This graph shows Nicolas Cage’s score on our annual analysis of leading stars at the box office. The Star Score represents points assigned to each of the leading stars of the top 100 movies (based on box office) in the current year and two preceding years. For appearing in the number one movie in a year a star gets 100 points, the number two movie 99 points and so on..
Latest Ranking on Selected Box Office Record Lists
It was a solid debut for the number one film at the box office, as Despicable Me 4 dominated with five-day domestic earnings of $122.6 million after opening in 4,030 theaters on July 3rd. The latest installment has since turned up another $34 million, taking its eight-day total to $157.28 million. As no mega blockbuster films are set to open this weekend, Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 should once again find themselves in the number one and number two positions, respectively, at the box office.
More...
For the past two weeks Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has enjoyed a prime seat atop the box office charts, racking up $140 million from North American ticket sales in its first 13-days. This week, however, will present the biggest test to date for the iconic movie monsters as dystopian action-thriller Civil War arrives in cinemas.
More...
No less that six new wide releases arrive in theaters this weekend, the most of the post-pandemic era, beating the five wide releases that arrived the weekend of September 16 last year. None of them will come close to beating The Super Mario Bros. Movie in its second weekend. The battle for second place looks interesting though…
More...
Renfield is the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula. Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.
More...
Sporting an eight-day domestic total of $250 million, The Super Mario Bros. Movie once again finds itself as the widest release as it heads into its second weekend, adding 28 locations for a total of 4,371 cinemas. The animated adventure opened last Wednesday and took in an impressive $204.6 million in its first five days. Mario and friends shouldn’t have any trouble staying on top at the box office despite the arrival of six wide releases making their theatrical debuts.
More...
It’s a busy weekend at the box office, with three new wide releases already reporting Thursday preview results and headed for the top 10, plus the return of two films that grossed over $70 million between them last weekend, and the continued expansion of indie breakout Everything Everywhere All at Once. Going into the weekend, our model thought The Bad Guys should come out on top, and it looks on track to do so. The good news is that all three newcomers are outperforming the model’s expectations so far.
More...
The country might be distracted by a drawn-out election right now, but the movie business soldiers on this month, even though recovery from the pandemic looks as far away as ever. While theatrical grosses remain tiny, Universal is currently planning to try its luck with three new wide releases, two from the studio itself and one from its specialty division Focus Features.
At least, that’s their current plan. Two of the films seem certain to roll out, but their Thanksgiving release of The Croods: A New Age has to come with an asterisk attached. Perhaps this release will be an olive branch to theater operators after the studio caused controversy in March by pulling Trolls World Tour from theaters and sending it direct to PVOD. Universal is maybe taking this opportunity to look they’re supporting the theatrical business, and their case is made more convincing by the fact that every other major studio is sitting out November. Even looking beyond the end of the month, 20th Century Studios is the only other distributor that looks like it’ll have a wide release between now and Christmas, with Free Guy on December 11 and Death on the Nile on December 18. (Universal has another film, All My Life slated for December 4.)
If Universal sticks to its plans, and a couple of other expected changes (Coming 2 America going direct to Amazon Prime, and Wonder Woman 1984 getting pushed back again) happen, it’ll be the only studio offering real support to the theatrical business between now and the end of the year. Maybe everyone will let bygones be bygones, and we can at least point to that as a ray of hope for the industry going in Holiday Season.
More...
The first instalment of our Holiday Gift Guide dealt with First-run Releases and the second instalment with, TV on DVD releases. The third installment of our Holiday Gift Guide deals with limited releases, classics, and foreign imports and this list can get out of hand rather quickly, so I will try and keep it to a dozen items or so, starting with...
More...
It’s another slow week on the home market, with not a lot of big releases and not a lot of Pick of the Week contenders. There were several that came close, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Never Goin’ Back, The Princess Bride, etc. In the end, Mandy on Blu-ray was the only true contender for that title.
More...
