Record	Rank	Revenue
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 101-200)	195	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office (Rank 201-300)	218	$364,973,469
All Time Domestic Non-Sequel Box Office	94	$218,080,025
Top 2005 Movies at the Domestic Box Office	5	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Box Office for Remake Movies	6	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Box Office for Animation/Live Action Movies	64	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Box Office for Fantasy Movies	29	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Box Office for Adventure Movies	92	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Box Office for PG-13 Movies (Rank 101-200)	114	$218,080,025
All Time Domestic Box Office for Universal Movies	28	$218,080,025

Date	Rank	Gross	% Change	Theaters	Per Theater	Total Gross	Week
Dec 16, 2005	1	$50,130,145		3,568	$14,050	$66,181,645	1
Dec 23, 2005	1	$21,259,320	-58%	3,576	$5,945	$108,582,050	2
Dec 30, 2005	2	$24,772,410	+17%	3,627	$6,830	$168,505,310	3
Jan 6, 2006	3	$12,622,285	-49%	3,482	$3,625	$192,678,805	4
Jan 13, 2006	7	$7,528,060	-40%	2,814	$2,675	$202,994,060	5
Jan 20, 2006	10	$4,222,560	-44%	2,205	$1,915	$209,875,885	6
Jan 27, 2006	16	$2,346,555	-44%	1,322	$1,775	$213,160,170	7
Feb 3, 2006	20	$1,188,045	-49%	864	$1,375	$214,870,795	8
Feb 10, 2006	24	$535,595	-55%	441	$1,215	$215,699,910	9
Feb 17, 2006	28	$377,340	-30%	331	$1,140	$216,253,650	10
Feb 24, 2006	31	$273,245	-28%	264	$1,035	$216,682,440	11
Mar 3, 2006	34	$207,065	-24%	248	$835	$216,959,345	12
Mar 10, 2006	30	$267,655	+29%	269	$995	$217,295,200	13
Mar 17, 2006	32	$214,830	-20%	231	$930	$217,619,085	14
Mar 24, 2006	33	$185,215	-14%	196	$945	$217,888,685	15
Mar 31, 2006	34	$93,010	-50%	131	$710	$218,051,260	16

