June 21st, 2010
We have reached the slowest time of the year on the home market. The biggest first-run release coming out this week is Green Zone, which was a box office disappointment. The second biggest first-run release is She's Out of My League, which was also a box office disappointment, as was Remember Me. Worst still, there are very few limited releases, TV on DVD releases, or classics to make up the difference. However, many releases are worth picking up for certain target demographics, although very few that will likely sell a lot of units. For instance, Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 1: Collector's Edition is a must have if you don't own the series on DVD yet, but there's not enough new material to make the upgrade. Cinematic Titanic: Danger on Tiki Island continues the tradition started with MST3K, but either you love you show or you're simply not interested in the DVD. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs makes its 3D Blu-ray debut, but the number of people who have made the leap to 3D is so small that it can't really be pick of the week material. To find the Pick of the Week, I'm instead going with two films that couldn't be more dissimilar if it were a contest. Death Race 2000 and The Last Station. Both are worth owning, but in both cases the Blu-ray release is not the obvious better deal.
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March 7th, 2010
The Princess and the Frog may have slipped out of the top five internationally, but it still added $8.32 million on 3053 screens in 28 markets for a total of $143.18 million. It had no major market openings again this week, but it added $2.84 million on 689 screens over the weekend in France for a total of $27.30 million after a month of release there. This weekend the film debuted in Japan, which could help it return to the top five. Regardless, it has made enough money that it should show a profit, eventually.
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February 28th, 2010
Shutter Island started its international run with a sixth place finish this past weekend, earning $9.28 million on 1229 screens in 9 markets. The film opened in first place in Spain with $3.25 million on 406 screens. It had to settle for second place in Australia, in a virtual tie with Valentine's Day at $2.50 million on 250 screens. It's way too early to tell where the film will end up, but matching its domestic run internationally is a solid goal.
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February 21st, 2010
As expected, The Princess and the Frog reached $100 million internationally just before the weekend started, ultimately overtaking its domestic total. It had no major market openings over the past weekend, but it managed to rise to first place in France with $4.09 million on 697 screens for a total of $17.31 million after three. It also remained solid in the U.K., adding $2.36 million on 501 screens for a total of $6.58 million. Overall, it pulled in $11.29 million on 3349 screens in 34 markets for a total of $111.94 million internationally and $213.69 million worldwide.
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February 18th, 2010
Half a dozen new releases reached the top 30 on this week's sales chart and one of them reached number one.
Even so, it was a really weak list.
Gamer opened in first place, but it only sold 346,000 units and generated $5.78 million in consumer spending at retail.
That's mediocre, no matter what its ranking.
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February 14th, 2010
For the first time during its international run, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel missed the top five and placed sixth with $7.10 million on 3,699 screens in 42 markets for a total of $200.87 million internationally and $413.03 million worldwide.
With no major market openings left, the film will likely fall further down the chart over the coming weeks, but it has already made a huge profit, so Fox will be more than happy.
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February 11th, 2010
While there were several new releases on the sales chart, including a new number one, sales were soft as a whole.
The new number one film, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, only sold 581,000 units and generated $11.03 million in opening week sales.
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February 8th, 2010
Oceans opened in its native France and that helped it climb into sixth place with $9.52 million on 888 screens in 4 markets for a total of $16.98 million. It earned third place in its native market with $5.39 million on 542 screens while it was down just 7% during its sophomore stint in Japan with $3.48 million on 303 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.81 million after two.
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February 5th, 2010
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs led all new releases to grab top spot on the DVD sales chart for the week ending January 10 with 1.10 million units and $19.90 million in consumer spending at retail.
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January 31st, 2010
It's Complicated saw its weekend haul climb 16%, but it still fell out of the top five.
It added $10.37 million over the weekend on 2,665 screens in 32 markets for a total of $50.92 million after a month of release.
The film opened in third place in Germany with $2.40 million on 552 screens over the weekend and $2.74 million in total.
