January 13th, 2014
There are a few first-run releases on this week's list of new DVD and Blu-ray releases. Riddick is the biggest, while You're Next is the best in terms of reviews. However, neither is truly Pick of the Week material. There are some contenders there, and in a strange coincidence, the two best feature Brie Larson: Short Term 12 on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and The Spectacular Now on DVD or Blu-ray. It literally came down to a coin toss, but The Spectacular Now won.
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September 25th, 2013
There was an international film leading the way on the international chart this week. Gwansang jumped into first place internationally with $15.27 million on 1,239 screens in South Korea, lifting its total in that market to $46.58 million after just two weeks of release. It isn't the best South Korean film of the year, at least not yet, as Snowpiercer has made $62.1 million in that market. Meanwhile, Iron Man 3 earned about $65 million there.
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September 19th, 2013
The Smurfs 2 rose to first place on the international chart with $17.52 million on 12,965 screens in 70 markets for totals of $219.56 million internationally and $288.51 million worldwide. It opened in first place in China with $9.93 million on 8,053 screens. It also opened in first place in Australia with $1.89 million on 462 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.04 million.
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September 17th, 2013
Both new releases topped expectations and even though a couple of the holdovers struggled a little bit, the overall box office was still fantastic. Insidious Chapter 2 broke a September record that has been held for more than a decade on its way to a $40 million opening. The Family was well back in second place, but still on the high end of expectations. Overall, the box office pulled in $103 million. This was 21% more than last week and 19% more than the same weekend last year. In fact, Insidious Chapter 2 made more than Resident Evil: Retribution and Finding Nemo 3D made combined last year. Year-to-date, 2013 has pulled in $7.66 billion compared to $7.55 billion at this point in 2012.
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September 13th, 2013
This week there are two films opening in saturation level theater counts (3,000 or more theaters). However, the two have very different outlooks. Insidious Chapter 2 is expected to cruise to the top, perhaps with well over $30 million. The Family's outlook is a lot weaker and some analysts don't expect it to reach $10 million. Last year the number one film was Resident Evil: Retribution, which opened with $21.05 million, while Finding Nemo 3D was in second place with $16.69 million. There's a chance the top two films this weekend will beat those two combined, but even if that doesn't happen, last year's depth was pathetic, to put it mildly. 2013 should have an easy time coming away with a win.
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September 13th, 2013
Elysium remained in first place with $21.31 million on 10,731 screens in 52 markets for totals of $127.46 million internationally and $212.57 million worldwide. Of that, $11.75 million came from 6,253 screens in China, which was enough for first place there. Not this weekend, but next weekend, the film opens in Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and other markets, so it should be a player on the international market for a few weeks, but it will need help on the home market to break even.
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September 12th, 2013
The winner of our Always Sunny for Riddick contest was determined and she is...
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September 10th, 2013
We have good news and bad news. Riddick only managed to reach the low end of expectations, while the overall box office was down nearly $40 million, or 32%, from last week. On the positive side, Instructions Not Included finished on the high end of expectations, while the overall box office was $85 million, which was 26% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 has earned $7.54 billion, or 1.2% higher than last year's pace.
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September 6th, 2013
The weekend after the Labor Day long weekend is historically the worst weekend of the year. Because of that, it should come as no surprise that there is only one wide release this weekend. After all, studios don't want to release a film if the weekend is practically cursed. However, that one film is Riddick, which is actually earning good buzz. It might crack $30 million over the weekend. Might. It would be a surprise, but you can't completely dismiss the possibility. The only other semi-new film to talk about is Instructions Not Included, which is doubling its theater count. However, it's a niche market film and these tend to have short legs, as the target audience rushes out to see them immediately. Fortunately, it doesn't really matter, because last year was a disaster. As long as Riddick tops $10 million, 2013 will come out ahead.
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September 1st, 2013
August ended, and we should be very grateful for that. Lee Daniels' The Butler was a surprise hit, while We're the Millers did better than expected. However, most other films that were expected to be solid hits failed to live up to expectations. Fortunately, August of 2012 was even worse, so 2013 regained the lead on the year-to-year comparison during the month. Looking forward, there is exactly one film that will likely become more than a midlevel hit in September: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. That film has a chance to reach $100 million in total. Most of the rest of the new releases will be lucky if they get halfway there. Fortunately, September of 2012 was even worse. Hotel Transylvania was a surprise hit, earning nearly $150 million, and there were a few others that topped $50 million, but there were also several outright bombs. If we can avoid those types of bombs, then 2013 should continue its winning streak.
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August 30th, 2013
Next weekend is the first full weekend of September. It is also the weekend after Labor Day long weekend, which is historically the worst weekend of the year. Regardless, Riddick will attempt to buck history and being the only wide release should help. Since it is the only wide release, it is also the only choice for 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 Riddick.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or not, will win a copy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season Eight 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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