May 18th, 2011
Few new releases were able to make a real impact on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, but we did have a new number one. The Green Hornet earned top spot by selling 291,000 units and generating $5.82 million in opening week sales. By units, 38% of its market share was in High definition, which is quite strong.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I slipped to second place with 166,000 units for the week and 2.70 million after a month of release. It remains the best-selling Blu-ray of the year, so far.
More...
May 17th, 2011
As expected, there were not many new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD sales chart. However, in an unexpected twist, this weakness in the new releases allowed The King's Speech to climb into top spot with 531,000 units over the weekend for totals of 1.66 million units / $23.93 million after three. Maybe its word-of-mouth is helping out.
More...
May 12th, 2011
While no new release made much of an impact on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I was still able to show some strength on top with 313,000 units sold for the week and 2.62 million units sold after three. Its total revenue is now $60.37 million and by comparison, only Avatar has been able to crack $100 million in Blu-ray sales.
More...
May 10th, 2011
No new release reached the top five on the DVD sales chart this week. This left Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I in first place with 636,000 units / $9.62 million for the week and 4.93 million units / $70.01 million after three. It's not quite the best selling DVD of 2011, but its solidly in second place.
More...
May 3rd, 2011
The combination of factors ranging from the Fanboy Effect to Easter sales were in relative balance, and this helped Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I remain strong. It led all new releases to earn first place on the DVD sales chart this week with sales of 1.99 million units / $27.89 million for the week for totals of 4.43 million units / $62.35 million.
Tangled grew more than 100% thanks to Easter sales, selling an additional 1.04 million units for the week to give the film total sales of 5.59 million units / $85.30 million after a month of release. The King's Speech opened in third place with 893,000 units / $13.39 million, which is great for a limited release, but a little soft for the big Oscar winner.
More...
April 18th, 2011
This year's big Oscar winner, The King's Speech, is hitting the home market this week. It leads the way in terms of quality and is likely to be the best-selling new release. It's certainly the Pick of the Week, with neither the DVD nor the Blu-ray being a substantially better deal than the other. The only other real contender is the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, but that came out on Friday.
More...
April 13th, 2011
Did summer start already? I ask because we have a summer-like result at the international box office this weekend. Rio crushed the competition with $54.94 million on 11,714 screens in 45 markets. Opening on more than 10,000 screens is usually a feat reserved for summer blockbusters. The film earned first place in nearly every market, although its individual results did vary considerably. For instance, it was stunning in Russia earning $9.28 million on 1,297 screens over the weekend for a total of $11.31 million. Perhaps more impressively, the film earned $8.77 million on 1,024 screens in Brazil. While Brazil is a very large country, it's still an emerging market and this is a great result there. The film was also strong in Mexico with $4.90 million on 1,521. On the other hand, it was more average in a number of other major markets. For instance, it earned $2.63 million on 724 screens in Germany, which is mediocre for a potential blockbuster. The same was true in the U.K. with $2.48 million on 522, in Australia with $2.42 million on 459, and in Spain with $2.21 million on 390.
More...
April 6th, 2011
Just Go With It reached first place on the international chart with $10.84 million on 2,791 screens in 40 markets for a total of $76.26 million after 8 weeks of release. It opened in first place in Australia with $2.44 million on 311 screens, but it struggled in Italy with just $732,000 on 248. So far the film has $9.09 million in Russia after just two weeks, including $2.87 million on 544 screens this past weekend.
More...
March 30th, 2011
Battle: Los Angeles remained in first place on the international scene with $16.32 million on 7,746 screens in 55 markets for a total of $79.63 million after three weeks of release. It didn't have many new openings. It did add $1.12 million on 331 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $4.39 million so far. It has already made more internationally than it has domestically, and with openings in Spain, Germany, and Italy, it should have no trouble getting to $200 million worldwide. I think the studio should be happy with that, but I'm not sure they will be happy enough to go with a sequel.
More...
March 23rd, 2011
The international box office is as weak as the domestic box office is with very few films worth talking about. We do have a new number one, as Battle: Los Angeles earned first place with $28.74 million on 8,384 screens in 52 markets for a running tally of $51.70 million after just two weeks of release. The film debuted in first place in Australia with $2.58 million on 328 screens, while it also placed first during its debut in Brazil with $1.51 million on 263 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in France with $2.07 million on 295 screens. The number one film was a local hit, so there is a mitigating factor. As for its long-term chances, it was down 51% in the U.K. to $1.42 million on 417 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.61 million after two. This is not a great start there and will likely ends its run with the equivalent of $50 million to $60 million here.
