October 28th, 2008
There were more than half-a-dozen new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's sales chart, including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That film topped the charts with 3.03 million units sold for sales of $70.57 million. However, the Franchise Collection placed sixth with 177,000 units sold and $10.85 million in sales. Add in the individual releases and the total sales were more than $80 million from 3.3 million units sold.
More...
October 28th, 2008
There were fewer new releases that were able to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week, but the same film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was able to come out on top.
More...
October 20th, 2008
New releases were again dominant on this week's DVD sales chart with three in the top five, five in the top ten, and nine in total. This includes the new number one selling DVD, Sleeping Beauty, which generated $22.43 million in revenue from 1.34 million units sold.
More...
October 20th, 2008
New releases played an important role on this week's rental charts, taking the top two spots. However, while The Happening and You Don't Mess With the Zohan finished one - two, Iron Man was very close behind in third.
More...
October 12th, 2008
German Unification Day helped The Baader Meinhof Complex grow by 10% as it remained in second place in Germany with $4.82 million on 594 screens for a total of $10.99 million after two weeks. Adding in two smaller markets and the film made $5.35 million on 660 screens in 3 markets for a total of $12.06 million.
More...
October 7th, 2008
It's not a good week for first-run releases, as there's not a single one from that group that would get serious contention for DVD Pick of the Week. However there are a number of other contenders, including classic releases Sleeping Beauty - Two-Disc Platinum Edition - on Blu-ray and Ray Harryhausen - Ultimate Collector's Giftset on DVD or Blu-ray. There as also a couple of TV on DVD picks to look at like 30 Rock - Season Two and Robot Chicken - Season Three. The final release this week that I would like to give a shout out to is Jack Brooks - Monster Slayer on DVD. (Finally, there are a couple of late spotlight reviews that are worth picking up: NCIS - Season Five and Ghost Whisperer - Season Three.) One last note. While first run releases were weak, the overall list was long and the second part of my run-down can be found here.
More...
October 5th, 2008
Eagle Eye opened in sixth place on the international chart with $4.51 million on 1,124 screens in 13 markets, much of that coming from two markets: Australia and Mexico. In the former it made $1.42 million on 231 screens while in the latter it made just a hair under $900,000 on 350 screens. In both markets the film finished in second place, while it opens in major markets every week until the end of October, while it doesn't end its run until early next year.
More...
September 28th, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor fell more than 50% this past weekend down to $4.24 million on 2905 screens in 46 markets for a total of $276.19 million internationally. It had no major market openings this past weekend, but added $1.36 million on 361 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $5.13 million.
More...
September 21st, 2008
Journey To The Centre of the Earth opened in first place in Australia by a huge margin with $2.87 million on 362 screens, more than four times its nearest competitor. Overall the film made $6.41 million on 1417 screens in 27 markets for a total of $57.65 million, with a few smaller openings from now till its debut in Japan at the end of October.
More...
September 14th, 2008
Wanted failed to reach first place during its opening in Germany, but still rose dramatically earning sixth internationally with $6.13 million on 1590 screens in 29 markets for a total of $147.68 million. In Germany is finished in second place behind The Dark Knight's third weekend of release earning $3.18 million on 444 screens, which is still impressive. Next up is Spain this weekend, while it opens wide in Japan next weekend and China early in October.
More...
September 8th, 2008
After the summer comes the fall, which was certainly true this past weekend. Bangkok Dangerous and rest of the market only pulled in just $68 million over the weekend, which is 45% lower than last weekend. However, while that's a huge drop-off, more importantly it is nearly 15% lower than the same weekend last year and the ninth weakest weekend since 2000, and worst weekend in five years. Year-to-date, 2008 is now behind 2007 by just over 1% at $6.75 billion to $6.82 billion, but hopefully it will bounce back next weekend. I can't imagine it will be worse.
More...
September 7th, 2008
You Don't Mess With The Zohan slipped out of the top five with $7.96 million on 2296 screens in 33 markets for a total of $69.53 million internationally, which is more than Adam Sandler's previous film made in total internationally. This week the film opened in France landing in 10th place with just $816,000, but it was playing on just 171 screens. On the other hand, it added $1.66 million on 335 screens in Spain for a two-week total of $6.45 million.
More...
