2015 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Nominations

December 10th, 2015

The Golden Globes nominations were announced this morning and we are already beginning to see a trend for this year's Awards Season. For the most part, the same films are coming up over and over again. Carol led the way with five awards, while there was a three-way tie for second place with The Big Short, The Revenant and Steve Jobs each picking up four. More...

2015 Awards Season: SAG Nominations

December 9th, 2015

The Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced today and there are at least a few surprises to talk about. Trumbo led the way with three nominations, but there were six films with two nods apiece. Six!

More...

2015 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part I

November 27th, 2015

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will tackle first run releases, as well as franchise box sets. I'm going to try to keep it to a dozen or so releases, as these columns are notorious for getting out of hand. Also, while there were a record number of $1 billion box office hits, there were not as many first run releases that earned stellar reviews this year. More...

Home Market Numbers: Ultron's Reign Continues

November 7th, 2015

It was the first full week for The Avengers: Age of Ultron on the home market and it topped the new releases for October 6th, 2015 and earned first place on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for October 11th. Over the week, the film sold 1.02 million units and generated $18.02 million for the week for sales of 2.62 million units / $47.21 million after nine days of release. By comparison, Furious 7 generated $47.05 million, not during its first two weeks, but since its release nearly a month ago. It is already in the top ten for the year and it should climb into the top five shortly. More...

Home Market Numbers: Age Opens Well, but Not Quite the Ultimate Opening

October 21st, 2015

As expected, The Avengers: Age of Ultron led the September 29th new releases earning an easy first place on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for October 4th. It sold 1.60 million units and generated $29.35 million in revenue. It also had an opening week Blu-ray share of 69%. That's simply fantastic. However, it wasn't the best first-week opening we've seen this fall, as it fell just behind Furious 7. On the other hand, Age of Ultron was a Friday release, so it had a shorter opening week. Next week we will compare the running tallies of the two films and that will likely give us a much better picture of where these two films will end up. More...

Home Market Numbers: Pitch's Opening is Good, but Not Perfect

October 14th, 2015

Pitch Perfect 2 led the new releases for September 22nd and earned first place on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for September 27th. The film sold 974,000 units / $16.76 million during its first week of release, 55% of which was sold on Blu-ray. That's really impressive for this type of film. On the other hand, overall sales were 13% lower than the original film opened with. Additionally, the franchise box set earned fifth place with 48,000 units / $1.37 million. More...

Home Market Numbers: Furious 7 has Mellow Start on the Home Market

October 10th, 2015

Six new releases from the week of September 15th reached the top 30 on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for September 20th. This includes four in the top five and a new number one. Furious 7 earned first place with 1.87 million units / $31.89 million on the single release for an opening week Blu-ray share of 64%. Impressive. Meanwhile the second Fast and Furious Franchise Box Set released this year earned fifth place with 62,000 units / $3.46 million. While the film very nearly earned twice that of its nearest competitor, it was still almost exactly 40% lower than Fast and Furious 6 opened with. This decline is huge, but all packaged media is down. Some of the slack is going to VOD, but a lot of home market revenue now goes to subscription streaming services like Netflix or Crunchyroll. Personally, I like packaged media, I still buy CDs, so this is bad news for me. More...

Home Market Numbers: Age of Fury

October 6th, 2015

A lot of new releases from the week of September 8th reached the top 30 on the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart for September 13th, but none were able to overtake Mad Max: Fury Road. The film sold 342,000 units / $8.29 million over the week for a two-week total of 1.34 million units / $30.99 million. More...

Home Market Releases for September 15th, 2015

September 16th, 2015

This week's home market releases are insane, so I'm going to have to be a lot more judicious in pruning the list. If I were to include all releases that are big enough to include, if they were released during a slow week, there would be more than 100 releases on this week's list (including secondary Blu-rays, but not VOD releases). I have to pare that back to a more reasonable number. Why are there so many releases? Firstly, it is the beginning of the Christmas Shopping season and we have two monster hits on this week's list. Secondly, it is the last week before the fall season begins in earnest, so it is the last week for a lot of shows to come out on DVD before they are running into competition from the new season. It should come as no surprise that the best releases on this week's list are in the TV on DVD categories, including Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1 and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2. Both of which are co-winners of the Pick of the Week. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Furious 7

September 13th, 2015

Furious 7 is the latest in the Fast and the Furious franchise. The films started out okay, but critical reception fell quickly. It wasn't until Fast Five when the filmmakers realized they were making, in essence, live-action cartoons that they truly found their voices. This focus helped the box office, so much so that Furious 7 became just the third film to earn more than $1 billion internationally and just the fourth film to earn $1.5 billion worldwide. Is the quality up to the same level as its box office? The odds of that are nearly zero. However, is it at least as entertaining as its box office numbers would indicate? More...