More...
March 22nd, 2011
There were a quartet of strong performers on the per theater chart this past weekend with Bill Cunningham New York coming out on top with $33,677 in its lone theater. However, while Win Win came in second, it was close behind with $30,072 while it was playing in five theaters, instead of just one, so you could argue it had the better start. Jane Eyre remained potent with an average of $17,939, while its theater count grew from 4 to 26. It will start hitting major milestones very soon. Nostalgia for the Light was the final $10,000 film with $10,681 in one theater.
More...
March 16th, 2011
Rango climbed into first place on the international chart this weekend adding $24.05 million on 5214 screens in 46 markets to its two-week total of $47.18 million. It opened in first place in Australia with $2.73 million on 296 screens, while it finished a very close second in Brazil with $1.75 million on 330 screens over the weekend for a total opening on $2.75 million. As far as holdovers go, it was down just 6% in the U.K. to $2.48 million on 471 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.82 million after two. It was able to remain in first place in Mexico with $2.13 million on 927 screens over the weekend and $5.82 million after two. With debuts in Russia, France, Italy, Japan, and other markets still ahead, it should have little troublen hitting $100 million internationally and $250 million worldwide making it the biggest hit of the year, so far.
More...
March 15th, 2011
It was an amazing week on the per theater chart, even if you ignore Red State's special showings. The latest Kevin Smith offering added more than $100,000 over the weekend, at two special showings, for an average of $51,283. At this pace, it's going to start hitting major milestones before its theatrical debut this fall. Meanwhile, Jane Eyre had the best per theater average for a regular release this year at $45,721 in four theaters. The good news doesn't end there as Kill The Irishman opened with an average of $29,086 in five theaters, which also suggests the ability to expand significantly. Certified Copy earned close to $80,000 in five theaters for an average of $15,587. That would have been enough to lead the way many weekends so far this year. 3 Backyards opened with $11,000 in one theater, while the overall number one film, Battle: Los Angeles opened with an average of $10,411 in more than 3400 theaters.
More...
March 10th, 2011
This week is was Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Wednesday, and now it's the beginning of Lent. Because of this, a lot of international numbers were not as timely as I would like. And we are still stuck with a lot of studio estimates. Leading the way was The King's Speech with $18.9 million over the weekend for a total of $183.5 million internationally and just over $300 million worldwide. It grew by 31% in Japan to $1.61 million on 124 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.32 million after two. Meanwhile it was down just 11% in the U.K. to $1.76 million on 470 screens over the weekend for a total of $68.45 million after two months of release.
More...
March 8th, 2011
Red State started its box office run over the weekend, sort of. It played at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City at a special engagement, bringing in $161,590 for one showing. However, with ticket prices at $54, it's hardly a regular showing, so some are saying it shouldn't count. There is an argument to be made that people were paying for the Q&A with Kevin Smith and it is more accurate to consider this part of his popular speaking tour. That said, Dreamgirls also started with a premium showing at higher that usual prices and that counted. Given the number of tickets sold, even if they cost the average amount, it still would have earned $30,000, which would have still led the way on the Per Theater Chart. The only real competition was from Happythankyoumoreplease, which opened with an average of $17,532 in two theaters.
More...
March 6th, 2011
Things look a little brighter at the box office this weekend thanks to three sprightly opening weekends. At the top of the list, Rango posted the best opening of the year with $38 million, perhaps not quite as high as the more optimistic pre-weekend predictions, but still the best debut of 2011 to date. In spite of great reviews, it will be interesting to see what legs the film will have, since it skews somewhat older than traditional big-budget animated fare. The Adjustment Bureau landed in second place with a good $20.9 million opening from 2,840 theaters, and again it stands a chance of enjoying good word-of-mouth. Beastly, meanwhile, placed third with $10.1 million. In spite of a mauling from critics, it's actually enjoying the best CinemaScore among moviegoers, suggesting that it's hitting its target demographic (teen girls) very successfully.
More...
March 3rd, 2011
So far 2011 has been a bit of a bust with only one weekend winning the year-over-year comparison and not a single film opening with more that $40 million. Hopefully one of those records will change this weekend, as Rango looks to become the biggest hit of the year so far. Unfortunately, this time last year saw the release of Alice in Wonderland, the biggest March opening of all time. I can't imagine a scenario where 2011 doesn't lose even more ground on 2010.
