November 28th, 2012
The Independent Spirit Awards has a special place in the Awards Season. The nominations are the unoffficial start of Awards Season, but the actual awards aren't given out until Oscar weekend, so they are the beginning at the end of Awards Season. They also help out a lot of limited releases that would otherwise not get enough buzz, although they are not so good at predicting Oscar wins. This year, two films tied for most nominations, Moonrise Kingdom and The Silver Linings Playbook, both of which earned five nominations. They weren't the only films to earn multiple nominations though.
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October 30th, 2012
It's not a great week on the home market. The best first run release is The Campaign, but while the movie is good, the DVD and the Blu-ray Combo Pack don't have enough extras. There are a few limited releases that piqued my interested as far as Pick of the Week was concerned. Safety Not Guaranteed on DVD or Blu-ray, Ruby Sparks on DVD or Blu-ray, and Polisse on DVD were all contenders. However, in the end I went with Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection. The Blu-ray box set is awesome.
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October 29th, 2012
Paul Dano is an incredibly talented actor; however, his track record at the box office has been spotty. Ruby Sparks had enough buzz going in that some thought it would expand semi-wide. It did start out well, but by the third week of limited release, it was clear it wasn't going to find a mainstream audience. Did it deserve to perform better? Is it too art house? Or is there another reason it failed to live up to some expectations.
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August 29th, 2012
Sleepwalk With Me found its way on top of the per theater chart with $68,801 in one theater. This is higher than the per theater average for the opening of The Avengers, which was the goal of the filmmakers after their fake fight with Joss Whedon. Samsara opened with an average of $38,111 in two theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Space Station with $14,268 in one theater.
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August 15th, 2012
2 Days in New York led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $11,971 in two theaters. This is well below its predecessor and it likely won't have the same legs either. The re-release of Max and the Junkman earned $11,264 in its lone theater. The overall number one film, The Bourne Legacy, cracked the $10,000 club with an average of $10,185. Red Hook Summer was right behind with an average of $10,018 in four theaters.
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July 31st, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises remained on top of the per theater chart with an average of $14,101 in more than 4,400 theaters. Killer Joe opened with an average of $12,621 in three theaters, while Ruby Sparks was also strong with an average of $10,832 in thirteen. Both films have some potential to expand. Deep Sea 3-D remained strong with $10,412 in its lone theater.
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July 27th, 2012
There are not a huge number of limited releases on this week's chart, but all of them are earning overall positive reviews, and a few of them are generating some strong buzz.
Killer Joe is one such film, but its rating could prevent it from reaching a sizable audience.
Ruby Sparks has far more populous appeal, but weaker reviews.
Searching for Sugar Man has some of the best reviews of the month, but documentaries rarely escape the grasp of limited release.
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