June 14th, 2015
The week ending May 31 was a terrible week for new releases with only one that sold more than 50,000 units on the combined home market chart. Fortunately, American Sniper held on a lot better than most releases do, and was down just 27% to 844,000 units/ $16.01 million in consumer spending for the week, giving it totals of 1.99 million units / $37.40 million after two weeks of release. It is now in fifth place on the 2015 combined chart, but again, given its box office, it should be higher.
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June 8th, 2015
It was a very shallow week for new releases with only one release that made any real impact. American Sniper dominated the combined home market chart selling ten times as many units as the second place film. During its first week of release, it sold 1.20 million units and generated $22.57 million in sales for an opening week Blu-ray share of 42%. The film is nearly in the top ten on the 2015 combined chart, but given its box office, it should have sold twice that. Also, its Blu-ray share is lower than expected for an action film.
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May 25th, 2015
Wow. It is a summer week on the home market, as there are a ton of summer shows coming out on DVD. Unfortunately, none of them seem like big sellers. The best-selling new release of the week is Seventh Son, which is a terrible sign. The second best is The Nanny: The Complete Series. I don't know how to react to that. As for the best of the new releases, Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Wells (DVD or Blu-ray) is as good as it gets.
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April 28th, 2015
There were no films in the $10,000 club this week and no new releases really came close. The closest was Full Moon in Paris, which rose 58% from last weekend to $7,987, still in one theater. Felix et Meira was next with an average of $6,590 after expanding from one to four theaters. Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll was the biggest new release with an average of $6,402 in three theaters over the weekend for an average of $8,465 from Wednesday to Sunday.
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February 18th, 2015
As expected, Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the weekend box office, while Kingsman: The Secret Service was strong in its own way. Overall, the box office earned $214 million over the three-day weekend and $247 million including Monday. Its three-day number is 41% more than last weekend. It is also 21% more than the same weekend last year. The four-day box office was 19% higher than the same weekend last year. 2015 has now opened up a 6.0% lead over 2014 at $1.45 billion to $1.37 billion.
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February 9th, 2015
As expected, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water led the way at the box office; however, it did so in a much more explosive way. In fact, its opening was in the top five for February releases. The other two new releases, Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son, did as well as expected, more or less, but that's not really a good thing. The overall weekend box office was $152 million, which was 51% more than last weekend. Compared to the same weekend last year, 2015 actually came out ahead, albeit by 0.3% margin. This is less than ticket price inflation, so fewer tickets were sold, but I don't really care. Considering I thought 2015 would lose by close to $20 million, I will take any victory and celebrate it. Year-to-date, 2015 has pulled ahead of 2014 by nearly $100 million at $1.17 billion to $1.08 billion. Again, it is too soon to judge how well 2015 will do, but being ahead by 8.8% is still worth noting.
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February 8th, 2015
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is wiping out the competition this weekend with a dramatic $56 million debut, enough to give it the 5th biggest weeked in February, with a chance of 4th place if it does well today. After the success of The LEGO Movie this weekend last year, there’s a good bet we’ll be seeing the first weekend in February becoming a regular landing spot for animated films. (Perhaps The Nut Job 2 will move back a few weeks next year in response?)
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February 5th, 2015
We should have a new film to top the chart, finally, as The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water looks to take top spot, although if the more pessimistic analysts are correct, American Sniper could be close behind. Jupiter Ascending is looking for a $20 million opening, so if it can surprise analysts just a little it will compete for second place. Meanwhile, Seventh Son should be happy with a spot in the top five. It will get there, but mainly due to the lack of depth at the box office. This weekend last year was led by The LEGO Movie, which earned nearly $70 million. There's a chance the top three films won't earn that much this year. Even if all three wide releases top expectations, 2015 will still have trouble matching last year's box office.
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February 1st, 2015
It was a record-breaking January thanks entirely to American Sniper, which set records, both during its limited release run and especially when it expanded wide. There were a couple of other films that did well, but for the most part, it was a typical January. The question is, will American Sniper boost the overall box office, which would help February, or will its effects fade as it does? There are ten wide releases in February; there are a few films that may or may not open in the top ten. Of these, there are only two that have a real shot at true box office success. The biggest film in terms of buzz is Fifty Shades of Grey, which looks so, so bad. Personally, I would rather watch The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water a hundred times than sit through just the trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey. If Fifty Shades of Grey becomes the biggest hit of the month, it will mrean the end of civilization. Because. I. Will. End. Civilization. Last February was mostly mediocre, except for The LEGO Movie which was a huge early year hit. There's no chance any film opening this month will match The LEGO Movie; the top two films likely won't match The LEGO Movie. Because of this, 2015 will need to rely on depth to come out ahead. I'm not sure how likely that will be.
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January 29th, 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies easily earned first place in China and that helped it rocket back to the top of the international chart with $54.3 million over the weekend for totals of $617.0 million internationally and $866.5 million worldwide. The film had a total opening of $50.00 million in China, which was more than the rest of the market combined.
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January 22nd, 2015
Taken 3 rose to first place during its third weekend of release earning $31.4 million in 49 markets for an international total of $99.0 million. Its biggest debut of the weekend was in the Philippines, where it earned first place with $2.5 million on 218 screens. It also earned first place in Russia, but with only $1.80 million on 1,438. Its biggest market was the U.K., where it remained in first place with $5.00 million in 500 theaters for a two-week total on $18.55 million.
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January 15th, 2015
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb rose to first place with $46.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $148.6 million internationally and $248.1 million worldwide. This includes a $26.39 million "opening" in China for an 8-day total of $31.06 million. 8-day opening? It also opened in first place in Russia with $5.55 million on 1,690 screens.
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January 7th, 2015
It was a big week for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, as it crossed the $500 million mark on the international box office. Over the weekend it pulled in $52.5 million in 65 markets for totals of $504.7 million internationally and $725.3 million worldwide. At this pace, the film will reach $800 million worldwide, possibly as early as this time next week. As for last weekend, there were very few new openings, but the film did earn first place in Argentina with $2.1 million on 397 screens. The film opens in China before the end of the month and the studio is obviously hoping for big numbers in that market.
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