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 15th, 2012
We are getting closer and closer to Christmas and we are getting to the crunch time for gift shopping. After checking out first run releases and franchise box sets in Part I and TV on DVD releases in Part II, this week we look at limited releases, classics, and foreign films. Some are pretty obvious choices, as we had a few limited releases that broke into the mainstream during their theatrical releases, but there are also a few more films that slipped beneath the radar the last time around. The biggest of these is...
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August 6th, 2012
It is very rare for a documentary to top $1 million, especially if it is not about cute animals. So far this year, Magnolia has shepherded two such films to the million dollar club, and I've gotten to review both of them. Marley is the second, will it be as engaging as the first I reviewed.
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July 23rd, 2012
I'm getting tired of saying this, but it is a slow week on the home market. There is one prime release, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season One on Blu-ray, which is currently leading this week's new releases, according to Amazon.com. The second best selling new release is Masterpiece Mystery: Inspector Lewis Series 5 on DVD. It's a good show, but it is a British Import and these rarely make an impact on the chart. Third best selling new release? Game of Thrones. This is the third or fourth time the first season of this TV show has been "released" on the home market. I don't know why they are doing this, but it is getting annoying. There are not a lot of contenders for Pick of the Week either. Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Blu-ray and Star Trek: The Next Generation are the two leading contenders. While ST:TNG became an amazing series, it started out weak, so Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the better choice, but both are easily worth picking up.
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July 22nd, 2012
It is rare for a documentary to reach $1 million during its theatrical run, especially ones that are not about cute animals. Jiro Dreams of Sushi earned $2.5 million. Already that's an outstanding total, but will it continue this success on the home market?
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May 15th, 2012
No new releases managed to earn a spot in the $10,000 club on this week's per theater chart. That doesn't mean it was empty, as The Avengers remained potent with an average of $23,696 during its second weekend of release. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was arguably even more impressive, as it expanded into more than 150 additional theaters, but its per theater average only fell to $15,012. It did well enough to grab eighth place overall, and with this average, it will certainly expand more. On the other hand, the best new release was Dark Shadows with an average of $7,906. This is good, but not great. The best limited release was Girl in Progress. That was was playing in more than 300 theaters and managed an average of $4,298. That's a good start, but I don't think it will expand greatly.
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April 18th, 2012
No film topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this past weekend. The film that came closest was Here with $7,927 in its lone theater. This does suggest some potential to expand, but it is quite low for the number one film.
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March 21st, 2012
The Kid with a Bike took top spot on the per theater chart with an average of $15,311 in three theaters, while Jiro Dreams of Sushi was in a virtual tie with an average of $15,202 in six. Gerhard Richter Painting was next with $13,537 in its lone theater. The overall box office leader, 21 Jump Street, was next with an average of $11,632, while last week's winner, Footnote, was right behind with $11,181.
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March 13th, 2012
Footnote led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $23,764 in two theaters, while Jiro Dreams of Sushi was right behind with an average of $21,018, also in two theaters. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was playing in a lot more theaters, but it managed an average of $12,550 in 18 theaters. Even more impressively, it saw growth from Friday to Sunday of 85%, which is amazing for a new release. This bodes very well for its long term potential. Finally, the overall box office leader, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $10,370.
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March 11th, 2012
Although John Carter's opening won't be as bad as the direst predictions, an anemic $30.6 million debut will condemn the film to the record books for all the wrong reasons and (in spite of good international numbers) almost certainly cause a write-down for Disney. Or more immediate embarrassment, the film will fail to win the weekend, coming in second to The Lorax, which is set to post $39.1 million in its second weekend, according to Universal's estimate. That combination of two $30 million plus films will give 2012 another weekend win over last year.
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March 9th, 2012
There are plenty of limited releases on this week's list, including a couple that earned some strong pre-release buzz. One of these, Friends with Kids is opening in close to 400 theaters, which is a huge amount for a limited release. It will certainly be the biggest limited release at the box office, but I'm not sure how well it will do on the per theater chart. There are a few films earning amazing reviews, including Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Footnote, and Sound of Noise. I'm not sure any have what it takes to expand significantly, but hopefully at least one of them will find a receptive audience in limited release.
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