November 16th, 2010
It's getting really close to Black Friday, which is sometimes reported as the busiest shopping day of the year. (It's not. That would be Christmas Eve.) So it should come as no surprise that there's a prime release this week, or should I say re-release. Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition on Blu-ray is the biggest, and arguably the best, release of the week and it is the Pick of the Week. However, there was some competition from The Kids Are All Right on DVD or Blu-ray.
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August 24th, 2010
Only three new releases managed to reach the top 30 on the DVD sales chart this week, led by Date Night.
The DVD sold an estimated 623,000 units, and generated $10.58 million in consumer spending at retail during its first week of release.
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August 18th, 2010
It was a strange week on the sales chart with one new release dominating DVD sales, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and another dominating the Blu-ray sales chart, Kick Ass. Diary of a Wimpy Kid sold 733,000 units generating $12.46 million in revenue.
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August 10th, 2010
A few new releases charted this week, but there was no contest over which film topped the chart. Clash of the Titans led the way with 913,000 units sold and $15.51 million in consumer spending at retail.
This was more than five times the second place film.
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July 26th, 2010
It is a deceptively slow week in the video market.
I love that word, "deceptively", because it really has no meaning.
In the first sentence it could mean the week appears to be busy, but it is really slow.
Or it could mean the week appears to be slow, but it is really busy.
In this case, it's the former.
While there are 350 releases for the week on Amazon.com, there's only one significant first run release, Clash of the Titans.
Moving down the list of best sellers, it doesn't take long until you run into second tier, or even third or fourth tier releases.
Arguably the best release on this week's list of reviews is Mother, but that came out last week it's on the list because the screener was late.
The two competitors for Pick of the Week from this week's releases are Batman: Under the Red Hood - Blu-ray with Litho Cell and Ip Man - Collector's Edition Blu-ray.
Which one wins depends on whether you like martial arts movies or comic books more.
For me, it's a tie.
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June 13th, 2010
Rajneeti was the second Indian film within a few weeks to open strong on the global scene. Internationally, it earned third place with $11.01 million on 925 screens in 16 markets, which is an excellent start for this type of film. After Kites opened respectively well, it quickly collapsed. Thanks to a higher than average production budget, it will end up costing the studio money. However, this film is already well on its way to profitability and hopefully it will show much better legs.
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June 6th, 2010
Sex and the City 2 started its international run in second place with $23.98 million on 2739 screens in 18 markets for a total opening of $27.11 million. The film's biggest opening came in the U.K., where it made $8.93 million on 530 screens, 24% more than the original's opening. It had the biggest opening of the year in Germany with $5.90 million on 736 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.72 million. This was 23% higher than the original managed. On the other hand, it only saw 4% growth in Italy, with $2.4 million on 499 screens. This is not enough to keep pace with inflation. However, it is still better than it managed here.
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May 30th, 2010
Iron Man 2 is starting to see sharp declines in its theater count, but it still hit a major milestone during the past weekend. It added $13.90 million on 8739 screens in 55 markets for a total of $269.30 million internationally, which is just ahead of the total earned by Iron Man. Additionally, the film reached the half billion dollar mark with total ticket sales of $520.32 million worldwide. By the time it opened in Japan on the 11th, it will have surpassed its predecessor on the worldwide stage, while it has likely already broken even at this point.
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May 23rd, 2010
Iron Man 2 slipped to second place with $30.47 million on 10,223 screens in 57 markets for a total of $245.75 million internationally and $456.95 million worldwide. While this is impressive, its per theater average has become very weak and the competition is heating up. Look for sharp declines in the film's screen count over the next few weeks. That said, the original Iron Man earned a total of $264 million internationally and it is likely that the sequel has already topped that figure. It has also likely topped $500 million worldwide, while $600 million globally is a safe bet, so there's no reason for the studio to worry about shedding screens at this point. The film's biggest individual market so far is still the U.K. where it has made $25.80 million, including $2.30 million on 491 screens this past weekend. South Korea is right behind with $2.11 million on 600 screens over the weekend and $25.27 million after two.
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May 16th, 2010
For the fourth weekend in a row, Alice in Wonderland remained in second place, this time adding $13.28 million on 3843 screens in 54 markets for a total of $630.30 million internationally and $961.15 million worldwide. Since last week it has crossed the $600 million milestone on the international scene, making it just the 13th film to do so. It is now the seventh highest grossing film of all time. The film's per screen average has declined enough that it will likely shed screens and markets rather quickly. That said, if the worst thing you can say about a movie's box office run is, "It might not make it to $1 billion!" then the film is a massive success.