More...
March 2nd, 2011
For the third weekend in a row, Black Swan led the way on the international chart, pulling in $17.50 million on 3,950 screens in 45 markets for a total of $123.37 million internationally and $226.95 million worldwide. In Spain it remained in first place with $2.52 million on 319 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.47 million after two. It added $2.81 million on 363 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.74 million after three. It doesn't have many markets left to open in, but the film has already made nearly a quarter billion dollars on a production budget of just $13 million, so it is fantastically profitable.
More...
March 1st, 2011
There were no films that managed a per theater average of $10,000 or more over the weekend, but I Am came the closest with an average of $9,649 in two theaters. Meanwhile the best new release was Of Gods and Men with an average of $9,360 in 33 theaters.
More...
February 27th, 2011
The Oscar are being handed out tonight and we will be going over the winners as they are announced and giving a few reactions, perhaps there will be a few surprises along the way. This story will be updated as the winners are announced, so check back throughout the evening to see if The King's Speech will be this year's winner, or if The Social Network will manage the upset. Plus there are many other potentially interesting results ahead.
More...
February 27th, 2011
All eyes are on the Oscars this weekend, as the industry suffers another poor weekend at the box office. Aside from a blip caused by the timing of President's Day, the overall box office has now been down for 16 straight weeks, and no film will crack $15 million this weekend, with Gnomeo and Juliet likely to be the lowest-earning February number one since Black Hawk Down's $11 million number one weekend in 2002.
More...
February 26th, 2011
Independent Spirit Award hand out their nominations earlier than the other major awards, but don't hand out the hardware till the day before the Oscars. The long wait ended last night and Black Swan became the big winner sweeping the four categories it was nominated it. It wasn't the only winner of the night, however.
More...
February 23rd, 2011
As I've stated in the past, it is quite rare for a film that opened in limited release in the United States to go on and have success internationally. Most markets are simply too small to have the infrastructure to support limited releases. So it's quite a pleasant surprise to find two such films atop the international box office. Leading the way for the second weekend in a row is Black Swan, this time earning $17.60 million on 3,699 screens in 39 markets. In total it has $98.24 million and it has likely already reached the century mark. It opened in first place in Spain with $2.91 million on 296 screens, but it was not as strong in Italy with $1.50 million on 257 screens, which was only enough for third place. Oscar contenders tend to perform really well in Italy, so this is a bit of a disappointment. As far as holdovers are concerned, the film was down just 18% in France, adding $3.82 million on 338 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.77 million after just two weeks of release.
More...
February 23rd, 2011
There were a pair of $10,000 films on the per theater chart this week, led by The Last Lions with an average of $13,336 in four theaters. I Am was relatively close behind with $10,500 in one theater.
More...
February 22nd, 2011
It was a good news / bad news situation this weekend as a number of films missed expectations. However, the overall box office was still enough for 2011 to secure its first win, topping last year's box office $145 million to $134 million. Granted, this is not exactly a fair comparison, as it was President's Day long weekend this year and it wasn't last year, but when you've had a 14-week losing streak, you will take any win that you can. Year-to-date, 2011 is still behind 2010's pace by nearly $400 million at $1.39 billion to $1.78 billion and there's little you can do to spin that into a positive.
More...
February 20th, 2011
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which nominees should just feel honored to be nominated. This weekend we wrap things up and the final category is the most prestigious, Best Picture. With ten nominations, it's a crowded field; however, all but a couple of those are clearly long shots.
More...
February 20th, 2011
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which nominees should just feel honored to be nominated. This weekend we wrap things up with our final two categories, starting with Best Director, which looks to be a two-horse race. But what a race!
More...
February 17th, 2011
We need a win. It has been more than three months since we've seen a victory in the year-over-year comparison, and with last year's Alice in Wonderland looming ahead on the comparisons, if we don't get a win soon, we might not get one for another couple of months. There is some good news this weekend. It's President's Day long weekend, which actually happened one weekend earlier last year. This means we have a holiday weekend this year going up against the post-holiday weekend from last year. Granted, Shutter Island opened with more than $40 million and I don't think any film will repeat that feat this year. However, last year's second place film, Valentine's Day made under $17 million, and each of the top five films this year could make that much. In order words, depth could be the key to the first victory of the year.
More...
