June 14th, 2015
The week ending May 31 was a terrible week for new releases with only one that sold more than 50,000 units on the combined home market chart. Fortunately, American Sniper held on a lot better than most releases do, and was down just 27% to 844,000 units/ $16.01 million in consumer spending for the week, giving it totals of 1.99 million units / $37.40 million after two weeks of release. It is now in fifth place on the 2015 combined chart, but again, given its box office, it should be higher.
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May 30th, 2015
There were six new releases to reach the top 30 of the DVD sales chart this week. We also have a new number one DVD, 50 Shades of Grey, which opened with 573,000 units / $8.59 million for the week.
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May 30th, 2015
There were only four new releases on this week's Blu-ray sales chart, but three of them reached the top five. This includes a new number one Blu-ray, 50 Shades of Grey, which sold 852,000 units and generated $16.74 million in sales. This represents 73% of total Blu-rays sold this week, while the film's opening week Blu-ray share was just under 60%. This is a shockingly high opening week Blu-ray share, especially given the target demographic.
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May 27th, 2015
The top of the DVD sales chart were dominated by new releases with four of the top five DVDs new to the charts. This includes Paddington, which took top spot with 216,000 units / $3.24 million.
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May 27th, 2015
New releases took the top three spots on the Blu-ray sales chart, led by Paddington. The film sold 168,000 units and generated $3.35 million in sales. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 44%, which is amazing for a live action family film.
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May 23rd, 2015
After two weeks with no prime releases, this week we have one prime new release, Taken 3. It dominated the Blu-ray sales chart with about 44% of the total overall Blu-ray market. This was enough to help the overall Blu-ray market grow 23% in terms of units and 13% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. Compared to last year, the Blu-ray market was 5.6% lower in terms of units and 18% lower in terms of revenue. Changes in the DVDs sales were nearly identical, so the overall Blu-ray share remained at 34%.
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May 23rd, 2015
There was only one big new release on the DVD sales chart. Taken 3 earned an easy first place with 435,000 units / $6.48 million. This is well below the opening week sales of the first two films in the franchise.
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May 23rd, 2015
New releases were not terrible, which makes this week on the Blu-ray sales chart better than the past couple of weeks. Taken 3 earned first place with 253,000 units / $5.03 million over the week for an opening week Blu-ray share of 37%. Its raw numbers are significantly lower than Taken 2's opening week Blu-ray sales. Additionally, its opening week Blu-ray share was just 37%, which is lower than most action films. Then again, its reviews were awful, so even fans of the franchise might not be interested in spending extra to get the high definition version.
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May 15th, 2015
It was another bad week on the home market with almost no first-run releases on the Blu-ray sales chart. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death was the closest we had to a first-run release, while both Batman vs. Robin and The Babadook outsold it. This wasn't enough to keep pace with last week and the Blu-ray sales fell 19% in terms of units and 10% in terms of revenue. This week last year was Easter, so it should come as no surprise that the home market was much stronger last year. Blu-ray sales fell 76% in terms of units and 71% in terms of revenue. That's painful, but not unexpected. DVDs sales were down by roughly the same amount, so the overall Blu-ray share remained at 34%.
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April 28th, 2015
This is usually a terrible time of year on the home market with the dredges of January and February coming out and precious little else. However, this week is actually really strong with not only one of the best films of the year, Paddington, as well as a number of summer shows coming out on TV on DVD. Unfortunately, it is also a really shallow week and with the May monthly preview due on Friday, I'm not even going to pretend it's a deep week and I'm ignoring anything below second-tier releases. As far as Pick of the Week is concerned, there are really only two contenders. The first is the aforementioned Paddington DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. The second is Mommy a Canadian movie coming out on DVD this week. Paddington is the Pick of the Week, but Mommy earns the rarely awarded Puck of the Week.
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April 27th, 2015
Taken 3 is the second movie I've reviewed this weekend. The first was atrocious, but unfortunately, this one earned even worse reviews. Is it that bad? Is it simply a mindless action film that can take up two hours of your life?
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April 20th, 2015
It is another terrible week on the home market. There is only one big movie coming out this week, Taken 3, but its Tomatometer Score is in single digits. It is infinitely skippable. As for contenders for Pick of the Week, there are not a lot. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (DVD or Blu-ray) is the only real contender, while A Most Violent Year is on the list because the screener arrived late and it is the only other release that is an easy recommendation.
