April 24th, 2005
Hitch is just coasting on holdovers now, and will be until it opens in Japan at the beginning of June. This week it added $5.1 million from 3000 screens in 55 markets to its already impressive $170.4 million international total and with soft week to week drop-offs and a good showing in Japan and it will have a $200 million future. This week the film added $643,359 in its fifth weekend in France for a $12,785,670 total in the market, $110,000 in its second weekend in Argentina, (rising to first place in the meantime) as well as other, smaller markets.
More...
April 17th, 2005
The Pacifier finally debut across Australia after playing in Queensland and Victoria for the past two weeks; the massive expansion allowed the film to climb to first place with $1.125 million on 267 screens. That lifted its total in the market to $3.41 million so far and the film should have strong legs. Add to that its $1.75 million opening in Spain and $590,000 in Belgium and the film managed $4.1 million over the weekend, which doubled its early total to $8.1 million.
More...
April 10th, 2005
It was a slow week at the international box office, the slowest of the year, and without much activity at the box office hit there were little in the way of details published by the studios. Therefore this week's column is much shorter than usual. Leading the best of the rest was
Be Cool with an estimated $5 million for a disappointing $12.7 million international tally. Its best single market was the U.K. where the film finished second with $2.2 million on 336 screens after an exclusive engagement last weekend. The film also did well in the Netherlands with $190,000 on 43 screens but really struggles in Germany opening in fifth place with just $930,000 on 321 screens, a result mirrored in Austria, (fifth place, $165,948.)
More...
April 3rd, 2005
Million Dollar Baby performed brilliantly this week earning $8.8 million for an international total of $60 million, placing fourth on the international box office charts. In France the film dominated the marketplace with $4.94 million on 450 screens and in Germany the film earned $760,000 in semi-limited release (120 screens) for the best per screen average in the market. On the other hand, the film flopped in Slovakia where it missed the top ten in its debut. On the holdover front, the multi-
Oscar winning front saw its weekend haul climb by 20% in Spain to $980,000 and it's still doing well in Australia, Italy and South Korea.
More...
March 27th, 2005
Million Dollar Baby has again slipped off the radar screen, but we do know it hit $52 million internationally, which means it made $9 million during the week. The film didn't earn $1 million in any single market, but is still doing strong in South Korea, ($970,000), Spain, ($840,000), Italy, ($600,000) and Australia, ($350,000.) Best estimate has the film earning just shy of $5 million of that over the weekend and taking sixth place on the international box office charts.
More...
March 20th, 2005
After gathering in all the data the winner for the race for fifth place is
Million Dollar Baby, I think. It would need to lost more than 40% from last week's total and that's not taking into account its openings in South Korea at $1,515,672 and second place, its $110,000, third place debut in Finland, $86,000 in Russia, $50,000, second place debut in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, exact weekend totals are unknown but it is estimated at $6 million raising its international total to $43 million so far.
More...
March 16th, 2005
Not only is
Hitch the undisputed champion of 2005 for the domestic market, it is also the new number one worldwide, topping
Howl's Moving Castle $216.5 million to $211.9 million. And with $28.1 million this weekend on 4,600 screens in 40 markets, the film sits at $66.0 million internationally and could become the first film from 2005 to reach the $100 million milestone on the international scene.
The film's biggest opening of the weekend came from the U.K., where it racked up $8.1 million including sneak peaks, which represented more than 50% of total box office in the market.
Add in first place debuts in Italy with $2.5 million on 300, Belgium with $820,000 on 57, Netherlands with $670,000 on 93 and $225,000 on 16 screens in the U.E.A. The film also performed admirably in South Korea with a third place, $1.4 million weekend on 175 screens. Notable holdovers include its $6.3 million in Germany, down less than 30% to $17.2 million in that market alone and $1.83 million in Australia, down 34% and still first place in both markets. The film was also first place in Scandinavia, but exact numbers are currently unavailable.
More...