February 16th, 2011
Black Swan rose to top spot with $19.41 million on 3041 screens in 34 markets for a total of $72.90 million internationally. The film is about to cross $100 million domestically, and it looks assured at repeating that feat internationally, which is very impressive for an art house film. It opened in France scoring second place with $4.58 million on 300 screens, giving it the best per screen average in the market. It also opened in Russia earning fourth place with $1.34 million on 329 screens over the weekend and $1.73 million in total. Over the weekend, it earned twice as much as True Grit opened with, despite opening in fewer theaters. On the other hand, even including Wednesday and Thursday, it made less than The Eagle made from Friday to Sunday. This makes it hard to judge its opening. In the meantime, the film added $1.71 million on 481 screens in the U.K. for a total of $20.47 million in that country. It will have little trouble overtaking Dawn Treader in that market, possibly as early as this time next week.
More...
February 15th, 2011
Strong reviews and an impressive cast helped Cedar Rapids top the per theater chart with an average of $20,198 in 15 theaters. Vidal Sassoon: The Movie was the only other film to reach an average of $10,000 with $13,053 in its lone theater.
More...
February 15th, 2011
On the one hand, we are only six weeks into the year, which means it is far too early to push the panic button. On the other hand, there's everything else. It was yet another disappointing weekend at the box office with the top two films barely earning more than last year's number one movie. In fact, even if you ignored last year's number one movie, this year was still weaker in terms of ticket sales. The total box office was $149 million, which was 71% higher than last weekend, but while that seems impressive, it was still 27% lower than last year. 2011 is already closing in on $400 million behind 2010 at $1.17 billion to $1.54 billion. Maybe this coming weekend we can catch a break and finally turn things around.
More...
February 13th, 2011
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which nominees should just feel honored to be nominated. This weekend we will look at the four acting categories, continuing with Best Lead Actor, which is possibly the least competitive of the four acting races.
More...
February 13th, 2011
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. This weekend we will look at the four acting categories, with Best Supporting Actor, which is a two-horse race, if you want to be very generous.
More...
February 13th, 2011
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. This weekend we will look at the four acting categories, starting with Best Supporting Actress, which is possibly the most competitive of the four acting races. Even though there's definitely a favorite.
More...
February 10th, 2011
2011 is over a month old and we've only had one film that you could call a mid-level hit, two if you want to be generous. Worse still, none of 2010's holdovers have been big either. $100 million films opening in January are very rare, but films earning $100 million during the month of January are not that unusual. In fact, most years the biggest hit of January is a film released in December. So with no new releases or holdover pulling their weight, 2011 is off to a terrible start. This could be the weekend that changes that. Not only is it Valentine's Day weekend, but we should have the first $100 million hit of the year opening on Friday, plus a couple of potential mid-level hits. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the month, I was expecting two potential massive openings, but that appears less likely now. It also makes keeping pace with last year nearly impossible.
More...
February 9th, 2011
Tangled's international run is coming close to an end, but it has a couple of major milestones left to reach. Over the weekend it added $23.90 million on 5186 screens in 42 markets for a total of $288.33 million internationally and $479.40 million worldwide. At this point next week it will have $300 million internationally and $500 million worldwide. In order to reach profitability before it hits the home market, it will need to get past the $600 million mark worldwide, which is likely out of reach. However, assuming it does well on the home market, reaching profitability is inevitable at this point. This week it opened in Spain with $5.61 million on 650 screens, which was enough for first place over the weekend and the third best Disney debut in that market. Meanwhile, the film was down just 11% during its second weekend of release in the U.K., adding $7.38 million on 448 screens over the weekend for a running tally of $17.35 million. And, it has yet to open in Japan, so it is not done yet.
More...
February 8th, 2011
Like last week, only one film reached the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this past weekend. That film was Cold Weather, which beat my expectations, earning $14,513 in one theater ahead of its VOD demand later this week.
More...
February 7th, 2011
The Super Bowl turned out to be a rather good game and it broke ratings records with 111 million people turning in to watch at least part of it. On the other hand, the box office was anything but record-breaking. Overall the box office was down 20% from last weekend to $87 million. Even worse, that was 24% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2011 is already $310 million behind 2010 with a total of $988 million. 2011 is almost two full weeks behind 2010's pace, and I don't think things will get a whole lot better next weekend.
More...
February 6th, 2011
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Original Screenplay, which is not only one of the more competitive categories this year, it is also one of the harder ones to predict due to complications with other awards.