August 27th, 2008
The Dark Knight remained in first place with $34.28 million on 7194 screens in 62 markets for a total of $377.64 million internationally and $867.06 million worldwide. This week the film debuted in first place in Germany with $9.79 million on 754 screen, which is roughly five times what the original made when it opened there in 2005. It also remained in first place in France with $5.8 million on 820 screens for a total of $17.7 million, which is more than the original made in total. Its best market so far remains the U.K. where it has made $79.84 million, including 2.67 million on 440 screens this past weekend. On the other hand, the film is running out of markets to open in, and it will have trouble matching its domestic total. Perhaps it will reach $1 billion worldwide, but that's not a sure thing.
More...
August 21st, 2008
The Dark Knight reclaimed first place on the international chart with $42.4 million on 7700 screens in 61 markets for a total of $328.6 million internationally and just over $800 million worldwide, which puts it ahead of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for the year. This week it opened in first place in France and Spain $9.6 million on 818 screens in the former and $6.85 million on 570 screens in the latter. Meanwhile in South Korea the film was down just 23% earning $3.47 million on 463 screens for a total of $13.92 million after just two weeks. The film is also still in first place in the U.K. added $4.30 million on 499 screens for a total of $74.91 million, which is still a bit behind Mamma Mia!'s running tally of $84.34 million, and it is unlikely that it will catch it in the end in that market.
More...
August 17th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda slipped to sixth place with $9.34 million on 4736 screens in 47 markets for a total of $349.69 million internationally. The film is starting to shed theaters and markets at an accelerated pace, however, it still has openings in Italy and other smaller markets ahead of it, while it could reach $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide before the end of its run. (The latter it a lot easier than the former.)
More...
July 13th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda saw its weekend numbers climb by close to 70%, and its weekend haul of $40.16 million on 5325 screens in 40 markets was the best of its run so far. A run that has brought in $154.13 million so far. However, it still remained in second place thanks to the opening of Hancock. The film had a pair of second place openings including the U.K. where it made $8.63 million on 446 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.96 million. Meanwhile in Germany it was not as strong with $4.48 million on 831 screens, but it still managed second place. The film also slipped to second place in Australia, but it held well down just 24% to $3.83 million on 363 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.63 million.
More...
July 6th, 2008
Sex and the City fell more than 40% this past weekend, but still eared $12.94 million on 5991 screens in 53 markets over the weekend for a total of $198.97 million after a month of release. The film had no major, or even midlevel openings, in fact, it's only market of note where it hasn't opened in yet is Japan, where it does make its nationwide debut at the end of August. However, it still did well in a number of markets cracking $1 million in Australia ($1.58 million on 365 screens), Russia ($1.50 million on 496), U.K. ($1.18 million on 388), and Spain ($1.08 million on 359). In fact, in the U.K. the film has earned $49.24 million after a month of release, which is even better than it managed domestically, if you take into account the relative size of the two markets.
More...
June 29th, 2008
The Happening fell from first to fifth with just $14.05 million on 5579 screens in 65 markets for a total of $56.40 million after two weeks. Good news, it was able to remain in first place in France despite falling 60% to $1.93 million on 550 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.68 million after two. On the other hand, it fell from first to third in Spain down 65% to $1.20 million on 387 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.41 million after two. Even worse, it was down just under 80% in Italy and just over 80% in South Korea earning $367,000 on 338 screens and $206,000 on 293 screens respectively. Its totals of $2.77 million in the former and $2.18 million in the latter are hardly impressive, and well below its domestic run. This is a shocking decline, especially since films tend to have better legs internationally than they have domestically. And while it should earn more on the international marketplace, there's little hope of reaching $200 million worldwide now.
More...
June 22nd, 2008
Sex and the City was knocked out of top spot with $23.71 million on 5591 screens in 44 markets for a total of $136.00 million after three weeks of release. Its biggest opening came from the Netherlands, which is a midlevel market at best, but it earned $810,000 on 108 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. This is a very strong opening and the film will have little trouble topping Iron Man in the market and will even come relatively close to Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's total. Additionally, the film earned $4.29 million on 452 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $14.88 million while in the U.K. it pulled in $3.50 million on 470 screens over the weekend lifting its total of $39.80 million after three.
More...