Home Market Releases for August 25th, 2015

August 25th, 2015

TV on DVD releases dominate the home market this week even more than they did last week, including five of the six best-selling new releases on Amazon.com. Despite this, none of them are contenders for Pick of the Week, at least not in my opinion. The two best are Two Days, One Night and CitizenFour. I really should select one of those for Pick of the Week... but I'm going with Big Game on Blu-ray, because I'm a big goofball. More...

International Box Office: Minions Crowd Out the Competition

July 15th, 2015

Matching its stellar domestic debut, Minions rose to first place with $130.7 million on 9,606 screens in 56 markets at the international box office at the weekend for totals of $287.77 million internationally and $403.49 million worldwide. The film debuted in 30 new markets, earned first place in all of them, and broke the record for the biggest animated opening in 28 of them. This includes Russia, where it earned $15.12 million on 1,209 screens, which is the biggest opening in that market, animated or otherwise. Its biggest opening was in Mexico, where the film earned $15.72 million on 692 screens over the weekend. Meanwhile, it earned first place in France with a total opening of $12 million on 868 screens. It remains above Despicable Me 2's pace and this puts it on track to reach $1 billion worldwide. More...

International Box Office: Genisys Takes Over the World

July 9th, 2015

Terminator: Genisys expanded its market count to 47 over the weekend, which allowed it to rise to first place with $74.0 million for a two-week total of $85.5 million internationally. Its biggest new market was Russia, where it dominated with $11.17 million on 2,192 screens over the weekend. South Korea was close behind with $9.24 million on 1,113 screens for a total opening of $11.06 million. The film earned first place in Mexico with $4.73 million on 1,307 for a total opening of $6.18 million. It only managed second place in Brazil with $3.9 million on 1,012. In all four markets, the film set records for the franchise. It wasn't as lucky in the U.K., where it opened in second place with $5.83 million in 536 theaters. That's about on par with its opening here in the US. The goal for the film is to earn over $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide. If it can get there, then the film will likely break even, eventually. On the other hand, "breaking even" isn't enough to justify continuing the reboot trilogy. More...

International Box Office: Jurassic’s Worldwide Success

June 18th, 2015

Jurassic World completed the trifecta over the weekend. Not only did the film have the largest domestic debut, it broke the same record internationally and worldwide. The film pulled in $315.61 million on 19,612 screens in 66 markets for a worldwide opening weekend of $524.42 million. It broke the previous international and worldwide records that were held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II. It is also the first film to open with more than $500 million worldwide and it is just a matter of when, not if, it will top $1 billion globally. The only downside is the number of markets it has yet to open in, which is one. It debuts in Japan in August and it might be the biggest global hit of the year before it even gets there. More...

Jurassic World Opens Gates to $18.5 Million on Thursday Night

June 12th, 2015

To describe 2015 as a good year for Universal is something of an understatement. After Furious 7 became their most successful film of all time, and recently setting a record for the fastest to $2 billion internationally in a calendar year, the studio now has another blockbusting opening on their hands. Jurassic World opened last night at 7pm in North American theaters, and earned $18.5 million by the end of the day, the 14th-best late-night debut of all time, and on a par with films like The Dark Knight, which made exactly the same on its opening night back in 2008, and opening weekend record holder The Avengers, which posted $18.7 million in 2012. More...

Weekend Estimates: San Andreas Makes Solid Start

May 31st, 2015

In a Summer already littered with franchise films, it’s good to see something original top the charts, even if it is something as rote as a disaster movie based on an earthquake in California. The $53.2 million projected opening for San Andreas is something of a triumph for Dwayne Johnson, who carries the film as its sole lead, unlike his contributions to the Furious 7 ensemble. With only the domestic opening numbers in, Johnson has already moved up to third on our top current stars list, and will most likely pass Vin Diesel for second place before San Andreas’ run is over. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will May End on a Disastrous Note?

May 28th, 2015

The weekend after a holiday is usually a bad weekend at the box office. This time around, San Andreas is the clear front-runner while Aloha might struggle, even as counter-programming. San Andreas will earn more than $30 million over the weekend, no other film is on track to hitting $20 million. On the other hand, there could be six other films that earn $10 million or more over the weekend. By comparison, this weekend last year, Maleficent opened with nearly $70 million, while X-Men: Days of Future Past earned more than $30 million. There's no way the top of the chart will match that. Even with better depth, it is very unlikely 2015 will win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Ultron Still Ultimate Film on International Chart

May 28th, 2015

For the fifth week in a row, The Avengers: Age of Ultron remained in first place. This week it pulled in $45.8 million in 91 markets for month-long totals of $859.8 million internationally and $1.265 billion worldwide. The film made $53.98 million in China, but that was for the full week, giving it a running tally of $209.39 million after 13 days of release. At this pace, the film should have no trouble hitting $900 million internationally and $1.3 million worldwide, likely over the weekend. Meanwhile, it has yet to open in Japan and should made $50 million, more or less, in that market alone. Will it get to $1 billion internationally? It is still too soon to tell. It should at least be close. More...

