2017 Awards Season: Oscars: And the Winner is... The Shape of Water for Best Picture

March 4th, 2018

It’s Oscar night and we will be live blogging the show. We will announce the winners and have our reactions as they happen, while keeping track of how our readers did in predicting the outcomes. More...

2017 Awards Season: Oscars Nominations: Final Look

March 4th, 2018

It’s Oscar night and we will be live blogging the show. Before that, let’s take a last look at the nominations with a few annotations. Nominees in Italics are those that have received the most votes from our readers so far in our Oscar contest (which is open to new entries until noon, Pacific, today—enter now!). Bold films are those films I think will win. Meanwhile, those that are Underlined are those I want to win. Not all categories have underlined nominees, because not all categories have someone I’m cheering for, or because there are two nominees I couldn’t pick between. For example, I will be happy no matter who wins Best Supporting Actress. One last note: The contest is still going and the leading for Best Picture Switched from The Shape of Water to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to tied over the time I was writing this story. This is the closest I’ve ever seen it. Guessing the best picture correctly will go a long way to winning. More...

2017 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Leading Actor

February 22nd, 2018

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and who should just feel honored to be nominated. This week we look at the four acting categories, continuing with Best Lead Actor. As with every other acting category, there is an overwhelming favorite. More...

Home Market Releases for February 13th, 2018

February 13th, 2018

It’s not a good week in terms of box office numbers, as the biggest box office hit to come out this week is Wonder. It is also one of the best new releases of the week and a contender for Pick of the Week. Other contenders for Pick of the Week include Blade of the Immortal, Night of the Living Dead, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Sinner: Season One. In the end, it was a coin toss between Blade of the Immortal and Night of the Living Dead and the former won. More...

Home Market Releases for January 30th, 2018

January 31st, 2018

This is one of the worse times of year for the home market. Until we start getting the holiday blockbusters landing on DVD / Blu-ray, there’s not much to talk about. That’s not to say there are no good releases, as God’s Own Country, The Square, and Steven Universe: Season One are all easily worth picking up. There are just no big releases. For example, the Pick of the Week goes to Professor Marston & The Wonder Women on Blu-ray, which was sadly ignored by moviegoers when it first hit theaters. More...

2017 Awards Season: Oscars Nominations

January 23rd, 2018

The Oscar nominations were announced starting at just after 5 am Pacific time. They do this every year and no one has been able to adequately explain why to me. At least there were some interesting results this year. The Shape of Water led the way with 13 nominations, which is one below the current record and nearly as many as the next two films combined. Overall, there were seventeen films that earned two or more nominations. More...

2017 Awards Season: SAG Nominations

December 13th, 2017

The Screen Actors Guild were the third group to announce their nominations for this awards season. So far there have been three different films earning the most nominations. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri picked up four nominations, which is extra impressive, as there are only six theatrical categories. More...

Theater Averages: Tonya Skates its Way to $66,039

December 12th, 2017

There was another Oscar contender on top of the theater average chart this weekend, as I, Tonya earned an average of $66,039 in four theaters. Call Me by Your Name was the next best film with an average of $31,761 in nine theaters. The film isn’t expanding as fast as one would expect, given its theater average, but this could be because the studio doesn’t think it has mainstream appeal. The Shape of Water was close behind with an average of $27,843 in 41 theaters and it has already earned some measure of mainstream success. The final film in the $10,000 club was Darkest Hour with an average of $13,989 in 53 theaters. More...

2017 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Nominations

December 11th, 2017

The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. Sort of. (WGA announced the nominations for TV, radio, etc., but not their theatrical nods.) It is still very early in the year, so it is hard to say if there are any real snubs, or if there are any real favorites. The Shape of Water led the way with seven nominations, while The Post and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri were right behind with six a piece. More...

Theater Averages: Awards Season is Shaping Up

December 6th, 2017

It was another stellar weekend at the box office, at least as far as the theater average chart was concerned. The Shape of Water earned an average of $83,282 in two theaters. This is the fourth best of the year so far. Call Me by Your Name was right behind with an average of $73,890 in four theaters. This is by far the best result of the year for a holdover, more than doubling Lady Bird’s sophomore stint. However, Lady Bird expanded its theater count during its second weekend of release, while Call Me by Your Name did not. The Disaster Artist was close behind with an average of $63,755 in 19 theaters. You could argue this was the best result of the week, because the film was playing in many more theaters than the two films above it. Wonder Wheel was well back with an average of $28,111 in five theaters. Normally this would be an amazing start, but this week it won’t make an impact and it could fade away by the end of the year. Finally, Darkest Hour was the final film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $27,093 in four theaters during its second weekend of release. More...

Theater Averages: Name Finds its Calling with $103,233

November 28th, 2017

Call Me by Your Name dominated the theater average chart with an average of $103,233 in four theaters. It is the first film of the year to reach the $100,000 mark on the per theater chart. Lady Bird was the previous yearly champion with an average of $91,109, also in four theaters. The second-best average of the week was earned by Darkest Hour at $43,752 in four theaters. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story earned $18,742 in one theater; that’s amazing for a documentary. The overall number one film, Coco, earned an average of $12,742. The only holdover in the $10,000 club was Justice League, as it pulled in $10,143. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Coco is Cream of the Crop with $50.80 / $72.91 million

November 28th, 2017

Coco gave Disney yet another reason to be thankful for Thanksgiving weekend. It topped the chart, to give the studio 10 of the 11 biggest Thanksgiving openings of all time. Meanwhile, Justice League fell a little bit faster than expected, and $250 million domestically might be out of reach. It depends on how well it holds onto its theater count when The Last Jedi opens. Overall, the box office fell 5.2% from last weekend to $189 million. This is 2.4% higher than the same weekend last year. Granted, that’s not enough to deal with inflation, but at this point, I’m willing to use any excuse to celebrate. Year-to-date, 2017 was able to close the gap with 2016, but is still behind 4.1% with $9.53 billion to $9.95 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Coco Gives Disney Another Thanksgiving Win

November 26th, 2017

Coco will easily top the box office chart this Thanksgiving weekend, with Disney projecting a $71 million 5-day opening, including $49 million from Friday to Sunday. That’s the fourth-best Thanksgiving opening of all time, behind Frozen ($94 million), Moana ($82 million), and Toy Story 2 ($80 million). In all, Disney lays claim to 10 of the top 11 opening weekend’s over this holiday period, although, to be fair, the Hunger Games and Harry Potter franchises both claim several spots in the higher reaches of the Thanksgiving weekend record chart, but were just playing in their second weekend, rather than opening.