June 16th, 2008
Another strong weekend at the box office with the new releases topping expectations, at least combined. Overall, theaters pulled in close to $180 million over the weekend, which was up nearly 3% from last weekend. More importantly, it was up nearly 24% from the same weekend last year. This helped the summer season shoot ahead of last year's pace while year-to-date 2008 is behind 2007's pace by less than 1% at $4.06 billion to $4.07 billion. Before this weekend, 2008 should take the lead in terms of raw dollars, and while it is still more than 3% behind 2007 in terms of attendance, that too could change before long.
More...
June 15th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda started its international run in third place with $20.46 million on 1521 screens in 9 markets. The film reportedly set records in a number of its smaller, Southeast Asian debuts while its brought in an impressive $8.26 million on 821 screens in Russia and $7.84 million on 632 screens in South Korea (including midweek numbers). Next up for the film is Australia and Mexico next weekend while it has major market opening throughout the summer.
More...
June 12th, 2008
There was a chance The Incredible Hulk and The Happening would open with nearly identical weekends of around $50 million each. However, the box office potential of the two films has diverged lately with The Incredible Hulk going up a little and The Happening going way down. Combined, they should still top last year's group of new releases, and perhaps even help close the gap on the year-to-date race.
More...
June 10th, 2008
Sorry, wrong Khan. Mongol, which is a movie about Genghis Khan, opened in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $27,065 in five theaters, which gives it plenty of room to grow. The overall number one film, Kung Fu Panda, placed second with $14,642. Next up was the second place film on the overall box office charts, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, which made an average of $11,130 in each of its nearly 3500 theaters. The final film to cross the $10,000 mark was The Grocer's Son with $10,587 in its lone theater.
More...
June 9th, 2008
It was a very strong weekend at the box office with the two new releases earning nearly $100 million combined. This helped the overall box office shoot up to $175 million, or 4% higher than last weekend, which is nice, but not spectacular. What is spectacular is the weekend's 29% increase from the same frame last year. Year-to-date, 2008 is still behind 2007, but by less than 2% at $3.81 billion to $3.87 billion. With a little luck, 2008 could catch-up by this time next week.
More...
June 8th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda and You Don't Mess With the Zohan both opened strongly over the weekend.
Panda made an impressive $60 million, according to Paramount's Sunday estimate, about on par with Pixar's Cars and Monsters, Inc..
Zohan, meanwhile, pulled in an estimated $40 million, which is almost exactly the same as most of Adam Sandler's other comedy releases (see Click, 50 First Dates,
Anger Management, Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy and The Waterboy).
More...
June 8th, 2008
Two wide releases this week, and both had strong sites. This is good news as so far this summer I've been disappointed with the selection of sites more often than not. However, while both were strong, Kung Fu Panda's Official Site was in a class by itself and it easily wins the Weekly Website Award.
More...
June 5th, 2008
June starts off with two potential blockbusters. Fortunately, they share nearly none of their respective target audiences and this could help them both reach their potential. Kung Fu Panda and You Don't Mess With the Zohan are both opening in more than 3,000 theaters (4,000 in the case of the former), and both should hit $10,000 on the per theater chart. Considering this weekend last year was weaker than expected, this bodes well for 2008's shot at playing catch-up.
More...
June 1st, 2008
June is filled with top picks, and practically only top picks. The best schedule for the overall health of the movie industry is only two wide releases, the potential blockbuster and the counter-programming release. This month that's exactly what happens; however, almost every week the counter-programming film has a serious shot at $100 million as well. If everything goes well, then we could have 8 films opening this month that crack 9 digits and that would put 2008 back on track. Even a more conservative estimate has four $100 million movies coming out this month, but there's a lot of uncertainty involved here. On the limited front, none of May's limited releases managed to breakout and expand wide, so there's still an opening for sleeper hit of the summer. That role could be filled by The Promotion, which appears to have the best shot at escaping the art hour circuit and reaching multiplexes.
More...
March 20th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for The Grand, The Proposal, The Legend of Secret Pass, and more!
More...
September 20th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Superhero!, The Women, and more!
More...
August 23rd, 2007
This week's round of new cast information contains updates for Day Zero, The Fighter, He's Just Not That Into You and more!
More...
August 18th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Walk Hard, The Other Boleyn Girl, The International and more!
More...