International Box Office: Age of Billionaires

May 21st, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron remained in first place with ease earning $185.0 million in 91 markets for totals of $770.5 million internationally and $1.143 billion worldwide. The film is now the eighth biggest hit of all time, while two of the films above it are also from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We actually thought that Disney might have overpaid when they bought Marvel. We were wrong. In our defense, no one saw this coming. This past weekend, the film opened in first place in China with $84.84 million for a six-day opening of $154.63 million. China is already the biggest market for Age of Ultron's international run, and it only took four days to get there. Up next for the film is Japan, but the film doesn't open there till July. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Perfection, Times Two

May 19th, 2015

The overall box office was a little stronger than expected, including the number one film. Pitch Perfect 2 did something very few sequels do. It opened with more during its first weekend than its predecessor made in total. Mad Max: Fury Road also opened with more than Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome earned in total, but it has 30 years of inflation and population growth of roughly 33% to help it out, so it is a less impressive feat. Because both wide releases were so strong, the overall box office grew by 40% from last weekend to $184 million. This was also 3.4% higher than the same weekend last year, which allowed 2015 to maintain its lead over 2014. At the moment, 2015 is ahead of 2014 by 3.2% or $120 million at $3.78 billion to $3.66 billion. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will We Have a Perfect Opening, or Will the Box Office Be Mad?

May 14th, 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2 both open wide this week. It is normally not a good idea to have two films competing for limited box office dollars, but these two films have divergent enough target audiences that it is unlikely that they will cannibalize each other too much. The Avengers: Age of Ultron will also still do well this weekend and help the overall box office do well. This weekend last year, Godzilla led the way with $93 million during its opening weekend. Neither Mad Max: Fury Road nor Pitch Perfect 2 will earn that much this weekend; however, they should earn more than that combined. Additionally, Age of Ultron should earn more than last year's second place film, Neighbors, and this depth could give 2015 the win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Age Completes Threepeat, Tops $500 million

May 13th, 2015

It was a milestone weekend for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, as it remained in first place on the international chart with $68 million in 90 markets over the weekend for totals of $562 million internationally and $875 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, although it did open in China on Tuesday earning $33.9 million during its opening day. We will deal with that next week. Currently, the film's biggest market is South Korea, where it has pulled in $72.53 million, including $6.29 million on 1,295 screens over the weekend. I can't see that lead lasting more than a couple more days, not with the opening we saw in China. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Ultron Runs Away from Hot Pursuit

May 12th, 2015

As expected, The Avengers: Age of Ultron earned first place and Hot Pursuit earned second place. Unfortunately, they missed expectations in terms of raw numbers. They missed expectations so much that the box office fell 44% from last weekend to $131 million. Worse still, this is down 4.1% from the same weekend last year. 2015 still has a lead over 2014 by a margin of 4.6% at $3.57 billion to $3.41 billion. Unfortunately, I think this lead will start to slip this week. More...

International Box Office: Ultron Still the Ultimate Film at the Box Office

May 8th, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron remained in top spot on the international chart with $168.8 million in 88 markets over the weekend for totals of $439.8 million internationally and $631.1 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Mexico with $18.89 million over the weekend for a total opening of $25.5 million. The first film opened with $17.44 million, but it opened on a Friday, so it is a little harder to directly compare the two debuts. Age of Ultron did break the five-day opening record, so the studio has to be happy. It also broke the all-time opening record in Ecuador with $2.08 million on 122 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.73 million. It was strong, but not record-breaking, in Thailand, where it earned $3.98 million on 468 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $4.43 million. The same could be said of its openings in Spain ($4.84 million on 905 screens) and Peru ($3.16 million on 407). On the other hand, it opened in second place in Slovenia with $44,000 on 21 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $60,000. It was beat by The SpongBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water's sophomore stint there. I don't know what this means about the market and their opinion of Marvel vs. Sponges, but it is certainly an interesting bit of information. More...

