December 13th, 2012
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the same list of films that have been mentioned since the beginning of Awards Season were rewarded today. Lincoln led the way with seven nods, while Argo and Django Unchained were close behind with five.
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July 17th, 2012
It's broken record time. As is usual for this time of year, it is a slow week on the home market. There are two first run releases coming out, Lockout and The Three Stooges, but neither film was a box office hit. On the other hand, there are a number of catalogue titles (Singin' In the Rain); limited releases (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen); and TV on DVD releases (Sanctuary: The Complete Fourth Season). All three of those releases are contenders for Pick of the Week, but in the end I went with Leverage: Season Four.
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July 9th, 2012
Like last week, it's another really slow week on the home market. Unlike last week, there is at least one first run release coming out. American Reunion should lead the way in terms of sales, but given its reviews and its box office struggles, it won't be a major player. As for the best new release, there are a few interesting titles, like Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series (Deluxe Edition). But in the end I went with Adventure Time: Complete First Season is the release I'm most looking forward to seeing. (The screener is late, but I will get to the review ASAP after it arrives.)
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April 15th, 2012
The Hunger Games will enjoy a fourth straight weekend at the top of the box office chart, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. With a $21.5 million weekend, the film moves to about $337 million in total, by far the biggest hit of 2012 so far. The Three Stooges and The Cabin in the Woods will both post decent openings, with $17.1 million and $14.85 million respectively, but neither has broken out of their core demographics enough for a win.
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April 10th, 2012
Damsels in Distress topped the per theater chart with an average of $14,647 in four theaters. This suggests some potential to expand, although it is too soon to tell if the film will earn some measure of mainstream success. Bully slipped to second place with an average of $12,292 in six theaters, but it should expand now that it has been given a PG-13 rating. We Have a Pope surprised with an average of $10,456 in three theaters.
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April 4th, 2012
The ratings controversy didn't hurt Bully, which topped the per theater chart with an average of $23,294 in five theaters. It is always difficult for a documentary to expand significantly, but this start will certainly help. The overall box office leader, The Hunger Games, was next with an average of $14,153 in more than 4,000 theaters.
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April 1st, 2012
Celebrations will continue at Lionsgate this weekend, as The Hunger Games continues its dominant run at the box office, dropping a creditable 60% in its second weekend in release to $61.1 million. That will be the 7th-best second weekend of all time, and take it past $250 million in 10 days. It also tops the combined box office of this weekend's second- and third-placed films: Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror will both debut with respectable figures, $34.2 million and $19 million respectively, but neither film looks likely to end up making significant amounts of money.
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March 27th, 2012
There were only two films in the $10,000 club on the per theater chart, but the number one film was massive. The Hunger Games not only took top spot on the overall chart, but it earned an average of $36,871, which was more than double its nearest competitor. Second place went to The Raid: Redemption with an average of $15,270 in 14 theaters. This suggests some potential for expansion, while it should reach at least one major milestone before its theatrical run is done.
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March 25th, 2012
Lionsgate has reported a $155 million estimated opening weekend for The Hunger Games: a record for the studio, for a non-sequel, for March, and the 3rd-best weekend of all time. In fact, it's already Lionsgate's top-grossing film of all time, beating Fahrenheit 9/11's actual $119 million and inflation-adjusted $151 million in just three days. With an A CinemaScore and a more diverse audience than the Twilight franchise, the film will almost certainly top Summit's best performance (the $300 million earned by Eclipse), but for now the studio will have plenty to celebrate about this weekend alone.
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March 18th, 2012
The industry will enjoy another solid weekend at the box office thanks to a healthy debut by 21 Jump Street, which will ride very positive reviews to about $35 million, according to Sony's Sunday estimate. Unfortunately, that probably won't be quite enough to give 2012 another win over 2011 -- somewhat surprisingly, because Limitless topped the chart last year with only $18.9 million, but the five movies that topped $10 million compared to three this year gives last year the edge.
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March 13th, 2012
Footnote led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $23,764 in two theaters, while Jiro Dreams of Sushi was right behind with an average of $21,018, also in two theaters. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was playing in a lot more theaters, but it managed an average of $12,550 in 18 theaters. Even more impressively, it saw growth from Friday to Sunday of 85%, which is amazing for a new release. This bodes very well for its long term potential. Finally, the overall box office leader, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $10,370.
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March 11th, 2012
Although John Carter's opening won't be as bad as the direst predictions, an anemic $30.6 million debut will condemn the film to the record books for all the wrong reasons and (in spite of good international numbers) almost certainly cause a write-down for Disney. Or more immediate embarrassment, the film will fail to win the weekend, coming in second to The Lorax, which is set to post $39.1 million in its second weekend, according to Universal's estimate. That combination of two $30 million plus films will give 2012 another weekend win over last year.
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March 9th, 2012
There are plenty of limited releases on this week's list, including a couple that earned some strong pre-release buzz. One of these, Friends with Kids is opening in close to 400 theaters, which is a huge amount for a limited release. It will certainly be the biggest limited release at the box office, but I'm not sure how well it will do on the per theater chart. There are a few films earning amazing reviews, including Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Footnote, and Sound of Noise. I'm not sure any have what it takes to expand significantly, but hopefully at least one of them will find a receptive audience in limited release.
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