Date	Rank	Gross	%YD	%LW	Theaters	Per Theater	Total Gross	Days
Dec 14, 2005	1	$9,755,745			3,567	$2,735	$9,755,745	1
Dec 15, 2005	1	$6,295,755	-35%		3,567	$1,765	$16,051,500	2
Dec 16, 2005	1	$14,468,240	+130%		3,568	$4,055	$30,519,740	3
Dec 17, 2005	1	$20,105,680	+39%		3,568	$5,635	$50,625,420	4
Dec 18, 2005	1	$15,556,225	-23%		3,568	$4,360	$66,181,645	5
Dec 19, 2005	1	$5,638,125	-64%		3,568	$1,580	$71,819,770	6
Dec 20, 2005	1	$5,244,960	-7%		3,568	$1,470	$77,064,730	7
Dec 21, 2005	2	$4,870,320	-7%	-50%	3,568	$1,365	$81,935,050	8
Dec 22, 2005	2	$5,387,680	+11%	-14%	3,568	$1,510	$87,322,730	9
Dec 23, 2005	2	$7,849,320	+46%	-46%	3,576	$2,195	$95,172,050	10
Dec 24, 2005	2	$4,559,400	-42%	-77%	3,576	$1,275	$99,731,450	11
Dec 25, 2005	1	$8,850,600	+94%	-43%	3,576	$2,475	$108,582,050	12
Dec 26, 2005	1	$12,015,360	+36%	+113%	3,576	$3,360	$120,597,410	13
Dec 27, 2005	2	$7,919,225	-34%	+51%	3,576	$2,215	$128,516,635	14
Dec 28, 2005	2	$7,116,240	-10%	+46%	3,576	$1,990	$135,632,875	15
Dec 29, 2005	2	$7,100,025	n/c	+32%	3,576	$1,985	$142,732,900	16
Dec 30, 2005	2	$8,813,610	+24%	+12%	3,627	$2,430	$151,546,510	17
Dec 31, 2005	2	$7,163,325	-19%	+57%	3,627	$1,975	$158,709,835	18
Jan 1, 2006	1	$8,795,475	+23%	-1%	3,627	$2,425	$167,505,310	19
Jan 2, 2006	2	$7,054,515	-20%	-41%	3,627	$1,945	$174,559,825	20
Jan 3, 2006	2	$2,267,125	-68%	-71%	3,627	$625	$176,826,950	21
Jan 4, 2006	2	$1,614,015	-29%	-77%	3,627	$445	$178,440,965	22
Jan 5, 2006	2	$1,615,555	n/c	-77%	3,627	$445	$180,056,520	23
Jan 6, 2006	4	$3,412,360	+111%	-61%	3,480	$981	$183,468,880	24
Jan 7, 2006	3	$5,745,335	+68%	-20%	3,480	$1,651	$189,214,215	25
Jan 8, 2006	3	$3,464,590	-40%	-61%	3,480	$996	$192,678,805	26
Jan 9, 2006	3	$748,630	-78%	-89%	3,480	$215	$193,427,435	27
Jan 10, 2006	3	$732,555	-2%	-68%	3,480	$211	$194,159,990	28
Jan 11, 2006	5	$660,425	-10%	-59%	3,482	$190	$194,820,415	29
Jan 12, 2006	4	$645,585	-2%	-60%	3,482	$185	$195,466,000	30
Jan 13, 2006	8	$1,787,500	+177%	-48%	2,805	$637	$197,253,500	31
Jan 14, 2006	7	$3,250,170	+82%	-43%	2,805	$1,159	$200,503,670	32
Jan 15, 2006	7	$2,490,390	-23%	-28%	2,805	$888	$202,994,060	33
Jan 16, 2006	7	$1,533,630	-38%	+105%	2,805	$547	$204,527,690	34
Jan 17, 2006	8	$393,225	-74%	-46%	2,805	$140	$204,920,915	35
Jan 18, 2006	10	$366,505	-7%	-45%	2,805	$131	$205,287,420	36
Jan 19, 2006	10	$365,905	n/c	-43%	2,805	$130	$205,653,325	37
Jan 20, 2006	11	$1,014,305	+177%	-43%	2,205	$460	$206,667,630	38
Jan 21, 2006	8	$2,105,775	+108%	-35%	2,205	$955	$208,773,405	39
Jan 22, 2006	8	$1,102,480	-48%	-56%	2,205	$500	$209,875,885	40
Feb 20, 2006	29	$72,775			331	$220	$216,326,425	69

Date	Rank	Gross	% Change	Theaters	Per Theater	Total Gross	Week
Dec 9, 2005	2	$16,051,500		3,567	$4,500	$16,051,500	1
Dec 16, 2005	1	$71,271,230	+344%	3,568	$19,975	$87,322,730	2
Dec 23, 2005	2	$56,410,170	-21%	3,576	$15,775	$143,732,900	3
Dec 30, 2005	2	$36,323,620	-36%	3,627	$10,015	$180,056,520	4
Jan 6, 2006	3	$15,409,480	-58%	3,482	$4,425	$195,466,000	5
Jan 13, 2006	7	$10,187,325	-34%	2,814	$3,620	$205,653,325	6
Jan 20, 2006	11	$5,160,290	-49%	2,205	$2,340	$210,813,615	7
Jan 27, 2006	16	$2,869,135	-44%	1,322	$2,170	$213,682,750	8
Feb 3, 2006	25	$1,481,565	-48%	864	$1,715	$215,164,315	9
Feb 10, 2006	26	$711,995	-52%	441	$1,615	$215,876,310	10
Feb 17, 2006	29	$532,885	-25%	331	$1,610	$216,409,195	11
Feb 24, 2006	31	$343,085	-36%	264	$1,300	$216,752,280	12
Mar 3, 2006	33	$275,265	-20%	248	$1,110	$217,027,545	13
Mar 10, 2006	30	$376,710	+37%	269	$1,400	$217,404,255	14
Mar 17, 2006	36	$299,215	-21%	231	$1,295	$217,703,470	15
Mar 24, 2006	34	$254,780	-15%	196	$1,300	$217,958,250	16
Mar 31, 2006	36	$121,775	-52%	131	$930	$218,080,025	17