Weekend Predictions: New Release in Hot Pursuit of Ultron

May 7th, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will continue to lead the way at the box office this weekend, but Hot Pursuit hopes to at least put in a good showing as counter-programming. Its reviews suggest that will be an uphill battle. Additionally, Age of Ultron will probably suffer a pretty big drop when compared to last week, because it is a comic book movie, its a sequel and its reviews are lower than its predecessor's were. This weekend last year, Neighbors opened with close to $50 million. Age of Ultron will earn more than that. It could earn more than Neighbors and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 made combined, while Hot Pursuit will make twice what the two counter-programming releases made last year. 2015 should come away with an easy win. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Ultron has Disappointing Opening?

May 5th, 2015

That question mark in the headline isn't a mistake, as some actually consider The Avengers: Age of Ultron's opening a disappointment, but I don't think that's fair. Sure, it opened below expectations, but it still managed more than $190 million, which is the second-biggest opening of all time. Some still consider this a disappointing opening, because the biggest opening film of all time was the original The Avengers. Second biggest opening weekend of all time and it is still considered a disappointment by some. We are living in a weird world. Overall, the box office was $233 million, which was 139% more than last weekend. It was also 51% more than the same weekend last year. Growth like this usually only happens when there is a misalignment in holidays, but it makes sense when you compare the openings of Age of Ultron and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 2015's lead over 2014 nearly doubled over the weekend to $110 million at $3.38 billion to $3.28 billion. A 3.3% lead is not amazing, but it is enough that the industry should be more than happy. More...

Weekend Predictions: Ultron vs. Loki

May 1st, 2015

The summer blockbuster season starts in earnest this weekend with the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film will open in first place, obviously, but the real question is whether or not it will top its predecessor. The first film opened with just over $207 million, which remains the record for an opening weekend. There is a better than 50/50 chance that the record will fall this weekend. If it doesn’t, you can expect a lot of film journalists writing stories about the end of the “Age of Marvel” / “Age of Super Heroes.” I have a funny feeling many of them are already written in anticipation of this possibility. The rest of the top five will be mostly an afterthought. This weekend last year, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened with $91.61 million over the weekend. Age of Ultron should make more than that opening day. 2015 is going to win the year-over-year comparison with ease. More...

International Box Office: The Age of Ultron is Upon Us

April 30th, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron got its international run underway a week before its domestic debut and it was an explosive start, with the film earning $200.2 million in 44 markets. These 44 markets represent about 55% of the total international marketplace, while the $200.2 million represents a 44% increase over the first film's debut in those markets. The biggest weekend result came in the U.K. where it pulled in $27.84 million on 583 screens. In South Korea, the film's total opening was $27.97 million on 1,876 screens with $23.05 million of that coming over the weekend. Its U.K. opening was a record for the month of April and the biggest opening of the year so far, but it was less than 10% more than its predecessor's debut there. On the other hand, it more than doubled the original's debut in South Korea. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Completes Sweep

April 27th, 2015

As expected, Furious 7 completed the sweep winning every single weekend in April. Thankfully, every film in the top five matched or exceeded predictions, including The Age of Adaline, which had a solid third place opening. However, the overall box office still fell 18% from last weekend to just $97 million. This was also 16% lower than the same weekend last year. 2015 is still ahead of 2014 by a margin of 2.3% at $3.13 billion to $3.06 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: One Last Furious Weekend

April 26th, 2015

Furious 7 will once more hold on to the title of top movie at the box office this weekend, becoming the first film since Guardians of the Galaxy to do so for four weekends, and the first since The Hunger Games to be number one for four straight weeks. Furious 7 will also become this weekend only the third title, after Avatar and Titanic, to hit $1 billion in international box office earnings. Universal is estimating an international total of $1.001 billion, including $323 million in China—an all-time record for that territory. More...

Weekend Predictions: Is the Age of Furious 7 Over?

April 23rd, 2015

The Age of Adaline is the only true wide release this week, and that could give it a boost at the box office. However, I seriously doubt that will give it a large enough boost to top Furious 7, which is looking to sweep the month of April. There is one other new release, Little Boy, that has a shot at the top ten. Finally, Ex Machina is expanding “nationwide.” I don't have a theater count for the film, but many think it will be truly wide, which would give it a shot at the top five. The Other Woman opened in first place this weekend last year, earning nearly $25 million. There’s no chance any film will match that figure this year. The top two films combined might not match that figure this year, so April will end on a losing note in the year-over-year comparison. That’s disappointing, but we will make up for the loss next week. More...

