May 14th, 2012
It's not a bad week, for this time of year, with three films that are selling well, and two of those earned really good reviews. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for those screeners. Also, after those three big releases, there's a sharp drop-off in sales strength and we quickly find releases that would be overlooked most weeks. As for the best of the best, both Chronicle and The Grey are contenders for Pick of the Week, but like I said, I don't have the screeners to judge the extras. Therefore, I'm giving that title to Being John Malkovich Criterion Collection Blu-ray.
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May 14th, 2012
Albert Nobbs was made to win awards. I don't think it is a stretch to make that claim. It was released in late December, it is a period piece, it gives its lead a daring role to play. However, while it was made to win awards, its record during Awards Season was mixed. It did pick up a number of major nominations, mostly for the performances by Glenn Close and Janet McTeer. However, it came up empty handed during awards night. Did the movie deserve to do better? Or was it a couple good performances in an otherwise mediocre movie?
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February 16th, 2012
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. This week we will look at the four acting categories, finishing with Best Actress. This category is a little tricky, as there are two actresses that can both be seen as the favorite for different reasons. I'm not sure who will win.
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February 15th, 2012
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. This week we will look at the four acting categories, starting with Best Supporting Actress, which is possibly the least competitive this year, and not just the least competitive acting category, but the least competitive overall.
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February 14th, 2012
Chico and Rita started its run on top of the per theater chart with $21,400 in one theater. Given its reviews and its Oscar nomination, it should have no trouble expanding at least somewhat. The overall number one film, The Vow, was in second place on the per theater chart with an average of $13,929. Safe House was close behind with $12,880. It's not too common for wide releases to earn more than $10,000 on the per theater chart at this time of year, so to have two of them do so on the same weekend is doubly impressive. The final film in the $10,000 club was Rampart with an average of $12,089. Like Chico and Rita it should expand for similar reasons. (I.E. Strong reviews and major nominations.)
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February 8th, 2012
An Inconsistent Truth repeated on top of the per theater chart with $12,176 in one theater. However, while it won, it fell more than 40%, which is closer to a wide release than a limited release. W.E. was very close behind with an average of $11,769 in four theaters.
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January 31st, 2012
There was only one film to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this past weekend. An Inconsistant Truth opened with $20,733 in its lone theater, but with still no reviews, its long term chances are still unknown. The phrase, "preaching to the choir" does spring to mind.
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January 27th, 2012
The Oscars are drawing a lot of attention away from limited releases, as is normally the case this time of year. However, this week there is a film hoping the Oscar nominations will give them a boost. Albert Nobbs picked up three nods, which should give it a boost at the box office, but whether or not it is enough to overcome other obstacles it yet to be seen.
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January 24th, 2012
Yesterday was one of the biggest days during Awards Season as The Oscar nominations were announced in the morning. It was a two horse race for top spot as far as the big winners are concerned. Hugo earned the most nominations with eleven, while The Artist was right behind with ten. However, one could argue The Artist is the bigger winner, as more of its nominations were in the more prestigious categories.
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December 23rd, 2011
There are only seven films on this week's list of limited releases; however, five of them were earning at least some measure of Awards Season buzz. This is hardly unusual for this time of year. What is unusual is that almost none of them are earning overall positive reviews. The one exception is Pina, which has 93% positive reviews, but as a documentary / concert film, it might struggle to find an audience outside of fans of modern dance. On the other hand, while Albert Nobbs' overall reviews are merely mixed, it has a chance to find a sizable audience, thanks in part to its numerous early nominations.
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December 16th, 2011
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the Awards Season picture started to look a whole lot clearer. The Artist led the way with six nominations, while The Descendents and The Help were right behind with five apiece.
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December 15th, 2011
The SAG nominations were handed out this week, and while The Help led the way with four nods, it wasn't the only film that earned multiple nominations.
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November 30th, 2011
As it does every year, Independent Spirit Award nominations kick off the unofficial start of Awards Season. This year there were two films that topped the list of nominations: The Artist and Take Shelter. Both of those films earned five nominations, but they weren't the only films to be singled out.
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