August 7th, 2025
In its second weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps scored a shaky $39 million, pushing its 10-day haul to a substantial $197 million and retaining its throne as the top film at the domestic box office. As the superhero juggernaut continues its reign, four new wide releases step into theaters, eager to dethrone the champ.
More...
January 4th, 2024
After three weeks in North American cinemas, Wonka once again leads the pack as widest release, as it has done since its debut on December 15th. The Willy Wonka origin story has gobbled up over $147 million in domestic earnings in its first 20 days, while bringing in just above $253 million from international markets, catapulting its global take to over $400 million. The film does drop below 4,000 locations this week for the first time, but will still be available in 3,817 theaters, which easily holds off newcomer Night Swim’s starting count of 3,250 cinemas.
More...
November 25th, 2013
It's a pretty soft week when it comes to new releases. This is not surprising, as it is also Thanksgiving long weekend starting on Wednesday. These releases are only going to be out one day before they are overshadowed by sales. Fortunately, there are a couple of releases that stand out. The biggest of these, and the best, is Breaking Bad: The Final Season. The DVD or the Blu-ray could be a contender for Pick of the Week even during the busiest week. However, I think that honor should go to the show's Blu-ray Megaset. It is expensive, but it is worth it. An honorable mention goes to Mystery Science Theater 3000: 25th Anniversary Edition.
More...
August 2nd, 2013
While there are not a ton of new releases on this week's list, one of them, The Spectacular Now is not only earning spectacular reviews, but it also has the pedigree and the buzz to suggest it will thrive in theaters. Our Children should also do well in limited release, but likely won't expand significantly. Meanwhile, Cockneys vs. Zombies and Europa Report have niche market appeal that could be filled on the home market. Finally, The Canyons could test the theory that there's no such thing as bad publicity.
More...
March 1st, 2013
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...