Nit-picking aside, it’s a great weekend for Coco. More...

Friday Estimates: Coco Opens Strong, But Moana was Stronger

November 25th, 2017

It’s the Saturday after Black Friday, so things are returning to normal. Coco is leading the way, which no one should be terribly surprised by. It earned $13.24 million on Wednesday, which was about 15% lower than Moana’s opening day. It held on better on Thursday, cutting the gap to about 10% with $8.93 million. However, by Friday, it was behind Moana by 15% again. That said, if is maintains this pace throughout the rest of the weekend it will earn $48 million / $71 million during its opening weekend. This is almost exactly as I predicted and more than enough to make Disney very happy. Furthermore, thanks to 96% positive review and an amazing A plus from CinemaScore, as well as no real competition for the next two weeks, the film should have excellent legs. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Coco Come to Life at the Box Office?

November 22nd, 2017

Coco is the only wide release of the week, which is amazing for Thanksgiving weekend. This should boost its chances at the box office and it is now expected to open in first place. Justice League was expected to repeat as box office champion this weekend, but that’s likely not going to happen now. This weekend last year, Moana earned $82 million over the five-day weekend. I don’t think Coco will match that, but it will come close enough to top the chart. More...

Theater Averages: Justice League tops Chart with $23,165, Three Billboards Grabs Second

November 21st, 2017

Justice League topped the theater average chart with $23,165 in just over 4,000 theaters. This is in the top ten best theater averages for any wide release that has come out this year, but it is about 25% lower than it needed to be. Last week’s winner, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri was pushed into second place with an average of $20,796 in 53 theaters. Its strong hold plus its early success during Awards Season should help it stick around in theaters for a long time. Roman J. Israel, Esq was next with an average of $15,500 in four theaters. This would be a good start for a limited release, but it is scheduled to expand wide on Wednesday, so I’m not sure it is good enough. Finally, Lady Bird rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $10,573 in 238 theaters. It has already earned a significant measure of mainstream success and it still has room to grow. More...

Weekend Estimates: How Much Trouble Does a $96 Million Opening Spell for the DCEU?

November 19th, 2017

Justice League was meant to the be the big pay-off for the first phase of the DC Extended Universe, bringing together the characters introduced in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Wonder Woman, and setting the stage for next year’s Aquaman. The huge success of Wonder Woman this Summer seemed to be just the kick the franchise needed, and, given the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which enjoyed steadily building success leading up to the gigantic opening of The Avengers, an opening north of $150 million, and maybe even approaching $200 million seemed a possibility a couple of months ago. In that context, the $96 million projected weekend announced by Warner Bros. this morning looks like a huge disappointment. What does it mean for the franchise? More...

Friday Estimates: Justice Prevails on Friday with $38.8 Million, but the DCEU in Peril

November 18th, 2017

As predicted, Justice League dominated the Friday box office chart, earning four times its nearest competitor. However, it only managed $38.8 million on Friday, which is well below expectations. In fact, tracking has been dropping and the film is now widely expected to open with less than $100 million over the weekend, making it the only film in the DCEU to fail to reach the century mark during its opening weekend. There are a number of reasons why this film is struggling. Firstly, except for Wonder Woman, no film in the franchise has earned good reviews and mainstream audiences may have given up on the franchise. Secondly, the troubled production meant a lot of people who were part of the target audience, but not hardcore D.C. Comics fans, are taking a wait-and-see approach here. Since its reviews are bad, these people are staying home. Its CinemaScore is just a B plus, so it won’t have great legs going forward. Finally, there’s Thor: Ragnarok. That film is proving to be stronger than expected competition, as it started faster and is holding up better than most similar films. I think Warner Bros. is going to have to rethink the entire DCEU before going forward. Aquaman is already in post-production and Wonder Woman 2 is definitely going forward. After that, I’m not sure what films will or will not be made. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Clear as Mud

November 17th, 2017

I think it will be a bad week at the box office for new limited releases. Mudbound is the best film on this week’s list, but it is playing on Netflix, so it will likely go no where at the box office. Sadly, there’s no other film that can take advantage of the lack of competition. More...

2017 Preview: November

November 1st, 2017

October wasn’t a good month; then again, outside of a few bright spots, the overall box office has been a disaster since early summer. I would love to say November will turn things around, but, while it should be better, in this case “better” is a relative term. There are two films on this list with a chance at $300 million, Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League, while Coco is nearly a guarantee for $200 million. By comparison, last November had a similar result with three films earning between $200 million and $300 million, but none topping that figure. This means, if Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League both get to that milestone, then 2017 could cut into 2016’s lead during the month. It will still take a minor miracle for 2017 to catch up in the end, but just cutting the lead in half by the end of December would be a reason to celebrate at this point. More...

Roman J. Israel, Esq. Trailer

October 31st, 2017

Drama starring Denzel Washington, written and directed by Dan Gilroy, opens November 17 ... Full Movie Details. More...