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April 2nd, 2015
Cinderella returned to first place after a week in second. It did so with $40.0 million in 53 markets for totals of $187.7 million internationally and $337.3 million worldwide. The film opened in a number of major markets, including the U.K., where it earned first place with $5.65 million in 554 theaters. The film took $3.8 million in France and $3.7 million in Australia, while Brazil was close behind with $3.4 million. The film's debut in Spain wasn't as strong at $2.1 million, but that was still the best result of the weekend and the third best opening of the year. Meanwhile in China, the film added $12.33 million over the full week for a total of $65.92 million after three. At this pace, the film will have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which will be enough to cover its entire production budget and perhaps all of its P&A budget.
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March 26th, 2015
As expected, Insurgent earned first place on the international chart earning $48.4 million on 10,187 screens in 76 markets. The film's biggest market was France, where it opened in first place with $6 million, while it made $4.37 million in 497 theaters in the U.K. earning first place there as well. Its best growth came from Brazil, where it nearly tripled the first film with $4.2 million. The film had to settle for second place in Russia with $3.76 million on 1,570 screens, but that was still close to 20% more than its predecessor opened with.
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March 16th, 2015
As expected, Cinderella easily won the race to the top of the box office. However, it didn't quite do as well as expected. Additionally, Run All Night's opening was also a little softer than expected. Fortunately, despite this, the overall box office still bounced back from last weekend growing by 47% to $132 million. This was also higher than last year by 16%, which is really high for a year-over-year comparison. Year-to-date, 2015 is ahead of 2014 by 2.3% at $2.01 billion to $1.97 billion. This is not a huge lead, but it is still enough growth that the overall industry should be happy.
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March 12th, 2015
Last weekend was a disaster, the worst weekend at the box office so far this year. This weekend should bounce back with the opening of Cinderella. Its the first family film to come out since The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and its reviews are excellent. The other film opening wide this week is Run All Night, which is the latest Liam Neeson action film. There's not much more that needs to be said about that. This weekend last year was led by Mr. Peabody and Sherman with $21.81 million. Cinderella will crush that figure. In fact, Cinderella might make more than the top five made combined last year.
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February 19th, 2015
Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the international box office with an opening weekend of $158 million in 58 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $173.56 million. Worldwide, the film took $258.73 million during its opening weekend, which puts it just behind Taken 3 for the year. It became the biggest hit shortly after the weekend ended. The film's biggest market was in the U.K., where it made $20.90 million in 586 theaters. This is better than it opened with here, relative to the size of the two markets, so we can blame the U.K. for the success of this film. It also did incredibly well in Germany ($15.2 million on 741 screens); France ($12 million on 785); and Russia ($10.68 million on 1,105). Obviously the film is going to be turned into a franchise.
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February 13th, 2015
Jupiter Ascending earned first place on the international chart with $32.5 million. At first glance, this doesn't seem too bad for an opening weekend on the international chart, except the film was playing in 65 markets, so it doesn't have a lot of room to grow. Its biggest market was Russia, where it earned first place with $4.97 million on 1,900 screens. On the other hand, it only managed fourth place in South Korea with $1.67 million on 561 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.03 million.
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February 4th, 2015
Running Man opened in top spot in both China and on the International chart with $37.05 million over the weekend in its native market. Films in China tend to have short legs, most of the time. There's still too much uncertainty to really predict the film's final box office numbers after just this weekend's results. On a side note, it wasn't that long ago that it would be unthinkable for a film opening in just China to finish first on the international chart. Now it is relatively common.
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January 29th, 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies easily earned first place in China and that helped it rocket back to the top of the international chart with $54.3 million over the weekend for totals of $617.0 million internationally and $866.5 million worldwide. The film had a total opening of $50.00 million in China, which was more than the rest of the market combined.
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January 27th, 2015
As expected, American Sniper earned first place, but it did so with a much stronger sophomore stint. As for the new releases, The Boy Next Door matched expectations (nearly) perfectly but the other two missed the Mendoza Line. Overall, the box office was down 21% to $159 million; however, this is good for a post-holiday weekend. Compared to last year, the overall box office was 37% higher. This kind of year-over-year growth usually only happens when holidays are misaligned. Year-to-date, 2015 is ahead of 2014 by 4.1% at $856 million to $823 million. It is obviously too soon to celebrate, but after last year's losses, I'll take any reason to be optimistic.
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January 22nd, 2015
Taken 3 rose to first place during its third weekend of release earning $31.4 million in 49 markets for an international total of $99.0 million. Its biggest debut of the weekend was in the Philippines, where it earned first place with $2.5 million on 218 screens. It also earned first place in Russia, but with only $1.80 million on 1,438. Its biggest market was the U.K., where it remained in first place with $5.00 million in 500 theaters for a two-week total on $18.55 million.