Meanwhile in the U.K. it added $1.84 million on 431 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.72 million after three weeks of release.
With debuts in Japan, South Korea, and Italy still ahead of it, it could reach $100 million internationally to go with its $100 million domestic total.
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January 10th, 2010
Black Lightning opened in sixth place internationally with $8.42 million on 798 screens in 5 markets.
Those markets include Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The latest from Timur Bekmambetov debuted in second place in his native Russia behind Avatar with an estimated $8 million on 700 screens.
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January 4th, 2010
The new year starts with a few prime releases, which is surprising, as this time of year we normally have a flood of late August / September releases, which are usually dumping grounds for films that didn't work. However, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs defied the odds and not only did it earn amazing reviews, it earned more than $100 million, while the Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack is a clear contender for the Pick of the Week. Other contenders include the special edition for 10 Things I Hate About You and 50 Dead Men Walking. I would like to wait until Cloudy's screener turns up before making a final decision, but all signs point to it being the Pick of the Week.
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December 20th, 2009
Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard fell out of the top five, but still did relatively well, earning $8.14 million on 2,198 screens in 19 markets for an early total of $23.58 million. In its native France it added $6.27 million on 925 screens over the weekend for a total of $17.57 million after two. This is not that much weaker than the original, which at this point had made just over $20 million in France.
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December 16th, 2009
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations this week, but looking over the list of films chosen, it is hard to declare any one film as the big winner. Up in the Air did pick up six Golden Globe nominations, including several of the most prestigious nominations, but it is far from the only major player.
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December 13th, 2009
A number of international releases reached the top 30 this week, including Zweiohrkuken, a.k.a. The Chicken With Two Ears, from Germany, which placed sixth with $10.72 million on 839 screens in 3 markets.
It made $9.39 million on 714 screens in its native market, which was easily enough for first place and more than twice what the original,Keinohrhasen, a.k.a., No Ear Hare, opened with in 2007.
Keinohrhasen went on to earn $74 million worldwide, of which more than $60 million was earned in Germany.
However, I don't think this film will have the same legs.
That said, since it was written, directed, and stars Til Schweiger who was recently in Inglourious Basterds, it could earn see releases in more markets.
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December 6th, 2009
Ninja Assassin started its international run in sixth place with $5.30 million on 665 screens in 9 markets over the weekend for a total of $5.97 million. Most of those markets were in Asia, including South Korea, where it opened in second place with $2.97 million on 401 screens over the weekend and $3.55 million in total.
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November 22nd, 2009
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus climbed into sixth place with $3.20 million on 764 screens in 6 markets for a total of $21.40 million after a month of release. The film opened in fifth place in France with $2.14 million on 234 screens, but that was for the full week. It cracked $10 million in Italy during its run with a total of $10.36 million, including $861,000 on 247 screens this past weekend.
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November 14th, 2009
Couples Retreat expanded this past weekend but just missed the top five with $5.84 million on 1,373 screens in 18 markets for a total of $28.92 million after a month of release.
The film opened in third place in Germany under the name All Inclusive, with $2.55 million on 338 screens while it also took third place in Mexico with $446,000 on 235 screens.
Next up for the film is Spain next weekend and Italy the weekend after that, while it doesn't end its run until March when it opens in France.
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November 7th, 2009
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs fell out of the top five but still earned $5.18 million on 2568 screens in 39 markets for a total of $52.45 million so far. This was only 31% lower than last weekend, with no major market openings. In fact, the film doesn't have another major market opening till it debuts in Australia at the end of the month, while it still has openings in Italy and Spain by the end of the year, and it doesn't end its run till early next year with openings in Germany and some midlevel markets.
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October 28th, 2009
Up remained in first place on the international chart with $20.19 million on 4572 screens in 26 markets for a total of $324.88 million internationally and $617.79 million worldwide. During the past week, the film reached two major milestones: $300 million internationally and $600 million worldwide. It is the fifth Pixar film to reach the former milestone and the fourth to reach the latter. Additionally, with strong holds in the U.K. ($6.21 million on 762 screens over the weekend for a total of $32.07 million after three) and Italy ($4.57 million on 624 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.84 million after two) and an upcoming opening in Japan, it has a shot at $700 million worldwide.
