June 13th, 2012
True Blood: Season Four led all new releases and earned top spot on the Blu-ray sales chart. During its first week of release, it sold 369,000 units and generated $12.93 million in revenue. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 34%, which is low for the format as a whole, but very strong for a TV on DVD release.
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June 12th, 2012
True Blood was the only major release on this week's DVD sales chart crushing newcomers and holdovers alike. It sold 717,000 units / $21.52 million during its opening week, which is fantastic for a TV on DVD release.
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May 28th, 2012
It likely won't be a strong week on the home market. There's only one prime release, True Blood on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. It is an excellent show and the Blu-ray is a clear contender for Pick of the Week, but as a TV on DVD release, I doubt it will sell as many units as the average first-run theatrical release sells. The biggest first run release is Man on a Ledge, but it did so poorly in theaters that I doubt it will have a real impact on the home market. True Blood isn't the only contender for Pick of the Week. Goon's Blu-ray Combo Pack is on that list. The price of the Combo Pack dropped since my review went online and at $15, it is the Pick of the Week, or should I say Puck of the Week. Also of note, Degrassi: Season 11, Part 1 - Buy from Amazon would also be a contender for Pick of the Week, but the full season set will likely be significantly cheaper on a price-per-minute basis.
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February 7th, 2012
It was Super Bowl weekend, which apparently some people care about. (Not me. Go B.C. Lions!) The crossover audience between the Super Bowl and most movies is quite high, so it is no real shock that the box office was down compared to last weekend. However, it was only down 8% to $116 million. This was 33% higher than the same weekend last year. Both Chronicle and The Woman in Black topped expectations by significant degrees, while the weakest movie the top five missed weekend predictions by less than $1 million. Year-to-date, 2012 is ahead of 2011's pace by 12% at $964 million to $850 million. Before we get too excited, by this weekend in 2010, the box office had already pulled in $1.21 billion.
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January 30th, 2012
January completed the sweep this weekend, despite slipping 6% from last weekend to $126 million over the weekend. This was still 16% higher than the same weekend last year, meaning three out of the four weekends in January saw double-digit gains over 2011 and by the end, 2012's lead over 2011 was 12% at $812 million to $726 million. I'm starting to get a little optimistic and hopefully this trend will continue next month.
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January 29th, 2012
The industry will enjoy another weekend of increased revenue compared to last year, based on studio estimates released on Sunday, with The Grey starting out on the high end of expectations with $20 million, according to Open Road -- comfortably beating the $9.3 million of their previous film, The Killer Elite. In third place, One for the Money will post a surprisingly strong $11.75 million, according to Lionsgate, which will get to claim bragging rights over its new division Summit Entertainment, which is predicting $8.25 million for its new release, Man on a Ledge. The two films would most likely have ended up on different weekends if the combined studio had have had longer to rearrange their schedules.
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January 26th, 2012
There are three important questions that need to be answered this weekend. Can the box office finish the January sweep this weekend? Will Liam Neeson's box office reliability overcome Open Road's inexperience? And shouldn't The Grey be spelled The Gray? That is how it is spelled in America, as opposed to the U.K. Last year the number one film, The Rite, opened with less than $15 million. However, there were a total of five films with more than $10 million over the weekend. This year does look weaker, but it should be close. All it will take is one film to be a surprise hit and 2012 can come out a head for the fourth weekend in a row.
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January 1st, 2012
2011 ended, and really that's the only good news we got from the entire month of December. That's not snark either. Of the eleven films opening or expanding wide that month, six will definitely miss expectations by significant margins and with the other five it is too soon to tell, (it depends on how well they hold up during the New Year's Day long weekend). Only Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol can be considered a pleasant surprise, and even then it might not match original expectations. Looking forward, the only really good piece of news for this January is that last January was a pretty bad as well. Only two films, The Green Hornet and No Strings Attached, beat expectations by significant margins, while The Dilemma bombed hard enough to nearly wipe out those gains. This time around, the biggest hit will likely be Beauty and the Beast's 3D re-release, but even then, I doubt it will do as well as The Lion King's 3D re-release. There's a good chance the year will start off on a sour note, just like 2011 ended.
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