Record	Rank	Revenue
All Time International Box Office (Rank 201-300)	253	$332,437,332
All Time International Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 101-200)	121	$332,437,332
Top 2005 Movies at the International Box Office	6	$332,437,332
All Time International Box Office for Remake Movies	5	$332,437,332
All Time International Box Office for Animation/Live Action Movies	73	$332,437,332
All Time International Box Office for Fantasy Movies	39	$332,437,332
All Time International Box Office for Adventure Movies (Rank 101-200)	111	$332,437,332
All Time International Box Office for PG-13 Movies (Rank 101-200)	138	$332,437,332
All Time International Box Office for Universal Movies	29	$332,437,332

Record	Rank	Revenue
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 201-300)	214	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Non-Sequel Box Office	95	$550,517,357
Biggest Film in a Single Market (Rank 201-300)	261	$218,080,025
Top 2005 Movies at the Worldwide Box Office	6	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Remake Movies	6	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Animation/Live Action Movies	71	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Fantasy Movies	31	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Adventure Movies (Rank 101-200)	101	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Box Office for PG-13 Movies (Rank 101-200)	128	$550,517,357
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Universal Movies	26	$550,517,357

Date	Rank	Units this Week	% Change	Total Units	Spending this Week	Total Spending	Weeks in Release
Apr 2, 2006	1	4,847,410		4,847,410	$89,971,323	$89,971,323	1
Apr 9, 2006	2	1,143,989	-76%	5,991,399	$20,419,288	$110,390,611	2
Apr 16, 2006	3	636,670	-44%	6,628,069	$11,691,362	$122,081,973	3
Apr 23, 2006	4	243,178	-62%	6,871,247	$4,430,630	$126,512,603	4
Apr 30, 2006	9	136,252	-44%	7,007,499	$2,452,250	$128,964,853	5
May 7, 2006	11	99,350	-27%	7,106,849	$1,778,176	$130,743,029	6
May 14, 2006	16	90,398	-9%	7,197,247	$1,620,854	$132,363,883	7
May 21, 2006	19	63,130	-30%	7,260,377	$1,151,422	$133,515,305	8
Jun 18, 2006	19	83,480		7,427,679	$1,522,199	$136,569,397	12
Nov 19, 2006	12	89,350		7,591,532	$1,786,106	$140,060,057	34

Date	Rank	Units this Week	% Change	Total Units	Spending this Week	Total Spending	Weeks in Release
Aug 30, 2009	13	7,579		7,579	$114,673	$114,673	179
Sep 27, 2009	13	6,890		26,770	$89,501	$363,963	183
Aug 22, 2010	11	9,716		81,232	$131,064	$1,098,604	230
Oct 3, 2010	15	5,920		87,612	$91,696	$1,197,423	236
Feb 12, 2017	20	5,223		5,223	$49,832	$49,832	568
Jul 16, 2017	11	9,482		14,705	$94,724	$144,556	590

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for June 5th, 2012

June 5th, 2012

While summer is usually the slowest time of the year on the home market, this week is fantastic with a lot of prime releases, including first-run, TV on DVD releases, classics and limited releases. Unfortunately, the largest single category is, "Screener is Late". You will see that phrase countless times on this list. (Perhaps it's because last week was a short week due to Memorial Day.) It is especially hard to select a Pick of the Week, because I don't like handing out that title when the screener is late. There are a few likely candidates, including Burn Notice: The Complete Fifth Season, Yellow Submarine on Blu-ray, but I went with Tomboy on DVD. More...

DVD Releases for January 20, 2009 - Part I

January 20th, 2009

A terrible week for first run releases. There are five such releases on this week's list, but they has a combined haul of around $130 million, and nearly $100 million of that came from two films. With no big releases, we had to look other places for the DVD Pick of the Week. Repo! The Genetic Opera on Blu-ray is a clear contender for that title, but its lack of mass appeal is troublesome. This American Life - Season Two is a safer pick, but it is a Borders Exclusive release. Regardless of these issues, both releases are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week. Despite the weakness at the top, there are still more than enough total releases to cause this column to stretch into two parts. The second part can be found here. More...

Da Vinci Dominates Home Market

November 25th, 2006

The Da Vinci Code led a large group of new releases, taking top spot on the charts with $11.05 million in rentals while it also topped the sales chart with ease. More...