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October 25th, 2009
District 9 returned to sixth place with $6.20 million on 2233 screens in 44 markets for a total of $77.12 million international and $192.36 million. The film opened in first place in South Korea with $1.60 million on 287 screens over the weekend and $1.88 million in total. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in Brazil with $865,000 on 204 screens over the weekend for a total of $968,000 and Mexico wasn't as strong with $666,000 on 250 screens, but that was still enough for second place. The film still has a couple markets left to open in, but none are major markets. This will make it hard to reach $100 million internationally, but it could make to $200 million worldwide by this time next week.
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October 19th, 2009
It was an excellent weekend at the box office even though the number one film didn't live up to me admittedly bullish expectations. It came close enough to be considered a hit, while the other two new releases topped expectations by substantial margins.
Overall, $138 million was spent on movie tickets over the weekend, which was 26% higher than last weekend and more importantly 38% higher than the same weekend last year.
So far this year, 2009 has earned $8.28 billion, which is 7.9% higher than 2008's pace.
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October 19th, 2009
Agora opened in first place in Spain and sixth place internationally with $7.90 million on 462 screens. This is great news, as the film cost $70 million to make and it will need a massive run to break even. It won't have to earn all of it in Spain, on the other hand, and should perform well throughout Europe and when it opens here.
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October 12th, 2009
There was only one new release coming out this weekend, but it topped expectations, and there was a surprise film in the top five, and both these events helped the market as a whole earn $110 million over the weekend.
This was 2.9% higher than last weekend and 7.7% higher than the same weekend last year.
Year to date, 2009 has now brought in $8.10 billion so far, which is 7.5% higher than the same pace last year.
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October 11th, 2009
Le Petit Nicolas debuted in sixth place internationally with $9.39 million on 618 screens in 3 markets. Of that total, $8.88 million was earned on 571 screens in France, which was more than five times the amount earned by the second place film.
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October 11th, 2009
The Columbus Day holiday weekend produced two big winners, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
At the top of the chart, Couples Retreat exceeded expectations with $35.3 million.
A per theater average of nearly $12,000 for the poorly-reviewed comedy is a testament to Universal's marketing campaign and the box office power of its ensemble cast.
A great marketing campaign from Paramount can also be attributed to the success of the weekend's other big success: Paranormal Activity, which jumped into the top 5 with an estimated $7.066 million in just 159 theaters.
That's the smallest number of theaters for a movie to hit the top five ever, beating the performance of Platoon, which hit 4th place the weekend of January 16, 1987 playing in 174 theaters.
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October 8th, 2009
There is only one wide release coming out this week, but at least it's a saturation level release, so it should be a major player. In fact, it could make more than the two biggest releases this week last year made combined, which could help 2009 end its mini-slump on the year-over-year comparison.
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October 5th, 2009
October started on a mixed note. While it was better than expected at the top, overall the box office was a little weak pulling in a total of $107 million. Granted, this was 10.7% higher than last week, this was 5.9% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date 2009 has now earned $7.96 million, which is still 7.5% higher than last year's pace.
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October 4th, 2009
District 9 climbed into sixth place with $6.19 million on 2547 screens in 35 markets for a total of $56.88 million. This includes a fifth place, $926,000 opening on 253 screens in Italy, while it added $1.94 million on 448 screens during the full week in France for a total of $6.05 million after two.
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October 1st, 2009
There should be six new films in the top ten this weekend, or rather three new films, two re-releases, and one film expanding into the top ten. However, while there is a lot of activity, only one of these films is opening in more than 3,000 theaters while the others are opening in less than 2,000.
Because of this, there's not much doubt about which film will top the chart, but there is a question of by how much.