March 13th, 2005
Shark Tale finished its international run with a second place $2.08 million opening in Japan on 485 screens. Its $4,296 per screen average it quite low for the market and generally means the film won't have the usual legs films in Japan have. The film performed much better in Italy where it finished first again with $3.0 million, down just 23% during its sophomore stint. Overall it took in $5.2 million to raise its international total to $181 million, but without any more openings it might struggle to hit $200 million.
More...
March 6th, 2005
The Aviator beat weekend estimates by a substantial margin leading to a $5.9 million box office on 3000 screens in 34 markets. The multi-
Oscar winning movie has hit $86.2 million internationally and will cross $200 million worldwide before too long. The film dropped a spot to fifth place in South Korea with $834,660 for the week and slipped to second in Australia with $798,000. The only market the film opened it was Argentina, where it easily took top spot with $232,000.
More...
March 5th, 2005
Thanks in part to a slow week for DVD releases,
Saw remained the top DVD rental on this weeks charts with $6.80 million this week, a drop of 28% from last week, and a two week total of $16.27 million so far. On the VHS side, the film dropped first to third with $1.09 million, down 38% for a total of $2.83 million.
More...
February 7th, 2005
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section including this week's winner, which we'll get to in a moment. This week is further evidence in the power of the growing TV on DVD market. There are nine shows making their debut on DVD. All-in-all there are 537 DVDs being released tomorrow, but it seems like 500 of them are re-releases. There was so much that any real gem was buried under an avalanche of dreck. Nothing stood out as a must have, but two limited releases, Before Sunset - Buy from Amazon and Robot Stories - Buy from Amazon are worth a rental.
More...
January 25th, 2005
The Oscar Nominations were announced this morning and at first glance it appears that most of the nominations went to films with smaller budgets and box office results.
Box office hits were nearly shut out of the major nominations.
More...
December 1st, 2004
With a nearly 3-1 lead over its nearest competitor,
The Incredibles took top spot on the International Box Office charts this week with $44.3 million on 4,362 screens in 22 markets for a running tally of $59.1 million. The film opened number one in all twelve markets and in a few of the markets the film debuted in this week it was able to break the record for biggest debut by an
animated films. However, in others it fell short to either
Finding Nemo, (France) or
Shrek 2 (the U.K. and Spain.) Its biggest single market was the U.K., where the brought in $18.1 million, including sneak peaks, which was a
Disney record. Other highlights include $9.2 million in France, $5.6 million in Spain, $5.4 million in Italy, and $1.3 million in Belgium. Considering the results so far it should challenge for supremacy among the elite
animated films and $400 million to $500 million isn't out of the question.
More...
November 24th, 2004
Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason's second round of openings was no quite as strong as last week's, but it was still more than enough to keep its first place finish at the international box office. Overall the British
comedy took in $20.6 million on 1,854 screens in 18 markets lifting its tally to $59 million. Out of the new openings, the film was most impressive in Spain with $2.6 million while its best market overall was the U.K. where the film dropped just 29% to $9.3 million. The film is still tracking well ahead of the
original and is becoming one of the monster hits of the fall.
More...
November 17th, 2004
Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason opened in a mere half a dozen international markets over the weekend, but what an opening it was. Despite place on fewer than 1000 screens the film was able to pull in an amazing $26.7 million, the lion's share coming from the U.K. where the film took in $19.1 million on 496 screens, (including $5.9 million from sneak peaks.) That was the best opening for a Working Title film smashing the previous record of $11.1 million for
Love Actually. In each market the film broke the record for Working Title films and more than doubled the
original's debut. And even with legs that are expected to be much lower, it should be able to break $300 million internationally, although it may have trouble hitting $50 million domestically.
More...
November 10th, 2004
It's a rare feat for a non-Hollywood film to top the international charts, but that's just what the German spoof, Seven Dwarfs, did this week. Playing in just three markets the film took in $10.6 million on under 1,000 screens. In its home market of Germany the film eased just 19% to $9.2 million; the result was not quite as good in Austria where it dropped a respectable 30% to $915,000, but it was in Switzerland where it shined -
increasing 4% to $500,000. Overall the film has now made $29.0 million so far but the real test comes with increased competition from holiday fare and the ability to find an audience in non-German speaking markets.
