November 23rd, 2010
Toy Story 3 remained on top of the sales chart this week with 934,000 units / $16.53 million for the week and 4.79 million units and $89.63 million after two. It is now the fourth-best-selling DVD of 2010 in terms of units and dollars, while it could climb another spot by the time Black Friday is over.
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November 2nd, 2010
New releases failed to make much of an impact on this week's DVD sales chart with only one placing in the top five and only two or three others in the top 30. This left How to Train Your Dragon on top with an easy win at 1.42 million units for the week. This gives it totals of 3.29 million / $70.40 million in consumer spending at retail, which makes it the third-best-selling DVD for any 2010 theatrical release and the eighth-best-selling DVD of the year.
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October 26th, 2010
We had a new number one release on this week's sales chart, with How to Train Your Dragon dominating with 1.87 million units sold / $39.63 million in opening week sales.
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October 19th, 2010
Several films could claim to be the champion of the home market this week, including one of the many new releases.
The Karate Kid opened on top of the DVD sales chart with 1.22 million units compared to Iron Man 2 with 1.10 million units.
However, the latter topped the former in terms of consumer spending at $22.15 million to $20.80 million.
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October 5th, 2010
One of the busiest weeks on the DVD / Blu-ray release report; in fact, I set a record for most reviews in a single week. With so much competition, one might think it would be tough picking the Pick of the Week, but that was not the case, as Beauty and the Beast - Blu-ray / DVD Combo walked away with that distinction. The only other release that really came close to it was Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas, while there are about a dozen or so other releases worth picking up on this week's list.
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October 4th, 2010
The The Karate Kid was a film that seemed quite unnecessary to make, as the original is considered by many to be a classic and there were concerns that the remake would not be able to top the original. Despite these concerns, the film turned into one of the biggest surprise hits earning $175 million domestically and $350 million worldwide. But does it's quality match its box office performance?
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September 15th, 2010
Resident Evil: Afterlife took top spot on the international chart. In fact, it dominated with $41.70 million on 3,935 screens in 33 markets for a total of $68.36 million worldwide. After just one weekend of release, the film is nearly halfway to catching up with Extinction for best in the franchise. It goes without saying that there will be another installment. Its biggest individual market was Japan, where it opened in first place with $13.27 million on 649 screens over the weekend and $15.58 million in total. It also took the top spot in Spain with an impressive $3.36 million on 488 screens, while it was a little softer in the U.K. with a chart topping opening of $2.61 million on 361 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in Italy with $1.72 million on 270 screens during its debut there.
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September 8th, 2010
It was a busy week for Inception, as it rose to top spot on the international chart and crossed two major milestones in the process: $400 million internationally and $700 million worldwide. Over the weekend, it earned $21.00 million on 7,785 screens in 61 markets for a total of $425.15 million internationally and $702.30 million worldwide. Much of this was due to its debut in China, where it placed first with $13.6 million. It has yet to open in Italy, but it will likely start falling off at an accelerated pace from now till its premiere in that market at the end of the month.
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September 1st, 2010
The Expendables held on to top spot on the international chart with $24.70 million on 4823 screens in 38 markets for a total of $101.46 million after just three weeks of release. It had a few openings over the weekend, most notably in Germany where it placed third with $2.94 million on 531 screens. Meanwhile, it fell from first to fourth in the U.K., but still added $2.02 million on 453 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.52 million after two. With openings in Italy and Japan ahead, the film will have no trouble getting to $250 million worldwide, which is more than enough to ensure a profit.
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August 25th, 2010
Powered by openings in a trio of major markets, The Expendables climbed into top spot with $35.49 million on 4501 screens in 30 markets for a still early international total of $60.30 million. At this point, reaching $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide is practically a given. The film's best opening of the weekend came from the U.K. where it debuted in the top spot with $6.08 million on 453 screens, while it was also triumphant in France with $4.75 million on 445 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for fifth place in South Korea with $1.25 million on 298 screens over the weekend and $1.52 million in total. Next up for the film is Germany this weekend, while it opens in Italy next month and in Japan in October.
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August 18th, 2010
As the summer blockbuster season comes to a close, there are few major releases in theaters worldwide. Regardless, there are still a few major milestones being reached, and a few more to come. For instance, Inception maintained its hold in first place with $35.51 million on 6879 screens, in 61 markets, for a total of $320.44 million internationally. It also reached a major milestone worldwide with $568.91 million, making it just one of 78 films to reach $500 million. It is still going strong in a number of major markets, including Spain, where it remained in first place with $2.72 million on 497 screens over the weekend, for a total of $10.15 million after two. It was down just 22% in Brazil adding $1.56 million on 292 screens over the weekend and $4.43 million after two. Its best market overall is the U.K. where it has made $45.53 million after a month of release, including $2.62 million on 472 screens this past weekend. By this time next week, it should have $600 million worldwide, with $700 million becoming a lot more likely.