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January 21st, 2015
American Sniper opened wide after a record-breaking run on limited release and it topped expectations. I know, that's an understatement, but in my defense, I don't think there's anybody that seriously predicted American Sniper would earn $107 million during the four-day weekend. A lot of people didn't think it would earn $107 million in total. Both The Wedding Ringer and Paddington did okay business, all things considering, while Blackhat was also released this past weekend. Overall, the box office was $203 million over the three-day period, which was 61% more than last weekend. More importantly, it was 15% more than the same weekend last year. 2015 is still behind 2014 in the year-to-date comparison, but it closed the gap to just just under $20 million or 2.9%.
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January 16th, 2015
There are four films opening or expanding wide this Martin Luther King Day weekend. American Sniper is expanding wide after its record-breaking limited release run. The Wedding Ringer is expected to earn second place, while Paddington and Blackhat are the other wide releases. They have opposite results when it comes to reviews, but I fear neither will find an audience in theaters. This weekend last year was led by Ride Along with $41.52 million. I don't think American Sniper will match that, nor do I think the overall box office is quite as strong, so 2015 will probably lose the year-over-year comparison. Hopefully it will be close.
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January 15th, 2015
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb rose to first place with $46.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $148.6 million internationally and $248.1 million worldwide. This includes a $26.39 million "opening" in China for an 8-day total of $31.06 million. 8-day opening? It also opened in first place in Russia with $5.55 million on 1,690 screens.
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January 13th, 2015
There was only one new release in the $10,000 club, which left American Sniper with an easy victory. It pulled in an average of $144,880 in four theaters, making it the first film ever to earn an per theater average of $100,000 or more for three weeks. Second place went to A Most Violent Year with an average of $29,135, also in four theaters. Taken 3 was the best of the new releases with an average of $10,908, just ahead of Song of the Sea with an average of $10,470.
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January 13th, 2015
Taken 3 earned first place at the box office, as expected, but it did so earning close to $40 million, which is much more than expected. Unfortunately, the rest of the box office wasn't nearly as strong as the overall number fell 19% from last week to $126 million. Compared to last year, the box office this year was 10% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2015 is behind 2014's pace by 1.8%. However, while 2014 was the worst year at the box office in nearly two decades, last January was the second-best January ever, so it is still way too early to panic.
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January 11th, 2015
A lukewarm critical reception hasn’t deterred movie fans from embracing the (possibly) final installment in the Taken franchise this weekend, with Taken 3 enjoying a $40.4 million debut, according to Fox’s Sunday estimate. That’s down somewhat from the $49.5 million posted by Taken 2 on its debut, but a theater average of $11,200 speaks for itself.
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January 8th, 2015
It is a strange weekend at the box office with the number of wide releases being outnumbered by the number of wide expansions. Taken 3 is the only wide release and it is widely expected to top the chart by a significant margin. Selma is the best film on this week's list and should do well during its first wide weekend. On the other hand, it appears Inherent Vice is not opening truly wide and that it likely won't reach the top ten. This weekend last year was led by Lone Survivor, which earned $37.85 million during its first week of wide release, while the only new wide release was The Legend of Hercules with $8.87 million. There was also another not-so wide expansion, August: Osage County, which earned seventh place with $7.16 million. Overall, it looks like 2015's batch of new releases are not quite as strong as last year's were, but 2015 did win last weekend, so perhaps the holdovers can help 2015 come out on top of the year-over-year comparison.
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January 7th, 2015
It was a big week for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, as it crossed the $500 million mark on the international box office. Over the weekend it pulled in $52.5 million in 65 markets for totals of $504.7 million internationally and $725.3 million worldwide. At this pace, the film will reach $800 million worldwide, possibly as early as this time next week. As for last weekend, there were very few new openings, but the film did earn first place in Argentina with $2.1 million on 397 screens. The film opens in China before the end of the month and the studio is obviously hoping for big numbers in that market.
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January 2nd, 2015
Next weekend there is only one wide release, Taken 3, as well as two limited releases possibly expanding wide. Because of this, Taken 3 is really the only choice for the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Taken 3.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize of one TV on DVD season set, two DVDs or Movies, or three kids TV on DVD releases.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize as described above.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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January 1st, 2015
2014 is over and for the most part, December was a soft ending to a weak year. This is bad news for two reasons. Firstly, it means the overall box office is still soft and it is unlikely that January will start strong. Secondly, last January was a great month, thanks in part to Frozen and other holdovers. The slump can't last forever and Taken 3 should help 2015 get off to a reasonably fast start and it even has a shot at $100 million. American Sniper got off to a really fast start in limited release, so it too could be a hit when it expands wide. By comparison, last January was led by Ride Along, but there were only two other films that didn't completely bomb. I want to say 2015 will start out on a winning note, but given the box office losing streak, it will likely pay to be pessimistic.
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