week giving it a total of 3.80 million units / $68.77 million after two. By comparison, Eclipse actually grew during its first full week of release and had sold 5.38 million units at this point in its run.
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February 22nd, 2012
New releases took the top three spots on this week's Blu-ray sales chart, although the number one Blu-ray wasn't a new film. Lady and the Tramp came out in theaters more than 50 years ago, but it made its Blu-ray debut selling 949,000 units and generating $23.72 million.
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February 14th, 2012
New releases dominated the Blu-ray sales chart with as many as four in the top five. (Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a bit of an odd case, but more on that in a second.) Drive led the way with 420,000 units / $8.39 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 57%. This is a great opening compared to the film's theatrical run.
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February 14th, 2012
While there were a lot of new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, it was clearly a case of quantity over quality as even the best selling release was merely mediocre. Treasure Buddies was top dog with sales of 381,000 units / $6.47 million during its opening week. This is roughly in line with the previous installment, but below average for the franchise.
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February 8th, 2012
There was no competition on the Blu-ray sales chart, as Real Steel topped all new releases and holdovers by a healthy margin. It sold 799,000 units and generated $22.36 million in sales giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 54%. Hopefully we will see a lot more films crack 50% as the winter blockbusters start to come out.
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February 8th, 2012
This was not a deep week for new releases, as only two of them cracked the top 30. (One major new release was only released as a Blu-ray / DVD combo pack, so we will get to those numbers shortly.) We did have a new number one on the DVD sales chart, as Real Steel sold 691,000 units and generated $12.03 million in revenue. This is not a great start, but it performed better on Blu-ray.
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January 31st, 2012
January is typically a really bad month for the home market, and it is usually even worse for Blu-ray. Not only are there not many hits coming out, but those that are being released tend to be films that are better suited to DVD than Blu-ray (middling hits, dramas, etc.). This is certainly the case with this week's new releases. Leading the way on the Blu-ray sales chart was Ides of March, a political drama, with 116,000 units / $2.08 million. Its opening Blu-ray share was 39%, which is better than expected for the genre.
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January 25th, 2012
The winners of our Get Real contest were determined and they are...
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January 24th, 2012
Yesterday was one of the biggest days during Awards Season as The Oscar nominations were announced in the morning. It was a two horse race for top spot as far as the big winners are concerned. Hugo earned the most nominations with eleven, while The Artist was right behind with ten. However, one could argue The Artist is the bigger winner, as more of its nominations were in the more prestigious categories.
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January 24th, 2012
There are three first run releases of note this week, including an Awards Season player, 50/50; the latest installment in a perennial horror franchise, Paranormal Activity 3; and big budget family film, Real Steel. Of those three, 50/50 is the best and a contender for Pick of the Week. Other contenders include Godzilla: The Criterion Collection on Blu-ray and Wings on Blu-ray. However, I'm going with a late arrival: Moneyball on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack.
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January 22nd, 2012
Shawn Levy has made an impressive movie career directing films that audiences love, while not winning over a lot of fans in the critic community. Of the eight films he has directed, only one of them, Date Night, earned overall positive reviews. Real Steel almost made it to that level, but if my review counted, would I help it over the top? Or would I move its score in the other direction?
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January 13th, 2012
There are a trio of wide releases debuting next week, but evidence suggests Underworld: Awakening is the clear favorite of the three and it is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Underworld: Awakening.
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 Real Steel on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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January 10th, 2012
The winners of our The Devil's in the Details contest were determined and they are...
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November 16th, 2011
Immortals opened in first place internationally with an estimated $38 million in three dozen theaters. (Because the film's international run is being handled by multiple studios, getting exact numbers was delayed.) Its biggest market was Russia, where it earned first place with $8.68 million on 1,236 screens, while it earned $5.5 million in China. The film also debuted in first place in South Korea with $3.99 million on 633 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $4.95 million. It took top spot in the U.K. with $3.45 million on 428 screens and in Germany with $2.63 million on 440. On the other hand, it bombed in Japan earning just $1.26 million on 462 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.69 million.
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November 9th, 2011
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn remained on top of the international chart during its second weekend of release, while it crossed the $100 million milestone over the weekend. It expanded into more than two dozen new markets, but most were of the smaller variety. Overall, it made $38.98 million on 7,103 screens in 45 markets, for a total of $123.55 million so far. Russia was the only real exception, where it opened in second place with $4.81 million on 788 screens. It plummeted 74% in France, but still added $6.99 million on 850 screens for a two-week total of $33.44 million. On the other hand, it remained in first place in Spain with $5.19 million on 819 screens over the weekend, for a total of $16.62 million after two. At this point, $200 million internationally is a given, which is likely close to the film's total budget. If it can close close to that figure here, it will break even before the lucrative home market.