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August 8th, 2010
Over the past weekend, Toy Story 3 fell to second place on the international chart with $38.69 million on 7806 screens in 42 markets. However, it rose to second place for 2010 on the international chart with $436.65 million overtaking Shrek Forever After. The only 2010 release that has made more internationally is Alice in Wonderland. Worldwide it now has $826.41 million and it has very likely already surpassed Finding Nemo to become Pixar's biggest hit. The film's only major release of the week came in Germany over the weekend, where it made $4.03 million on 740 screens, bringing the total to $4.35 million. While this is a good result, its not great, and prior to this the film had been doing great. It also remained in the top spot in the U.K. over the weekend, with $12.81 million on 564 screens, for a two week total of $62.82 million. It has likely overtaken Alice in Wonderland to become the biggest hit of 2010 released in that market. As for the film's future, it has yet to open in South Korea and Scandinavia. If it does well in those markets, $1 billion worldwide is still within reach.
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August 1st, 2010
After opening in a few markets last weekend, Inception got its international run off in earnest last weekend and climbed into second place with $56.78 million on 5,177 screens in 36 markets for a still early total of $87.86 million.
It opened in a number of major markets and debuted in first place in most of them.
The biggest was Japan with $7.86 million on 525 screens over the weekend and $8.94 million in total.
France was also a lucrative market for the film with $8.01 million on 626 screens, while in South Korea it made $6.01 million on 583 screens over the weekend and $7.89 million in total.
Russia added $7.08 million on 895 screens to its weekend haul, while Australia produced $6.67 million on 413.
The film only managed seventh in Mexico with just $467,000 on 152 screens, but this was a low screen count.
In the U.K. the film was down just 29% to $6.47 million on 456 screens over the weekend for a total of $22.01 after two.
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July 25th, 2010
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse slipped to second place with $43.82 million on 9,527 screens in 61 markets for a total of $295.66 million internationally and $560.45 million worldwide.
This includes a first place debut in Germany with $9.76 million on 767 screens over the weekend and $12.30 million in total.
On the other hand, the film was down a stunning 75% in the U.K. to $5.19 million over the weekend and $33.84 million after two.
The amazing growth the franchise saw from installment one to two is gone, but this is still a fantastically profitable movie.
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July 18th, 2010
Shrek Forever After remained in second place with a hearty $56.42 million on 6,987 screens in 41 markets for a total of $209.55 million internationally and $443.33 worldwide.
There was some excellent news this week, as the film opened in first place in Brazil with $6.86 million on 658 screens, which is an all-time record in that market for an animated film.
Meanwhile in Spain it opened with $4.12 million on 748 screens over the weekend and $4.97 million in total, but Shrek the Third made more than $7.5 million during its opening three years ago. Finally, it opened atop Poland with $2.73 million on 235 screens. Poland isn't normally considered a major market, but when it comes to animated films, it usually is. As far as holdovers go, it held on extremely well in South Korea, down just 20% to $4.66 million on 566 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.81 million after two.
On the other hand, it was down nearly 50% in the U.K. To $6.88 million on 537 screens over the weekend and $25.81 million after two.
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July 11th, 2010
In an age of day-and-date global releases, Shrek Forever After is taking the slow route. This week it opened in a number of major markets, which propelled it into second place with $42.57 million on 4,484 screens in 25 markets for a total of $137.12 million internationally and $369.40 million worldwide.
In the U.K. it opened with $13.56 million on 539 screens, which was easily enough for first place.
However, its predecessor made $33.45 million during its opening three years ago. Ouch. In France it made $10.77 million on 842 screens, down from $13.05 million. South Korea produced $6.37 million on 627 screens, including midweek numbers, down from $10.74 million. Finally, in Germany it made $5.11 million on 767 screens, down from $7.84 million. The film is still a major hit and will have no trouble earning a profit; however, it is still the weakest in the franchise when you look at ticket sales.
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July 4th, 2010
Knight and Day started its international run in second place with $12.42 million on 2241 screens in 12 markets. It opened in first place in Russia with $3.33 million on 949 screens, while it also took top spot in South Korea with $3.04 million on 565 screens over the weekend and $3.76 million in total. Next up for the film is the U.K. this weekend, while it has major market openings right till October when it debuts in Japan.
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June 28th, 2010
It was no surprise that Toy Story 3 was able to remain on top of the box office chart for the second weekend in a row. Also, the new releases combined did about as well as expected. Unfortunately, "as well as expected" still left the box office down 17% from last weekend at $165 million. Coincidentally, it was also down 17% from last year. 2010 is still leading 2009, but its margin is slipping and, as of the end of the weekend, it is just 2.1% ahead at $5.22 billion to $5.11 billion.
