February 22nd, 2015
The Blu-ray sales chart was dominated by two new releases. John Wick led the way with 301,000 units / $6.30 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 57%. The film was an action film with visual style, but not a ton of visual effects, so this is better than expected.
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February 14th, 2015
It was a great week on the home market as the new releases like Fury helped the overall market grow in nearly every regard. In fact, it had double-digit growth in six of the eight metrics. Blu-ray sales were 18% higher than last week in terms of units and 20% higher in terms of revenue. Compared to last year, 35% more units were sold and 31% more revenue was generated. DVD sales were a little stronger, so the overall Blu-ray share slipped to 42%, but that's still strong.
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February 14th, 2015
New releases earned the top four spots on the DVD Sales Chart. Fury led the way in terms of units sold at 355,000 units to 302,000 units over Downton Abbey: Season 5. However, Downton Abbey earned first place in terms of revenue at $7.40 million to $6.20 million.
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February 14th, 2015
New releases dominated the Blu-ray sales chart, again. There were three new releases in the top three spots, while newcomers earned five of the top six spots. Leading the way was Fury with 432,000 units / $8.80 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 55%, which is great for this type of film. It is an action film, but not a visual effects action film.
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February 9th, 2015
New releases helped the overall Blu-ray sales grow this past weekend. Lucy, The Boxtrolls, and Annabelle were the big trio and they helped the overall Blu-ray numbers grow to 1.11 million units / $23.82 million. This was week-to-week growth of 40% in terms units and 41% in terms of revenue, which is excellent for one weeks growth. Compared to last year, Blu-ray sold 41% more units and generated 35% more revenue. This helped the overall Blu-ray share grow to 44%.
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January 27th, 2015
It is a really bad week for the home market with a lot of filler on the first page of the new releases on Amazon.com. Fury is the biggest release, but there are not enough extras on the DVD or Blu-ray to be a contender for Pick of the Week. The Book of Life, on the other hand, has a loaded DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and is a contender. The only other real contender is The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness on DVD. In the end, I went with The Book of Life.
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December 10th, 2014
The Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced Wednesday morning. Are there surprises worth mentioning? Is the Oscar picture beginning to take shape? Like with the Independent Spirit Awards, Birdman led the way this time earning four nominations from six categories, while Boyhood, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything had three nods each.
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December 4th, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 remained in first place with $67.0 million in 86 markets for a two-week total of $254.6 million. Its worldwide total rose to $480.3 million. I would be surprised if the film hasn't already broken even, even though it will have the lowest box office in the franchise. The film remained in first place in Australia with $7.52 million on 574 screens over the weekend for a total of $22.69 million after two weeks of release. It was pushed into second place in the U.K., but still pulled in $7.69 million in 569 theaters for a two-week total of $33.32 million.
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November 27th, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 opened in first place on the international chart with $154.3 million in 85 markets for a worldwide opening of $276.2 million. Its international opening was about 4% higher than the previously entry in the franchise. The film managed $19.8 million in the U.K. and $13.8 million in Germany. This was 5% and 9% higher than the previous film's debut in those two markets. Mockingjay, Part 1 opened 19% higher in Russia with $11.9 million. The film also topped $10 million in Mexico ($12 million) and Australia ($10.3 million).
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November 13th, 2014
As expected, Interstellar opened in first place on the international chart earning $82.90 million on 14,800 screens in 62 markets during its opening weekend. As you may or may not know, we introduced a new comprehensive look at the international numbers, so there's little more than needs to be said here. I will point out that the film's opening in South Korea was particularly strong at $12.46 million on 1,310 screens over the weekend, for a total opening of $14.21 million. The film also opened in first place in the U.K., with $8.53 million on 1,298 screens, which is about on par with its domestic opening, given the relative size of the two markets. Russia was close behind with $8.00 million on 1,800 screens. The film opened in China this week and those numbers should help the film remain in first place next weekend.
