March 14th, 2013
New releases did well on the Blu-ray sales chart for the week of January 27th, 2013. This includes End of Watch, which earned first place with 428,000 units / $9.41 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just a hair over 50%, which is really impressive for this type of release.
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March 5th, 2013
We had a new release on top of the Blu-ray sales chart for the week of January 20th, 2013. Taken 2 sold 838,000 units and generated $16.75 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 42%, which is good for the genre, but not great.
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March 5th, 2013
A couple new releases topped the DVD sales chart of the week of January 20th, but they were nowhere near each other in terms of sales. Taken 2 led the way with 1.17 million units / $19.82 million. This is substantially lower than the original's opening week; however, it instantly became the best selling DVD of 2013. Plus, it sold substantially more on Blu-ray than its predecessor did.
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March 2nd, 2013
New releases dominated the top five of the Blu-ray sales chart for the week of January 13th, 2003. Dredd led the way in terms of units with 184,000 units, but was second in terms of revenue with $3.68 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just 37%, which is weak for an action film like this.
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March 2nd, 2013
There were seven new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD Sales Chart, including four releases that reached the top five. Leading the way, at least in terms of units, was Dredd, which sold 320,000 units, while it generated $4.80 million. This is weak compared to its reviews, but great compared to its box office numbers.
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February 26th, 2013
It's a good week on the home market with not only one of the biggest films of the last year coming out, but also one of the best. The biggest is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2, which should be the best selling DVD and Blu-ray for the week, but it isn't a contender for Pick of the Week. For that honor, we go back a few weeks to Frankenweenie. The screener arrived late, but it was worth waiting for and the 3D Combo Pack, while a little pricey, is worth picking up. Also in contender for Pick of the Week is Rocko's Modern Life: The Complete Series.
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February 24th, 2013
New releases were a bit of a mess, as Christmas Day was a Tuesday, so there were a few releases that came out the following Monday. One of those releases, Looper, led the Blu-ray sales chart during the week of January 6th with 317,000 units / $6.66 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just 34%, which is lower than I was expecting.
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February 24th, 2013
Tim Burton is one of the most stylish directors around and while admittedly he sometimes lets the style get ahead of the story, he has still made many, many wonderful movies over the years. His latest is also one of his first. Way back in 1984, he made a short film called Frankenweenie. Last year, he remade the short as a feature-length stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie. The film struggled to find an audience, but was that because it didn't deserve an audience? Or has Tim Burton burned up too much of the good-will he generated earlier in his career.
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February 6th, 2013
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. Today we look at Best Animated Feature Film, which is surprisingly competitive this year, especially compared to most years. There is a Pixar film nominated, but it isn't the overwhelming favorite. In fact, all five films have a legitimate shot at winning, although there are some with better chances than others.
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February 5th, 2013
Given how bad the new releases were, it's no surprise none of them reached the top of the Blu-ray sales chart. (While Looper was awarded the Pick of the Week, it actually came out on the following Monday, while the sales week ends on Sunday, so the numbers will be included in next week's results.) The Dark Knight Rises returned to first place with 314,000 units / $7.65 million for the week giving it totals of 3.90 million units / $79.93 million. It is one of the best selling Blu-rays of all time and about 50% more than The Dark Knight's current running tally.
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January 10th, 2013
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions.
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January 7th, 2013
After two weeks of almost nothing worth talking about on the home market, there's plenty to talk about this week. ... Actually, to be totally honest, it is another slow week, it's just not painfully slow. (Also, I'm unwilling to pad the list like I had to do the last couple weeks.) Worse still, because the holiday just ended, a lot of the screeners that were supposed to arrive have not, including a few Pick of the Week contenders. Compliance, Dredd, and Frankenweenie are all contenders that are currently late, and I really don't like choosing a late screener. In the end, it was literally a coin toss between Archer: Season Three on DVD or Blu-ray and Red Dwarf: X on DVD or Blu-ray. And the coin said... Red Dwarf: X.
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January 6th, 2013
Producers Guild of America announced their nominations this week, including the three theatrical categories. There were a number of films on the list that have been mentioned time and time again this awards season, like Zero Dark Thirty, but there were also a few surprises.
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December 13th, 2012
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the same list of films that have been mentioned since the beginning of Awards Season were rewarded today. Lincoln led the way with seven nods, while Argo and Django Unchained were close behind with five.
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October 18th, 2012
After just two weeks of release, Taken 2 has already earned more internationally than the original did in total. Over the weekend, the sequel pulled in $45.09 million on 6,889 screens in 63 markets for a two-week total of $134.76 million, while its worldwide total rose to $220.89 million. The film had to settle for second place in Germany with $3.55 million on 437 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $3.88 million. It only managed fourth place in Italy with $1.26 million on 265. Its best market of the weekend was the U.K. with $6.01 million on 510 screens over the weekend for a total of $23.29 million after two. The film has very few markets left to open in, but it has already made enough to cover its production budget and likely a good chunk of its P&A budget. It will reach profitability before it reaches the home market.