More...
February 5th, 2011
WGA handed out its awards this weekend, and while there were many winners, only three categories were for theatrical releases.
More...
February 3rd, 2011
It's a new month and the industry is hoping for a fresh start, as January was not a month that will remembered fondly. Unfortunately, a fresh start likely won't be the case. There are two wide releases coming out this week, but they are best described as middling. Conversely, this time last year, Dear John opened with more than $30 million, and there's almost no chance that will happen this weekend, so 2011 will fall further behind 2010.
More...
February 3rd, 2011
Tangled opened in first place in the U.K. and that helped it climb back into first place internationally this weekend. In the U.K., it earned $8.11 million on 445 screens, which is roughly equivalent to its opening here. It's a little complicated comparing the two, as it opened on a Wednesday domestically, and it also opened on a major holiday. It was a better opening than Despicable Me, and that film earned just over $30 million in the U.K. along and almost $300 million internationally. Overall Tangled added $17.34 million on 4,534 screens in 37 markets for totals of $256.54 million internationally and $446.12 million worldwide. At this pace, $500 million worldwide is practically a lock.
More...
February 1st, 2011
There's was only one film able to top $10,000 on the per theater chart and that film was Kaboom, which made $13,714 in one theater.
More...
January 31st, 2011
Twelve. The year-over-year slump has reached twelve weeks, and it won't be long before that story becomes the biggest news in the industry. (Thank goodness for Oscars, otherwise that would already be the case.) The final weekend of January pulled in $109 million, which was 6% higher than last weekend, but it was also 13% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2011 has managed $872 million, but that pales compared to the $1.15 billion 2010 had earned at this point. 2011 is already nearly $300 million behind last year's pace after just one month. And sadly, I'm not seeing a lot of reason for optimism over the next month either.
More...
January 30th, 2011
The SAG awards were handed out tonight, and again there were no real surprises. The King's Speech took home two awards, including Best Cast. The The Fighter also came away with two wins, taking home both Supporting awards. This does seem to take away a lot of the guesswork for Oscar predictions.
More...
January 30th, 2011
The Directors Guild of America awards are some of the best indicators for the Oscars with a 90% success rate for predicting Best Director. This is great news for the winner of the feature film category, but it also bodes well for their documentary category.
More...
January 30th, 2011
It looks like another slow weekend at the box office, based on studio estimates released on Sunday, but there are some signs of improvement, thanks to a couple of decent openings and some healthy performances by Oscar hopefuls.
The Rite debuted with an estimated $15 million, about in line with expectations, while The Mechanic posted $11.5 million, which is a little ahead of the consensus going into the weekend.
More...
January 27th, 2011
It's the last weekend of January, so it's one last chance for 2011 to avoid a catastrophic start. At the beginning of the month I thought that if January 2011 was 20% lower than January 2010, it would be bad news.
As of the end of last weekend, that figure was closer to 30%.
This weekend, there's almost no chance things will improve, as this time last year Avatar earned more than $30 million, while this year the top two films combined likely won't earn that much.
Hopefully the two wide releases this weekend will be competitive with last year's two wide releases, but even that doesn't seem particularly likely.
More...
January 26th, 2011
Thanks to a combination of solid openings and better than expected holds, The Green Hornet was able to climb into top spot with $18.53 million on 4706 screens in 43 markets for a total of $37.55 million after just two weeks of release. In Australia, the film earned first place with $2.99 million on just 289 screens for a very impressive per screen average. It was also the biggest hit in Mexico with $2.55 million on 439 screens. On the other hand, it struggled in Japan opening in third place with $1.80 million on 459 screens. With a per screen average of well under $5000, it will likely disappear quite quickly in that market. On the up side, the film held well in most major markets down just 30% in France to $1.37 million on 495 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.66 million after two. In Germany it was down just 35% to $2.69 million on 612 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.81 million, also after two. While it was down 37% in the U.K. to $1.90 million on 431 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $6.11 million. With openings in South Korea, Italy, Russia, and Brazil ahead, it could top $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide. That would be more than enough to be considered a success.
More...
January 25th, 2011
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, thus ending months of speculation. Along with a (very) few surprises, the list of nominees is mostly a case of Deja Vu. Leading the way, as it has so often this year, was The King's Speech, with 12 nominations, including six in seven of the most prestigious categories (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and the four acting categories). But it was far from the only multi-nominated film on the list.
More...