Every week, I have to decide which limited releases to talk about in the main list of this column. Usually I limit myself to those with double-digit reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Last week, there were so few limited releases to talk about, I included some that I wouldn’t normally include. This week, there are about 30 films coming out in limited release, so I have to be extra judicious and cut some films just to keep the list manageable. Unfortunately, it feels like a case of quantity over quality. There are some movies that are getting excellent reviews, but a lot of movies that had strong pre-release buzz are disappointing critically. There are some I’m interested in, like I Think We’re Alone Now, but that’s more for the cast than the reviews. Mandy is one of the best films, but it is playing on Video on Demand, so I don’t expect it will do well at the box office. There are also several documentaries, with Science Fair being the one I want to see the most.
More...
There is a disproportionate number of documentaries on this week’s list, including several earning amazing reviews. Of these, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? has the best shot at mainstream success. However, it isn’t the only film with good reviews and I think Hearts Beat Loud could also do well in limited release.
More...
It’s another slow week; however, I prefer to think of it as the calm before the storm, as there are several blockbusters and Oscar contenders coming out over the next few weeks. That’s not to say there are no big hits or Oscar contenders on this week’s list. The Florida Project and Loving Vincent are both up for an Oscar, while there are some massive hits coming out on VOD, like Thor: Ragnarok. As for the Pick of the Week, it was an easy choice: The Florida Project on Blu-ray.
More...
There are two major awards ceremonies this weekend, so it is no surprise there are not many great limited releases to talk about. The art house aficionados are distracted. That’s not to say there are no films worth checking out. Mary And The Witch’s Flower and This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy both look good. Neither look like they will be hits at the box office, but I do want to watch them.
More...
There isn’t a huge selection of limited releases this week, but there are several earning excellent reviews, such as 120 Beats Per Minute, Jane, Tragedy Girls, and others. Additionally, films like The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Wonderstruck are earning merely good reviews, but have enough buzz that they could still do well in theaters.
More...
There are a couple of big hits on this week's list of new releases. Terminator: Genisys was a monster hit internationally, but it failed to live up to expectations here. On the other hand, Trainwreck earned $100 million here, but barely made a peep internationally. Of these two films, Trainwreck is the only one worth picking up. In fact, it is a Contender for Pick of the Week. However, I'm still waiting for the screener and I hate to give out this title when a screener is on its way. Because of that, I'm going with Better Call Saul: Season One as the Best of the Best, but it isn't the only other title worth picking up.
More...
While it isn't a quiet week for limited releases, nearly all of the buzz is directed towards two films, 99 Homes and Mississippi Grind. The former will likely be the biggest box office hit, but the later is a gambling movie, so it is the one I most want to see.
More...
It could be a really good week in limited release, as there are several films earning great reviews and loud buzz. Leading the way in raw size is Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection "F", which could become one of the biggest Anime hits of all time, at least Stateside. Other films with a shot at thriving in limited release include Cop Car and The Diary of a Teenage Girl, but they are not the only films worth checking out.
More...
This week on the home market is another week that is good on top, but shallow in terms of depth. The number one film of the week is Interstellar which is worth checking out, but not Pick of the Week material. There are a quartet of Pick of the Week contenders, including two limited releases (The Imitation Game - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Wild - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray) and two TV on DVD releases (VEEP: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and Silicon Valley: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray). Of these four, I went with Veep as the Pick of the Week.
More...
Like last week, this week's list is more of a highlights. It is the heart of Oscar season, so it is hard to have the time to research all dozen plus limited releases coming out each week. Additionally, this week most of the limited releases are opening with no buzz and bad reviews and many of them are only coming out in theaters to boost their Video on Demand release. That is not to say there are no good new releases coming out... there are three films earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Two of those are documentaries and the other, The Voices, is coming out on Video on Demand. It is going to be a really bad weekend at the box office for limited releases.
More...
The third installment of our annual Holiday Gift Guide involves limited releases, including foreign films and documentaries; classics hitting DVD or Blu-ray for the first time; and of course Canadian films. There were better choices for the limited releases than there were for big releases and TV on DVD releases, which is good news, because this Holiday Gift Guide feels that it ahs been lackluster so far. There have been many great limited releases to come out this year, including several foreign-language films to find some measure of mainstream success. On the downside, every year a lot of these movies hit theaters in the fall, so they won't hit the home market for months. That said, there are still some real highlights among the limited releases, classics, and Canadian films. In fact, we start off with the highest of the highlights for the entire year.
More...
