November 20th, 2013
There are some good releases this week, but it is also a shallow week. If you look at Amazon.com's list of new releases, by the third or fourth page, you will find more filler than releases worth talking about. On the other hand, there are a number of late releases that finally arrived and I was able to get done. There are a number of contenders for Pick of the Week this week, including Doctor Who Story 29: The Tenth Planet, which is a must have for all Whovians. Kinky Boots is a very fun movie and you can't beat the price of the DVD. On the other hand, the Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-ray releases for Season Five and Unification are expensive, but worth it for fans. In the end, I went with The World's End on Blu-ray Combo Pack for Pick of the Week.
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October 1st, 2013
This list is a little short and a little late, because WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE INTERNET? The past three days, the internet has been slow as hell. There are a number of interesting releases coming out this week, several of them have screeners that are on their way. Unfortunately, only one screener did arrive on time. Fortunately, it was The Little Mermaid on Blu-ray Combo Pack and it, or the 3D Combo Pack, are worthy of Pick of the Week.
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September 17th, 2013
Both new releases topped expectations and even though a couple of the holdovers struggled a little bit, the overall box office was still fantastic. Insidious Chapter 2 broke a September record that has been held for more than a decade on its way to a $40 million opening. The Family was well back in second place, but still on the high end of expectations. Overall, the box office pulled in $103 million. This was 21% more than last week and 19% more than the same weekend last year. In fact, Insidious Chapter 2 made more than Resident Evil: Retribution and Finding Nemo 3D made combined last year. Year-to-date, 2013 has pulled in $7.66 billion compared to $7.55 billion at this point in 2012.
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August 9th, 2013
The Dog Days of summer have begun; in fact, they began last weekend. There are four films trying to find an audience that is distracted with other concerns like back-to-school, or the last family outing before back-to-school, etc. Will any of the films find an audience? Elysium has the best chance. It is earning the best reviews of the week. We're the Millers opened on Wednesday and did quite well, earning first place, but it's far from a monster hit. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters cost $90 million to make, but barely topped The Smurfs 2's Wednesday opening from last week. That's not a good sign. Finally there's Disney's Planes, a film that started production as a direct-to-DVD film and the reviews reflect that. The Bourne Legacy opened this week last year with $38.14 million, which is something Elysium might match.
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June 25th, 2013
It was a great week at the box office with both new releases, Monsters University and World War Z, topping predictions. The overall box office rose 18% to $240 million, which was the eighth biggest weekend of all time. The box office was 46% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 is still behind 2012, but now by less than 1% at $4.88 billion to $4.93 billion. Maybe by the end of the month, 2013 will have completely caught up to 2012. The new releases will have to be stronger than anticipated, but it isn't out of the question.
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June 20th, 2013
There are two potential monster hits opening this weekend: Monsters University and World War Z. Not only should both of those films score with moviegoers, but Man of Steel's sophomore stint should be strong as well resulting in a powerful weekend box office. This weekend last year was led by Brave with $66.32 million, a figure Monsters University should top. Meanwhile this year has a lot more depth at the box office than last year did, so 2013 should earn a victory in the year-over-year comparison. This is great news, because 2013 is still far behind 2012.
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June 17th, 2013
It was a very good week at the box office with Man of Steel breaking the record for biggest June weekend topping Toy Story 3 by more than $6 million. Nearly every film in the top five matched or beat expectations, which helped the overall box office reach $204 million. This was 37% higher than last weekend and 57% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2013 is still behind 2012, but is has closed the gap to $150 million, or 3.1%, at $4.56 billion to $4.71 billion.
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June 16th, 2013
2013 has been a nervous time for Warner Bros.. After six straight years as the number one or number two domestic distributor, the studio's main franchise breadwinners, Batman, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Hangover are all coming to an end or already played out. They are running in third place for the year to date, and badly need a new money spinner if they are to avoid lean times in 2015 and beyond. This weekend they got their knight in shining armor, or, more accurately, Man of Steel. The reboot of the venerable Superman franchise will open this weekend with $113.08 million, a new record weekend in June and a huge shot in the arm for the studio.
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June 13th, 2013
This week one of the biggest movies of the summer is coming out. Man of Steel is the latest film in the longest running super hero franchises of all time. Granted, Superman hasn't always been overly popular with moviegoers or critics, but it should still sell lots of tickets. This is the End is the counter-programming for the week, and it has a lot of popular actors and the reviews are strong, but it opened on Wednesday, so its weekend numbers will be softer as a result. Last year the box office was led by Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Prometheus, both of which were in their second weekend of release. The new releases were Rock of Ages and That's My Boy, both of which bombed. I foresee a victory in the year-over-year comparison.
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June 7th, 2013
Next weekend is Father's Day and as such we have a Father's Day related prizes: Really ugly ties! No, it's A Good Day to Die Hard, which is a father and son action film. But first we have to come up with a target film. Fortunately there's a really easy choice there. This is the End is the counter-programming and will be playing in less than 3,000 theaters, while Man of Steel is debuting in more than 4,000 theaters. As I said, it's an easy choice to make. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Man of Steel.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of A Good Day to Die Hard on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of A Good Day to Die Hard on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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June 2nd, 2013
May ended on a mixed note, but there was still enough to celebrate. Of the seven films I thought had a legitimate shot at $100 million, four have already gotten there, one more is a sure thing, and another has a good shot as well. Only one, After Earth, will definitely fail to get to that milestone. (Although Now You See Me might get there instead.) Looking forward to June, there are four weekends, each with two wide releases, for a total of eight films. Of those eight, six have a legitimate shot at $100 million. One, Monsters University, should have no trouble getting to $200 million, and another, Man of Steel, should top $300 million. It is hard to compare this June with last June, because last June there were five weekends. Taking that into account and ignoring the first week, which lines up with the final week of May, there were eight wide releases. Of those eight, five hit $100 million, including three $200 million movies. There were no $300 million movies, so if the two big hits this month do as well as expected, 2013 could come out ahead.
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