February 28th, 2012
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 remained on top of the DVD sales chart, although it fell to 1.45 million units / $26.03 million for the week giving it a total of 3.80 million units / $68.77 million after two. By comparison, Eclipse actually grew during its first full week of release and had sold 5.38 million units at this point in its run.
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December 21st, 2011
The Hangover II was the first of three new releases on top of this week's Blu-ray sales chart, selling 951,000 units while generating $16.89 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 42%, which was good for a comedy.
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December 20th, 2011
New releases took four or five of the top five spots on the DVD sales chart this week. (The Smurfs is a bit of a complicated case, but more on that in a second.) First place went to The Help with 1.75 million units sold generating $29.78 million in revenue.
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December 15th, 2011
The Smurfs led a group of five new releases on the Blu-ray sales chart earning first place in the process. It sold 355,000 units while generating $8.88 million during its first week on the home market, which represents 42% of all units sold. That's a very strong opening week Blu-ray ratio for a live action kids movie.
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December 13th, 2011
We are in the final stretch for the Christmas shopping season, but there are still few more summer blockbusters coming out from now till Christmas week. This time around, there were half a dozen new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, led by The Smurfs with 491,000 units / $8.34 million. For a kids' film that sold more than $140 million in tickets, this is slow start.
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November 29th, 2011
It's another relatively slow week on the home market. The two biggest release of the week don't come out till Friday, while there are few other releases to pick up the slack. As for the search for best and not necessarily the biggest, there are a few contenders. Cave of Forgotten Dreams earned Oscar-worthy reviews and the 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack is a clear contender for Pick of the Week. But in the end I went with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on DVD or Blu-ray.
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October 19th, 2011
Real Steel was able to stay on top of the international chart, just as it did domestically. Over the weekend, it earned $25.03 million on 4,116 screens in 29 markets for a total of $60.94 million internationally. Worldwide it has taken $112.67 million, which is just over what it cost to make. The film opened in several markets, including the U.K., but it had to settle for fourth place with $2.11 million on 385 screens there. On the other hand, it added $4.63 million on 881 screens in Russia and now has earnt $14.39 million in that market. It also remained in first place in Mexico with $2.77 million on 1,049 screens for a total of $7.31 million after two weeks. It also earned first place in Australia with $2.34 million on 349 screens over the weekend, for a total of $7.88 million after two.
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October 13th, 2011
Real Steel made its debut on the international chart in first place with $22.85 million on 3,089 screens in 21 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $28.51 million. Its biggest opening was in Russia where it dominated the chart with $7.45 million on 881 screens. It also earned first place in Australia with $4.21 million on 356 screens and in Mexico with $3.15 million on 1,097.
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October 6th, 2011
The Smurfs were finally knocked off the top spot on the international chart, falling prey to The Sorcerer And The White Snake. This Chinese film opened in a trio of markets earning $15.88 million, but no other details were released.
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September 28th, 2011
The Smurfs were the only film to top $10 million on the international chart this past weekend earning $12.61 million on 5,931 screens in 61 markets. This lifted its totals to $364.47 million internationally and $502.83 million worldwide after two months of release. The film has no major markets left to open in, but it remained in first place in Italy with $3.03 million on 559 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.26 million after two. It also remained in top spot in Australia with $2.55 million on 458 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.97 million after two.
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September 21st, 2011
The dry season continues at the box office with the last of the summer blockbusters fading away while the first of the fall hits is a long way off. This has left The Smurfs without any real competition and for six weeks it has topped the international box office. During its eighth week of release, the film pulled in $17.93 million on 6,404 screens in 69 markets for totals of $345.44 million internationally and $483.04 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Italy with $3.55 million on 542 screens, while it also placed first in Australia with $2.56 million on 458 screens over the weekend and $3.59 million in total.
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September 14th, 2011
The Smurfs have taken top spot on the international chart for the fifth weekend in a row, this time earning $14.78 million on 6,425 screens in 80 markets for a total of $321.17 million internationally and $457.18 million worldwide. The film opened in Japan over the weekend, but was a non-entity placing fifth with $857,000 on 235 screens over the weekend and $994,000 in total. It opens in Australia and Italy this weekend and if it can do well in those two markets, it should reach $500 million worldwide before long.
