March 10th, 2007
There was only one new release in the top five on the rentals charts this week but that new release was Stranger Than Fiction, which took first place with $6.77 million.
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February 26th, 2007
Looking at this week's list of DVD releases, there's not a lot that jumps out as being a must-have. There are some releases that are good movies but have weak DVDs, like Stranger than Fiction - Buy from Amazon.
Then there are releases where the opposite is true, like Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny - Buy from Amazon and to an even more extreme extent Tideland - Buy from Amazon.
But for the DVD Pick of the Week we have to go back, way back, to 1965 and Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back - 2-Disc Deluxe Edition.
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January 15th, 2007
Apocalypto was the best of the rest this weekend pulling in $8.3 million over the weekend for a running tally of $20 million on the international scene. Its biggest single market was the U.K. where the film opened in third place with $2.62 million on 385 screens, (including very limited previews), which was a record for a
foreign language film. It did even better in Italy with $3.17 million on 316 screens placing second. Given the film's R-rating, it should outperform its domestic total giving it a target box office of over $100 million worldwide.
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December 17th, 2006
Open Season solidified its chances to reach $100 million with a first place debut in Italy. Over the weekend the film just managed to beat
Happy Feet $1.68 million to $1.66 million over the weekend, (with midweek numbers
Open Season earned $1.82 million on 430 screens). The film was not as successful in Japan with just $968,000 on 441 screens; with such a small per theatre average, it will likely disappear quickly from charts. Overall it earned $4.97 million on 3451 screens in 51 markets for a total of $87.16 million; and even with no major markets left to open in, it does have a great shot at $100 million before its run is over.
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December 11th, 2006
Saw III slipped another spot to sixth with $4.46 million on 1518 screens in 29 markets for an international total of $54.27 million. Its best opening of the weekend came in South Korea where it placed third with $1.08 million on 144 screens, which is the last major opening for the film this year.
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December 3rd, 2006
Open Season only has a few more markets to open in and is starting to shed screens and markets; however, it sill managed sixth place with $4.08 million on 3489 screens in 49 markets for a two-month total of $76.58 million. This week the film opened in first place in both South Africa with $257,000 on 77 screens and in the Czech Republic with $79,000 on 23 screens.
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November 26th, 2006
Late numbers for the international weekend meant there was a shakeup in the top five with
Saw III trading places with
The Devil Wears Prada.
Saw III took fourth with $6.54 million on 1912 screens in 20 markets for a total of $37.18 million. Meanwhile,
The Devil Wears Prada fell to sixth with $5.87 million on 2452 screens in 23 markets for a total of $172.54 million. It was also the first time in nearly two months that the film didn't place in the top five on the international box office.
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November 21st, 2006
There were a few surprises on the charts this week, including the number one film.
But overall things played out almost exactly as expected, leading to a total of $146 million at the box office.
This was 15% higher than last weekend but 19% lower than the same weekend last year.
However, that was the weekend when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opened and no-one was expecting this year to be able to keep pace.
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November 19th, 2006
Desu Noto 2, a.k.a., Death Note 2: The Last Name held on strong adding $5.12 million on 397 screens in 2 markets for a two week total of $20.85 million. In
Japan the film remained in top spot with $4.66 million on 346 screens for a two week total of $19.34 million.
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November 14th, 2006
There were four new releases opening in varying degrees of wideness this past weekend, but none of them could live up to lowered expectations.
This left the overall box office at $127 million, which was down about 2% from last weekend while up less than 1% from the same weekend last year.
That's not a large enough increase to keep up with ticket price inflation, but any good news is still welcome at this point.
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November 12th, 2006
Desu Noto 2, a.k.a., Death Note 2: The Last Name opened in two market last weekend taking in a total of $7.29 million on 393 screens including finishing first in
Japan with $6.50 million on 342 screen over the weekend and $10.33 million in total. In the mean time, the film opened in second place in South Korea with a respectable total of $1.37 million, which includes more than just the weekend, obviously.
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November 11th, 2006
There was a clear winner amongst this week's batch of websites as
Stranger than Fiction -
Official Site took home the Weekly Website Award.
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November 10th, 2006
With Borat beating all expectations last weekend, all eyes are on it this weekend. Can it maintain this amazing pace? Will it be able to keep its momentum as it expands? Will it suffer a major drop-off? What about the competition? Can they handle the pressure?
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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.
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November 1st, 2006
Note: Article updated 11/18/2006 with correct budget for Harsh Times
It's that time of the month again, a time to look forward, but it is also a time to look back.
October was a stronger month than expected and, while there are a lot of reasons for that, I think one must pay particular attention to the play of Taylor Pyatt.
The departure of Anson Carter to free agency over the summer was troublesome and many felt finding a right winger for the Sedin twins was a key in maintaining or even improving upon last year's numbers.
Without good chemistry, Daniel and Henrik might have taken a step back this year.
However, with a team leading 6 goals, Taylor Pyatt is more than proving he can play with the speedy Swedes. ...
What?
Oh right, movies.
It was a pretty good month for movies as well.
November sees the beginning of the most important time of year for the movie industry.
Not only do the holidays start with Thanksgiving, but this is also the time of year that award season really heats up.
This means there is an excellent mix of blockbusters, especially family films, and critically acclaimed films hoping that first impressions are lasting impressions.
It also means there are several limited releases that could expand wide later in their run; these include Fur, Bobby, For Your Consideration and others.
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August 26th, 2006
It's another busy week with nearly three dozen films being represented here. Taking top prize is
Invincible -
Official Site, although there were a few others that could take that claim before all is said and done.
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