January 4th, 2011
There were plenty of new releases on the sales chart this week, but none came close to unseating Despicable Me. The film repeated on top with 1.38 million units for the week and 5.13 million units after two. It has already brought in $86.13 million in revenue, while it will have little trouble hitting $100 million shortly.
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December 21st, 2010
It's the last chance for Christmas gifts, although if you have to order online, you better choose the overnight option. Or do what I do, tell them you pre-ordered it and it will arrive a little late. One of the gifts I'm giving this year is being sent from Japan via boat. It might not get here till February, but the person I'm giving it to knows and they're cool with that. Anyhoo, if you are looking for good gifts, Easy A on Blu-ray is the best reviewed wide release of the week, while geeks would be happy with Family Guy: Laugh It Up, Fuzzball on Blu-ray for Futurama: Volume Five on Blu-ray. However, this week the Ultimate Geek Gift and Pick of the Week is The Guild: Season Four.
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December 14th, 2010
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations early this morning, and there are some interesting surprises included in the mix. Leading the way was The King's Speech, which has long been seen as one of the major players this Awards Season. Meanwhile, The Fighter and The Social Network were right behind with six each. There were many, many other films nomination, including more than a few shocks. ... Mostly in one category.
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October 4th, 2010
October started in such a way that it feels like September was extended a weekend. The top film wasn't bad, but the other two wide releases bombed. Overall the box office brought in $95 million, which was down 6% from last week and 11% from the same weekend last year. 2010 is still ahead of 2009 by 4% at $8.19 billion to $7.90 billion, but if it were to lose 11% each weekend, that lead would evaporate by the end of the year.
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September 27th, 2010
While none of the three new releases were able to live up to expectations, the holdovers did more than just hold their own, which helped the overall box office pull in $101 million over the weekend. This was nearly identical to last week, while it was higher than the same weekend last year by 4.5% and that helped 2010 maintain its lead over 2009. Currently 2010 is ahead of 2009 by a nearly 4% margin at $8.07 billion to $7.76 billion. Losing a $300 million lead in just three months would be impressive in its ineptitude, but we can't be too quick to claim victory. After all, Avatar made almost as much during the last two weeks of 2009 and there's nothing opening for the rest of 2010 that can compensate for that much at the box office.
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September 23rd, 2010
It's the final weekend of September and there are three and a half new releases this week looking to cash in. We could have a race for the top, as two films, Legend of the Guardians and Wall Street 2 are both vying for top spot. It might be close enough that one could win Friday night at the box office, while the other wins the weekend as a whole. Or perhaps one will win opening weekend, while the other will finish its box office run with more. Either way, combined they should help 2010 keep pace with last year, which didn't exactly have a strong crop of new releases.
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September 23rd, 2010
The winners of our No Easy Prediction contest were determined and they are...
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September 20th, 2010
It was a good news / bad news weekend at the box office. On the one hand, the overall numbers bounced back from last weekend up 23% to $101 million. On the other hand, they were down from the same weekend last year, albeit by less than 1%. Year-to-date, 2010 still has a lead on 2009 at $7.94 billion to $7.64 billion. As long as 2010 can avoid double-digit declines from now till the rest of the year, it should finish with the lead, at least in terms of raw dollars. On the other hand, it is behind in ticket sales by 1.7%, and I don't know if it will be able to turn that around.
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September 19th, 2010
The Town kept up September's decent run at the box office by delivering an higher-than-expected $23.8 million weekend and winning the weekend, according to Warner Bros. Sunday estimate.
With three other wide openers delivering reasonable numbers, this weekend looks as though it will be up overall from last year, in spite of having to compete with the opening of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
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September 16th, 2010
After Resident Evil: Afterlife had the new release schedule all to itself last weekend, this weekend we have four wide releases making their debuts. However, thanks in part to the competition, none look to be particularly strong and there will likely be a sizable drop-off at the top of the chart. On the other hand, they should do well enough combined to help the box office grow and perhaps even keep pace with last year.
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September 10th, 2010
Unlike this weekend, there are four wide releases opening next weekend, and none of them look like they are sure hits. In fact, I'm not even sure which, if any, will top the box office charts. This makes choosing the target film for this week's box office prediction contest a little harder. In the end, we went with Easy A, because at the moment it looks like it will be the widest release, if not the biggest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Easy A.
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 Killers on Blu-ray.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Escape from New York on Blu-ray
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, 2010
Summer has ended and while there were some bigger than expected hits in August, this trend is unlikely to continue in September. There are four weekends this September and nearly a dozen films opening wide, plus a few more that may or may not open wide. Of all of those films, maybe three of four will be midlevel hits, while only one film, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole 3D, has a real shot at reaching the $100 million milestone. This is compared to last year when we had two $100 million hits, although one of those was Paranormal Activity, which didn't expand truly wide till Halloween. Hopefully 2010 can gain ground on 2009 overall, even if it doesn't have as many $100 million hits.
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