December 22nd, 2008
Not many new releases charted this week, but that doesn't matter as we had a record breaking release at the top. Not only did The Dark Knight become the fastest selling DVD of the year with 7.50 million units and $158.74 million, it also became the first Blu-ray to sell more than 1 million units during its first week of release, as it just crossed into seven digits.
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December 15th, 2008
New releases dominated the top of the sales chart this week, earning the top three spots. This included The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which sold 3.34 million units and generated $54.72 million in revenue.
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December 15th, 2008
New releases dominated the sales chart taking the top two places and four of the top five. This includes Step Brothers and Wanted, which finished neck and neck in first and second places respectively.
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December 2nd, 2008
It's the slowest week in more than a month, which is not surprising since it is the Tuesday after Black Friday. That doesn't mean there are no top-notch releases this week, or major sellers. In fact, there are three $100 million hits from last summer coming out this week. However, to find the DVD Pick of the Week we have to go a bit further back, all the way back to 1942 and Casablanca - The Ultimate Collector's Edition on Blu-ray.
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November 25th, 2008
Strange week. There are a dozen spotlight reviews on the list this week, but only one is for a DVD coming out this week. Ten are for DVDs that arrived late, and one spotlight review is actually early. As for this week's releases, there are not that many that seem like must-haves and none rise to the level of a DVD Pick of the Week. If I were to choose the best release found below, it's WALL-E, which came out last week. But even then I would chose the Blu-ray I reviewed last week over the DVD. Despite the lack of a top tier release, there were still more than enough that it was necessary to split the list into two parts. Part two can be found here.
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September 14th, 2008
Wanted failed to reach first place during its opening in Germany, but still rose dramatically earning sixth internationally with $6.13 million on 1590 screens in 29 markets for a total of $147.68 million. In Germany is finished in second place behind The Dark Knight's third weekend of release earning $3.18 million on 444 screens, which is still impressive. Next up is Spain this weekend, while it opens wide in Japan next weekend and China early in October.
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September 7th, 2008
You Don't Mess With The Zohan slipped out of the top five with $7.96 million on 2296 screens in 33 markets for a total of $69.53 million internationally, which is more than Adam Sandler's previous film made in total internationally. This week the film opened in France landing in 10th place with just $816,000, but it was playing on just 171 screens. On the other hand, it added $1.66 million on 335 screens in Spain for a two-week total of $6.45 million.
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August 31st, 2008
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army returned to the international chart in sixth place with $7.20 million on 828 screens in 14 markets for a total of $32.93 million. Of that weekend haul, $5.45 million was earned on 464 screens in the U.K., where it topped the charts this past weekend. Compared to the original, this film has made more domestically and more worldwide, while it is nearing its international total with openings in Australia, Spain, Brazil, Germany, France, and other markets left ahead of it.
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August 24th, 2008
Ponyo on the Cliff is locked in first place in Japan growing by 13% to $7.75 million on 481 screens over the weekend for a total of $90.47 million at the end of last weekend, and it is likely that it has hit $100 million in the meantime.
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August 17th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda slipped to sixth place with $9.34 million on 4736 screens in 47 markets for a total of $349.69 million internationally. The film is starting to shed theaters and markets at an accelerated pace, however, it still has openings in Italy and other smaller markets ahead of it, while it could reach $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide before the end of its run. (The latter it a lot easier than the former.)
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August 10th, 2008
Hancock fell from second to sixth with $12.03 million on 5425 screens in 68 markets, however, it still reached $300 million internationally since last week and now has a running tally of $319.43 million. Its best market of the weekend was Spain where it added $1.92 million on 567 screens over the weekend for a total of $20.56 million after two. Meanwhile, its best market overall remains the U.K. where it has $47.09 million after a month of release, including $900,000 on 318 screens this past weekend. With Japan and Italy still ahead, the film should become Will Smith's second $600 million movie, but it will end well back of Independence Day.
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August 3rd, 2008
Hancock fell 56% to $20.22 million on 7516 screens in 70 markets, however, that was still enough for second place on the international chart this week, and lifted its totals to $295.58 million internationally and $502.06 million worldwide, reaching a major milestone. The film's best market of the week was Spain where it remained in first place with $3.98 million on 575 screens for a total of $16.86 million. It is also performing well in Germany where it held on to second place with $1.70 million on 755 screens over the weekend and $33.62 million after four. However, it is starting to slip in the U.K. falling to fifth place with $1.40 million on 400 screens, but its total of $45.15 million in that market is still fantastic. Hancock likely hit $300 million early last week, and it has yet to open in Japan and Italy.