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June 26th, 2010
The A-Team climbed to second place with $13.97 million on 4929 screens in 48 markets for a total of $34.74 million. New openings this past weekend include France, where it made $3.05 million on 621 screens. On the one hand, that was enough for first place. On the other hand, that's not a particularly strong start, especially for a summer blockbuster. It was only half has much as Prince of Persia opened with, for instance. In Italy it had a similar result with a first place, $1.11 million opening on 354 screens. That said, if it can earn half of what Prince of Persia does, then The A-Team will end its run with more than $100 million internationally and close to $200 million worldwide. As long as it is a hit on the home market, that will be enough to show a profit eventually, particularly if you take into account increased DVD sales for the TV series it is based on.
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June 24th, 2010
Two new wide releases look to unseat Toy Story 3 this weekend, including one that got its start on Wednesday.
There's good news, at least for Pixar, as it appears Toy Story 3 will walk away with the win.
There's bad news for the industry, as it appears both new releases could struggle to match earlier expectations.
And then there's the ugly news.
This time last year saw the release of Revenge of the Fallen, so the year-over-year comparison could be... well... ugly.
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June 21st, 2010
It has been 15 years since Pixar essentially created the digital animation market.
In that time, it has proven to be the most consistent studio both in terms of quality and box office success.
That was reinforced this weekend, as Toy Story 3 easily won the box office race, setting a few records along the way.
Overall, the box office brought in $199 million, which was the best weekend of 2010 since the first weekend of the year (when Avatar was still dominating the chart). Box office was up nearly 32% from last weekend, and more importantly, up just over 32% from last year. 2010 has now earned an impressive $4.95 billion, which is is 4% higher than last year's pace. However, a lot of this is due to the inflated 3D ticket prices and attendance is still down more than 2% from last year.
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June 20th, 2010
For the third weekend in a row, Robin Hood remained in fourth place. This time it pulled in $7.19 million on 5742 screens in 54 markets for a total of $183.71 million internationally and $283.17 million worldwide. This week it opened in China and India, two countries that rarely release box office numbers in a timely fashion.
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June 17th, 2010
Pixar releases its eleventh feature-length film this weekend. And considering its previous ten have all opened in first place (assuming you discount prestige limited releases) this is reason for Disney to celebrate.
In fact, it could be reason for the industry as a whole to celebrate, considering more than 10 million tickets could be sold for this movie, which means more than 10 million people watching trailers for upcoming releases, seeing posters for new movies, etc.
Compared to last year, Toy Story 3 could make more than the top five combined, which should help boost 2010's lead over 2009.
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June 14th, 2010
Limited releases haven't had a single major hit this summer so far, but that may have changed this weekend as there were a number of new releases that topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart. Leading the way was Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work with an average of $23,479 in seven theaters. Winter's Bone was next with an average of $21,222 in four theaters. Both films have a real shot at expansion. The Lottery was also strong, with an average of $16,435. The overall box office leader, The Karate Kid, was close behind with an average of $15,197. Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky was in a virtual tie with Kid, opening with an average of $14,818 in three theaters.
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June 14th, 2010
It turns out that the battle of the 80s superstars was a one-sided affair, as The Karate Kid easily took the top spot. Overall, the box office brought in $151 million over the weekend, which was 18% higher than last weekend and nearly 10% higher than the same weekend last year. It will take a few more weekends like this before the exuberance from earlier in the year returns, but this is a welcome result. Year-to-date, 2010 has now made $4.68 billion compared to last year's running tally of $4.53 billion, but its lead is due to much higher ticket prices. Attendance is down by 3%.
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June 13th, 2010
The Karate Kid won the battle of the '80s revivals over the weekend with a solid $56,000,000, well ahead of The A-Team, which could only manage $26,000,000.
In what has been a very disappointing Summer so far, a $50 million plus opening for a franchise revival has to be considered a success, and it will almost certainly give Sony their first $100 million hit of the year.
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June 10th, 2010
It's The A-Team vs. The Karate Kid in a battle of 1980s cultural icons. Analysts seem to be evenly split on which of these will spawn the box office champion this weekend, but most expect both of them to at least be mid-level hits. Almost all of them expect them to both top last year's two new releases, probably combined. They might even do well enough to help 2010 end its slump.
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June 1st, 2010
So far this summer the disappointments are outnumbering the pleasant surprises by a disturbing margin. Granted, we've only just finished May, but none of the May wide releases met expectations. None. Iron Man 2 was still a massive hit, but no film since then has come close to matching its box office prowess and we are coming close to hitting the panic button at the box office. Worse still, June of 2009 was better than expected with two massive hits that came out of nowhere. Plus, there was the release of the Revenge of the Fallen, which for much of the year looked like it would be the biggest hit of 2009. So, do we have any films likely to do as well as Revenge this June? Maybe. And hopefully we will have more depth, because outside those three films, the rest of June 2009 struggled.
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