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November 10th, 2014
We had two potential monster hits go at it over the weekend and it appears the competition was a little too much and neither Big Hero 6 nor Interstellar lived up to lofty expectations, although Big Hero 6 was close. Combined the two movies earned more than $100 million over the weekend, which is reason to celebrate, even if the rest of the box office barely registered. Overall, the box office rose 65% from last weekend reaching $157 million. Wow. Unfortunately, this was still 6.5% lower than the same weekend last year. Had Interstellar matched expectations, 2014 would have come out on top of the year-over-year comparison. Hopefully it will have better legs than Thor: The Dark World did, or this weekend could be another loss. I'm hopeful, because The Dark World was a pretty big Fanboy film.
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November 6th, 2014
November begins with a powerful one-two punch. Both Interstellar and Big Hero 6 are expected to open with more than $50 million. On the high end, they could both clear $60 million. Interstellar was expected to win by a sizable margin, but its Wednesday IMAX opening was not quite as strong as expected, so it could be a closer than expected weekend. Those two films should easily pull in more than $100 million over the weekend, but unfortunately the rest of the box office will be well back. This weekend last year was similarly top-heavy with Thor: The Dark World earning $85.74 million, which was more than the rest of the box office combined. It looks like the year-over-year competition could be quite close, but I have to give 2014 the edge.
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November 6th, 2014
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roared into first place with $34.9 million in 31 markets over the weekend for a running tally of $244.2 million internationally and $434.7 million worldwide. This includes a first place, $26.52 million opening in China. This is the film's last major market opening until it debuts in Japan in February. The film is aiming for $500 million worldwide by that time, but it is hard to tell how long a film's legs in China will be.
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November 3rd, 2014
Halloween is over and the box office took a real hit. Ouija was the only film that was a pleasant surprise topping expectations and earning first place. Nightcrawler matched expectations, but due to the competition, landed in second place. The other two films of note: Before I Go to Sleep and Saw, were... well, the less said the better. Overall, the box office fell 18% to just $95 million. Worse still, this was 25% lower than the same weekend last year. There is mitigating circumstances, as this weekend last year was the first weekend of November and didn't have to suffer with Halloween landing on the Friday. Next weekend will bounce back, obviously, but 2014 is running out of time to catch up to 2013. Currently it is down by 3.3% at $8.33 billion to $8.62 billion.
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October 30th, 2014
Tomorrow is Halloween, which is one of the worst days of the year as far as box office numbers are concerned. I would argue only Christmas Eve is worse. Nightcrawler is the only truly wide release of the week, but it is not expected to be a hit. It will likely earn first place, but with only around $10 million. There are two other films of note: Before I Go to Sleep and the tenth anniversary release of Saw. Before I Go to Sleep is the third release from Clarius Entertainment whose first two releases bombed horribly. This one is expected to finish somewhere in-between the first two at the box office. The Saw franchise is the highest grossing horror franchise of all time, but will people really go to theaters to see it? I would assume fans of these movies likely own the film on Blu-ray, so staying at home would be more appealing. Worse still, this weekend last year was the first weekend of November and it shows. There were five films that earned more than $10 million, led by Ender's Game. This year, we might have no movies earning more than $10 million. Ouch.
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October 29th, 2014
Annabelle rose from fifth to first place on the international market with $26.5 million in 62 markets for an international total of $126.7 million after a month of release. Obviously there will be another installment in this franchise. This past weekend, the film dominated Latin America earning first place in Mexico with $7.61 million on 2,742 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $10.87 million. This was double the original film's opening in that market. The film also earned top spot in Argentina ($1.4 million on 202 screens) and in Peru ($1.3 million). The film was pushed into second place in Brazil, but still managed $2.13 million on 388 screens over the weekend for a three-week total of $11.35 million.
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October 28th, 2014
As expected, Ouija won the race for first place, but it finished on the very low end of expectations. On the other hand, John Wick beat expectations earning second place. Overall, these two results balanced out, but this still resulted in the box office falling 12% from last weekend to $116 million. More importantly, it was 13% higher than the same weekend last year. 2014 is still behind 2013, but it is chipping away at the deficit, which has fallen to under $300 million at $8.20 billion to $8.49 billion. 2014 is still behind last year's pace by 3.4%, but if it can close that gap by the same amount in November and December, then at least by the end of the year, it will have closed the gap enough to call it a spiritual victory.