International Box Office: Furious has Billion Dollar Run

April 22nd, 2015

Furious 7 again dominated the weekend international box office chart earning $166.9 million on 17,834 screens in 67 markets for totals of $857.86 million internationally and $1.152 billion worldwide. This is the first film from Universal to reach $1 billion during its initial run (Jurassic Park got there during its 3D re-release). After opening in China last Sunday, the film made $186.60 million for the week giving it an eight-day total of $250.02 million there. It got to that milestone faster than any film and it is just $70 million behind Age of Extinction in that market. This is simply a stunning result. On the other hand, the film only managed third place in Japan with $6.2 million. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office Falls, but Furious Still Fast

April 21st, 2015

The top three films all missed expectations this past weekend, which suggests people are starting to become excited about The Avengers: Age of Ultron over anything in theaters at the moment. Furious 7 still won the race on the weekend chart and will top $300 million shortly. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2's and Unfriended's openings were fine, but nothing more. Overall, the box office fell 8.9% from last weekend down to $120 million. Compared to last year, the box office was 10% lower. Year-to-date, 2015 is still ahead of 2014 with the current margin being 2.3% at just under $3.00 billion to $2.93 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Tops $1 Billion Worldwide

April 19th, 2015

Furious 7 continues its cruise into the record books this weekend with a third straight weekend at number one domestically, an international weekend estimated at $167.9 million (including $93.3 million in China to take it to $250 million there), and a worldwide total estimated at $1.153 billion as of the end of Sunday. It’s now the biggest film in Universal’s history, and their second after Jurassic Park to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The film’s 51% decline in its third weekend in the domestic market suggests it’s running out of steam and will probably end with around $330 million here. It still has one weekend to cash in though, before Avengers: Age of Ultron will start on its own march to $1 billion on May 1. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Furious be Friendly to the New Releases?

April 16th, 2015

Furious 7 could be knocked out of top spot on the box office chart this weekend, as there are three wide releases coming out this week. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 appears to be the biggest and many think it will earn first place. However, its reviews are currently zero percent positive. Unfriended's reviews are still in the overall positive area, but I'm not sure how long that will last, as they've fallen quite a bit from earlier in the week. The only film with overwhelming positive reviews is Monkey Kingdom, which is opening in barely more than 2,000 theaters. This weekend last year, there were four wide releases and overall there were three films that earned $20 million or more. I think this weekend we could match that and that could give 2015 the victory in the year-over-year comparison. It could be close, on the other hand. More...

International Box Office: Furious Eight... Hundred Million

April 16th, 2015

Furious 7 remained just as dominant at the international box office this weekend as it did in its opening weekend earning $198.7 million in 66 markets for totals of $550.47 million internationally and $802.0 million worldwide. It became the first film in the franchise and just the 46th film overall to crack the $800 million market worldwide. This past weekend, the film earned first place in China with $63.24 million in just one day. The film opened on Sunday there, with a record opening day for that market, which was close to its opening day domestic box office. The film opened in first place in Russia with $15.86 million on 1,184 screens. At this pace, the film will top $1 billion over the weekend and I can't imagine the studio won't try to make an eighth installment. More...

Per Theater Chart: Machina Saves Box Office

April 15th, 2015

Ex Machina's opening weekend was surprisingly potent earning an average of $59,316 in four theaters. This is the biggest per theater average for a film that opened in 2015. I was not expecting that. On the other hand, I was expecting Clouds of Sils Maria to do well, and it did, earning an average of $20,603 in three theaters. Furious 7 remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $14,815 in more than 4,000 theaters. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Races into Top Spot for the Year

April 14th, 2015

It didn't take long for for Furious 7 to become the biggest hit of the year; in fact, it took just five days to top Cinderella. Over the weekend, it became the first film released in 2015 to reach the $200 million milestone and thanks to a better than expected hold, reached $250 million as well. Home finished well back in second place, while The Longest Ride managed third place. Overall, the box office fell 42% from last weekend down to $131 million, which is 6.3% lower than the same weekend last year. Furious 7 topped Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Rio 2 and the other films of 2014 had better depth giving 2014 the win. 2015 is still ahead in the year-to-date comparison, up 4.1% at $2.85 billion to $2.74 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Easily Top Again, Passes $250 Million

April 12th, 2015

With little in the way of direct competition, Furious 7 will maintain a comfortable lead at the box office this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. Universal is projecting a $60.6 million weekend, for a total of $252.5 million after 10 days in release. That will make the film the 9th-fastest to the $250 million mark (see current list here). With the film’s international box office total rushing to $548 million so far, it will have topped $800 million globally by the end of the weekend, moving it past Fifty Shades of Grey to become, by a healthy margin, the top-grossing movie worldwide in 2015. More...