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September 8th, 2011
The Smurfs started September the same way they ended August, on top of the international chart. Over the weekend the film earned $25.09 million on 8,318 screens in 78 markets for totals of $297.72 million internationally and $429.77 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in the United Arab Emirates with $1.9 million on 37 screens, which was the second best opening in the market this year, behind only Pirates of Caribbean on Stranger Tides. It also earned first place in Sweden with $1.11 million on 128 screens and second place in Norway with $1.05 million on 132. Given its surprising strength over the weekend, getting to $500 million worldwide has become more of a reality.
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September 1st, 2011
For the third weekend in a row, The Smurfs earned first place on the international chart. This time they pulled in $26.82 million on 9,023 screens in 48 markets for a total of $258.27 million internationally and $384.22 million worldwide. It was a pretty slow weekend in terms of new releases (it earned $739,000 on 137 screens in Denmark) but that changes next weekend with an opening in Japan, while Australia and Italy are also just around the corner. Even if the film had no markets left to open in, it would still get to $300 million internationally and $400 million worldwide, but even with these three major markets, it probably won't hit any other major milestones.
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August 24th, 2011
The Smurfs remained in first place with $35.18 million on 10,737 screens in 47 markets for a total of $211.52 million internationally and $329.07 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, but did add $3.95 million on 504 screens during its third weekend in Brazil and it now has $21.91 million in that market. That's like earning more than $200 million domestically. With openings in Italy, Japan, and Australia still ahead, the film should have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which means it is on pace to earn a profit before the home market.
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August 18th, 2011
The Smurfs continued to expand this past weekend and reached first place with $61.48 million on 11,055 screens in 40 markets for a total of $143.23 million internationally. Its biggest opening came in China where it debuted in first place with $13.4 million on 3,110 screens from Wednesday through Sunday. It also opened in first place in Russia with $4.28 million on 662 screens, but had to settle for second place in the U.K. with $6.16 million on 447 and third place in South Korea with $2.07 million on 455 screens over the weekend and $2.42 million in total. It also held on really well in Brazil, down just 21% to $5.34 million on 559 over the weekend for a total of $15.36 million after two.
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August 16th, 2011
While three of the four wide releases that opened this week missed expectations, the one that beat expectations did so by enough that we can still say the box office was a success pulling in $155 million. That was off by 7% when compared to last weekend, but more importantly it was 8% higher than the same weekend last year. The year-over-year winning streak has hit five weeks, while 2010's lead over 2011 has shrunk to just a hair over $300 million at $7.23 billion to $6.93 billion. Should 2011 continue its recent winning ways, the total box office should reach $10 billion for the year and perhaps show a little growth over 2010 in the end.
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August 11th, 2011
Four wide releases open this week, but unless one of them is a surprise hit, I think it's safe to say that summer unofficially ends this weekend. That's not to say the films opening this weekend are all destined to bomb and most should at least become solid midlevel hits, but odds are Rise of the Planet of the Apes will retain top spot on the chart. Unfortunately, this weekend last year we did have a surprise hit and there's almost no chance any film this year will match The Expendables' opening and that could mean 2011's winning streak will come to an end. On the other hand, there's a lot more depth this time around and since the four wide releases share very little crossover appeal, they might all reach their potential and that might be enough to eek out a win.
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August 10th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 became just the third film in history to reach $800 million internationally, and that wasn't the only big news of the week. Over the weekend, the film pulled in $62.43 million on 14,316 screens in 62 markets for totals of $801.32 million internationally and $1.14 billion worldwide. It is now the highest grossing non-James Cameron film of all time. The film opened with just shy of $30 million in China, which is more than twice the previous film's debut there. In fact, it is about 10% less than the previous film's final box office there. There is a chance Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 will break the century mark in this market. Other big news of the weekend came from the U.K. where it earned $4.61 million on 525 screens for a total of $102.39 million. It's still very rare for films to earn $100 million or more in any individual box office, so this is good news. Its next biggest individual market is Japan at $82.19 million, including $4.76 million on 822 screens this past weekend. Looking forward, the film should have no trouble reaching $900 million internationally and it should top Titanic's international number worldwide.