January 25th, 2011
A few films tend to cross the $100 million milestone every January, as late December releases finish their run and this year is no exception. For instance, late last weekend Due Date hit the century mark on the 73rd day of its theatrical release. That's not a record, but it is certainly unusual for a wide release to take that long to get there. This past weekend, Voyage of the Dawn Treader became the 27th film released in 2010 to hit that mark, and the first for 20th Century Fox to reach that milestone all year long. Just a year after they released Avatar and five other $100 million movies, Fox was nearly shut out of the century club. That's quite a slump.
More...
January 25th, 2011
There's a bit of a controversy on the per theater chart with The Housemaid and Barney's Version in position to claim top spot. The latter made $143,000 in 16 theaters for an average of $8,938, in the United States. Adding it what it made in Canada, and it earned almost $500,000 in 77 theaters for an average of $6,217. That was a great weekend, but only third best on the chart. The winner was The Housemaid with an average of $8,335 in two theaters. This suggests it will be able to find more theaters willing to play it, but it is unlikely that it will expand significantly.
More...
January 24th, 2011
It's getting harder and harder to to spin the weekend numbers, as this time around the overall box office was down significantly, even if you ignore Avatar. The total box office was $103 million, which was 21% lower than last weekend and a stunning 29% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date 2011 is already almost $250 million behind $2010 at $730 million to $979 million. Granted, it's far too early in the year to panic, but we haven't seen year-over-year growth for nearly three months.
More...
January 23rd, 2011
A decent $20.3 million estimated opening for No Strings Attached and some surprisingly good holds in the top four wasn't enough to halt 2011's early box office slump.
Overall, the weekend's box office take looks like it will be about $35 million below last year's total, once more uncannily close to the haul of Avatar in the equivalent period.
More...
January 23rd, 2011
Producers Guild of America announced their winners this weekend and there are some interesting wins that may have changed the odds come Oscar night, as well as one that was as predictable as they come.
More...
January 20th, 2011
There's only one wide release this week, and it has a clear path to first place at the box office. However, while No Strings Attached will have little trouble winning, the real question box office watchers are asking is: How well will 2011 do compared to 2010? So far the answer to that question as been, "Disastrously." That trend will continue. This weekend last year, Avatar earned close to $35 million, while no new release will make that much. In fact, the top two films will barely earn more than that. If both No Strings Attached and The Green Hornet can earn more than Legion opened with last year, then I'll be willing to call it a victory, of sorts. Not a true victory, but at least we can look at things with some optimism.
More...
January 20th, 2011
International numbers were a day late due to the holiday, but there were some interesting stories to report. Firstly, Tangled climbed to top spot with $16.01 million on 4187 screens, in 38 markets, for a total of $214.02 million internationally and $395.03 million worldwide. It was able to climb to the top, despite no major market openings. It did add $3.33 million on 432 screens during its second weekend in Australia. That was enough for second place in that market over the weekend, while it lifted its total there to $13.23 million. In Brazil it remained in first place with $2.69 million on 447 screens over the weekend and $12.98 million after two. Up next is the U.K., while it has yet to open in Spain, Scandinavia, and Japan and by the time its done, it could have $500 million worldwide.
More...
January 18th, 2011
After an Oscar-qualifying run and a limited release in Canada, Barney's Version, finally started its theatrical run in the United States with an average of $16,310 in four theaters, which was enough to lead the per theater chart. Sort of. It's also playing in Canada, and despite the fact that Canada's considered part of the domestic box office when it comes to wide releases, smaller releases often don't have their box office numbers North of the border reported. This means it is possible that Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune remained on top with $12,377 in its lone theater.
More...
January 18th, 2011
2011 continues its trend of performing pretty well against 2010, if you ignore Avatar. This time last year, Avatar earned just over $40 million at the box office over the three-day weekend. This weekend 2011 was behind 2010 by just under $40 million over the same period. (You get a similar result if you look at the four-day numbers.) One could look at this as a small victory, as Avatar is such a rare commodity that it is unfair to expect the box office to compensate for that. However, there are a number of points that makes that thinking dangerous. First of all, even taking out Avatar, 2011's growth is not enough to keep pace with inflation. Secondly, without Avatar as competition, The Book of Eli probably would have earned at least a few million more, as would the rest of the box office. Thirdly, 2011 lost over the four-day weekend by a margin of $210 million to $159 million, which means there were about 7 million fewer people at theaters this weekend, which means there were 7 million fewer people seeing trailers, posters, etc. for upcoming films, and the box office can hardly afford missing out on that much free advertising. Finally, already 2011 is behind 2010 by nearly $200 million, at $798 million to $601 million, and if the conventional wisdom becomes, "2011 will be a disaster at the box office", it will take something special to overcome that negative buzz. And quite frankly, I don't see anything really special hitting theaters till the fall, and by then it will be too late.