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October 26th, 2014
Teen horror movie Ouija will win this weekend at the box office with a solid $20 million debut and $7,000 theater average. With a budget reported at just $5 million, the movie is a sure-fire money maker for Universal, even with a shelf life of exactly eight days. By comparison, John Wick, which marks a return to form for Keanu Reeves, should have a longer run, based on its current reviews and word of mouth, but will have some ground to make up after opening with around $14 million.
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October 23rd, 2014
It is not a good week at the box office for new releases. There are only two films opening wide, one of which is earning terrible reviews and the other is earning terrible buzz. At the moment, Ouija's Tomatometer Score is barely in the double-digits. That said, it is a horror film opening the week before Halloween, so it should make at least $20 million at the box office. On the other hand, John Wick's reviews are Award-worthy... but the buzz is so quiet, I doubt many award voters will see it. This weekend last year was led by Bad Grandpa, which opened in first place with $32.06. Maybe if Ouija is a surprise hit, it will match that figure. However, while 2013 looked better at the top, it had really weak depth beyond the top five, so 2014 will likely win in the year-over-year comparison.
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October 22nd, 2014
The winners of our More than a Penny and Not Dreadful contest were determined and they are...
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October 21st, 2014
The weekend box office was a little softer than expected, with Fury earning first place, but with much less than some were expecting. I was a little more conservative and I was still off by close to $10 million. The rest of the top five, on the whole, were also not quite as strong as expected, so the overall box office fell 11% from last weekend. However, it was 26% higher than the same weekend last year, which is the much more important figure. 2014 is still behind 2013 by more than $300 million, or 3.6%, at $8.05 billion to $8.36 billion, but if we can close the gap a little bit each week, we can at least make it a respectable race in the end.
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October 16th, 2014
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Three wide releases are trying to fight for box office dollars, including Fury, which could be the biggest hit of the month. Its reviews are excellent and the buzz is strong enough that is should have no trouble earning first place. The Book of Life is a family friendly animated horror film opening near Halloween. That should be a combination that spells box office success, but while the reviews are strong, the buzz is not as loud as I would like. Finally, there's The Best of Me, the latest from Nicholas Sparks, but I think the shine has come off his career. Its early reviews are terrible, which isn't surprising. The buzz is rather quiet, which is a little more surprising. This weekend last year, Gravity completed the hat-trick earning just over $30 million. I think Fury will top that. The best new release last year was Carrie, which earned just over $16 million earning third place in the process. It looks like there are a couple of films that will earn a similar amount this year. Additionally, the depth again appears to be better than last year, so 2014 should find itself on top of the chart, again. This is a surprise, as at the beginning of the month, it looked like 2014 would be in an extended slump by this point.
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October 10th, 2014
Next week Fury is opening wide. It isn't the only wide release of the week, but it is widely expected to dominate the box office, while it might become the biggest hit of the month. As such, it is the clear choice for the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Fury.
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 Penny Dreadful: Season One on Blu-ray.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a previously reviewed TV on DVD release.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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September 30th, 2014
September is over and while it got off to a bad start, a really, really, truly terrible start, it actually ended on a bit of a strong note. Granted, no film has yet to reach $100 million, but The Maze Runner and The Equalizer both could get there in the end. As for October, we might go another month without a $100 million hit. There are a couple of films that have the potential to reach the century mark, Gone Girl and Fury. Hopefully they will get there, but given the recent box office woes, it is probably best to keep expectations low. Last October, there were two films that earned more than $100 million. Bad Grandpa just made it passed that mark. On the other hand, Gravity was a monster hit earning nearly $275 million. It you compare its run to this year's batch of films, it only ranks behind Guardians of the Galaxy. ... There's no way any film opening this month is going to match that. ... There no way the top two films will match that. ... The top three films might not match that. ... 2014 is going to get crushed in the year-over-year comparison and by the end of the month, it will be safe to say its chances of ever catching up to 2013 will be over. It is going to be a depressing month.
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