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October 15th, 2012
It was another good week at the box office with just about every film in the top ten at least doing as well as expected. Granted, none of the new releases were monster hits, but the depth was very good with five films topping $10 million over the weekend. Taken 2 remained in first place, so it should come as no surprise that the box office was lower than last weekend; however, it only fell 8.6% to $130 million. This is 48% more than the same weekend last year, which is a huge boost. Year-to-date, 2012 expanded its lead to 3.8% at $8.42 billion to $8.11 billion. Just a few weeks ago, it looked like 2012 would fall below 2011's pace in the end, but now things are looking a lot more optimistic.
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October 8th, 2012
Taken 2 took the competition and went to work on them. It opened much, much better than its predecessor did, doubling its opening weekend haul. It also made nearly twice as much as Hotel Transylvania and easily more than last year's number one film, Real Steel. This helped the overall box office grow by 20% from last weekend to $142 million, which is nearly 50% higher than the same weekend last year. Finally there's a reason to celebrate the box office again. One win could have been a fluke, but two is officially a streak. Year-to-date, 2012 is ahead of 2011 by 3.2% at $8.24 billion to $7.99 billion. Granted, that's off its peak from earlier in the year, but I'm happy the bleeding has stopped.
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October 7th, 2012
After Hotel Transylvania's record-breaking September opening last week, Taken 2 will make its mark on the October record book this weekend, with Fox projecting a $50 million opening, most likely enough for a place in the top 3 October weekends. The film still has a shot at ousting Paranormal Activity 3 from the top of that list, although it would have to have a very strong Sunday to break the record. Regardless of that, we're looking at another up weekend and 2012 will pull further ahead of last year's pace.
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October 4th, 2012
This weekend, there are two wide releases making their debuts, Taken 2 and Frankenweenie. Plus a previous limited release is aiming for a spot in the top five, Pitch Perfect, and another limited release that could expand into the top ten, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's an all around busy weekend. Taken 2 should easily win the box office race earning more than the original, although it very likely won't have the same legs. More importantly, it should open with more than last year's number one film, Real Steel. The second best wide release should open better than Ides of March did, plus the holdovers this year are better than last year. Am I getting optimistic again? Yes. Keep in mind that I have had the optimism crushed a lot this year.
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October 1st, 2012
2012 continues its downward path. After a record-breaking spring, thanks to The Hunger Games, and a record-breaking start to the summer, thanks to The Avengers, the box office hasn't been able to maintain any real momentum. For most of the month, September was no better than August and now the year-over-year gains are just a little more than inflation. October will need to improve or 2012 will be in real trouble. Unfortunately, that might be tough. There's not a single film coming out in October that looks like it will be a guaranteed $100 million hit and there are only two films with a realistic chance, Taken 2 and Paranormal Activity 4. (There's also Cloud Atlas, which is a wild card. That movie could bomb or be the biggest hit of the month and I wouldn't be surprised either way.) There is a chance all three will get to the century mark, but there's a better chance none of them will. Last October, two films cracked $100 million: Paranormal Activity 3 and Puss in Boots, with the latter nearly reaching $150 million. I don't see any film coming close to matching that figure. On the other hand, last year there were six films that one could accurately describe as bombs. So while 2012 is weaker at the top, it could have better depth than 2011 did. Let's hope so, because we can't afford more bad news.
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September 28th, 2012
We are getting close to Halloween, so we have a couple of horror related prizes to give away this week. But before we get to the prizes, we have to figure out the target film. Taken 2 is one of only two films coming out in October that has a real shot at $100 million, plus it should be very front-loaded, so it is an easy pick for the target film in this week's box office prediction contest, no matter how much I want Frankenweenie to be the number one film next weekend. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Taken 2.
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 American Horror Story: Season One on Blu-ray.
Meanwhile, 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 Triangle 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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September 21st, 2012
The final weekend of September features three wide releases: Hotel Transylvania, Looper, and Won't Back Down. When it comes to the target film, I think we can dismiss Won't Back Down, as it is opening in the fewest theaters and has the least amount of buzz. Hotel Transylvania is opening in the most theaters, but early reviews are only mixed and the buzz isn't much louder than Frankenweenie, despite opening a week earlier. Looper is earning near perfect reviews so far and it has a lot of buzz, but it has a lot of internet buzz, which often fails to translate into ticket sales. I really, really, really want Looper to be a hit, but I'm afraid that is clouding my judgment. Even so, I think it will be the number one film next Friday and will just have enough to stay ahead of Hotel Transylvania. As such, I'm making it the 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 Looper.
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 Glee: Season Three on Blu-ray.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of In Time on Blu-ray. (It's the closest thing I had to a Time Travel film I had in the prize pool.)
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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September 19th, 2012
Resident Evil: Retribution opened with $6.1 million on IMAX worldwide, including $3 million domestically. This is a good result, but not a great result. As for a great result, it was announced that The Dark Knight Rises surpassed $100 million worldwide on IMAX screens. Up next for the super large format is Frankenweenie on the first weekend in October. It's stop-motion animation, so I don't think it will be a monster hit, but it should do rather well.
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March 14th, 2012
John Carter had a poor start in theaters, but its IMAX numbers were strong by comparison. Out of the $30.18 million it earned domestically, approximately $5.0 million came on 289 IMAX screens. It added approximately $4.5 million on 194 IMAX screens on the international scene. Additionally, with openings in Japan, China and other markets still ahead, it still has a lot of box office potential. Granted, this isn't enough to break even, but at least it was a hit in one regard.
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