More...
January 16th, 2011
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out the hardware tonight, and while there were plenty of winners, one film, The Social Network, stood out by winning four awards, including three of the major ones.
More...
January 12th, 2011
The Directors Guild of America spreads out the nomination process, but the last of the theatrical categories were announced today. The guild hands out awards in nearly a dozen categories, but only two for theatrical release. Two categories, ten nominations, and only one that wasn't completely foreseen.
More...
January 11th, 2011
Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune opened on top of the per theater chart with $18,211 in one theater over the weekend and $26,846 since Wednesday. This pushed Blue Valentine into second place with an average of $17,608; however, Valentine also saw its theater count balloon from 4 to 40. Another Year added one more theater, but it wasn't enough to keeps its overall box office level, as its average slipped to $12,466. The Illusionist hung on with an average of $10,996, but I think it has taken too long and it might be too late to expand significantly.
More...
January 9th, 2011
The post-Holiday hangover at the box office began in earnest this weekend, with the week's new wide release, Season of the Witch, and wide expansion, Country Strong both unable to gain much traction, allowing holdovers to dominate the chart.
True Grit will end the weekend on top with an estimated $15 million, according to Paramount, and a running total of $110 million.
Little Fockers will finish second with about $13.8 million, per Universal's estimates.
More...
January 4th, 2011
Producers Guild of America announced the nominations in seven categories, three of which are for theatrical releases. Like last year, there was only one repeat nominee, and again like last year, it was a Pixar release.
More...
January 4th, 2011
WGA nominations were announced this week, and there were some strange results, as the guild is sticking to their rules, which resulted in a number of possible Oscar contenders being ruled ineligible. That said, of the non-documentary films, only one hasn't picked up a single nomination previously, so it is hard to say this list is too out there.
More...
January 4th, 2011
The final weekend of the year saw no less than six films topping the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart. Leading the way was Blue Valentine with an average of $48,432 over the weekend and it already has close to $300,000 in just four theaters since Wednesday. Country Strong saw its average grow to $20,753, but it was still pushed to second place due to the competition. Another Year opened in third with $18,645 in six theaters, while Somewhere remained steady with $17,302 in eight. The Illusionist grew by 20% to $15,472, but it did have an extra day, as last weekend it opened on Saturday. The final $10,000 film was The King's Speech, which earned more than $7 million in 700 theaters for an average of $11,108.
More...
January 3rd, 2011
2011 has begun but it didn't get off to a strong start. It didn't even get off to a better than expected start, as only one film in the top five really topped expectations. Overall, the box office grew by 10% from last week hitting $159 million, but that's not great given Christmas Eve landed on a Friday. It was also down 28% from the same weekend last year, so 2011 is off to a bad start. Granted, it's incredibly early, but there are not a lot of hopeful signs for the rest of the month and double-digit declines will likely be the norm.
More...
January 2nd, 2011
With no new wide releases over New Year's weekend, this week's was a battle of the holdovers at the box office, and thanks to the fact that Christmas Eve (a slow day at the box office) fell on a Friday in 2010, the weekend-to-weekend comparison for each movie generally looked good.
Curiously, though, the top three movies all declined from last weekend while all the other movies in the top 20 saw increases.
With plenty of films to choose from, audiences spent over $4 million on at least 13 different films, seven of which topped $10 million.
That's not quite a record (no less than nine movies earned over $10 million over MLK weekend in 2001), but it is unusual.
More...
December 28th, 2010
There was a real battle for top spot on the per theater chart with Country Strong just coming out on top with an average of $17,321 in 2 theaters. That's a pretty good start, but I'm not sure it will be enough to get a truly wide release. Somewhere was right behind with an average of $17,012 in 7 theaters. However, one could argue it had a better opening, since it was playing in more theaters and opened on Wednesday, thus diluting its weekend average. The final film to reach the $10,000 mark was The Illusionist with an average of $12,865 in 3 theaters, but that was over just two days.
More...