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May 9th, 2010
With Iron Man 2 debuting over the past weekend, Alice in Wonderland had one last gasp before the onslaught of summer blockbusters. It remained in second place with $23.54 million on 4263 screens in 54 markets over the weekend for a total of $592.23 million after two months of release. Worldwide, the film now has $921.92 million, which means that over the weekend it became just the 14th film to cross the $900 million milestone. It has already overtaken Shrek 2 for 13th place. By now, it is likely already in the top ten all-time and has a nominal shot at $1 billion worldwide.
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May 9th, 2010
A prime launch date, inflated ticket prices, and the unbeatable formula of a superhero sequel combined to give Iron Man 2 a massive opening weekend, according to Paramount's estimate, released on Sunday.
Their projected $133.6 million would make the movie the fifth-biggest opener of all time, and cements Iron Man's place among the industry's mega-franchises, alongside Batman, Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight and Harry Potter.
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April 28th, 2010
Clash of the Titans remained in first place with $34.12 million on 9703 screens in 63 markets for a total of $244.18 million internationally and $389.74 million worldwide. Since last week, the film crossed $200 million internationally. It will cross $400 million worldwide before the weekend. It opened in Japan over the weekend, earning fourth place with $3.01 million on 479 screens, including previews, while it debuted in first place in the United Arab Emirates with $1.1 million on 54 screens. Meanwhile, it added $3.67 million on 992 screens in Mexico for a total of $13.69 million after two weeks of release, which is more than How To Train Your Dragon has earned there in a month... and Mexico tends to reward family films. At this point, $300 million internationally is practically guaranteed, while it might reach $500 million worldwide, if Iron Man 2 doesn't steal away too many screens.
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April 21st, 2010
Clash of the Titans tread water, down just 2% to $52.67 million on 10,165 screens in 55 markets for a total of $191.64 million internationally and $324.24 million worldwide. The film had a surprisingly strong start in Mexico, earning $7.18 million on 980 screens, which is close to the amount Alice in Wonderland opened with last month. It also placed first in Italy with $4.26 million on 533 screens. With an opening in Japan this weekend and Brazil next month (as well as some smaller markets), hitting $300 million internationally shouldn't be an issue. It could reach $500 million worldwide.
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April 19th, 2010
New releases were not able to live up to expectations over the weekend, but at least the holdovers were able to compensate. In fact, there were five films that earned more than $15 million at the box office over the weekend. So while the top film might have missed expectations, there was a lot of strength further down the list. The overall box office was down 5.8% from last weekend to $120 million, but that is still 10.7% higher than the same weekend last year. Meanwhile, year-to-date 2010 has made $3.19 billion and it is still 9.4% higher than last year's pace.
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April 18th, 2010
Another impressive hold from How to Train Your Dragon combined with a lacklustre opening for Kick-Ass to produce a second consecutive weekend where Sunday's estimates are too close to declare a weekend winner.
Paramount's estimate for Dragon is $20 million, while Lionsgate has Kick-Ass pegged at $19.75 million.
Lionsgate's second place position now may simply be because they've posted a more precise estimate.
Remarkably, there are three more movies within $5 million of top spot: Death at a Funeral opened with $17 million, which is just behind Date Night's second weekend $17.3 million (down just 31%), and Clash of the Titans did pretty well in its third weekend with an estimated $15.77 million.
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April 15th, 2010
A pair of new releases come out this week and almost all analysts expect them to finish one-two. There is some debate over which will take the top spot, with Kick-Ass holding a nominal but hardly insurmountable lead over Death at a Funeral. The same can be said when comparing Kick-Ass to 17 Again, which won the box office race last year. There's a chance that neither new release will be able to start faster than last year's champ, but there's also a chance that both will.
