January 20th, 2009
A terrible week for first run releases. There are five such releases on this week's list, but they has a combined haul of around $130 million, and nearly $100 million of that came from two films. With no big releases, we had to look other places for the DVD Pick of the Week. Repo! The Genetic Opera on Blu-ray is a clear contender for that title, but its lack of mass appeal is troublesome. This American Life - Season Two is a safer pick, but it is a Borders Exclusive release. Regardless of these issues, both releases are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week. Despite the weakness at the top, there are still more than enough total releases to cause this column to stretch into two parts. The second part can be found here.
More...
February 11th, 2007
Babel just missed the top five this past weekend and showed that
Oscar nods still meant something at the box office, at least internationally. The film added $5.16 million on 1467 screens for a total of $61.31 million so far. It was aided by a first place, $1.23 million opening on 256 screens in Russia, but that is one of the film's last significant openings.
More...
January 23rd, 2007
The
Oscar nominations were handed out today and for the most part they've followed the script written by previous awards committees fairly closely.
More...
November 19th, 2006
Cars led a group of
new releases that dominated the sales charts this week, however, it had to settle for a very close second place on the rental charts. Leading the way was
Mission: Impossible: III with $9.31 million while
Cars took in $9.24 million.
More...
November 11th, 2006
New releases were nearly shut out of the charts this week, however, one new release that did make the charts was
Mission: Impossible: III, which earned top spot with $9.08 million.
More...
November 5th, 2006
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals saw impressive growth this week up 52% to $4.26 million on 2035 screens in 20 markets for an international total of $16.58 million. The film opened in a handful of markets including placing first in Mexico with $927,000 on 310 screens, but that's a little low for this type of film in that market. Also, it missed the top five in Spain opening in sixth place with $651,000 on 220 screens. The film's biggest market of the weekend was the U.K. where it was down just 27% to $1.41 million on 446 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.66 million after two.
More...
November 4th, 2006
It was a great week for
new releases with three new film in the top five, including a first place finish for
Nacho Libre. During the film's first week of release on DVD, it earned $7.16 million in total rentals, which put it just ahead of the second place film,
The Break-Up, and its $6.93 million.
More...
October 30th, 2006
Not much in terms of international details this week and what little details there are, are based on studio estimates.
More...
October 28th, 2006
Despite a glut of
new releases Click was able to remain on the top of the rental charts. This week it dipped just 20% to $9.03 million over the week and $20.54 million after two.
More...
October 21st, 2006
Three of the top five renters this week were
new releases including the number one film,
Click with $11.34 million during its first week of release.
More...
October 18th, 2006
The Devil Wears Prada remained on top of the international charts as it added $24.61 million on 4217 screens in 42 markets. This lifted its international total to $75.43 million and its worldwide total to $199.75 million. Germany was the film's biggest market as it took in $4.24 million on 559 screens, but a local film kept it out of first place while another local film did the same in the Netherlands where it opened with $631,000 on 80 screens over the weekend and $816,000 in total. It did earn first place in Italy with $3.56 million on 417 screens and in Taiwan with an estimated $1.2 million on 98. Meanwhile, the film performed amazingly in several holdover markets adding $3.47 million on 446 screens in the U.K. to its two-week total of $12.53 million while it remained in first place in France with $1.9 million on 507 screens for $10.1 million after three weeks. As for further milestones, the film has obviously already crossed $200 million worldwide and $100 million internationally won't be far behind.
More...
October 11th, 2006
There was not a single new release in the top five, for that matter, all five films were in the top five last weekend as well. However, we still had a surprise number one as
The Devil Wears Prada claimed the crown with $19.37 million on 2975 screens in 33 markets for a total of $42.16 million so far. That is almost 60% higher than it earned last weekend. Almost all of this growth can be attributed to the film's first place, $6.11 million opening on 447 screens in the U.K. but the film also took first place in Russia with $2.32 million on 299 screens and in Spain with $2.15 million on 301 screens. As for holdovers, it remained in first place in Australia down just 27% to $1.88 million on 321 screens and now has $7.02 million in the market while it fell 35% in France to $2.99 million over the weekend and $7.63 million in total.
Comedies tends to be very cultural and usually they don't translate well. Perhaps the experience of having a
bad boss is universal, (not that I would know anything about that), or perhaps the film's
darker edge it helping it overseas.
More...
October 10th, 2006
The Thanksgiving long weekend signifies the start of the holiday shopping season... Of course, that's the American Thanksgiving, which occurs sometime in November. The
Canadian Thanksgiving, which occurred this weekend, is most closely associated with the start of
Hockey season. (Have I mentioned how much I hate the
New York Rangers? I have. Good.) However, just because shopping season has officially started, doesn't mean it's a slow week.
Far from it.
This week there was a bumper crop of contenders for the DVD Pick of the Week.
