May 9th, 2016
It is officially the summer blockbuster season, which is historically the worst time of year for the home market. We are usually flooded with duds from January and February. However, this year we have the biggest hit of the year so far, Deadpool, which is coming out on DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and 4K. Unless your eyesight is better than 20/20, 4k is not worth the upgrade, but the Blu-ray is the Pick of the Week. It isn't the only contender for that title. Mustang (DVD or Blu-ray) and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (Blu-ray) are also must haves.
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March 16th, 2016
Eye in the Sky opened on first place on the per theater chart with an average of $22,761 in five theaters. This opening, plus its reviews, suggest it could do well in wider release. Likewise, Hello, My Name is Doris earned an average of $21,246 in four theaters while its Tomatometer Score is 90% positive. It could also earn some measure of mainstream success. City of Gold did very well for a documentary with an average of $15,740, also in four theaters. The overall number one film, Zootopia, earned an average of $13,415. Remember was the latest A24 to do well with an average of $10,245 in two theaters.
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February 24th, 2016
The Mermaid led the way as far as limited releases were concerned with $985,000 in 35 theaters for an average of $28,144. The film has broken records in China, which we will talk about more tomorrow with the international top five. The Embrace of the Serpent was next with an average of $16,985 in three theaters over the weekend, while it earned an average of $20,721 during its five-day opening. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Deadpool with an average of $15,172. On a related note, Warner Bros. has announced an R-rated Blu-ray for Batman v. Superman. The is the wrong lesson to learn from the success of Deadpool.
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February 18th, 2016
Deadpool had the best theater average for the entire year with an average of $37,222. Granted, it is still early and there's no way this record will last till June, but it is still an incredible start. On the downside, there was no other film in the $10,000 club.
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February 14th, 2016
This weekend last year, Fifty Shades of Grey broke one of the longest-standing records in the business by posting a $85.2 million opening weekend, besting the record for biggest weekend in February that had been held by The Passion of the Christ since 2004. Fifty Shades and, in 2014, The LEGO Movie dispelled the myth that big movies couldn’t open in February, and this year Deadpool is single-handedly making President’s Day weekend look like a Summer holiday weekend with an opening projected by Fox at $135 million for the Friday–Sunday period and $150 million over four days.
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February 13th, 2016
Sometimes a movie opens and it takes a while to figure out if it was a financial success or not. Deadpool is not one of those movies. Not only did its previews break a couple of records, it crushed a few more on Friday. Its opening day haul of $47.5 million is a new record for the biggest day in February, topping Fifty Shades of Grey by just over $10 million. It is also the biggest opening day for an R-rated film, topping The Maxtrix Reloaded for that record. It likely won’t have as strong legs as that film, despite its reviews, because the Fanboy Effect is strong with this movie. That said, the film cost just $58 million to make, so unless it cost more than that to advertise, it will break even just on its domestic box office.
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February 12th, 2016
It's Valentine's Day weekend, so it should come as no surprise that there's a few romantic films on this week's list. On the other hand, the biggest release is Where to Invade Next. Its reviews are good, but it is opening in 300 theaters, which could prove to be too many.
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December 25th, 2015
While there are a massive number of wide releases / wide expansions this week, there are very few limited releases. Generally by this time of year, the competition from previously released Awards Season contenders is just too much. The only type of film that can truly thrive is one that has a lot of pre-release buzz. This year, this includes The Hateful Eight, which has the widest opening on this week's list and expands truly wide next week, as well as The Revenant, which expands wide early in January.
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