DVD Releases for November 14, 2006

November 14th, 2006

With Thanksgivings just around the corner, there are a lot of releases coming out this week. You see, every time this year there's a media report that the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year. However, this is not true. Christmas Eve is actually the biggest shopping day of the year (talk about last minute gifts). Even so, Thanksgiving is still a massively important time of the year and there's no surprise that studios are trying to get out as many gift ideas as possible just in time for the holiday rush. With that in mind, there are several full series sets coming out this week, including DVD Pick of the Week contender Get Smart - The Complete Series - Buy Direct. However, when it comes to the winner, there's really only one choice and that is Looney Tunes - Golden Collection - Volume Four - Buy from Amazon. More...

Hostel Tops Tepid Week on the Home Market

April 29th, 2006

It was a slow week for new releases as Hostel took the top prize on the rental charts. But it was a close contest with it pulling in $8.42 million compared to the $8.11 million earned by the second place film, Fun with Dick and Jane. More...

Fun on the Home Market

April 22nd, 2006

Fun with Dick and Jane started its home market run off with a first place, $10.27 million run for the week but was unable to top the DVD sales chart. More...

Narnia Overthrows King for Home Market Crown

April 15th, 2006

Narnia opened in first place on the home market with a lower than expected $8.73 million in rentals, and it did even better on the sales charts. But more on that in a bit. More...

Kong Crowned King of the Home Market

April 8th, 2006

King Kong was the best of this week's batch as it easily took top spot on the rental charts with $10.31 million in DVD rentals. This is higher than expected as I had assumed the vast majority of people who were interested in seeing it would buy it, but instead the buyers lead the renters by only a 2 - 1 margin. More...

Contest - Box Office Prediction - King Sized Contest - Winning Announcement

April 5th, 2006

The winners of our King Sized Contest was determined yesterday and the winners are... More...

DVD Releases for March 28, 2006

March 27th, 2006

Pretty good list this week with several contenders for the DVD Pick of the Week. The obvious one is King Kong 2-Disc Special Edition, but I think there will be a super-special edition coming out in November, so you might want to hold off. The Masters of Horror - package deal, Robot Chicken - Volume 1 - Buy from Amazon, and others were also in contention, but in the end I went with Degrassi The Next Generation - Season 3. More...

Contest - Box Office Prediction - King-Sized Contest

March 27th, 2006

With the first event movie of the year opening this Friday, we're having a massive, triple-sized contest featuring three prizes! Winners will be selected for three predictions, each associated with a different movie opening this weekend.

The rules are the same: whoever comes closest to predicting each film's opening 3-day weekend (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win the prize pack associated with that movie. The prizes are a King Kong Prize Pack (T-shirt, Hat and DVD), ATL Prize Pack (Poster, Baseball Jersey, and Tank Top), and Drawing Restraint 9 Prize Pack (Signed Poster and the Soundtrack). To win the ATL prize pack you must predict ATL's opening box office. To win the Drawing Restraint 9 Prize Pack you must predict Drawing Restraint 9's opening box office. All of which makes sense.

However, to win the King Kong Prize Pack, you must predict the opening weekend for Ice Age: The Meltdown. Entries must be received by 10am, Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Under Climbing Up World Charts

March 19th, 2006

A number one opening in France, as well as a slew of smaller debuts, pushed Underworld: Evolution into sixth place on the international charts with $4.98 million on 1473 screens in 20 markets for a running tally of $36.12 million after nearly two months in release. In France the film earned $1.84 million on 346 screens while it managed the same feat in a trio of Asian markets: Taiwan with $600,000 on 75 screens, Malaysia with $310,000 on 45, and Hong Kong with $290,000 on 25. Interestingly, the original was banned in Malaysia. More...

Oscar Bounce Crashes

March 14th, 2006

Famed Oscar Bounce failed to materialize this year partially because the awards were spread out over many difference films and partially because many winners were well into their releases. More...

Crash Collides with Mountain Atop Oscars

March 5th, 2006

The Oscars were handed out tonight and while there were a handful of multiple winners, no single movie stood out. More...

Fun Time on the International Charts

February 19th, 2006

Fun with Dick and Jane added an handful of new markets this week and that allowed the film to remain in sixth place with $6.00 million on 2645 screens in 49 markets for a running tally of $63.30 million. The film opened in first place in Spain with $1.54 million on 316 screens and in the Netherlands with $475,000 on 75 screens over the weekend and $520,000 in total. It took first place in Argentina as well with $136,000 on 48. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place during its debut in Denmark with $319,000 on 45 screens over the weekend and $335,000 in total. Holdovers include the U.K. where the film was down 56% to $699,000 over the weekend and $10.44 million in total and Italy with a 55% decline to $594,000 over the weekend and $4.83 million in total. More...