Weekend Predictions: Longest Ride is a Long Shot for Top Spot

April 9th, 2015

There's only one wide release this week, The Longest Ride, but it has an approximately zero percent chance of earning first place. Unless Furious 7 falls about 80% and The Longest Ride beats expectations, it will be no where near top spot. In fact, The Longest Ride likely won't be able to score second place, finishing behind Home. As for this weekend last year, there were three wide releases, led by Rio 2, which earned second place with $39.33 million. The Longest Ride might not make that much in total. On the other hand, the sophomore stint for Furious 7 will top the sophomore stint for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 2015 will be stronger on top, but that might not be enough to win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Furious Accelerates Universal to $1 Billion

April 9th, 2015

Furious 7 dominated the international chart with $245.05 million on 10,683 screens in 63 markets for a worldwide opening of $392.22 million. Unless the film has terrible legs, it should get to $1 billion. Speaking of $1 billion, Universal announced they reached $1 billion worldwide for the year in the earliest ever time for the studio. The previous record was May 31st, which was set in 2013. So not only did they beat the record, they crushed it. The film's best individual market was Mexico, where it earned $21.5 million on 685 screens. It also cracked $15 million in the U.K. ($18.7 million on 537); Germany ($15.9 million on 650). Additionally, the film topped $10 million in France ($11.4 million on 707); Brazil ($11.4 million on 551); Australia ($11.3 million on 255); Taiwan ($10.3 million on 80). This is an incredible run so far and could be a good omen for the upcoming summer blockbuster season. More...

Contest: Think Faster: Winning Announcement

April 8th, 2015

The winners of our Think Faster contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Furious 7 opening weekend were... More...

Per Theater Chart: Furious Laps the Competition

April 7th, 2015

The overall box office leader, Furious 7, was also the leader on the per theater chart earning an average of $36,763. That's the third best average for a 2015 release, with While We're Young still earning top spot on that chart. Speaking of While We're Young, it was the only other film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $14,226 in 34 theaters. Sometime this weekend, it will have reached its first major milestone. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Seven Does Furious Business

April 7th, 2015

As expected, Furious 7 easily won the race for top spot on the weekend box office chart. However, it did so in an unexpectedly robust way, destroying a number of records along the way. This helped the overall box office grow 49% from last weekend to $224 million. More importantly, the overall box office was 34% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2015 is now 3.1% above 2014's pace at $2.64 billion to $2.56 billion. Assuming Furious 7 has any legs at all, this lead will continue to grow next weekend. More...

Weekend Estimates: Furious 7 Blasts Off with $143.6 Million Weekend

April 5th, 2015

After a massive $67.3 million on Friday, all eyes were on a $150 million weekend for Furious 7. It doesn’t look as though that is to be, with Universal projecting a weekend mark of $143,623,480 on Sunday morning. That’s the biggest April weekend of all time, and the biggest weekend outside the Summer or Thanksgiving holidays. It’s also the ninth-biggest weekend of all time, and, needless to say, franchise record. (Click here for a full list of records.) The studio will be delighted at its biggest weekend ever, and the industry as a whole will be looking forward to a lucrative Summer season with some optimism. More...

Furious 7’s Record-Breaking Box Office

April 5th, 2015

Here’s a round-up of the records broken by Furious 7 this weekend:

- Biggest weekend in April ever
- Biggest, 2nd-biggest and 8th-biggest days in April
- Biggest weekend of 2015 to date and biggest opening weekend since The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in November, 2013.
- 9th-biggest weekend of all time
- 9th-biggest opening weekend of all time
- 9th-best Friday at the box office
- 9th-fastest film to $100 million in total box office (to be confirmed)
- 11th-biggest single day of all time
- Equal 55th-widest opening

- Full franchise history More...

Furious 7 Opens with Record $67.3 Million on Friday

April 4th, 2015

Riding a wave of solid reviews and audience approval, Universal will report an estimated $67.3 million at the box office on Friday for Furious 7, based on early tallies. That includes $15.8 million from early shows on Thursday evening, making Friday itself a $50 million day for the film. If the $67.3 million figure holds, it will be the 11th-biggest day reported by a studio, and land just marginally ahead of The Hunger Games’ $67.26 million as the biggest day outside of the Summer and Thanksgiving holidays. More...

Contest: Long Time Coming

April 3rd, 2015

Next week there is only one wide release, The Longest Ride, but there's a good chance it will be stuck in second place behind Furious 7. Because there is only one wide release, there is only only one choice for 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 The Longest Ride.

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 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies on Blu-ray Combo Pack. 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 Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed DVD or Blu-ray. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Weekend Predictions: Lucky Number Seven

April 3rd, 2015

There's only one wide release this week, but it is expected to be a record-breaking debut. Furious 7 is widely expected to become the first film of 2015 to crack $100 million during its opening weekend. This would also give it the record for biggest April opening, topping the current record-owner, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Additionally, Home should do well in a counter-programming role and that will also help the box office. This weekend last year was the weekend The Winter Soldier set the April record. Since nearly everyone thinks that record will fall and this year is expected to have better depth, 2015 should win in the year-over-year comparison with relative ease. More...