I narrowed the list to two TV on DVD releases (
Scrubs - The Complete Fourth Season -
Buy from Amazon and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law - Volume 2 -
Buy from Amazon) and two limited releases, (
Twelve and Holding -
Buy from Amazon and
A Prairie Home Companion -
Buy from Amazon).
If I was forced at gunpoint to choose just one, it would be
Scrubs - The Complete Fourth Season -
Buy from Amazon, but I can all but guarantee all four, and a few others, will end up in my DVD collection.
More...
October 4th, 2006
World Trade Center had its widest expansion of its run so far an that helped it climb into first place in a very tight race. Over the weekend the film made $12.83 million on 2765 screens in 19 markets for an international total of $22.55 million after three weeks of release. The film opened in three major markets including its biggest markets, the U.K.. There it was in a close, three-way battle for first place but in the end it finished third with $3.12 million on 411 screens. The film also placed third in Germany with $1.68 million on 496 screens. In Spain, on the other hand, it handily took first place with $2.40 million on 325 screens and also finished first in Taiwan with $734,000 on 57 and in second in Brazil with $618,000 on 85. Next up for the film is Australia and Japan this weekend, as well as a series of midlevel European markets.
More...
October 1st, 2006
Ye Yan, a.k.a., The Banquet opened in third place in South Korea with $1.04 million on 183 screens over the weekend and $1.24 million in total. That helped the
Chinese film place sixth overall with $5.52 million on 734 screens in 6 markets lifting its international total to $15.94 million, which is just above its production budget.
More...
September 24th, 2006
Little Man shot up the charts into sixth place with $5.97 million on 1597 screens in 23 markets for a total of $22.63 million internationally. The film had million dollar debuts in both Spain, ($2.06 million on 250 screens), and Mexico, ($1.04 million on 352), while came reasonably close in Russia, ($960,000 on 217 screens, including midweek numbers). In all three markets, the film placed second on the charts. More amazingly is the film's performance in the U.K. as it dipped just 17% to $1.05 million on 315 screens over the weekend and a three-week total of $5.75 million.
More...
September 17th, 2006
The Sentinel climbed into 6th place on the international charts, the best placing the film has earned. It had a few openings, the biggeset being a sixth place, $410,000 debut on 89 screens in South Korea over the weekend, and $469,000 in total. On the other hand, the film place first in Belgium with $197,000 on 36 screens over the weekend and $226,000 in total and third in Denmark with $102,000 on 32 screens over the weekend and $108,000 in total. Overall it earned $3.44 million on 1423 screens in 22 markets for a total of $31.96 million, which puts it about a week from topping its domestic total.
More...
September 10th, 2006
No new openings left
Garfield's A Tail of Two Kitties down 40% to $5.87 million on 3779 screens in 32 markets for a total of $90.08 million. It was reported that the film broke a record for an
animated film in China with $6.7 million putting it ahead of
The Lion King, which is a strange thing to report since the movie isn't
animated. Sure, it has a
CG lead, but that's not the same. As for the film's prospects for the future, hitting $100 million internationally is academic at this point and with several openings to go, including previews in Australia this weekend, the film could finish with close to the $125 million earned by the
original.
More...
September 3rd, 2006
A first place opening in the U.K. helped You, Me & Dupree shoot up the charts nearly reaching the top five. While it did have to settle for sixth place, its $4.32 million on 914 screens in 8 markets was enough to push its still early international total to $13.01 million. Over in the U.K., the film picked up $3.10 million on 409 screens and that was more than double its nearest competitor. The film opened in Iceland over the weekend earning second place to Garfield's A Tail of Two Kitties with $42,000 in three theatres.
More...
August 28th, 2006
Monster House climbed one spot to sixth with $4.48 million on 1498 screens in 14 markets for total of $20.33 million at the international box office. The film added two more midlevel markets but bombed in both. In the Netherlands the film missed the top ten with $89,000 on 65 screens over the weekend and $100,000 in total while it was only slightly better in Poland earning sixth place with $71,000 on 48 screens. Holdovers, on the other hand, were better than expected with the film down a mere 16% during its second weekend in the U.K. with $1.61 million on 425 screens for a total of $5.83 million.
More...
July 23rd, 2006
A
South Korean film, Hanbando, a.k.a. The Korean Peninsula, topped its native market with a huge $6.14 million on 520 screens over the weekend and a total of $9.85 million overall. That was good enough for sixth place on the international charts.
More...
July 16th, 2006
The Da Vinci Code slipped out of the top five with $3.85 million on 3037 screens in 55 markets for a total of $515.15 million. This is the 11th best international total ever, while its worldwide mark of $728.36 million places it 23rd on the
all-time worldwide chart.
More...
July 10th, 2006
We finally had a blockbuster live up to, and exceed its expectations. And with the record-destroying run of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest the total box office exploded to nearly $220 million, which was up 42% from last year and more than 46% from the same weekend last year. This total is the largest ever for a weekend breaking the previous record of $188 million, which was earned in June of 2004 when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban opened. And overall, 2006's lead over 2005 grew from 3% to 5%, easily more than ticket price inflation.
