Home Market Releases for May 1st, 2018

May 2nd, 2018

It is a really shallow week. There are releases that are fighting for a spot in the top five that normally would be so far down the list that we wouldn’t even cover them. That doesn’t mean there are no releases that are worth picking up. In Between was a limited release that earned near perfect reviews. The 1970s film, Legend of the Mountain, got a recent release and its reviews are even better. I reviewed Mary and the Witch’s Flower last week and it nearly won Pick of the Week then. I reviewed Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: The Complete Series this week and it is one of my favorite recent Anime comedies. It was a really close race between these four films and in the end, it came down to a coin-toss with Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid coming out ahead. More...

Home Market Releases for April 24th, 2018

April 25th, 2018

Paddington 2 is the biggest release of the week and clearly at least one of the best. However, it isn’t the only film that’s a Pick of the Week contender. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, and others were all in contention for that honor. In the end, the Paddington 2 Blu-ray Combo Pack earned that title. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Mary and the Witch’s Flower

April 22nd, 2018

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is the latest release from GKIDS. GKIDS is the only distributor that can routinely release animated films in limited release and have them do well at the box office. For example, this film earned over $2 million domestically. The film doesn’t come out on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack until May the 1st, but the screener arrived early and I was able to get to the review this weekend. Is it worth waiting for? More...

Theater Averages: New Releases Can’t Take Down Black Panther

February 27th, 2018

Black Panther was the only film in the $10,000 club this past weekend earning an average of $27,776 in just over 4,000 theaters. If the film earned this during its opening weekend, it would have been the best theater average for any film that has opened in 2018. Mary and the Witch’s Flower had a, well, complicated weekend. It was officially only playing in three theaters, but on Saturday, it had special screenings in over 400 theaters, earning nearly $200,000 in the process. In the three theaters where it had regular showings, it had a theater average of about $2,500. That’s good for a film that has been in theaters for six weeks. More...

2017 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Feature-Length Animated Film

February 15th, 2018

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try to figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. A lot of people call this Oscar the Pixar Award, and look at that, there’s a Pixar film on this list. Is Coco the overwhelming favorite? Or does another film have what it takes? More...

Theater Averages Chart is Hostile Territory

January 23rd, 2018

No film reached the $10,000 club. In fact, Hostiles was the best film with an average of $6,666 in 49 theaters. Mary And The Witch’s Flower looks like it had a better weekend; however, its numbers are complicated. The film earned $1.17 million during its Thursday special showings in 573 theaters for an average of $2,037. Then it earned $330,000 in 161 theaters over the weekend in regular screenings for an average of $2,050. This shows that Anime fans are not numerous, but they are very eager for special screenings. More...

Weekend Estimates: Jumanji Holds Off 12 Strong, Den of Thieves

January 21st, 2018

Jumanji will win at the box office for a third straight weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. Its weekend total of about $20.04 million is down just 29% from its MLK Holiday numbers, in spite of losing over 100 theaters (its theater average is off just 26%). With $317 million to date, it is now Sony’s most successful non-Spider-Man movie at the domestic box office, not accounting for ticket price inflation. Inflation-adjusted, it’s at number 8 for the studio, and should end up their fifth-best ticket seller ever.

Jumanji’s strength is far from the only good news this weekend. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: These Limited Releases are Actually Really Good

January 19th, 2018

There are two major awards ceremonies this weekend, so it is no surprise there are not many great limited releases to talk about. The art house aficionados are distracted. That’s not to say there are no films worth checking out. Mary And The Witch’s Flower and This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy both look good. Neither look like they will be hits at the box office, but I do want to watch them. More...