2015 Preview: April

April 1st, 2015

March ended on a good note and helped 2015 maintain its lead over 2014 thanks to a trio of $100 million movies: Cinderella, Insurgent, and Home. April isn't as strong as far as depth goes, as only Furious 7 is expected to come close to $100 million at the box office. On the positive side, it could earn $100 million during its opening weekend, becoming the fastest starting film of the year, so far. On the negative side, it is expected to earn more than double the rest of the films' combined box office totals. Even worse, last April, there were two $100 million hits, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as two others that came close. There's no way April 2015 is going to live up to April 2014. I just hope the collapse isn't so bad that 2015 loses its lead over 2014 completely. More...

Contest: Think Faster

March 27th, 2015

Next week there is only one wide release, Furious 7, so it is the only choice for 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 Furious 7.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize composed of a couple of previously reviewed DVDs. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win another Frankenprize. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Trailer: Furious 7

February 19th, 2015

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Date	Rank	Gross	% Change	Screens	Per Screen	Total Gross	Week
2015/04/03	1	$3,484,642		520	$6,701	$3,484,642	1
2015/04/10	1	$2,166,507	-38%	533	$4,065	$7,564,510	2
2015/04/17	1	$1,058,249	-51%	529	$2,000	$9,378,887	3
2015/04/24	1	$565,739	-47%	466	$1,214	$10,641,486	4
2015/05/01	2	$358,837	-37%	292	$1,229	$11,428,463	5
2015/05/08	3	$139,559	-61%	208	$671	$11,746,626	6
2015/05/15	6	$58,705	-58%	109	$539	$12,382,182	7
2015/05/22	5	$12,337	-79%	37	$333	$12,369,594	8
2015/05/29	6	$1,991	-84%	8	$249	$12,074,151	9
2015/06/05	7	$495	-75%	3	$165	$12,017,475	10
2015/06/12	10	$36	-93%	1	$36	$11,805,845	11
2015/06/19	11	$167	+364%	1	$167	$11,915,507	12

