June 23rd, 2013
New releases were really weak with only one reaching the top ten on the DVD sales chart. That film was Dark Skies, which opened in first place with 136,000 units / $2.04 million. This is actually a little better than expected, given its box office numbers.
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October 19th, 2009
Agora opened in first place in Spain and sixth place internationally with $7.90 million on 462 screens. This is great news, as the film cost $70 million to make and it will need a massive run to break even. It won't have to earn all of it in Spain, on the other hand, and should perform well throughout Europe and when it opens here.
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August 26th, 2009
New releases were able to take the top two spots on the sales chart this week, but this was more due to weakness in the overall numbers rather than strength of the new releases. The number one film was 17 Again with $12.03 million from 679,000 units. This was just ahead of I Love You, Man with 676,000 units sold generating $11.00 million in sales.
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August 18th, 2009
There were only five new releases to chart this week, but three of those reached the top five. This includes Race to Witch Mountain, which sold 763,000 units earning $13.35 million during its first week on the home market.
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August 18th, 2009
The same two new releases that took the top two spots on the sales chart this week were also able to take the top two spots on the rental chart as well, but in the other order. Obsessed came out on top with 27% more rentals than Race to Witch Mountain, but it is common for kids movies to do better on the sales chart than the rental chart.
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August 13th, 2009
On the one hand, there were a lot of new releases that charted this week. On the other hand, not a lot of them were particularly strong in terms of units sold. But that doesn't include Fast and Furious, which sold 1.72 million units and generated $27.90 million in consumer spending at retail.
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August 13th, 2009
While there were five new releases to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week, only one of them reached the top ten. That new release was Fast and Furious, which placed first with roughly two thirds more rentals than Watchmen.
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July 28th, 2009
We are starting to see the flood of TV on DVD releases that hit the home market this time every year.
It makes sense: after all, what better time to release the previous season on DVD than just before the next season starts?
Three such releases, The Middleman - The Complete Series, Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Series - Blu-ray Box Set, and Dollhouse - Season One - on DVD or Blu-ray are in contention for DVD Pick of the Week.
The Battlestar Galactica release is a tad too expensive for most people, while I am unsure of the exact nature of the extras on Dollhouse.
That leaves The Middleman - The Complete Series as the DVD Pick of the Week, for the second week in a row.
With the increasing number of TV on DVD releases, the list is large enough that it has to be split into two parts with part two found here.
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May 17th, 2009
Wolverine was pushed into second place on the international chart with $28.95 million on 8982 screens in 93 markets for a total of $121.58 million. This was a 60% drop-off, but that was better than it was domestically, and it appears $300 million worldwide is a sure bet. The film was pushed into third place in the U.K., but still managed a healthy $3.39 million on 484 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.47 million. It remained in first place in France with $3.95 million on 700 screens, but that was for the full week giving the film $11.80 million after two. It also finished in first place in Brazil with $2.11 million on 609 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.81 million after two. Next up for the film is Mexico, where it opens at the end of May, while it ends its run in Japan in August.
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May 10th, 2009
We've entered the summer schedule and this year there will be a small change. Instead of dealing with just the films that have reached $1 million or more on the international chart, we will be dealing with just the films that have reached $2 million or more. The reason for this change is simple; with the rise of many midlevel markets, reaching $1 million is just not that big of a feat anymore. The best of the rest of this week's selection was Hannah Montana the Movie, which placed a healthy second with $6.95 million on 1300 screens in 13 markets for a very early total of $8.96 million. This includes second place openings in the U.K. with $3.03 million on 415 screens in the U.K., which was as expected, and $1.44 million on 346 screens over the weekend in Italy and $1.64 million in total, which was better than expected. Also, it is about a week away from topping $1 million in Poland after earning $124,000 on 105 screens over the weekend giving it $932,000 after three. Combined with the nearly $75 million the movie has earned domestically, and this film is very, very close to showing a profit before the lucrative home market.
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April 29th, 2009
Fast and Furious took another victory lap on top of the international box office with $15.91 million on 6333 screens in 58 markets for a total of $170.94 million. This includes a first place finish in Italy; there the film topped the charts with ease, despite falling nearly 60% to $2.10 million on 422 screens over the weekend, while it has made $8.81 million after two. It fell even further in Australia down 62%, but it still managed to repeat on top with $2.17 million on 345 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.68 million. These large collapses during the film's second weekend of release are far too common during its international run; however, with $316.31 million worldwide, the movie is a smash hit, no matter how you look at it.
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April 22nd, 2009
Fast and Furious remained in top shot with $34.65 million on 6361 screens in 57 markets for a total of $143.81 million internationally and $280.02 million worldwide. In Italy, the film opened in first place with $5.04 million on 414 screens over the weekend and $5.14 million in total while it managed the same feat in Australia with $5.69 million on 345 screens over the weekend and $5.88 million in total. It also placed first during its debut in China, but no box office numbers were released. The film fell more than 60% in the U.K. adding $2.82 million on 385 screens over the weekend for a total of $14.97 million after two. In Russia it performed even worse down 75% to $2.14 million on 696 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.48 million.
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April 21st, 2009
As spring draws to a close, and studios sweep out the potential misfires, the overall box office numbers slip in anticipation of Wolverine.
Actually, the overall box office was better than expected at $108 million over the weekend, but that was still 18.8% lower than last weekend. More importantly, thanks to 17 Again's stronger than expected start, it was 15.8% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $2.91 billion, which is 17.2% higher than last year's pace. I'm not sure it will be able to maintain this pace over the summer. In fact, I'm nearly 100% sure it won't. That said, the year has built up a sizable lead, and as long as the summer is merely average, we should go into the fall with higher ticket sales.