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July 27th, 2008
For the third week in a row, Kung Fu Panda performed excellently on the international scene, but was not on par with the top of the chart. Over the previous weekend, the film finished in third place with $29.02 million on 4460 screens in 51 screens for a total of $273.20 million. This week the film opened three of the four Scandinavian markets including Denmark where it opened in first place with $1.10 million on 87 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. Meanwhile, the film only managed third in Norway with $834,000 on 105 screens over the weekend and $1.2 million in total and it managed third place in Sweden with $689,000 on 149 screens and $840,000 in total. Additionally, the film made $3.02 million on 466 screens over the weekend for a total of $27.57 million after three weeks. Next up for the film is Japan this weekend while it opens in Italy at the end of the month.
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July 20th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda grew to its biggest yet pulling in $45.32 million on 6314 screens in 49 markets for a total of $221.64 million. This includes openings in France where it placed second with $8.64 million on 743 screens for the full week and in Spain where it topped the charts with $6.29 million on 581 screens. The film's best holdover was The U.K. where it slipped a spot to third with $5.55 million on 456 screens for a two-week total of $21.57 million. It also held well in Germany adding $4.54 million on 838 screens for a two-week total of $11.14 million while it now has $20.38 million in Australia, including $3.17 million on 361 screens during this past weekend. Meanwhile, the film has yet to open in Italy or Japan, as well as a few other smaller markets, and should have no trouble reaching $300 million before long.
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July 13th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda saw its weekend numbers climb by close to 70%, and its weekend haul of $40.16 million on 5325 screens in 40 markets was the best of its run so far. A run that has brought in $154.13 million so far. However, it still remained in second place thanks to the opening of Hancock. The film had a pair of second place openings including the U.K. where it made $8.63 million on 446 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.96 million. Meanwhile in Germany it was not as strong with $4.48 million on 831 screens, but it still managed second place. The film also slipped to second place in Australia, but it held well down just 24% to $3.83 million on 363 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.63 million.
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July 2nd, 2008
Wanted started its international run in first place with $32.25 million on 2132 screens in 22 markets. The film's best market was Russia, but that's no surprise as the film was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who was born in the Soviet Union. In that one market the film made $10.70 million on 859 screens, which was the second best opening of the year and seven times more than its nearest competition. (The best opening of the year was by The Very Best Film, which is a local film that broke the record back in January.) Other major markets for Wanted include South Korea where it made $5.36 million on 629 screens over the weekend and $6.81 million in total, which was enough for first place. On the other hand, it had to settle for a close second in the U.K. with $6.35 million on 412 screens.
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June 29th, 2008
The Happening fell from first to fifth with just $14.05 million on 5579 screens in 65 markets for a total of $56.40 million after two weeks. Good news, it was able to remain in first place in France despite falling 60% to $1.93 million on 550 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.68 million after two. On the other hand, it fell from first to third in Spain down 65% to $1.20 million on 387 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.41 million after two. Even worse, it was down just under 80% in Italy and just over 80% in South Korea earning $367,000 on 338 screens and $206,000 on 293 screens respectively. Its totals of $2.77 million in the former and $2.18 million in the latter are hardly impressive, and well below its domestic run. This is a shocking decline, especially since films tend to have better legs internationally than they have domestically. And while it should earn more on the international marketplace, there's little hope of reaching $200 million worldwide now.
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June 22nd, 2008
Sex and the City was knocked out of top spot with $23.71 million on 5591 screens in 44 markets for a total of $136.00 million after three weeks of release. Its biggest opening came from the Netherlands, which is a midlevel market at best, but it earned $810,000 on 108 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. This is a very strong opening and the film will have little trouble topping Iron Man in the market and will even come relatively close to Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's total. Additionally, the film earned $4.29 million on 452 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $14.88 million while in the U.K. it pulled in $3.50 million on 470 screens over the weekend lifting its total of $39.80 million after three.
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June 15th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda started its international run in third place with $20.46 million on 1521 screens in 9 markets. The film reportedly set records in a number of its smaller, Southeast Asian debuts while its brought in an impressive $8.26 million on 821 screens in Russia and $7.84 million on 632 screens in South Korea (including midweek numbers). Next up for the film is Australia and Mexico next weekend while it has major market opening throughout the summer.
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June 8th, 2008
Sex and the City made its international debut this past weekend, and while it wasn't able to top the charts like it did domestically, it still managed a fantastic $32.77 million on 3590 screens in 14 markets over the weekend for a total of $37.52 million. Its biggest opening came in the U.K. where it dominated the market with $17.22 million on 460 screens, which is equivalent to an $80 million to $100 million opening here. It also finished first in Germany with $7.41 million on 836 screens. It also did very well in France with $6.12 million on 551 screens and in Italy with $2.74 million on 552 screens, finishing second in both markets. The film opened in Australia and South Korea this past weekend, while it doesn't end its run till late August with Japan and it should reach several major milestones before then.
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June 2nd, 2008
Sex and the City started off huge on Friday, but it quickly crashed as the weekend wore on. However, its first day was still enough to propel the film into first place and help the overall box office reach $168 million. That was lower than last weekend's total by just over 2%, but that's a very soft decline for a post-holiday weekend. Also, it was nearly 25% higher that the same weekend last year, which is huge growth. 2008 is still behind 2007's pace $3.57 billion to $3.68 billion, but any time it closes the gap is good news.