More...
November 3rd, 2004
Holidays throughout Europe, and a $1.5 million, first place finish in Russia helped
Shark Tale remain in top spot for the fourth straight week, although it was a much closer contest this week. Highlights include $4.3 million in the U.K., off just 24% compared to its sophomore weekend, $4.0 million in France, which was
up 47% from last weekend for a $15.5 million in 4,300 theatres in 27 markets weekend. Its international running total topped $100 million, the 13th film to do so this year, and now sits at $109.6 million.
More...
November 1st, 2004
With four of the films in the top five beating expectations, this Halloween wasn't as bad as predicted. It was still down about 5.0% from last weekend and 1.5% from last year, but that's not as bad as it could have been. At first glance that's not too bad, however, last year Halloween was on a Friday and there were no new wide releases, which undoubtedly lead to last year under-performing.
More...
October 29th, 2004
Traditionally, Halloween is not a good day for the movies, with kids and families staying away from the theatres in order to trick or treat. The only films that really benefit from Halloween are
horror films aimed at High School and College students.
More...
October 27th, 2004
Despite a 45% drop in its weekend haul,
Shark Tale was able easily able to earn it third first place finish on the international charts. Still early in its run, the film took home $16.2 million in 4,368 theatres in 24 markets pushing its total to $80.3 million internationally. Without any openings the film relied on strong holdovers like in the U.K. where it drop 39%, in France it was off 32% and 35% in Germany.
More...
October 25th, 2004
Thanks to a much better than expected debut of the number one film we saw a large jump in the box office for the week, 8.75% to be more precise. However, with the rest of the films on the list just able to live up to expectations, the overall box office was still well short of last year's performance. The 18.25% drop on the yearly comparison is quite troubling, and it probably won't get much better next week either.
More...
October 22nd, 2004
It's one week from Halloween, and that can only mean one thing. It's Christmas time! That's right, the first Christmas movie of the year is coming to theatres. Sigh. The only Christmas movie you can legitimately watch at this time of year is
The Nightmare Before Christmas.
More...
October 20th, 2004
Thanks to mostly unopposed openings several more markets,
Shark Tale was able to repeat as the international box office champ this week. Not only that, but its $29.6 million more than doubled its international tally prior to the start of the weekend as the film now sits at $56.2 million. The best opening of the weekend, and most likely of its international run, was in the U.K. where the film managed to take in $9.1 million, ($13.6 million if you include last week's previews.) In France the result was strong with $4.2 million but in the face of local competition, it could only manage $3.4 million in Germany.
More...
October 18th, 2004
Unlike the summer, the fall has seen plenty of films hold up well in the face of new competition. This was the saving grace at the box office this week as neither new film made much of an impact. Even so, the overall box office dropped 9.3% from last week and a disturbing 14% from last year. Year to date 2004 is still maintaining its 4% lead over 2003, which is inline with ticket price increases.
More...
October 15th, 2004
Two films open wide this weekend, one has really wooden acting and the other stars marionettes. OK, that was a cheap joke. After a very strong start, October is starting to show signs of weakness and will probably see another small drop at the box office.
More...
October 13th, 2004
With openings in nearly a dozen new markets,
Shark Tale was able to take top spot on the international charts with $9.4 million in 16 markets, pushing its early total to $19.2 million internationally and over $100 million worldwide. Highlights include $4.4 million in the U.K., (including previews) and $2.05 million in Mexico. How happy the studio is with these results depends on their expectations. Compared to the average film,
Shark Tale is a massive hit. But compared to
Dreamworks previous
digitally animated film,
Shrek 2, it is a large drop.
More...
October 11th, 2004
For the first time in a month we saw a movie repeat on the top of the charts. Not only that, but Shark Tale held up better than expected. Even so, the overall weekend box was down 5.1% from last weekend, but down just 0.9% from last year.