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November 3rd, 2011
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn doesn't open here till a few days before Christmas, but it led the way on the international chart with an astonishing $56.56 million on 5,699 screens in 19 markets. Its biggest opening was in France, where it managed $26.97 million on 850 screens. That's like a $150 million opening here. It's a record for a non-sequel in that market. It wasn't as impressive in the U.K., but it did score $10.83 million on 512 screens, which is equivalent to a $50 million to $60 million opening here. These results will force me to re-evaluate its box office potential with an above $200 million run a lot more likely now. Granted, the source material is better known in Europe, plus it will have a lot more competition when it debuts here, but this is still a great sign going forward.
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October 27th, 2011
Puss in Boots was pushed up a week and will likely dominate the pre-Halloween weekend with last weekend's winner, Paranormal Activity 3, coming in a distant second. There are a couple of other new wide releases, In Time and The Rum Diary, but neither are generating a lot of buzz. There is some good news, as this weekend last year was a real disappointment and there's a chance both Puss in Boots and Paranormal Activity 3 will earn more than last year's number one film, Saw VII. Hopefully October can end on a high note, because it's been a bad month so far.
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October 26th, 2011
The international box office was pretty slow this week and the only new release to have any impact was Paranormal Activity 3. This film did top the chart with $26.11 million on 3,876 screens in 42 markets. Leading the way was the U.K. with $5.43 million on 391 screens, which was easily enough for first place in that market. It also topped the charts in Russia with $3.20 million on 637 screens, in Australia with $3.04 million on 192, in Mexico with $1.96 million on 732, and in Spain with $1.04 million on 232. On the other hand, it had to settle for third place in France with $2.50 million on 215 screens and in Brazil with $1.21 million on 200. Compared to previous installments, these results were mixed. The film was stronger in Australia, but weaker in the U.K. and France, for instance. It's too soon to tell where it will finish, but assuming it is the biggest hit domestically of the three films, it should at least come close to $200 million worldwide.
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October 24th, 2011
The industry as a whole has to be breathing a small sigh of relief after the weekend numbers started to come in. Paranormal Activity 3 broke records over the weekend helping the overall box office along the way. It grew 38% compared to last weekend, hitting $121 million. Unfortunately, that was still 6% lower than the same weekend Last year. Year-to-date, 2011 is 4% behind 2010's pace at $8.38 billion to $8.73 million and there's little hope that deficit will go away by the end of the year.
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October 20th, 2011
The box office was terrible last weekend, so much so that it is hard to imagine things won't turnaround this weekend. There is one film, Paranormal Activity 3, that's almost guaranteed to be a hit, but expectations for the other wide releases range from expensive bomb, The Three Musketeers 3D; international hit that will flop here, Johnny English Reborn and niche market film just hoping to reach the top ten, The Mighty Macs. Last year Paranormal Activity 2 opened with just over $40 million. Paranormal Activity 3 might be able to do the same, but the rest of the new releases and the holdovers are not looking good, so there could be a sizable decline in the year-over-year comparison.
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October 19th, 2011
Real Steel was able to stay on top of the international chart, just as it did domestically. Over the weekend, it earned $25.03 million on 4,116 screens in 29 markets for a total of $60.94 million internationally. Worldwide it has taken $112.67 million, which is just over what it cost to make. The film opened in several markets, including the U.K., but it had to settle for fourth place with $2.11 million on 385 screens there. On the other hand, it added $4.63 million on 881 screens in Russia and now has earnt $14.39 million in that market. It also remained in first place in Mexico with $2.77 million on 1,049 screens for a total of $7.31 million after two weeks. It also earned first place in Australia with $2.34 million on 349 screens over the weekend, for a total of $7.88 million after two.
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October 17th, 2011
This past weekend was one the industry would love to forget. It was one of the worst weekend of the entire year. The total box office haul was just $88 million, which was 7.5% lower than last weekend and an absolute stunning 33% lower than the same weekend last year. A year-over-year discrepancy like that usually only occurs when there's a misalignment in the calendar. (Summer starting a week later than it did the year before. A major holiday falling a week later than it did the year before. Halloween or Christmas Day landing on the weekend.) It was so bad, that the top five films this year barely made more than Jackass 3D opened with last year. Footloose was the only new release that made any real impact, but it wasn't enough to overtake Real Steel on top of the chart. Meanwhile, 2011 lost more ground to 2010 and it is now down by 4% at $8.23 billion to $8.56 billion. If we are to see a recovery, it will have to happen really fast.
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October 16th, 2011
A decent opening for the Footloose remake wasn't quite enough to take top spot at the box office this weekend thanks to a good second weekend for Real Steel. The inspirational robot boxing movie dropped 40% from its debut to $16.3 million, which will most likely be enough to keep Footloose in second place. It is projected to make $16.1 million this weekend. Well behind them is The Thing, which is expected to make just $8.7 million. Thanks to the general weakness of the market, that's going to be enough for third, but it's not going to make much of a dent in the marketing costs for the movie, let alone its production costs.