There are two films opening in limited release this week that have a chance of picking up Awards Season nominations. Wild is earning the better reviews, but it is also one of the widest limited releases of the week. Still Alice is only having an Oscar-qualifying run, which means it might not put a lot of advertising into selling movie tickets until its regular release in January.
More...
September is over and while it got off to a bad start, a really, really, truly terrible start, it actually ended on a bit of a strong note. Granted, no film has yet to reach $100 million, but The Maze Runner and The Equalizer both could get there in the end. As for October, we might go another month without a $100 million hit. There are a couple of films that have the potential to reach the century mark, Gone Girl and Fury. Hopefully they will get there, but given the recent box office woes, it is probably best to keep expectations low. Last October, there were two films that earned more than $100 million. Bad Grandpa just made it passed that mark. On the other hand, Gravity was a monster hit earning nearly $275 million. It you compare its run to this year's batch of films, it only ranks behind Guardians of the Galaxy. ... There's no way any film opening this month is going to match that. ... There no way the top two films will match that. ... The top three films might not match that. ... 2014 is going to get crushed in the year-over-year comparison and by the end of the month, it will be safe to say its chances of ever catching up to 2013 will be over. It is going to be a depressing month.
More...
It's a slow and shallow week on the home market. Not only are there no prime releases, we quickly run into filler as we look down the list of best selling new releases on Amazon.com. The biggest release of the week is Muppets Most Wanted, which is one of nine reviews on this week's list. It is also the best release of the week and the best choice for Pick of the Week. Next week should be more interesting, as TV on DVD season begins.
More...
It's a good week / bad week on the home market. There are several releases coming out this week that are absolutely worth picking up. But there are also several of these where I'm still waiting for screeners to arrive, some of which are contenders for Pick of the Week, like The Grand Budapest Hotel or House of Cards. Other potential Pick of the Week contenders include Ernest and Celestine on Blu-ray Combo Pack and The LEGO Movie on Blu-ray Combo Pack. It was literally a coin toss and Ernest and Celestine won. Meanwhile, No Clue on DVD wins the Puck of the Week, for the best Canadian release of the week.
More...
This weekend is almost as busy for limited releases as last week, and on the plus side, there are a handful of films that are worth checking out. Only Lovers Left Alive and Joe are both earning great reviews. On the other hand, Only Lovers Left Alive is probably too "Art House" to thrive, while Joe is opening too wide and on Video on Demand, so its box office chances are also limited. Dancing in Jaffa is earning perfect reviews, but documentaries rarely have breakout success. Finally, Disco Singh could be a surprise hit, as it could be on track to break records in its native India.
More...
The Croods opened in March with more than $40 million and lasted long enough to pull in more than $180 million domestically and $570 million worldwide. That's a very impressive run for a spring release. Did it deserve this box office success? Or did it thrive because of the lack of direct competition?
More...
February is over, and for the most part, we should be very happy it is done and buried. The biggest hit of the month turned out to be Identity Thief, which will cross $100 million shortly. There were also a couple of impressive midlevel hits, like Warm Bodies and Escape from Planet Earth, but for the most part, it was miss after miss. This is bad news for March, which is not only dealing with a slumping 2013 box office, but will be compared with a strong March of 2012. Last March started with The Lorax, which earned more than $200 million. There's a good chance no March release this year will reach this milestone. Last March was also the month The Hunger Games opened, which earned more than $400 million. There's a chance the top three films opening this month won't earn that much combined. 2013 is going to take a beating in the year-over-year comparison and it is already $100 million behind last year's pace.
More...
After two weeks of almost nothing worth talking about on the home market, there's plenty to talk about this week. ... Actually, to be totally honest, it is another slow week, it's just not painfully slow. (Also, I'm unwilling to pad the list like I had to do the last couple weeks.) Worse still, because the holiday just ended, a lot of the screeners that were supposed to arrive have not, including a few Pick of the Week contenders. Compliance, Dredd, and Frankenweenie are all contenders that are currently late, and I really don't like choosing a late screener. In the end, it was literally a coin toss between Archer: Season Three on DVD or Blu-ray and Red Dwarf: X on DVD or Blu-ray. And the coin said... Red Dwarf: X.
More...
-3-News.jpg)
-3-News.jpg)
-2-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-1-News.jpg)
-Thumbnail.jpg)