Still Having Fun on the International Charts

February 12th, 2006

Fun with Dick and Jane fell to sixth place with $6.45 million on 2487 screens in 43 markets for an running international total of $53.27 million so far, which is less than half of what it earned domestically. The film opened in Singapore with $450,000 from 30 screens and managed to repeat in first place in Italy with $1.33 million on 314 screens over the weekend and a $3.96 million total after two weeks. Meanwhile in the U.K. the film fell from first to third, but it still earned $1.59 million on 374 screens for a three-week total of $9.34 million. More...

International Details: Jet Li has Nothing to Fear

February 5th, 2006

Jey Li's latest Hong Kong production, Fearless, (a.k.a. Huo Yuan Jia) started its international run in sixth place with $7.35 million on 596 screens in 6 markets. The film finished first in four Asian markets including China with $1.39 million, Taiwan with $630,000, Singapore with $605,000 and Malaysia with $590,000. Paradoxically, the film's best market was its home market of Hong Kong, where it had to settle for a close second place with $2.03 million on just 48 screens over the full week. So far there is still no North American release date, but with this start, that should change soon. More...

Mountain of Oscar Nominations

January 31st, 2006

Brokeback Mountain again led the list of nominees as with 8 Oscar nods. There were three films with six nominations a piece, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, and Memoirs of a Geisha, (although for that last one, they were all the less prestigious technical awards. More...

International Weekend: Geisha Nearly Ends Narnia's Rule

January 25th, 2006

Narnia took another tumble this weekend, but without much in the way of competition it was still able to win the international box office race with $13.3 million on 7,067 screens in 48 markets. So far the film has amassed $342.6 million at the international box office with openings in Hong Kong (this weekend) and Japan (Match 4th), yet to come. Its best market of the weekend was France where the film added $1.8 million on 820 screens to take its total to $31.6 million after five weeks. Its best market overall continues to be the U.K. where the film has $73.50 million, including $1.66 million this past weekend. Worldwide the film now has $615 million, just ahead of The Passion of the Christ's final tally and into 26th place on the All-Time Charts. More...

More Milestones for Narnia

January 18th, 2006

Without any big time competition, Narnia was again able to lead the international box office. Over the weekend the film made $22.65 million on 7034 screens in 47 markets breaking the $300 milestone in the international scene with $321.41 million. Also, it became the first film to make $100 million during 2006. Its best numbers of the weekend came from the U.K. where the film added $2.43 million on 467 screens for a 6-week total of $71.42 million. More...

Road to Glory

January 17th, 2006

It was a very close race over the Martin Luther King long weekend, with the top three separated by just over $1 million over the 3-day weekend. However, the overall box office was still down 1.7% from last weekend and 9.0% from last year. Year-to-date, 2006 is still off to a strong start, but it's too early for those numbers to mean much. More...

Narnia Remains King of the International Box Office

January 11th, 2006

Narnia again led the international box office, this time taking in $30 million on 7,528 screens in 36 markets for a total of $277 million as it broke $500 million worldwide. That puts the film in sixth place for the year on the international charts and its $525 million worldwide total is fourth for the year. There were not much in the way of new openings this weekend but it did finish first in both Poland with $1.5 million and in Argentina with $1 million. The film's best market over the weekend was again France with $5.9 million for a $28.1 million overall. On the other hand, the film's best market overall is still the U.K. where the film has earned an amazing $67.81 million overall, including $3.78 million on 489 screens this weekend. More...

Moviegoers Hospitable to Hostel

January 9th, 2006

Nearly every film on Friday's column was able to meet or beat expectations this weekend, and that really helped ease the post-holiday transition. Granted, on a week-to-week basis the box office was down 14.2% to $128 million, but that was still 7.7% higher than the same weekend last year. Last year the box office got off to a great start, so this is either are really good sign for 2006, or symptoms of a significant change in behavior that could make the January dumping grounds a thing of the past. Either way, it's good news. More...

Scary Start to the Year

January 6th, 2006

The first full weekend of 2006 brings us three wide releases, two of which were not screened for critics. The only film that is being reviewed is the latest sadistic horror film from Lionsgate. But while the overall box office will suffer, there is quite a race for top spot brewing, with three films having a legitimate shot at winning the box office crown. More...