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June 1st, 2008
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian slipped 21% during its sophomore stint adding $19.35 million on 3681 screens in 13 markets for a still early total of $51.26 million. This includes a first place, $5.34 million opening on 782 screens over the weekend in Japan, while the film has $7.81 million including midweek numbers. This was below the original's opening in that market of $8.92 million, which is troubling. More troubling news came in Mexico where it was down 51% to $3.05 million on 842 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.58 million while in Russia it was down 55% to $3.03 million on 735 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.54 million after two.
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May 29th, 2008
There could be quite a battle for top spot at the box office this weekend between the opening of Sex and the City and he sophomore stint of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Hopefully this will help May end with a a stronger box office than the comparable weekend last year. It is possible since the former should open with a bigger box office than Knocked Up while the latter could hold with more than At World's End did.
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May 28th, 2008
The first long weekend of the summer has come and gone and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was able to earn the tenth best opening weekend of all time, assuming you don't count Iron Man's Thursday night box office. (Which apparently we are supposed to.) However, while this is good news, the overall box office is still in a slump. Sure, the 3-day total was $172 million, which was 31% higher than last weekend, but it was more than 16% lower than the same weekend last year. Add in Monday and the box office pulled in $219 million, which was 14% lower than last year's 4-day total. Year-to-date, 2008 is now 4% behind last year's pace at $3.51 billion to $3.37 billion.
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May 25th, 2008
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian opened in second place on the international charts with $23.31 million on 3037 screens in 12 markets giving it the best per screen average on this week's list. The film only opened in three major markets, but it finished first in all of them. This includes Russia where it managed $6.73 million on 735 screens and Mexico where it earned $6.27 million on 842 and in both cases it opened significantly higher than the original. On the other hand, while it managed first place in South Korea, its opening of $3.42 million on 670 screens over the weekend and a total of $3.90 million is significantly lower than the originals opening of $3.94 million on 262 screens over three days and $5.22 million in total. Next up for the film is its debut in Japan this weekend, while it has major openings all the way till late August.
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May 22nd, 2008
For the first time in nearly two decades, there is an Indiana Jones movie opening in theaters. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is arguably the most anticipated new release of the year and should crush the competition at the box office. In fact, there are more than a few people who expect records will the broken this weekend. With expectations this high, it might be almost impossible for the film to match them.
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May 20th, 2008
The winners of our Prince's Ransom contest were determined and they are...
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May 20th, 2008
Reprise earned nearly $50,000 in three theaters over the weekend for a per theater average of $16,353, which was enough to top the charts. The only other film to reach the $10,000 mark was Prince Caspian, which earned a disappointing average of $14,007.
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May 19th, 2008
The weekend box office was ... mixed, to be generous. The box office leader, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, missed expectations by $30 million, give or take, while the overall box office numbers was also well below expectations at $132 million. At least this was above last weekend's box office tally by about 5%, but below last year's pace by a flabbergasting 27%. Year-to-date 2008 lost even more ground and is now behind last year's pace by nearly 4% $3.21 billion to $3.09 billion. Things need to turn around soon lest the narrative becomes the slumping box office, however, I don't see that happening.
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May 17th, 2008
Another week where there was only one major movie website to check out. This week it was The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian - Official Site, which was clearly the winner of the weekly website award.
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May 15th, 2008
There's little doubt which film will come out on top this weekend, as The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the only film opening wide this weekend. The real competition are three other films that opened earlier, sometimes much earlier. The first is the film that started this summer, Iron Man, the second is the biggest hit from the same weekend last year, Shrek the Third, and the final one is the film that started the franchise, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian will be judged a success or a failure not whether or not it can finish first, but how it does in comparison to these other films.
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May 9th, 2008
The weekend before Memorial Day long weekend is one of the best weekends to open a movie. That's the weekend The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is opening and that film is this week's target movie.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win Exes and Ohs - The Complete First Season, Revolver on DVD, and Teeth on DVD.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win Exes and Ohs - The Complete First Season and Revolver on DVD
Additionally, one additional entrant will be chosen at random to win Exes and Ohs - The Complete First Season.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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May 1st, 2008
2008 has stumbled pretty badly recently, but, with the past two weekends beating their 2007 counterparts, it looks like it is getting back on track. Hopefully this can continue in May. On the one hand, the start of the Summer should reinvigorate the box office numbers with a few potential $300 million hits opening over the five weekends and two more films that should reach $100 million. Here's the problem: Last year, there were three monster hits that opened in May and they earned a combined box office close to $1 billion. If any of the big three this month (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Iron Man) stumble, then there will be almost no way 2008 can keep pace with 2007.
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December 27th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Fly Me To the Moon, Justice League, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and more!
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November 5th, 2006
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for National Treasure 2, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, some DreamWorks digital animation movies and more.
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