June 22nd, 2013
There were a number of new releases to reach the top of the DVD sales chart. They earned the top four spots and seven of the top eight spots. On the downside, it was absolutely a case of quantity over quality. Parker earned first place on the DVD chart, but with just 170,000 units / $2.62 million. It only managed second place on Blu-ray with 72,000 units / $1.50 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of just under 30%, which is bad for an action film. Speaking of action films, The Last Stand opened in second place on DVD with 154,000 units / $2.17 million, but earned first place on Blu-ray with 110,000 units / $1.64 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 42%, which is more in line with the average for that genre.
More...
May 23rd, 2013
It's an abridged list of DVD and Blu-ray releases report this week due to technical difficulties. The best selling new release of the week is True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season on Blu-ray Combo Pack, which is certainly worth owning for fans. However, the best releases are the Hayao Miyazaki Double-Shot, Howl's Moving Castle on Blu-ray Combo Pack and My Neighbor Totoro on Blu-ray Combo Pack. Most prefer the former, but I prefer the latter.
More...
May 20th, 2013
Stand Up Guys has a very impressive cast with three Oscar winners in the three lead roles. It also opened with an Oscar-qualifying run; however, outside of a Golden Globe nomination for best original song, it was passed over by Awards Season voters. When it opened in limited release, it debuted in several hundred theaters, but barely topped the Mendoza Line on the per theater chart, while it disappeared as quickly as that opening would suggest. Will it find success on the home market? Or will it struggle there like it did in limited release and during Awards Season?
More...
February 21st, 2013
No led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $17,936 in four theaters. The Gatekeepers remained strong with an average of $11,296 in four theaters during its third weekend of release. This is very impressive longevity.
More...
February 13th, 2013
The Gatekeepers remained in first place in the per theater chart with an average of $14,024 in three theaters. The only other film to top $10,000 on the per theater chart was Identity Thief with an average of $11,000, which is amazing for a wide release at this time of year.
More...
February 5th, 2013
The Gatekeepers led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $22,226 in three theaters. The only other member of the $10,000 club was Koch with an average of $17,598 in two. Both films should continue to do well on the art house circuit, but as documentaries, I doubt they will expand significantly.
More...
February 1st, 2013
It's a weak week for limited releases with only two films that are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Those two films, The Gatekeepers and Koch, have something else in common, they are both documentaries. So, there are probably no breakout hits on this weeks list.
More...
February 1st, 2013
For the most part, January was a really good month and 2013 got off to a really good start. I'm not so sure about February, on the other hand. There's only one film that has a statistically significant shot at $100 million, A Good Day to Die Hard, but I'm a little concerned that it won't live up to expectations. The franchise has been around a long time and it is possible that the target audience has either moved on or are too young to remember when these films were huge at the box office. The film I'm most looking forward to seeing is Warm Bodies, which is earning amazing early reviews (the keyword there is "early"), but it is too high-concept to be a major hit. Last February, there were a couple of films that topped $100 million, plus a few other midlevel hits. I would like to think that would also be the case this year, but I have to be more cautious than that. The evidence points to a weak month ahead, for the most part.
More...
December 14th, 2012
It is another busy week for limited releases, including some that are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Unfortunately, like it usually is at this time of year, unless a limited release is earning Oscar buzz, it is very unlikely to find an audience in limited release. Any Day Now is the film I have the highest hopes for, but even for a film with 88% positive reviews, it will be a challenge.
More...
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.
More...
