November 29th, 2011
It's another relatively slow week on the home market. The two biggest release of the week don't come out till Friday, while there are few other releases to pick up the slack. As for the search for best and not necessarily the biggest, there are a few contenders. Cave of Forgotten Dreams earned Oscar-worthy reviews and the 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack is a clear contender for Pick of the Week. But in the end I went with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on DVD or Blu-ray.
More...
November 26th, 2011
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a movie I've been looking forward to since I first heard about it. This is true for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's just a fun name. As I've said in the past, there are times when the name of a movie will make you stop and take notice. Secondly, the film stars two of my favorite actors, Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine. Like most people, I first noticed Alan Tudyk from his role in Firefly and, while he's rarely been the lead in a movie, he's always impressed me in whatever role he's had. I first saw Tyler Labine, not in Dead Last, but in a teen show called Breaker High. (He played one of the two less-than-cool-guys in the high school, while his fellow outcast was played by Ryan Gosling.) Finally, the film just had an awesome premise. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie so much that I'm worried it just won't be able to live up to my expectations. Will it defy the odds?
More...
October 5th, 2011
There were only a couple films to topped the $10,000 mark on this week's per theater chart, while many more failed to reach the Mendoza Line. We find Munger Road on the high end with $36,605 in its lone theater. Meanwhile, Take Shelter was the only other film in the $10,000 club with an average of $17,347. Both film should expand, but the latter should have a better shot at earning some mainstream success over the former.
More...
September 30th, 2011
The list of limited releases this week includes a few films that are earning amazing reviews while going after very different target audiences. Take Shelter should please fans of art house dramas and has the best shot at earning some measure of mainstream success. Benda Bilili! is the best bet for fans of documentaries, but its potential to expand is more limited. Meanwhile, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is anything but the typical art house film, but its reviews are so good that it deserves to find an audience, even if it has to wait till the home market to do so.
More...
September 1st, 2011
After a strong start, August ended on a really low note, and that's bad news for September, as it means the positive momentum we had is gone. Looking at the upcoming month, there are 18 films opening wide over five weekends (including one re-release) but only four or five of them have a real shot at being midlevel hits, and it is unlikely that all of them will get there. Worse still, there are no films opening this month that look like they will match The Town, which made more than $90 million last September. In fact, the selection of releases is so weak that the film I'm most looking forward to is a limited release that has already come out on Video on Demand, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. (It has seventeen reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and still not a negative one among them.)
More...
August 26th, 2011
While there are many limited releases coming out this week, very few of them are earning good reviews. It could be a bad week on the per theater chart. Higher Ground has the best shot at success, but Circumstance could do well. Meanwhile, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil opens On Demand today before hitting theaters next month and coming out on DVD and Blu-ray in November. It looks awesome and I can't wait to see it.
More...
December 15th, 2010
Like the previous films in the franchise, The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader will clearly be a bigger hit internationally than it will domestically. This weekend it climbed into top spot with $66.18 million on 10,0159 screens in 58 markets for a total of $80.22 million. It opened in first place in Russia with $7.85 million on 1284 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.87 million. Its debut in France was a little stronger than its opening here at $5.15 million on 739 screens, likewise in South Korea with $3.89 million on 562 screens over the weekend and $5.28 million in total. In Mexico it made $3.36 million on 522 screens over the weekend and $7.01 million including previews. On the other hand, it only made $3.87 million on 536 screens in the U.K. By comparison, the first film made more than $15 million in its opening and the second more than $8 million. Its going to need strong holds going forward if it is to have any shot at breaking even. The fact that it fell just 23% during its second weekend in Spain is a hopeful sign. However, it still only managed $2.21 million on 598 screens, while this strong hold was in part due to the total lack of wide releases in that market this past weekend.
More...