There is also a question of when the overall box office will be able to keep up with last year.
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September 28th, 2009
None of the three wide releases were able to live up to Thursday's predictions and while the number one film held on a lot better than expected, it wasn't enough to compensate. Overall the box office was down 4.7% from last weekend to $96%, which was 4.2% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date 2009 is still up on 2008 by 7.8% at $7.8 billion to $7.3 billion.
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September 27th, 2009
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs enjoyed the best second weekend hold of the year for a major release to win the weekend at the box office.
The 3D family movie earned $24.6 million, by Sony's estimate, which is down just 19% from its opening.
The studio will be hoping that the great word-of-mouth will keep the movie going even with the arrival of the Toy Story 3D Double Feature next weekend.
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September 26th, 2009
Vicky the Viking fell to sixth place with 7.40 million on 898 screens in 3 markets for a total of $24.55 million. Of that, $5.92 million was earned on 751 screens in Germany and it now has $18.94 million in its native market.
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September 24th, 2009
The three wide releases this week include two that have a shot at top spot, depending on who you ask, and another that will likely struggle for a spot in the top five.
Overall the new releases are about as strong as this time last year, but holdovers should be the deciding factor in keeping 2009 ahead of last year's pace.
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September 24th, 2009
The winners of our Take a Chance contest were determined and they are...
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September 22nd, 2009
It's officially the first day of Fall, and you can tell just by looking at the per theater chart.
No film was able to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart, but two did come very close.
Bright Star was the best with an average of $9,984 in 19 theaters while the overall box office leader, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, was close behind with $9,716.
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September 21st, 2009
As expected, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs finished in first place over the weekend, and it beat industry expectations by earning more than $30 million.
This helped the overall box office grow by 9.9% from last weekend.
The total weekend haul of $101 million was also 14.9% higher than the same weekend last year.
Year to date, 2009 has made $7.70 billion at the box office, which is 7.9% higher than last year's pace.
This isn't as large a lead as the box office has had this year, but it's still fantastic.
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September 20th, 2009
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was the clear winner at the box office, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning.
The digitally-animated comedy earned a very respectable $30.1 million, according to Sony, making it their best opening ever for an animated film ahead of Open Season, which posted a $23.6 million opening back in 2006.
Meatballs looks a fair bet to hit $100 million during its run.
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September 18th, 2009
We have four wide releases this week, or at least three wide releases and one semi-wide.
There should be very little suspense on which film will finish first though, as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is the clear favorite.
The real question is how much it will make and whether or not it can help the overall box office top last year.
Or, if some of the pundits are correct, by how much.
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September 11th, 2009
The widest release next weekend is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which is also the most likely film to finish in first place, and the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.
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 The Game - Season One, as well as The Tiger's Tail on DVD.
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 The Game - Season One, as well as The Tiger's Tail on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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September 1st, 2009
Summer ended on a strong note with three films from August that have the potential to cross $100 million at the box office. But I don't think there's a single film coming out this month that has the potential to do the same.
Then again, we're not concerned with keeping up with August, we are concerned with keeping up with September last year, and that will be an easier task most weeks.
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August 4th, 2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince finally opened in IMAX theaters last Wednesday and it didn't take long to see the impact. Over the weekend the film made $3.2 million on 166 IMAX screens for a total of $4.7 million after five days of release. This represents nearly 18% of the film's weekend haul while its per theater average was just over $19,000 on IMAX. Internationally the film added $900,000 on 62 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.4 million internationally and $13 million worldwide.
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October 2nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Paper Man, Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more!
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August 23rd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Extract, Gnomeo and Juliet, My Life in Ruins, and more!
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June 29th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Pride and Glory, Final Destination 4, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and more!
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June 19th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for 2012, Public Enemies, Transformers 2, and more!
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April 6th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Underworld 3, Pink Panther 2, Nottingham and more!
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January 21st, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for I am Legend, Angels & Demons and more.
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