More...
July 9th, 2006
Last minute updates in weekend numbers showed that it was
The Da Vinci Code and not
Poseidon grabbing the final spot in the top five. It was an exceedingly close race with the former film topping the latter by less than $3000 both with $5.68 million.
The Da Vinci Code earned its box office on 4352 screens in 57 markets while
Poseidon needed just 3584 in 48. On the other hand, their running tallies are worlds apart with
The Da Vinci Code leading $507.68 million to $94.72 million. That film became just the 12th film to cross $500 million internationally and is less than $20 million from overtaking
Finding Nemo for 10th place on the international charts.
More...
July 6th, 2006
The latest "Sure Thing" openings tomorrow.
But this Summer seven previous "Sure Things" have already come out and only one or two have actually lived up to expectations.
Both The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand managed to do so, more or less, but with The Da Vinci Code my expectations were somewhat lower than the industry average and its final box office is still looked at as a disappointment by many.
Will Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest break this trend, or will it be the latest victim in a summer of over-hyped misses?
More...
July 5th, 2006
While we had one film missing expectations, and another beating them by nearly the same amount, for the most part, the weekend played out exactly as expected. Compared to last weekend, the $154 million made at the box office from Friday to Sunday was up 9.4%.
More importantly, it was up 7.9% from the same weekend last year.
(Comparing the 5-day weekend to last year is pointless since the holiday fell on a Monday last year.)
Year-to-date, 2006 is 3% higher than 2005 while the summer pace is ahead by a smaller 1% margin.
More...
July 2nd, 2006
Scary Movie 4 opened in first place in both France and Spain, helping the film into sixth place overall with $4.89 million on 1512 screens in 22 markets for a total of $74.72 million internationally. In Spain the film made $1.76 million on 400 screens over the weekend and $1.83 million in total, while in France it brought in $3.47 million on 571 screens, but that was for the full week.
More...
June 28th, 2006
With this being the July 4th long weekend, several films are getting a jump on weekend rush, including what could become the biggest hit of the year. But there seems to be some signs of weakness in the man of steel. Will some cinematic kryptonite spoil Superman's return to theaters?
More...
June 27th, 2006
Wassup Rockers surprised on top of the per theatre charts with $29,400 in its lone theatre, but it wasn't the only film to excel over the weekend. Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man also opened in just one theatre, but still managed an impressive $17,130 in ticket sales. The final film to crack $10,000 was the overall box office leader, Click, which pulled in more than $40 million in 3,749 theatres for an average of $10,673.
More...
June 26th, 2006
Overall, there were little in the way of surprises this weekend with no film beating or missing expectations by more than a few million dollars.
But with no breakout hit, the overall box office slumped by 7.8% from last weekend to $140 million.
This did represent an increase of 9.8% over the same weekend last year.
More...
June 23rd, 2006
Just an average week with
You, Me and Dupree -
Official Site taking the prize for the best of the week.
More...
June 22nd, 2006
The two releases coming out this week are almost exact opposites of each other. One is a mainstream, proto-blockbuster comedy / fantasy opening in nearly 4,000 theatres. The other is a gritty, violent film aimed at a more targeted audience and is barely opening in more than 1,000 theatres. The only this they really have in common is the critics' reaction, and that's not a good thing.
More...
June 19th, 2006
As a preview for next week's Superman Returns contest, this week amateur Box Office prognosticators have a shot at winning the
Superman Returns Soundtrack by predicting the opening weekend box office of
Click. Whoever comes closest to predicting the opening 3-day weekend (Friday to Sunday),
without going over, will win the
Superman Returns Soundtrack. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
More...
June 1st, 2006
May might have gotten off to a slow start, but it sure made up for it in the end. June looks to keep up the fast pace, but out of the dozen or so movies opening wide this month, only two look like they have to potential to be monster hits and after that there is a huge drop-off in box office potential. There are a few others that should earn their keep, and maybe one or two that will surprise, but most look average at best.
More...
May 12th, 2006
There's a better than average selection on this week's list, but for the vast majority of the sites, there are only minor changes. The best of the bunch is
Click -
Official Site but there are a several other sites on this week's list that are just a update or two away from being an award winning site.
More...
April 13th, 2006
Back to normal levels of traffic on this list, but like last week there's not an over abundance of huge sites on this week's list. I hope that changes soon as the summer box office season is just around the corner. The best of the bunch this week is
Hard Candy -
Official Site, which has been slowly growing for months.
More...
December 29th, 2005
This week's list of movie site is abridged and only contains the two films that are opening this week plus more than a dozen site that have never appeared on this list before. However, it was one of the two new openings,
Match Point -
Official Site, that took the weekly website award.
More...