December 15th, 2010
The best new release of the week didn't actually come out this week. This is because The Twilight Saga: Eclipse wasn't released on Tuesday like the rest of the new releases, but on the weekend. Despite having fewer days to sell DVDs, it still topped the sales chart with 2.39 million units / $43.06 million; however, this was lower than the opening sales of its predecessors, both of which had the same release strategy.
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November 29th, 2010
This is the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which means it is the day after Cyber Monday and the end of the busiest gift buying weekend of the year. So it should come as no surprise that there's a bit of a lull when it comes to DVD / Blu-ray releases. In fact, the biggest selling film of the week doesn't come out till Saturday. There are still more than a few releases that are worth checking out, including this week's Pick of the Week, Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack. However, there is no real depth to this week's list and the drop from top tier to second tier is fast and steep.
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November 28th, 2010
Ever since Harry Potter first broke records, practically every studio has tried to cash in on a similar "Kid Sorcerer" film. Most have failed. Disney tried this summer with The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which was partially adapted from The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of the original Fantasia. That short is one of the most memorable cartoons ever made, and even 70 years after its debut it is thought of fondly. Will this film have the same staying power?
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September 22nd, 2010
It took just two weeks for Resident Evil: Afterlife to become the first film in the franchise to reach $100 million on the international scene. It earned $39.61 million on 6235 screens in 47 markets for a total of $103.58 million internationally and $147.48 million worldwide. Its biggest opening came in Germany where it earned $5.38 million on 434 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $5.85 million. It also took top spot in Mexico with $4.38 million on 658 screens, in South Korea with $3.88 million on 367, and in Brazil with $2.96 million on 298. It did fall 62% during its second weekend in Japan, which is tragic for that market; however, it still managed $5.00 million on 634 screens over the weekend for a total of $27.71 million after two. With debuts in France, Australia, and other markets still ahead of it, this film will have no trouble getting to $200 million worldwide, while $200 million internationally is a solid goal.
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September 15th, 2010
Resident Evil: Afterlife took top spot on the international chart. In fact, it dominated with $41.70 million on 3,935 screens in 33 markets for a total of $68.36 million worldwide. After just one weekend of release, the film is nearly halfway to catching up with Extinction for best in the franchise. It goes without saying that there will be another installment. Its biggest individual market was Japan, where it opened in first place with $13.27 million on 649 screens over the weekend and $15.58 million in total. It also took the top spot in Spain with an impressive $3.36 million on 488 screens, while it was a little softer in the U.K. with a chart topping opening of $2.61 million on 361 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in Italy with $1.72 million on 270 screens during its debut there.
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September 8th, 2010
It was a busy week for Inception, as it rose to top spot on the international chart and crossed two major milestones in the process: $400 million internationally and $700 million worldwide. Over the weekend, it earned $21.00 million on 7,785 screens in 61 markets for a total of $425.15 million internationally and $702.30 million worldwide. Much of this was due to its debut in China, where it placed first with $13.6 million. It has yet to open in Italy, but it will likely start falling off at an accelerated pace from now till its premiere in that market at the end of the month.
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September 1st, 2010
The Expendables held on to top spot on the international chart with $24.70 million on 4823 screens in 38 markets for a total of $101.46 million after just three weeks of release. It had a few openings over the weekend, most notably in Germany where it placed third with $2.94 million on 531 screens. Meanwhile, it fell from first to fourth in the U.K., but still added $2.02 million on 453 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.52 million after two. With openings in Italy and Japan ahead, the film will have no trouble getting to $250 million worldwide, which is more than enough to ensure a profit.
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August 25th, 2010
Powered by openings in a trio of major markets, The Expendables climbed into top spot with $35.49 million on 4501 screens in 30 markets for a still early international total of $60.30 million. At this point, reaching $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide is practically a given. The film's best opening of the weekend came from the U.K. where it debuted in the top spot with $6.08 million on 453 screens, while it was also triumphant in France with $4.75 million on 445 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for fifth place in South Korea with $1.25 million on 298 screens over the weekend and $1.52 million in total. Next up for the film is Germany this weekend, while it opens in Italy next month and in Japan in October.
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August 18th, 2010
As the summer blockbuster season comes to a close, there are few major releases in theaters worldwide. Regardless, there are still a few major milestones being reached, and a few more to come. For instance, Inception maintained its hold in first place with $35.51 million on 6879 screens, in 61 markets, for a total of $320.44 million internationally. It also reached a major milestone worldwide with $568.91 million, making it just one of 78 films to reach $500 million. It is still going strong in a number of major markets, including Spain, where it remained in first place with $2.72 million on 497 screens over the weekend, for a total of $10.15 million after two. It was down just 22% in Brazil adding $1.56 million on 292 screens over the weekend and $4.43 million after two. Its best market overall is the U.K. where it has made $45.53 million after a month of release, including $2.62 million on 472 screens this past weekend. By this time next week, it should have $600 million worldwide, with $700 million becoming a lot more likely.