December 21st, 2010
It was a good week for The King's Speech, as it led the way for Golden Globe nominations and SAG nominations, while retaking top spot on the per theater chart. Despite expanding from 19 theaters to 43 theaters, its average fell just 20% to $25,515. This was twice as much as Tron: Legacy, which placed second with $12,758. The only other film to reach the $10,000 mark was Rabbit Hole at $10,756. This is not bad, but given the Awards Season Buzz, I was expecting more.
More...
December 19th, 2010
The weekend before Christmas brought little cheer to the movie industry, with Tron: Legacy posting a fairly ordinary $43.6 million opening, and the weekend's two other wide openers and one wide expansion missing the mark.
Since Avatar was released this weekend last year, the year-on-year comparisons look bad for the industry as a whole, and 2010 looks certain to lag 2009 in tickets sold, and possibly in total revenue.
More...
December 17th, 2010
The SAG nominations were handed out this week, and while there were a couple of interesting notes, overall there was a decided lack of surprises. The King's Speech and The Fighter led the way with four nominations each, while Black Swan and The Kids Are All Right were right behind with three. All four have been considered Awards Season players for a long time, so their success with SAG merely confirms that and is not shocking in the least.
More...
December 14th, 2010
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations early this morning, and there are some interesting surprises included in the mix. Leading the way was The King's Speech, which has long been seen as one of the major players this Awards Season. Meanwhile, The Fighter and The Social Network were right behind with six each. There were many, many other films nomination, including more than a few shocks. ... Mostly in one category.
More...
December 14th, 2010
The Fighter started its run on top of the per theater chart with an average of $75,003 in four theaters. That's not the best per theater average of the year, or even of recent weeks, but it does suggest it will perform well when it expands wide on Friday. Black Swan remained potent on the per theater chart despite very significant expansion. It earned an average of $36,726 in 90 theaters, which is more than enough to assume further expansion over the coming weeks. The King's Speech was close behind with an average of $31,148 in 19 theaters during its third week of release.
More...
December 7th, 2010
Black Swan beat all expectations during its opening; in fact, it broke records for Fox Searchlight earning an average of $80,212 in 18 theaters. This bodes well for its expansion this Friday. Last week's winner, The King's Speech, earned a very strong second place with an average of $54,086 in six theaters. I Love You, Phillip Morris and All Good Things opened with nearly identical averages of $18,753 and $18,586 respectively. The Salvation Poem reached the $10,000 mark with an average of $13,124 in two theaters, which is unexpected.
More...
December 3rd, 2010
There's another eclectic mix of limited releases on this week's list, including a film that could be bound for Oscar glory, another that has been delayed many times in the past, a Christmas film, two Christmas films if you include the re-release of The Polar Express, and more. Will any find some measure of mainstream success. Let's hope so.
More...
December 1st, 2010
The official arrival of winter is still a few weeks away, but Winter's Bone ushered in the start of Awards Season picking up seven Independent Spirit Award nominations. This was the most of any film, with The Kids Are All Right placing second with five.
More...
November 30th, 2010
Oscar hopeful, The King's Speech, took one giant leap forward in its quest to bring home the hardware as it topped the weekend per theater chart with and average of $88,863. You can't vote for a movie you haven't seen, so strong box office numbers usually mean more Awards Season Buzz, which in turn usually means better box office numbers. As it did on the overall box office chart, Tangled had to settle for second place on the per theater chart, but its average of $13,535 is still excellent for a saturation level release. The Legend of Pale Male was very close behind with $12,910 in its lone theater. Rounding out the $10,000 club was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, with an average of $11,900. This is way lower than last week, but not many films earn an average of more than $10,000 during their second weekend of release while playing in more than 4000 theaters.
More...
November 28th, 2010
A close battle for top spot at the box office led to a generally healthy Thanksgiving weekend, which looks set to be the second-biggest overall, behind last year's Twilight-dominated feast.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I lays claim to the number one berth with a very solid $50.345 million estimate, according to Warner Bros., but Tangled is close behind with Disney putting its opening three day weekend at $49.1 million.
Tangled has posted better day-to-day numbers, particularly since Thanksgiving Day itself, and topped the chart on Saturday.
More...
November 25th, 2010
There's an ... interesting mix of limited releases on this week's list, including a film that has been marked for Oscar glory for quite some time, and another that could creep onto our list of the biggest money losers of all time. Also of note, most of these films opened on Wednesday, while a couple don't open till tomorrow.
More...
