January 11th, 2015
The BAFTA nominations were announced yesterday and unlike most other Awards Season voters, the BAFTA voters gave us some real surprises. For instance, Birdman didn't lead the way. In fact, it was a comedy, The Grand Budapest Hotel, that earned the most nominations at 11. Granted, Birdman and The Theory of Everything were tied for second place with ten each, but it is still strange to see a comedy leading the way.
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June 30th, 2014
It is a terrible week on the home market. The biggest new release according to Amazon.com is Legend of Korra: Book Two, Spirits, which is coming out on DVD and DVD or Blu-ray. However, according to the people sending me a screener, it doesn't come out till the first week of August. The best release on this week's list is The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it came out last month and the Blu-ray arrived late. The best new release on this week's list, that I know is coming out this week, is The Lunchbox and the Blu-ray Combo Pack is the Pick of the Week.
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June 11th, 2014
Obvious Child led the way on the per theater chart with $77,000 in three theaters for an average of $25,772. The Fault in Our Stars earned an average of $15,128, which was surprisingly strong. The final film in the $10,000 club was Citizen Koch, which earned $10,200 in one theater.
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May 7th, 2014
Belle led the way on the per theater chart with an opening of just over $100,000 in four theaters for an average of $26,645. Meanwhile, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was relatively close behind with an average of $21,186 in more than 4,000 theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club on the per theater chart was Ida, which made $55,000 in 3 theaters for an average of $18,479.
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April 23rd, 2014
Fading Gigolo debuted on top of the per theater chart with an average of $36,160 in five theaters. This is the second best per theater average for a 2014 release behind The Grand Budapest Hotel. Granted, it was well behind that film, but still in second place. Also, given the film's reviews, it won't last very long at the box office. The only other film to reach the $10,000 club was Godzilla: The Original Japanese Version, which celebrated its 60th anniversary with $10,903 in one theater.
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April 8th, 2014
Under the Skin opened surprisingly well with a per theater average of $33,289 in four theaters. This is the second best opening per theater average for any film released in 2014, well back of The Grand Budapest Hotel's record-breaking debut. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which earned an average of $24,130 in nearly 4,000 theaters.
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March 5th, 2014
There were three films in the $10,000 club this past weekend, two that were not a surprise, but one that was a huge surprise. Leading the way was The Lunchbox with an average of $14,847 in three theaters. This film earned 94% positive reviews. Likewise, Ernest & Celestine earned 100% positive reviews, so its start of $13,078 in one theater is also to be expected. In between those two films was The Bag Man, which earned an average of $14,616 in two theaters, but only managed 9% positive reviews.
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March 2nd, 2014
Even with awards shows dominating industry headlines this weekend, three movies, none of which are nominated for anything, will manage to top $20 million at the box office. Top of the pile will be Liam Neeson actioner Non-Stop, which will debut with a shade over $30 million. That's the best performance for a non-sequel movie Neeson has headlined. Not far behind, Son of God is projected to earn around $26.5 million this weekend, and Fox is projecting it to top the chart on Sunday. The third movie topping $20 million will be The LEGO Movie, which passes $200 million in the process in its 4th weekend in release.
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February 28th, 2014
It is Oscar weekend, so it should come as no surprise there are not a lot of limited releases with the usual target audience. Art house aficionados will be paying more attention to the Awards than to new releases. Ernest & Celestine is the lone exception, which is the only Oscar-nominated film on this week's list and the best reviewed as well. Most of the rest of the movies are earning reviews that range from mixed to outright terrible. The Lunchbox could be the break-out hit of the weekend, if there is a break-out hit.
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