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August 8th, 2010
Over the past weekend, Toy Story 3 fell to second place on the international chart with $38.69 million on 7806 screens in 42 markets. However, it rose to second place for 2010 on the international chart with $436.65 million overtaking Shrek Forever After. The only 2010 release that has made more internationally is Alice in Wonderland. Worldwide it now has $826.41 million and it has very likely already surpassed Finding Nemo to become Pixar's biggest hit. The film's only major release of the week came in Germany over the weekend, where it made $4.03 million on 740 screens, bringing the total to $4.35 million. While this is a good result, its not great, and prior to this the film had been doing great. It also remained in the top spot in the U.K. over the weekend, with $12.81 million on 564 screens, for a two week total of $62.82 million. It has likely overtaken Alice in Wonderland to become the biggest hit of 2010 released in that market. As for the film's future, it has yet to open in South Korea and Scandinavia. If it does well in those markets, $1 billion worldwide is still within reach.
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August 1st, 2010
After opening in a few markets last weekend, Inception got its international run off in earnest last weekend and climbed into second place with $56.78 million on 5,177 screens in 36 markets for a still early total of $87.86 million.
It opened in a number of major markets and debuted in first place in most of them.
The biggest was Japan with $7.86 million on 525 screens over the weekend and $8.94 million in total.
France was also a lucrative market for the film with $8.01 million on 626 screens, while in South Korea it made $6.01 million on 583 screens over the weekend and $7.89 million in total.
Russia added $7.08 million on 895 screens to its weekend haul, while Australia produced $6.67 million on 413.
The film only managed seventh in Mexico with just $467,000 on 152 screens, but this was a low screen count.
In the U.K. the film was down just 29% to $6.47 million on 456 screens over the weekend for a total of $22.01 after two.
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July 26th, 2010
While neither of the two new releases exactly earned blockbuster level openings, Inception made up for this by topping nearly everyone's high end expectations. This helped the overall box office reach still summer-like proportions at $162 million. Granted, this was down 9% from last weekend, but more importantly, it's up 7% from last year.
Year-to-date, 2010 has earned $6.49 billion compared to $6.21 billion for 2009, while ticket sales are still down 2%.
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July 25th, 2010
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse slipped to second place with $43.82 million on 9,527 screens in 61 markets for a total of $295.66 million internationally and $560.45 million worldwide.
This includes a first place debut in Germany with $9.76 million on 767 screens over the weekend and $12.30 million in total.
On the other hand, the film was down a stunning 75% in the U.K. to $5.19 million over the weekend and $33.84 million after two.
The amazing growth the franchise saw from installment one to two is gone, but this is still a fantastically profitable movie.
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July 22nd, 2010
Every year as the end of the summer school holidays near, the summer blockbuster season simply ends.
Usually this takes place early in August, but some years we get an extra week or two of $100 million releases.
This year, it could end this weekend.
Neither of the two wide releases are surefire hits; in fact, combined they might not make $100 million during their theatrical runs.
Worse still, there's a chance we might not get another $100 million hit until November.
(This prediction is a little bleak, but certainly not out of the question.)
Weakness in the new releases could leave Inception in first place during its sophomore stint, while if it holds as well as some think, it could help 2010 maintain pace with last year.
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July 20th, 2010
Neither of the two new releases were able to match expectations, while the holdovers were not able to compensate. This left the overall box office down 7% to $178 million for the weekend. That was still 11% higher than last year, lifting 2010's lead over 2009 to $6.22 billion to $5.97 billion.
Attendance is still down by 2%, but revenue is higher by 4% thanks to the increased price for 3D tickets.
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July 15th, 2010
Inception, one of the most anticipated films of the summer, hits theaters this weekend, which should help the box office keep up its torrid pace of the past few weeks.
It will need to, because this time last year saw the release of The Half-Blood Prince, which was one of the most anticipated films of last summer.
Inception likely won't top Half-Blood Prince at the box office, though it could come close.
But combined with the other wide release and holdovers, 2010 should put another win under its belt.
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July 1st, 2010
The summer has really started to get depressing, not just disappointing. It's getting to the point where a film merely matching expectations is enough to celebrate, while beating expectations is practically unheard of. Speaking of which, of the ten wide releases that opened in June only four matched expectations. Granted, that's better than May, but still disappointing. Going forwards, what is likely the biggest hit of July actually opens on the last day of June. Given how front-loaded The Twilight Saga: Eclipse could be, this could have a serious effect when we compare this year's box office to last July.
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