August 7th, 2013
Like it usually is during the summer, this week is rather soft on home market. Granted, there is one wide release that did very well at the box office, Oblivion, plus a couple of limited releases that did well to earn a serious measure of mainstream success, The Place Beyond the Pines and Mud. However, there are also some releases in the top twenty that are definitely filler. Usually, once you reach exercise videos, there's nothing worth talking about. Of course, if I used that rule this week, there would be almost nothing on this week's list. Mud is likely the best release and the DVD or Blu-ray is worth picking up, but I'm still waiting for the screener to review and I hate awarding something Pick of the Week if the screener is late. Because of this, I'm going with another late release, Burn Notice: Season Six, as Pick of the Week. It arrived more than a month late, but it was worth the wait.
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July 16th, 2013
Fruitvale Station earned top spot on the per theater chart with an outstanding average of $53,898 in seven theaters. This is the third best per theater average for the year, behind Spring Breakers and The Place Beyond the Pines. Last week's winner, The Way Way Back, slipped to second place with $14,201 in 79 theaters. Its theater count tripled and this average suggests it will expand a lot more before it is done. Crystal Fairy was right behind with an average of $12,526 in two theaters. There were three wide releases in the $10,000 club, led by Grown Ups 2 with an average of $11,890, while Pacific Rim was right behind with an average of $11,385. The overall box office leader, Despicable Me 2, rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $10,965.
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May 29th, 2013
As expected, Before Midnight led the way on the per theater chart with an average $49,383. This is the third best per theater average so far this year, behind just The Place Beyond the Pines and Spring Breakers. The overall box office leader, Fast and Furious 6, was next with an average of $26,620. Fill the Void was relatively close behind with an average of $19,721 in three theaters. The final film in the $10,000 club was The Hangover 3 with an average of $11,722.
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May 15th, 2013
Iron Man 3 again earned first place on the Per Theater Chart, but this time it was closer with an average of $17,053. The second best film on the per theater chart was the second best film on the overall chart, The Great Gatsby, which earned an average of $14,168. The best limited release was Stories We Tell with an average of $13,527 in two theaters. It had previously opened in Canada, where it made $360,000. One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das earned $11,515 in one theater.
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April 30th, 2013
While there were two films in the $10,000 club this week, Kon-Tiki and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, one could argue Mud had the best opening on the per theater chart this past weekend. Kon-Tiki earned an average of $11,084 in two theaters, while The Reluctant Fundamentalist earned an average of $10,307 in three. However, Mud earned an average of $6,103 while playing in 363 theaters. It missed the top ten by just $160,000.
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April 23rd, 2013
There was only one film in the $10,000 club this week, In the House, which earned an average of $11,738 in three theaters. However, Filly Brown had a more impressive opening with $1.48 million in 188 theaters for an average of $7,863. You rarely see limited releases playing in that many theaters earning that high a per theater average.
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April 22nd, 2013
The overall box office was in line with expectations, more or less, which is unfortunately bad news, as expectations were low. Oblivion easily won the weekend, but the overall box office still fell 5.7% from last weekend to $110 million. Worse still, this is 19% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 has pulled in $2.77 billion, which is 11% lower than 2012's pace. 2013 is already $350 million behind 2012 and even with Iron Man 3 looming large, I don't see how 2013 is going to turn things around any time soon.
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April 21st, 2013
Given the news over the past week, and the shutdown of Boston on Friday, there was some uncertainty over how much sci-fi action moviegoers would have an appetite for this weekend. Sunday's studio estimates provide the answer: quite a lot. Oblivion will open with about $38.2 million according to Universal, which is on the high end of expectations. That's enough to put it firmly in the top ten April weekends, in between Rio and Hop, but a long way behind Clash of the Titans, which debuted with $61.2 million in 2010 and is probably the closest comparison film to Oblivion among recent April openers.
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April 18th, 2013
It is no secret that 2013 has been a bad year at the box office so far. There's only one film debuting wide this week, Oblivion, which should benefit from the lack of competition this weekend. (Although we are already seeing plenty of hype for Iron Man 3, which could hurt this film's chance at the box office.) There are also several films opening in more than 100 theaters: Filly Brown, Home Run, and The Lords of Salem. There's a chance one of them will be a better than expected hit and reach the top ten; it's a slim chance, but a chance. Finally, The Place Beyond the Pines is expanding to an additional 1,000 theaters and should climb higher in the top ten. Last year, there were three wide releases led by Think Like a Man. That film was a bigger than expected hit, but hopefully Oblivion will have an even better start, but not everyone is positive it will.
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April 16th, 2013
There were no films able to reach the $10,000 club on this week's per theater average. However, while this is disappointing, it is not uncommon for this time of year. The best film was 42, which not only opened in first place on the overall chart, but also earned first place on the per theater average chart with an average of $9,153. The best limited release of the week was Disconnect, which earned an average of $8,240 in 15 theaters.
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April 14th, 2013
Sports movies can be a risky proposition financially. While they potentially have a built-in audience among fans of the sport in question, they can also turn off people who don't much care for the sport. It takes a really compelling story to reach out to non-fans, and it seems as though the story of Jackie Robinson is compelling enough to draw in a broad audience for 42, which will open atop the box office chart this weekend with a projected $27.25 million, according to Warner Bros.' Sunday morning estimate. A 25% uptick on Saturday suggests good word of mouth for the film so far. Less good word of mouth is being earned by Scary Movie 5, which is projected to end in second place with $15.15 million. That's well behind previous outings for the franchise, which have clustered around the $40 million mark.
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April 9th, 2013
The buzz certainly helped Trance, as it earned first place on the per theater chart with an average of $32,786 in four theaters. This is not quite as good as Danny Boyle's previous two limited releases, but if it doesn't reach at least one major milestone, I would be shocked. Upstream Color rode the best reviews of the week to second place with $28,649 in its lone theater. The Company You Keep was right behind with an average of $26,344 in five theaters. Mixed reviews will likely hold down its potential to expand. The Place Beyond the Pines was the only holdover to reach the $10,000 mark. It expanded to 30 theaters, but still managed an impressive average of $23,446.
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April 2nd, 2013
There was a huge selection of films in the $10,000 club, led by The Place Beyond the Pines, which earned an average of $69,864 in four theaters. This is the second-best per theater average for the year thus far, behind only Spring Breakers. Space Station rose back to the $10,000 club with $15,301 in two theaters. This film has amazing legs, even compared to other IMAX films, and pops into the $10,000 from time to time. Room 237 opened with an average of $14,847 in two theaters. This is a good start, but as a documentary its potential to expand is very limited. The overall box office leader, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, earned an average of $10,891 over the three-day portion of its opening weekend. Renoir was right behind with an average of $10,866 in six theaters. Temptation also managed to earn a spot in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,572.
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March 31st, 2013
There's something for (almost) everyone this weekend, as a diverse group of films leads the pack over Easter. G.I. Joe: Retaliation will easily top the chart with an estimated $41.2 million from 3,719 theaters. While that's a little softer than the first film in the franchise, it can still claim a $11,000 per theater average and with a small boost from Spring Break this week it should hit $100 million domestically. Overseas prospects look even stronger. Tyler Perry's Temptation will be less of a draw internationally, but it has made a very solid start here with $22.3 million over opening weekend, also enough for a $10,000 average, and to secure third place.
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March 29th, 2013
It's kind of a mixed week when it comes to limited releases. There are quite a few of them, but not many that have good reviews and strong buzz. The best of these is Blancanieves, which I thought opened previously. There are some with good reviews and some with buzz, but not a lot that scream hit. The Place Beyond the Pines probably has the best chance at hitting major milestones.
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