Home Market Releases for January 15th, 2019

January 16th, 2019

The big fall releases are starting to come out on the home market. This week we get Halloween, which was a $100 million domestic hit. However, it is not among the best films on this week’s list. There are three Pick of the Week contenders on the week’s list. There’s the award-nominated Indie film, Madeline’s Madeline, the classic Notorious, and Bad Times at the El Royale, for which I finally got the review done. It was a coin-toss, but in the end, Madeline’s Madeline on Blu-ray won. More...

Home Market Releases for January 8th, 2019

January 9th, 2019

We are still in that awkward time on the home market we have to deal with every year. It is too late for the summer blockbusters to come out on DVD / Blu-ray, but too soon for the fall hits or Oscar contenders. This means there’s very little in the way of contenders for Pick of the Week with only one release worth considering, a Canadian show, Frankie Drake Mysteries: Season 1. This does mean I get to give out a Puck of the Week, for best Canadian release. More...

2018 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Nominations

December 6th, 2018

The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. It is still very early in the year and the predictive value of the Golden Globes is a little suspect, but there are still some things to learn here. For example Vice led the way with six nominations, so its Oscar chances have gone up, but don’t expect it to lead the way when the Oscars nominations are announced. More...

Theater Averages: Chef is in Like Flynn

November 14th, 2018

Chef Flynn debuted on top spot on the theater average chart with $29,869 in one theater. The overall box office chart leader, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, was next with an average of $16,318. The Front Runner followed with an average of $12,886 over the weekend. The film opened on Tuesday, which obviously had some negative effect of its weekend number, but even the full six-day result of $71,742 / $17,936 average isn’t enough to warrant a full wide expansion. El Angel was the final film in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,674 in two theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Boy Erased Writes its Way to the Top

November 7th, 2018

Boy Erased led the way on the theater average chart earning an average of $41,411 in five theaters. This was nearly three times the second place film, A Private War, which earned an average of $15,123 in four theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, Bohemian Rhapsody, with an average of $12,765. More...

Theater Averages: Suspiria Surprises with Yearly Best Average

October 31st, 2018

Suspiria led the theater average chart both over the weekend and for the year earning just over $180,000 in two theaters for an average of $92,019. This tops the previous average of $73,572 by Free Solo, although that movie was playing in four theaters. Up next was Can You Ever Forgive Me? with an average of $14,255 in 25 theaters during its second weekend of release. A couple of foreign-language films were next with Burning earning an average of $13,066 in two theaters and Border earning an average of $10,529 in seven. More...

Theater Averages: Mid90s Kickflips to the Top

October 25th, 2018

Mid90s had a much better than expected start earning an average of $64,539 in four theaters. This is the third highest theater average of 2018 behind just Free Solo ($73,572 in four theaters) and Eighth Grade ($65,949 also in four theaters). On the other hand, its reviews are good, but not great, so it could struggle to expand wide. That said, I would be absolutely shocked if the film didn’t earn some measure of mainstream success after this start. Can You Ever Forgive Me? opened in second place with an average of $32,302 in five theaters. Its reviews are award-worthy, so it should have very long legs and if it actually picks up some major award nominations, it could expand truly wide. Wildlife also rode amazing reviews to an average of $26,147 in four theaters. The overall box office leader, Halloween, was next with an average of $19,405. The Price of Everything opened with $16,817 in one theater, while the re-release of Wings of Desire managed $12,885, also in one theater. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Halloween Fastest Horror Opening of 2018, Won’t have a Quiet Run

October 23rd, 2018

Halloween opened on the high end of expectations earning $76.22 million during its opening weekend. This tops The Nun’s previous best opening for a horror film released this year of $53.81 million. Both The Hate U Give and The Old Man and the Gun expanded into the top ten, which also helped the overall box office a little but. Speaking of the overall box office, it rose 21% from last weekend, hitting $165 million. More impressively, this was 72% higher than the same weekend last year. Normally, a year-over-year change this dramatic only happens when there is a misalignment in holidays, but this has been happening a lot this year. Year-to-date, 2018’s lead over 2017 climbed to $960 million or 11.3% at $9.39 billion to $8.44 billion. There’s no way this lead will remain this high at the end of the year, but it would take a serious collapse for 2018 to not finish with a higher total box office than 2017. More...

Friday Estimates: Halloween Closing in on Venom’s October Record

October 20th, 2018

Before the weekend began, people were asking if Halloween would top The Nun for biggest opening weekend for a horror film released this year. After Friday, no one is asking that question anymore, because the answer is obviously going to be yes. The film pulled in $33.34 million during its opening day, meaning it is within striking distance of Venom’s record for biggest October weekend. Venom earned $32.50 million during its opening day. Additionally, Halloween has 81% positive reviews and a B plus from CinemaScore, which is great for a horror film. On the other hand, horror films do tend to have shorter legs than comic book movies, so Halloween is essentially a coin-toss to break the record. Universal is going with $80.3 million, so we likely won’t know the answer until Monday when the final numbers show up. More...

Theater Averages: Beautiful Start

October 17th, 2018

Beautiful Boy had the best theater average of the weekend and the fourth best average for a limited release this year at $54,722 in four theaters. However, its reviews are well below what limited releases normally need to thrive, so I’m worried about its legs going forward. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Charm City, which opened with $10,511 in its lone theater. More...

Theater Averages: Free Doesn’t Go Solo

October 3rd, 2018

Free Solo didn’t quite live up to weekend estimates, but it still overtook Eighth Grade for the best theater average of the year with $72,551. It also surpassed An Inconvenient Truth as the documentary with the best theater average of all time. The Old Man and the Gun was in a distant second place with an average of $28,426 in five theaters, while Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. was close behind with an average of $21,787 in two. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was Colette with an average of $10,172 in 38 theaters. It will continue to expand. More...

Weekend Estimates: Night School earns a Passing Grade with $28 million

September 30th, 2018

The weekend box office lived up to expectations, for the most part. Night School is projected to earn $28 million over the weekend, which almost matches its $29 million production budget. It would take tiny legs to fail to cover its production budget, which is unlikely. Granted, its reviews are only 31% positive, but it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, so its target audience liked it a whole lot more than the critics did. Its international start wasn’t great at $5.5 million in 19 markets, but within expectations. It earned second place in the U.K. with $2.02 million in 452 theaters, as well as third place in Australia with $1.20 million on 198. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Old Man and the Limited Release

September 27th, 2018

Robert Redford’s swan song, The Old Man and the Gun, leads a group of limited releases this week. It should be the biggest hit on this week’s list and could even become an Awards Season contender. Bad Reputation could also open really well, for a documentary. More...

The Old Man and the Gun Trailer

August 22nd, 2018

Crime caper starring Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek opens September 28 ... Full Movie Details.

The true story of Forrest Tucker, from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are detective John Hunt, who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment to his craft, and a woman, who loves him in spite of his chosen profession. More...