October 25th, 2011
It's a rather strong week on the home market with several top-notch releases and no matter what your tastes are, you should find something to enjoy here. Even if you just look at contenders for Pick of the Week, there are first run releases (Captain America: The First Avenger on Blu-ray Combo Pack); limited releases (Attack the Block on DVD); TV on DVD releases (Robot Chicken: Season Five on Blu-ray), Box Sets (Jurassic Park: Trilogy Box Set) and even classics (Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection on DVD). In the end, I went with the Winnie the Pooh Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which should pick up an Oscar nomination and might be the favorite to win Best Feature-Length Animated Film.
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October 22nd, 2011
Recently Jane Eyre was released in theaters and was a surprise hit, earning more than $10 million in limited release. Previously to that, the most recent adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë novel was released in 1996. That version of Jane Eyre starred Charlotte Gainsbourg and was also a sizable hit in limited release. Is the latest DVD release for the film worth grabbing?
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April 10th, 2011
It's looking like another disappointing weekend at the box office, with Arthur performing well below expectations with a weak $12.6 million opening to leave Hop as the clear winner for a second consecutive weekend. The bunny movie posted an estimated $21.7 million, down 42% from its opening, which isn't bad, and it will be helped by Easter, one suspects. There were also some signs of life from two other openers: Hanna and Soul Surfer.
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March 27th, 2011
The last weekend in March have brought us another pair of movies opening in the high teens to low twenties. This time around Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was the low-twenties movie, picking up a very respectable $24.4 million on debut, which is a shade ahead of the $22 million earned by the first film in the franchise this time last year. Sucker Punch produced a slightly disappointing $19 million opening weekend, which is a drop in the bucket compared to its $75 million budget. It'll need good international numbers and a strong home market performance to recoup costs.
Overall box office will be down about 7% from last year, continuing 2011's losing streak, although that makes this one of the better weekends of the year so far.
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