December 16th, 2019
The first two installments of our Holiday Gift Guide had plenty of first-run releases and several TV on DVD releases. This installment includes limited releases and foreign imports. The list of classics isn’t up to the usual standards for the same reasons the TV on DVD list was rather short. Streaming is taking over that part of the market. Did you know The Criterion Collection has their own streaming service? So does Magnolia Pictures. On the one hand, that’s a lot of amazing movies for one price. On the other hand, as a fan of physical media, I’m not happy streaming is becoming so popular. There are still some great smaller titles worthy of the season.
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September 18th, 2019
It’s one of those weeks on the home market. There are almost no new releases to talk about and the ones worth talking about all have caveats when it comes to my recommendations. That is to say, while there are a number of DVDs / Blu-ray that I recommend buying, there are none that really rise to the level of Pick of the Week. This leaves Spider-Man: Far from Home as the Pick of the Week, despite it coming out only on VOD so far.
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July 25th, 2019
The Lion King not only earned first place on the overall chart, but it topped the theater average chart with an average of $40,586. Last week’s winner, The Farewell, landed in second place with an average of $32,723. David Crosby: Remember My Name was the final film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $10,871 in four theaters.
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June 27th, 2019
There weren’t many new releases to talk about, but a surprising percentage of them landed in the $10,000 club. This includes the overall box office champ, Toy Story 4, which opened with an average of $26,428. Wild Rose was the best of the limited releases earning an average of $13,235 in four theaters, while Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am was right behind with an average of $12,013, also in four theaters.
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June 23rd, 2019
Almost none of the films on this week’s list are living up to expectations, at least not according to the weekend estimates. Toy Story 4 is earning the best opening in the franchise with an estimated $118.0 million weekend. This is third-highest opening for an animated film, so there is reason to celebrate. However, it is also much lower than expected and a little more front-loaded than anticipated, so its future might be in doubt. The film is doing better internationally with an estimated opening weekend of $120.0 million in 37 markets. The film had the third biggest opening in Mexico with $23.4 million, putting it behind just the two most recent Avengers movies. It had the biggest opening for an animated film in Brazil with $9.6 million. The film was also a monster hit in the U.K. with $15.0 million. On the other hand, it struggled in China with a second-place $13.4 million opening there; however, most animated films struggle in China. Hopefully the film’s reviews and its A from CinemaScore translate into long legs, because 2019 really needs more success stories at the box office.
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June 21st, 2019
None of the films on this week’s list look like they will have breakout success. It is nearly impossible to find a film coming out in limited release this week that is in a genre that tends to do well in limited release, has great reviews, and isn’t playing on VOD. Wild Rose matches those three criteria the closest, but it is Ladies in Black that I’m most interested in seeing.
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May 9th, 2019
Musical drama starring Jessie Buckley opens June 14 in the US. Playing now in the UK ... Full Movie Details.
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