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October 13th, 2011
Firstly, I would like to apologize for the Footloose / Footlose pun in the title. It is unacceptable, even by my standards. Secondly, we are going to lose. This weekend last year Jackass 3D broke the record for biggest October weekend and there's no chance that feat will be replicated this weekend. In fact, there's almost no chance this weekend will match Red's opening last year. Footloose, The Thing, and The Big Year won't earn $50 million over the weekend combined. We really need the win, but all evidence points to a tough loss in the year-over-year comparison.
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October 13th, 2011
Real Steel made its debut on the international chart in first place with $22.85 million on 3,089 screens in 21 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $28.51 million. Its biggest opening was in Russia where it dominated the chart with $7.45 million on 881 screens. It also earned first place in Australia with $4.21 million on 356 screens and in Mexico with $3.15 million on 1,097.
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October 12th, 2011
The winners of our Reel Steal contest were determined and they are...
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October 12th, 2011
Real Steel broke records on IMAX during its debut, earning $4.4 million on 332 screens worldwide. This includes $3.2 million on 270 domestic screens, which was a record for the month of October. It also managed $1.2 million on 62 international screens, with openings in several significant markets in the coming weeks.
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October 12th, 2011
There were no films that reached the $10,000 mark on this week's per theater chart. The film that came closest was Real Steel with an average of $7,942, which is good for a wide release, but disappointing for the top film on the per theater chart. The best limited release was Munger Road with an average of $5,675 during its second week of release. This is excellent for the genre and bodes well for its home market run. As for the best new limited release, that was Hell and Back Again with just $3,413 in its lone theater. It's hard to put a good spin on that result.
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October 10th, 2011
October started out with mixed results and it seems for every bit of good news there was equal and opposite bad news. Real Steel topped expectations, but Ides of March did not. The overall box office slipped by 4% from last weekend to $95 million, but it was higher than the same weekend last year. Growth was under 2%, meaning ticket sales were weaker. Year-to-date, 2011 is still behind 2010, but the gap was narrowed to 3% at $8.11 billion to $8.39 billion. There's still a chance we can catch up, but we are running out of time and can't afford any missteps.
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October 9th, 2011
This weekend is turning out almost precisely as predicted in our Friday preview, with Real Steel cruising to a comfortable with with an estimated $27.3 million and Ides of March under-performing a bit with $10.4 million. Both movies seem to have found their intended audiences fairly successfully, but March was clearly hindered by mediocre reviews.
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October 6th, 2011
September was a good month and 2011 was able to close the gap with 2010 by $60 million; however, it is still close to $300 million behind last year's pace. This weekend we could see that gap close a little further. There's only one wide release, Real Steel, but it should be bigger than any of last year's three wide releases. In fact, there's a tiny, but statistically significant, chance it could earn more during its opening weekend than the combined opening weekends of Life as We Know It, Secretariat, and My Soul to Take. Ides of March won't be as strong, but it should play counter-programming well enough to grab a solid second place. If the holdovers can hold their own, then the month should start off on a winning note.
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October 1st, 2011
There is a little bit of good news going into October, as September did help close the year-to-date deficit, even if it was by a small amount. Unfortunately, we really needed a better result to be optimistic about our chances of closing that gap entirely by the end of the year. Even worse, this month represents the last chance 2011 has to catch up to 2010. I know there are two additional months left in the year, but October of 2010 was a soft month with four of the five weekends showing year-over-year declines. If October 2011 is even weaker, the odds of making up the $300 million deficit will be all but gone. It becomes even more troubling that there are no movies opening in October that are guaranteed to be monster hits. So, while October of 2010 was weak compared to October of 2009, it looks like it will be stronger than October of 2011. Hopefully I'm just being pessimistic. There are a couple films that have a shot at $100 million and I will be surprised if none of them at least come close to that milestone, but the slate of films is weaker than I would like.
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September 30th, 2011
October starts next weekend with the release of two films, including Real Steel, which should have no trouble winning the box office, as its main competition is a political drama opening in 1,000 fewer theaters. Because it is the only saturation level release next week, and because it allows me to use a rare double-pun in the title, it is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Real Steel.
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 Living Will on DVD.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Season of the Witch 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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December 21st, 2010
Tron: Legacy may not have been a monster hit overall, but it was another story on IMAX, as it earned $10.45 million in 234 theaters. That's almost a quarter of all its box office revenue from less than 7% of its theaters. Internationally is was also strong, pulling in $2.2 million in 54 IMAX theaters, or about 10% of its total international debut. That is a much lower percentage than it managed stateside, but IMAX penetration is also quite a bit lower internationally.
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