Territory	Release Date	Opening Weekend	Opening Weekend Screens	Maximum Screens	Theatrical Engagements	Total Box Office	Report Date
Argentina	4/2/2015	$9,263,300	162	164	1014	$25,899,931	7/22/2015
Australia	4/2/2015	$11,211,074	507	507	2579	$29,269,555	5/15/2023
Austria	4/1/2015	$2,388,645	73	84	684	$5,595,975	7/16/2015
Azerbaijan	4/9/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Belgium	4/1/2015	$2,042,936	105	105	809	$6,551,424	7/22/2015
Bolivia	4/1/2015	$0	0	34	113	$2,082,546	12/30/2018
Brazil	4/2/2015	$12,022,618	1046	1208	5951	$46,522,796	7/28/2015
Bulgaria	4/3/2015	$411,260	0	72	229	$1,537,300	12/30/2018
Cambodia	4/13/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Chile	4/2/2015	$2,855,291	54	55	420	$9,430,590	12/20/2018
China	4/11/2015	$58,390,000	86659	86659	261326	$390,870,000	9/3/2018
Colombia	4/2/2015	$5,175,877	180	180	1207	$16,390,427	12/20/2018
Croatia	4/2/2015	$205,996	29	29	137	$600,305	12/30/2018
Cyprus	4/3/2015	$0	0	0	0	$498,482	7/22/2015
Czech Republic	4/2/2015	$606,927	120	120	448	$1,561,190	12/30/2018
Denmark	4/2/2015	$1,933,532	78	78	519	$5,021,532	8/11/2015
Ecuador	4/2/2015	$1,638,082	82	82	190	$6,157,068	12/30/2018
Egypt	4/1/2015	$0	0	0	0	$2,103,636	12/30/2018
Estonia	4/3/2015	$0	0	8	16	$586,172	5/27/2015
Finland	4/3/2015	$1,038,015	107	107	554	$2,604,774	7/22/2015
France	4/1/2015	$12,154,792	337	731	4436	$34,658,971	7/22/2015
Georgia	4/2/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Germany	4/1/2015	$16,140,718	677	723	5828	$40,533,446	12/17/2015
Greece	4/2/2015	$982,189	129	129	337	$2,438,638	7/16/2015
Hong Kong	4/2/2015	$2,763,104	49	49	274	$8,512,194	7/22/2015
Hungary	4/2/2015	$653,187	63	68	526	$1,998,552	12/30/2018
Iceland	4/3/2015	$55,779	11	11	38	$267,829	12/30/2018
India	4/2/2015	$8,702,560	2867	2867	3621	$24,814,595	7/23/2015
Indonesia	4/1/2015	$6,627,176	596	596	1703	$16,768,758	12/30/2018
Iraq	4/2/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Ireland	4/3/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Israel	4/2/2015	$1,608,325	32	42	264	$5,823,235	12/30/2018
Italy	4/2/2015	$7,846,073	862	862	2950	$20,549,532	7/23/2015
Japan	4/17/2015	$6,000,000	0	649	3565	$28,225,032	6/9/2015
Kazakhstan	4/9/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Kenya	4/3/2015	$0	0	11	16	$1,485,877	12/30/2018
Latvia	4/3/2015	$0	0	11	36	$495,263	12/30/2018
Lebanon	4/2/2015	$618,080	17	19	100	$1,773,246	12/30/2018
Lithuania	4/3/2015	$164,238	14	96	289	$583,056	7/16/2015
Macedonia	4/2/2015	$0	0	0	0	$105,600	12/30/2018
Malaysia	4/2/2015	$7,252,471	131	131	801	$15,940,805	7/23/2015
Mexico	4/2/2015	$21,730,225	685	685	2052	$51,794,201	7/23/2015
Middle East Region	4/2/2015	$0	0	0	0	$8,942,667	7/16/2015
Mongolia	4/10/2015	$0	0	4	15	$226,101	12/30/2018
Netherlands	4/2/2015	$2,529,050	109	114	1021	$9,178,479	7/23/2015
New Zealand	4/2/2015	$2,145,839	80	85	586	$5,951,012	6/8/2021
North America	4/3/2015	$147,187,040	4,004	4,022	27,789	$353,007,020	1/18/2017
Norway	4/3/2015	$2,439,622	123	131	566	$5,793,348	7/23/2015
Pakistan	4/3/2015	$0	0	0	0	$0
Panama	4/2/2015	$4,417,675	13	13	79	$13,061,652	12/30/2018
Paraguay	4/2/2015	$0	0	0	0	$1,007,416	12/30/2018
Peru	4/1/2015	$3,756,525	78	85	442	$7,222,713	12/30/2018
Philippines	4/4/2015	$2,209,286	145	146	571	$9,967,561	12/30/2018
Poland	4/10/2015	$2,087,178	199	210	851	$5,132,369	12/30/2018
Portugal	4/2/2015	$1,582,411	71	71	589	$5,678,193	8/20/2019
Romania	4/3/2015	$908,676	75	75	412	$2,817,900	12/30/2018
Russia (CIS)	4/9/2015	$1,649,841	1183	1190	4013	$33,286,526	12/30/2018
Serbia and Montenegro	4/2/2015	$0	0	18	53	$382,629	12/30/2018
Singapore	4/2/2015	$3,118,738	107	107	324	$6,813,705	7/27/2015
Slovakia	4/2/2015	$294,899	50	50	173	$777,856	7/16/2015
Slovenia	4/2/2015	$230,701	13	13	136	$716,288	6/26/2015
South Africa	4/3/2015	$1,655,002	131	133	867	$7,439,944	7/16/2015
South Korea	4/1/2015	$8,868,705	332	334	838	$24,836,838	7/23/2015
Spain	4/2/2015	$6,608,910	359	359	2558	$14,868,452	11/28/2018
Sweden	4/3/2015	$2,429,767	145	145	641	$5,922,966	7/27/2015
Switzerland	4/1/2015	$3,582,875	124	133	712	$8,343,558	8/4/2015
Taiwan	4/3/2015	$10,580,332	165	165	819	$26,440,170	7/27/2015
Thailand	4/1/2015	$4,632,489	181	181	780	$12,057,826	7/27/2015
Trinidad	4/1/2015	$0	0	0	0	$2,266,659	12/30/2018
Turkey	4/3/2015	$3,484,642	520	533	2707	$12,225,558	12/30/2018
Ukraine	4/2/2015	$861,684	249	249	673	$2,053,139	12/30/2018
United Arab Emirates	4/2/2015	$4,800,000	0	971	1325	$10,826,918	12/30/2018
United Kingdom	4/3/2015	$19,040,920	537	540	3585	$57,430,075	7/27/2015
Uruguay	4/2/2015	$449,769	40	40	186	$1,371,082	12/30/2018
Venezuela	4/2/2015	$6,392,512	78	78	385	$39,076,425	7/27/2015
Vietnam	4/3/2015	$0	0	187	489	$6,767,662	12/30/2018
Rest of World						$43,124
Worldwide Total						$1,511,986,364	5/15/2023