Home Market Releases for March 3rd, 2020

March 5th, 2020

It’s a terrible week on the home market with almost no prime new releases. In fact, if there weren’t a couple of late screeners to talk about and several secondary VOD titles, the main list would be very short. The week is so weak that Jojo Rabbit is really the only choice for Pick of the Week, even though it came out about a month ago. More...

Theater Averages: 1917 Helps 2019 End on a Strong Note

January 2nd, 2020

Only four limited release announced box office numbers for the final weekend of 2019, but all four were in the $10,000 club. 1917 led the way with an average of $52,383 in 11 theaters. That was over the three-day weekend. It earned over $1 million during its five-day debut. Just Mercy was well back with an estimated average of $27,250 in four theaters over the three-day weekend. Ip Man: The Finale will probably turn out to be poorly named, because the movie earned over $1 million over the three-day weekend and earned an average of $20,850. I’m sure someone is trying to figure out how to continue the franchise, despite the Finale part of the name. Clemency was next with an average of $17,682 in two theaters. The final film in the $10,000 club was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which earned an average of $16,430 during its second weekend of release. More...

Theater Averages: Uncut Won’t Be an Undiscovered Gem

December 19th, 2019

Uncut Gems led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $107,448 in five theaters. The only film to earn a better average this year was Parasite; however, while that film earned an average of $131,072 during its opening weekend, it was playing in only three theaters, so Uncut Gems arguably has the better opening. Bombshell also had an explosive opening with an average of $79,789 in four theaters. The number one film of the weekend, Jumanji: The Next Level, was next with an average of $14,017. The final film in the $10,000 club was A Hidden Life with an average of $10,077 in five theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Portrait has a Fiery Start

December 12th, 2019

Portrait of a Lady on Fire was the only new release to make an impart on the per theater chart earning an average of $33,672 in two theaters. If we combine this with its early Awards Season success, we can confidently predict a long run in theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was 63 Up with an average of $10,313 in two theaters. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Post-holiday Blues Gets to Frozen II

December 10th, 2019

As expected, the box office collapsed this week, as it always does in a post-holiday weekend. Despite the best efforts of Frozen II and Knives Out, the overall weekend box office fell 50% to $89 million. This is 5.4% higher than the same weekend last year and that’s the more important figure. Year-to-date, 2019 closed ground with 2018, albeit by a tiny margin and this year is still behind last year by 5.9% or $630 million at $10.16 billion to $10.80 billion. It has been a long time since we’ve seen the box office decline by that high of a percentage in one year; however, 2019 is still on pace to be the second highest grossing year of all time and it still has higher ticket sales than 2017 had at this point, so I think we shouldn’t panic over this. More...

Weekend Estimates: Frozen Falls, Still Set to Top Predecessor

December 8th, 2019

Frozen II fell both faster than expected, and faster than projections based on Friday’s estimates. However, the film is still managing an estimated $34.67 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $337.59 million. This is enough to push it ahead of Joker and into seventh place on the yearly chart. If this holds up, then it will have an excellent shot at topping the first Frozen’s domestic total, even without the Christmas break coming up. Internationally, the film pulled in $90.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $582.1 million internationally and $919.7 million worldwide. It had no major market openings this weekend, but it is earning an estimated $800,000 in South Africa, which would make it the second biggest opening for an animated film there, behind only Minions. The film has become the biggest animated film in South Korea with $75.5 million. It as also topped its predecessor in Russia ($23.0 million) and Mexico ($21.1 million) and a lot of smaller markets. More...

Friday Estimates: Frozen Begins to Thaw, Playmobil Nowhere to be Found

December 7th, 2019

As expected, Frozen II earned first place on the Friday box office chart. However, the film fell further than anticipated, earning $7.84 million—off 77% from last Friday. That was a holiday, so obviously it will bounce back over the rest of the weekend, but projections have the film earning about $36 million compared to our $38 million prediction. This is close enough that I’m satisfied with the result and it is more than enough to keep it in wide release until after the new year. More...

Weekend Predictions: December Will Start on a Chilly Note

December 5th, 2019

The weekend after Thanksgiving is one of the worst weeks of the year to release a film wide. In fact, many years there are no wide releases. This year, Playmobil gets thrown to the wolves, or to the mercy of Frozen II, to be more specific. I can’t imagine it will survive the competition. In fact, most think the wide expansion of Dark Waters will beat it at the box office and that film isn’t expected to land in the top five. This weekend last year had no wide releases and Frozen II should earn more than last year’s top two films, Ralph Breaks the Internet and The Grinch, earned combined. December should get off to a fast start on the year-over-year competition and hopefully that’s a good omen going forward. More...

Theater Averages: Frozen Floats on Water

November 28th, 2019

Frozen II led the way on yet another chart, this time the theater average chart, earning an average of $29,339 during its opening weekend. Dark Waters was right behind with an average of $25,652 in four theaters, which does suggest at least some potential to expand. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot continues its impressive road show run earning an average of $16,140 in five theaters. Citizen K was the final film in the $10,000 club with an opening of $10,571 in its lone theater. More...

Weekend Estimates: Frozen II Sets Animation Records with $127 million

November 24th, 2019

It didn’t look like Frozen II would match our $125 million prediction based on Friday’s estimate, but if weekend estimates hold, it will did so with $127.0 million. This is not only the highest opening weekend for an Animated film in November, but anytime outside of summer. This greater-than-anticipated internal multiplier stronger suggests better legs overall. It is a family film opening just before Thanksgiving, so it was expected to have long legs regardless, but its reviews and its A minus from CinemaScore were merely good and not great. Add in the sequel effect and the film leg’s wouldn’t be nearly as stunning as the first Frozen’s legs were. However, after this result, I’m a lot more confident the film will still be at least a truly wide release come January, if not a saturation level release, as its predecessor was. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Shine a Light on Dark Releases

November 22nd, 2019

There are not a lot of limited releases on this week’s list, but a few are earning the buzz and reviews needed to find an audience in theaters. This includes Dark Waters, the biggest release of the week, as well as Varda by Agnès, which could become a breakout hit for a documentary. More...

Dark Waters Trailer

September 19th, 2019

Real-life drama starring Mark Ruffalo opens November 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...