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April 16th, 2009
Not a lot of competition for the top of the box office chart as nearly all analysts are expecting 17 Again to come out on top. The real question is whether or not the film will top last year's number one film, The Forbidden Kingdom, and whether or not 2009 will continue its domination over 2008.
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April 16th, 2009
Easter delay was a little bigger than anticipated; in fact, we still don't have full numbers. (Hopefully they will arrive before the weekend for the International Details column.) We do know that Fast and Furious climbed into first place with $45.88 million on 5118 screens in 54 markets for a total of $90.93 million after just two weeks of release. This includes a first place, $7.26 million opening on 364 screens in the U.K., while it also placed first in Russia with $8.60 million on 689 screens. Meanwhile in France it pulled in an estimated $6 million on 500 screens, but its placing was not known. As far as holdovers go, the film was down 52% during its second weekend in Germany, but still added $2.89 million on 618 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.45 million after two. Mexico wasn't that far behind adding $2.07 million on 455 screens for a two-week total of $8.84 million.
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April 14th, 2009
Records fell over Easter weekend, as the overall box office pulled in $133 million, which was the best ever for an Easter Weekend. It was 14% lower that last weekend when Fast and Furious beat records. On the other hand, it was it was 15% higher that last Easter and 41% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $2.57 billion, which is 14.3% higher than the 2008's pace.
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April 10th, 2009
Easter long weekend is not a major holiday at the box office; in fact, the best Easter opener is Scary Movie 4 at just over $40 million while number two is Panic Room at just over $30 million. There's little chance the record will be broken, but Hannah Montana the Movie could open in first place over the weekend and in second place all time, while it should do its part to keep 2009 ahead of last year's pace.
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April 9th, 2009
The winners of our Fast and Free contest were determined and they are...
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April 9th, 2009
Monsters vs. Aliens expanded practically worldwide over the weekend climbing into first place with $33.47 million on 7707 screens in 49 markets for a still early total of $46.90 million. It opened in most major markets scoring first place in the U.K. with $6.47 million on 520 screens, as well as in Italy with $2.86 on 496 and in Australia with $2.77 million on 382. It finished in second place in Spain with $2.82 million on 538 screens and in Mexico with $2.00 million on 539 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.06 million. On the other hand, it struggled in France landing in third place with $2.15 million on 790 screens and was even weaker in Germany earning fifth place with $1.40 million on 699. In both markets its per screen average was well below expectations and dragged down its overall per screen average. Perhaps the films the movie is spoofing are just not well known enough to draw in audiences overseas. Or perhaps there are not enough 3-D theaters overseas to give its overall box office a big enough boost. Regardless, the film should reach $100 million internationally, which will be enough to give the film a profit, assuming the price tag was not completely irrational.
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April 7th, 2009
The overall box office leader, Fast and Furious, was also the leader on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $20,500 during its opening weekend. Enlighten Up! returned to the chart in second place with $16,161 in second place. Valentino: The Last Emperor doubled its theater count, again, but remained strong with an average of $14,196 in four theaters. Strong buzz helped Gigantic earn $10,294 in its lone theater. Tulpan failed to reach $10,000 over the weekend with an opening of $8,620 in one theater; however, adding in Wednesday and Thursday and it made $10,357.
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April 7th, 2009
Fast and Furious broke records over the weekend and helped take the overall box office to $155 million.
That's 6% more than last weekend, and 62% than the same weekend last year.
Stunning.
Overall, 2009 has managed $2.57 billion, which is 14% ahead of last year's pace.
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April 5th, 2009
This is a weekend to remember for Universal, thanks to a huge opening for Fast & Furious.
The fourth movie in the action series smashed all projections with a $72.5 million opening, according to the studio's Sunday estimate, making it the biggest weekend ever in April by the small matter of $30 million (Anger Management used to hold the record with a modest-looking $42.2 million -- see full list of April weekends).
It's also Universal's biggest non-holiday opening, and the biggest weekend of the year so far.
Friday's $30 million day is the biggest day in 2009, and also a record for April (see list).
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April 4th, 2009
This was a better than average week in terms of websites with only one movie not having a site, and only one site being below average. At the top, Adventureland's Official Site had all the usual feature, plus lots of extras, and did the best job of selling me on the movie.
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April 2nd, 2009
April starts off with what could be one of the biggest openings of the year, as well as one of the best reviewed movies of the year. Sadly, these are two separate movies. Even if the top film misses expectations, it should still earn more than the combined total of last year's set of wide releases, and help 2009 maintain its record setting pace.
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April 1st, 2009
April is a transition month. At the beginning it is strong, but as we near May, the looming competition is just too great and that scares away the big-ticket releases. That said, there are still a few films that could reach the century mark this month, and it does look stronger than last April and that will help 2009 extend its lead in the box office race.
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March 27th, 2009
April is just around the corner and the month starts with the release of Fast and Furious, the only saturation level release of the week. It is also the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of Fast and Furious.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Spectacular on DVD, as well as a copy of the Spectacular Soundtrack on CD.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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September 14th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Box, Hangover, The Fast and the Furious 4 and more!
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May 22nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Doubt, The Go-Getter, Veronika Decides to Die, and more!
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March 6th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Fast and the Furious 4, Hamlet 2, Vivaldi, and more!
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January 31st, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Duplicity, G.I. Joe, Public Enemies, and more!
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November 22nd, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Angels & Demons, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Pinkville and more!
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October 14th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Wolf Man, The Fast and the Furious 4, The Land of the Lost and more!
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October 11th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek XI, and more!
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October 9th, 2007
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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