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August 8th, 2011
It seems summer is still around as the box office was stronger than expected. Not only did Rise of the Planet of the Apes earn more than last year's number one film, The Other Guys, by a large margin, but the rest of the box office was also able to gain ground on 2010. Granted, with a total haul of $167 million, it was down 7% from last weekend. But more importantly, it was up by 26% from last year. Year-to-date 2011 has pulled in $6.68 billion, which is still 5% lower than this point last year, but we are closing the gap and if the fall is as strong as the summer was, we could still squeeze out a win.
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August 4th, 2011
August begins with two wide releases, include one opening in well over 3,000 theaters, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and one that's just below the saturation level, The Change-Up. This time last year, the one-two punch came from The Other Guys and Step Up 3D, which combined to earn just over $51 million. There are some who think Rise of the Planet of the Apes will earn that much by itself. That's a little too bullish for me, but it does suggest 2011 should extend its winning streak over 2010 to four weeks.
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August 3rd, 2011
Miranda July's second film, The Future, opened about as well as her first film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, did. It earned $27,137 in its lone theater, which was enough for top spot on the per theater chart and suggests a strong potential for expansion. The Devil's Double and The Guard were in a virtual tie with averages of $19,283 and $19,209 respectively. Attack the Block was one of the wider limited releases of the week, and it had the biggest opening in terms of raw dollars. Furthermore, its average of $17,198 suggest potential to expand. El Bulli: Cooking in Progress opened in one theater earning $12,756 over the weekend and $20,699 since Wednesday. Sarah's Key expanded from 5 theaters to 33, but still managed a very strong per theater average of $11,112. The final film to cross the $10,000 per theater average was The Smurfs at $10,489.
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August 1st, 2011
It was a very, very close race for top spot at box office this weekend with the top two films separated by less than $1 million. In the end, it was Cowboys and Aliens that came out on top, even though it finished on the low end of predictions. However, with The Smurfs earning much more than expected, the overall box office take was a surprisingly brisk $180 million. This was still 6% lower than last weekend, but more importantly, 24% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2011 has brought in $6.42 billion, or about 6% less than last year's pace. With a little luck, 2011 will be able to close that gap a bit more before the end of summer.
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July 31st, 2011
Universal and Sony showed how compromise is done on Sunday, as each studio settled on an identical weekend estimate, with Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs tied on an estimated $36,206,250. That's a slight disappointment for Cowboys (although certainly up from the worst fears of a few weeks ago) and above expectations for Smurfs, which showed the resilience of kids movies to weak reviews and gave 3D a needed boost.
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July 28th, 2011
Summer is starting to wind down and while there are no sure-fire monster hits opening from now until November, there are still a few more potential $100 million hits coming out before we can close the book on the summer. Cowboys and Aliens is one of these films, and while it is clearly the biggest new release of the week, it still has competition from Captain America: The First Avenger during its opening weekend. On the high end, the film could earn more than the combined openings of last year's three wide releases. Even on the low end, it should have no trouble topping last year's number one film. This should help 2011 win over 2010 for the third week in a row, which is enough to be considered a streak.
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June 28th, 2011
July starts with one of the most important holidays of the year, which is good news for the industry, as June was a little weaker than expected, at least on average. None of the films were shockingly bad at the box office, even if a few missed early predictions by significant degrees. But conversely, none really shocked analysts with their box office prowess. As such, 2011 continued to slide a little further behind 2010's pace, a trend the movie industry hopes will end this month. Fortunately, that is a reasonable goal. Last July was home to two $100 million movies, two $200 million movies, and a one $300 million movie, assuming you count The Twilight Saga: Eclipse as a July film. This time around, we could see two films top $300 million, assuming you count Transformers: Dark of the Moon as a July release. Meanwhile, there are several potential $100 million films. I count up to six films with a statistically significant shot at reaching the century mark, but I would be amazed if more than half of them got there.
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