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April 14th, 2010
Clash of the Titans nearly doubled its reach over the weekend as it remained in top spot with $53.87 million on 6629 screens in 32 markets for a still early total of $120.95 million internationally and $231.18 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Russia with $11.82 million on 920 screens. That's a lot given the size of the market, but Russia has a history of rewarding fantasy films. In France it also opened in first place, earning $6.41 million on 576 screens, while in Germany it showed similar strength with $5.93 million on 628 screens. As far as holdovers were concerned, it remained in first place in South Korea with $4.11 million on 642 screens over the weekend for a total of $14.17 million after two. It also remained on top in the U.K. with $3.77 million on 468 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.56 million after two.
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April 12th, 2010
New releases opened a little on the lower end of expectations, but holdover performed admirably for the most part. There was a close race for the top spot this weekend. Overall, the box office pulled in $127 million, a 28% drop-off from last weekend. However, last weekend was a holiday weekend and so that's not that surprising. Box office was also down 4.6% from last year, but last year this was Easter weekend, so the decline is acceptable. Year-to-date, 2010 maintains its 10% growth over 2009 at $3.03 billion to $2.76 billion.
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April 11th, 2010
A strong opening for Date Night, a respectable drop-off for Clash of the Titans and a resurgent How to Train Your Dragon has produced a virtual three-way tie at the top of the chart this weekend, based on studio's Sunday estimates.
Things are so close, in fact, that each movie looks like it will claim top spot on one day of the weekend.
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April 8th, 2010
There could be quite a battle for top spot at the box office this weekend. It all depends on how fast Date Night can start, as well as how far Clash of the Titans will fall. There was a similar dynamic this time last year when the newcomer, Hannah Montana, was able to come away with a relatively comfortable win over the holdover, Fast & Furious. This time around, I think it will be a closer race, while overall the box office appears to be a little weaker.
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April 7th, 2010
Clash of the Titans started its international run in first place with $41.14 million on 3458 screens in 17 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $45.96 million. This includes first place openings in a number of major markets, led by the U.K. where it opened with $8.68 million on 446 screens. In Australia, the film debuted with $5.90 million on 351 screens. In Spain it managed $5.52 million on 544 screens over the weekend and $8.53 million, including midweek numbers.
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April 7th, 2010
The winners of our Feel the Burn contest were determined and they are...
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April 6th, 2010
Not only did Clash of the Titans top the overall box office chart, it also led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $16,213. Breaking Upwards was right behind with $15,467 in one theater. Why Did I Get Married Too? was the only other film in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,591.
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April 6th, 2010
Easter weekend resulted in records being broken as Clash of the Titans became the biggest Easter opener of all time. The strength of that film and others in the top five helped the box office pull in $177 million overall. That's 38% more than last weekend and 14% more than the same weekend last year. 2010 has now pulled in $2.83 billion, a 10% advantage when compared to 2009's pace. Double-digit growth is amazing and if it can keep this pace up, we could be in for an amazing ride this summer.
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April 4th, 2010
Clash of the Titans continued the domination of 3-D movies at the box office this year with an impressive $61.4 million opening weekend, according to Warner Bros.' estimate released on Sunday.
Among other things, that's by far the biggest opening weekend over Easter, topping the $40.2 million earned by Scary Movie 4 in 2006.
3-D movies have now topped the chart for ten out of the first fourteen weeks of 2010.
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April 1st, 2010
It's the start of a new month and many are predicting that we will get off to a record start. The big release of the week is Clash of the Titans and its only competition is Fast & Furious, which opened with nearly $71 million this time last year. Will this movie be able to meet or exceed that figure? We shall soon find out.
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April 1st, 2010
March was a mixed month, with only three films surpassing expectations.
On the other hand, Alice in Wonderland will beat expectations by more than $200 million, so it alone makes up for a lot of the disappointing films.
On a more troubling note, the final big release, How to Train Your Dragon didn't get off to as fast a start as I would have liked, which could affect the box office going forward. Last year April got off to a fast start and that should happen this month as well. It better, as the quality of films quickly declines as the prospect of May blockbusters begins to loom large on the horizon.
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March 25th, 2010
April starts next weekend with the launch of Clash of the Titans, among other films. It's the widest release of the week as well as the most likely number one film... and it's our target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Clash of the Titans.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of 7th Heaven: Season Ten on DVD, as well as Fame Dance Workout on DVD.
Additionally, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Walker, Texas Ranger: Season Seven on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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July 5th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Appaloosa, Bad Lieutenant, Night at the Museum 2, and more!
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December 20th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Four Christmases, My Sister's Keeper, Quarantined, and more!
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December 18th, 2007
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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