Home Market Releases for April 26th, 2016

April 26th, 2016

We are in Q2, which is historically the slowest time of the year on the home market. The last of the monster Christmas hits were released weeks ago and none of the yearly year hits have come out yet. Ironically, the biggest release of the week is actually a Christmas film, Krampus, and its Blu-ray Combo Pack is a contender for Pick of the Week. (It is admittedly a slow week.) Its two biggest competitors are both foreign-language films: Phoenix: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Son of Saul - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray. Son of Saul won the Oscar this year for Best Foreign-Language Film, but I'm going with Phoenix instead. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Krampus

April 25th, 2016

Krampus, the mythological being, is suddenly one of the hottest movie monsters around. While searching for the the Amazon link to this movie, I found six movies that either had Krampus in the name, or Krampus was on the cover of the DVD / Blu-ray. However, of these, only Krampus earned a wide box office release and it became a low-budget hit earning more during its opening weekend than it cost to make. Did it deserve this success? Will it thrive on the home market, even though it is a long way from Christmas? More...

Home Market Releases for April 12th, 2016

April 13th, 2016

It is a very slow week on the home market. The only first-run release is The Forest, which earned a single-digit Tomatometer Score. The best-selling release of the week is Justice League vs. Teen Titans which continues to prove animated D.C. is better than live-action D.C. As far as Pick of the Week contenders are concerned, there are a few releases that interest me, including Suspicion on Blu-ray. However, I went with The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun on Blu-ray. I will admit it dances deep into the Style over Substance territory, but it's a style I have really got into. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Bewitching Results

February 19th, 2016

The Witch had the fastest start on Thursday, with $630,000 from preview shows. This is almost identical to what Krampus earned late last year and that film earned $16 million during its opening weekend. Granted, Krampus was the only wide release that weekend and didn’t have to deal with any film as big as Deadpool. That said, this is still a good result for the film and it suggests it will top predictions, especially if moviegoers like it as much as critics did. Additionally, A24 said the advertising budget was “nominal” and that it was focused on the planned VOD / home market release in three months. It could break even by this time next week. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Hail Storms into Theaters

February 5th, 2016

Hail, Caesar! got off to a relatively good start on Thursday earning $543,000 at 1,815 theaters. This puts it in between the previews for Dirty Grandpa and The 5th Wave, meaning it is on pace for close to $11 million over the weekend. Its positive reviews could help it over $11 million, which would match predictions perfectly. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office is Left Hungry

December 14th, 2015

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 remained in first place for the fourth weekend in a row, which is terrible news for the box office. A film repeating on top happens a lot, but to get to four weeks in a row, it means the new releases have been particularly weak. That was the case this week, as In the Heart of the Sea had to settle for second place with well below expectations. Overall, the box office fell 21% from last weekend to $78 million. This is 7.2% lower than the same weekend last year. Had In the Heart of the Sea merely matched predictions, then 2015 would have won in the year-over-year competition. Year-to-date, 2015 has earned $9.79 billion, putting it almost exactly $400 million ahead of last year's pace. More...

Weekend Predictions: How Many will See Heart of the Sea?

December 10th, 2015

There's only one wide release this week, In the Heart of the Sea, although some sources still have Legend expanding nationwide. Of course, expanding nationwide doesn't mean the same thing as expanding truly wide. Because In the Heart of the Sea doesn't have any real competition this weekend, it is widely expected to earn first place, but it isn't expected to be a smash hit. It is very unlikely it will do as well as last year's number one film, Exodus: Gods and Kings. The depth is a little better this year, but 2015 will still likely struggle to match 2014 in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Contest: Krampus is Coming For You: Winning Announcement

December 9th, 2015

The winners of our Krampus is Coming For You contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Krampus opening weekend were... More...

Weekend Estimates: Krampus Wins Battle for Second

December 6th, 2015

Krampus is providing the industry with some surprise post-Thanksgiving, pre-Holiday cheer this weekend, with an opening well ahead of expectations amongst a crowd of slightly disappointing results. Mockingjay, Part 2 will top the chart with $18.6 million, which is off a surprisingly steep 64%. With the film expected to hit $20 million or so this weekend, that’s a disappointment, and makes a final total of $300 million look just out of reach. The Good Dinosaur was expected to have the legs of a Pixar movie, and is instead looking more like a run-of-the-mill high-budget animated film, so instead of topping $20 million, it is down 60% to $15.5 million for the weekend. That left an opening for Krampus, which will take second spot overall with a $16-million debut. More...

Friday Estimates: Krampus is in a Festive Mood

December 5th, 2015

2015 has had some record highs, but plenty of record lows as well. The weekend after Thanksgiving is historically one of the low points of the year. However, this year it is doing rather well thanks to a surprisingly fast start by Krampus. Don't get me wrong. This isn’t going to be a monster hit, and probably not even a midlevel one. However, it earned $6.01 million on Friday, which is enough for first place and excellent for this time of year. With a start like this and overall positive reviews, it might top $15 million during its opening weekend, which is more that it is estimated to have cost. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Krampus Arrives Early

December 4th, 2015

Krampus's "Midnight" screenings started at 7 pm on Thursday and pulled in a healthy $637,000. This is a little more than Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension managed during its previews and that film had the benefit of being part of a long-running franchise, and sequels tend to be more front-loaded at the box office. Additionally, Krampus's reviews are positive, which should help its legs. Look for between $11 million and $12 million for the weekend, which is nearly identical to expectations.. More...

Weekend Predictions: Krampus Has a Surprise For You

December 3rd, 2015

The weekend after Thanksgiving is historically a really bad time of the year at the box office. This year there is only one wide release risking it, Krampus. However, this is one more wide release than we had this week last year. There is also a semi-wide release coming out, The Letter, but its reviews are terrible and its box office chances might be even worse. This should give The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 an easy path to first place. In fact, the top three will likely remain the same as last weekend. Fortunately, the holdovers this year are stronger than the holdovers last year, so 2015 should win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Contest: All in Good Fun: Winning Announcement

December 2nd, 2015

The winners of our All in Good Fun contest contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Good Dinosaur opening weekend were... More...

2015 Preview: December

December 1st, 2015

November ended on a positive note with a strong Thanksgiving weekend. Even so, the overall numbers were mixed with a lot of misses mixed in with a few hits. It was better than October and we will call that a victory. Meanwhile, December is potentially record-breaking. Actually, given the evidence, it is almost assuredly going to be record-breaking. Star Wars: The Force Awakens has already set a record for the most money taken from ticket pre-sales and the biggest December weekend will fall. The pre-orders alone will guarantee that. On the downside, it is very likely that no film will make as much in total as The Force Awakens will make during its opening weekend. There's a chance no film makes in total as much as The Force Awakens makes during its opening day. There are a few films that have a shot at $100 million. For example, Joy should get there, if it becomes a major player during Awards Season. If not, it will at least come close. Daddy's Home, and to a lesser extent Sisters, could be surprise $100 million hits. However, like the rest of 2015, December is shaping up to be a month of a record-breaking hit and a lot of films that struggle just to get noticed. On the other hand, last December, was a lot more balanced at the top with four films earning more than $100 million, led by The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. There's a chance The Force Awakens earns more than all four $100 million hits from last year earned combined. More...

Contest: Krampus is Coming For You

November 27th, 2015

Next week, there is only one wide release, Krampus, so we have no 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 Krampus.

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 consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. There is a difference this time. Two people will earn Frankenprizes consisting of two good movies; I'm going to try for Christmas movies, but I can't promise it. The other winner will earn a Frankprize consisting of two "lumps of coal" movies. ... I have plenty of those. . Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...