More...
October 8th, 2004
A trio of new films open wide this week, but none look likely to de-thrown
Shark Tale as the weekend champ. Overall there should be a small drop at the box office, whether the drop will be large enough to push the weekend box office below 2003 level is up in the air.
More...
October 6th, 2004
Collateral finished first on the international charts breaking
The Village's five week run on top. Although, with a weekly take of only $9.4 million in 28 markets, it has as much to do with the weakness of the competition as it does with the strength of the film itself. The largest chunk of that box office came from France, where the film earned $3.8 million.
More...
October 5th, 2004
Busy week on the per theatre charts as no less than five films broke the $10,000 per theatre barrier. I Heart Huckabees had the best per theatre average of the year earning nearly $300,000 in four theatres for an average of $73,044. Last week's winner, The Motorcycle Diaries held up rather well despite a sizeable expansion; its per theatre average of $16,201 in 67 theatres to pull in just north of $1 million this past weekend. The overall chart leader was next on the list; Shark Tale's $11,854 per theater average was the best for a wide release since July. Close behind was Therese with $357,000 in 32 theatres for an average of $11,156. And rounding out the $10,000 club was Dig!; the Rockumentary earned an average of $10,219 in two theatres over the weekend.
More...
October 4th, 2004
It's amazing what the turning of a page on a calendar can do for the movie industry. After a dismal September, October got off to a near record start. It goes without saying that the weekend box office was up significantly from last week, 58.9% to be more exact and the yearly comparison was also very impressive at 20.9% increase. However, the yearly comparison is a bit misleading as Shark Tale is probably the biggest movie to open this month, so the box office may have already peaked for the month. We'll have to wait till next week to see if this is a sign of newfound strength or just an aberration.
More...
October 1st, 2004
Well, September is over so the industry can breathe a collective sigh of relief. And it couldn't end a moment too soon. How bad was September? Total box office for September was $423 million, the worst month in two years. And the majority of that box office came from holdovers released in previous months like
Hero, which earned nearly $30 million during the month of September. Fortunately, the first weekend in October sees the release of what should be the first $100 million movie since
The Village.
More...
October 1st, 2004
October is generally a transition month. Not the dumping ground that September is, but without a major holiday, it's not as prosperous as November. Also, the month is usually good to horror movies for the obvious reason. One last note, the movie industry as a whole is in a bit of a slump right now, of the 11 films that opened wide in September, only 2 will beat expectations by any reasonable degree. This has caused me to downgrade some of my predictions, especially for earlier in the month.
More...
September 30th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner
Shark Tale -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
More...
September 29th, 2004
For the fifth week in a row
The Village finished in first place with $14.0 million on 4000 screens in 38 markets. The biggest opening of the week was $5.2 million in Spain, but suffered another collapse in Mexico dropping 55% during its second weekend there. Its international total hit $100 million over the weekend, the fifth
Disney film to do so this year, and the 17th overall.
More...
September 23rd, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner
I ♥ Huckabees -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
More...
September 9th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner
A Dirty Shame -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
More...
September 2nd, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
More...
May 20th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates. It was another deceptively slow week as there are lots of site on the list, but none stood out as an award winning site. Many were simple placeholders, others had just minor updates, and the only three flash sites to launch were mostly marked coming soon. I was even tempted to not give out an award or maybe even bring in a
ringer. But in the end I went with
The Incredibles -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
More...
April 29th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Mean Girls -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
More...
April 8th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. This week saw a deceptively poor crop of site as there were a lot of movie site launched / updated / released, more than 30 in fact. However, very few of them even came close to the being considered for this week's award. It's so bad I've spent the last 3 hours looking for a gem of movie site that I may have missed in previous weeks. In the end it was
Kill Bill: Volume 2 -
Official Site that won the award with only one or two other that were even briefly considered. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
More...
February 26th, 2004
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week,
Dawn of the Dead -
Official Site . If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
More...
October 9th, 2003