Narnia Starts the New Year off on Top

January 4th, 2006

Narnia extended its lead on the international scene this weekend with $41.5 million on 6,584 screens in 31 markets for a total of $225.5 million. (Total included an estimated $12 million on Monday.) The film opened in second place in South Korea with $3.94 million on 262 screens over the weekend and $5.22 million overall. Meanwhile, in Taiwan the film earned $1.3 million on 60 and $1 million on 95 in Thailand. Its best market overall was France where the film earned $8.4 million during its second weekend of release while in the U.K. the film was up 5% for the weekend with $5.13 million on 526 screens for a total of $58.86 million. More...

Final Weekend in Poor 2005 Shows Some Life

January 3rd, 2006

The New Year's Eve weekend helped 2005 go out on a strong note, even though four of the top five films missed Friday's predictions. In total, the weekend saw earnings of $150 million, which was up 35.2% from last week and 2.0% from last year. However, the overall box office for 2005 was down roughly 5% from 2005, which marks the worst year-to-year drop-off since 1984-1985. We'll have more details on the year at the end of March when the State of the Industry address is given at ShoWest. More...

Narnia Regains Top Spot Over New Year's Weekend

January 2nd, 2006

Another ding-dong battle for top spot on the charts raged over the weekend, with The Chronicles of Narnia prevailing over King Kong by a mere $1 million, according to studio estimates. Over three days, Narnia earned a healthy $25.7 million, up 30% from the comparable period a week ago. Kong, meanwhile, earned $24.6 million, an increase of 16% from Christmas. More...

2005 Should End on a High Note

December 30th, 2005

The final weekend of 2005 starts tonight and every film in the top five should see significant growth from last weekend, a couple of them could see triple-digit growth. That will help the movie industry end on a positive note, but the yearly figures will still lag well behind 2004. More...

International Weekend: Narnia Knocks off King Kong

December 28th, 2005

It was a close race, but Narnia was able to climb to the top of the international box office this weekend with $35.2 million on 3,908 screens in 25 markets. It nearly doubled its market count, including a number one, $8.7 million debut on 908 screens in France, and it also opened first in Russia with $2.72 million on 303. The film had to settle for third place in Italy, but earned a strong $2.6 million on 456 screens. It also climbed back into first place in the U.K. with $4.92 million over the weekend and $42.73 million overall, but that was more due to King Kong's complete collapse than Narnia's staying power as the film was down 42%. Including Monday, the film has made $138 million internationally and $303 million worldwide; that is likely enough to cover the film's production budget and it should pay for its P&A budget as well before long. More...

Box Office Scrooged

December 27th, 2005

Christmas wishes went unanswered this year as almost every film missed expectations, some by large margins. This led to a 14.4% drop-off from last weekend, but more importantly, a 18.0% drop-off from last year. Granted, the fact that Christmas fell on a Saturday helps explain some of that, but not all. Year-to-date, 2005 is still down 6% from last year and with less than one week left, that's roughly where it will end up. More...

King Kong Contest Result

December 21st, 2005

King Kong may not have managed to break box office records over the weekend, but our Predict the Opening Weekend Contest did draw a record number of entries. The predictions for the opening weekend varied hugely, with many people expecting something around $90 million, but a few brave souls projecting figures closer to $40 million. Our winner was Ken Hunter from Cookeville, TN, who predicted the weekend gross at "a disappointing $50 million" -- just $130,00 away from the actual result.

Ken wins a hat, t-shirt and soundtrack to the movie.

Congratulations to Ken, and thanks to everyone who entered. If you missed out, don't despair, another contest is right around the corner... More...

Will it be a Holly Jolly Christmas?

December 21st, 2005

Over the next five days a total of eight movies will either open wide or expand wide. With that much competition, there is literally zero chance that all the films will succeed. In fact, chances are none will be able to unseat King Kong as the box office champ. Further complicating the prediction process, there are three groups of releases with two movies opening wide tonight, three more on Friday and three on Sunday. This column will deal with all of them. More...

Kong a Little More Kingly Overseas

December 21st, 2005

King Kong was a bit of a disappointment domestically, it performed better on the international scene, earning $63.4 million from Friday to Sunday, which is almost as much as the film made in five days here. Since Wednesday, the film has earned $82.87 million on 7,215 screens in 56 markets, finishing first in 53 of them. Its best market was the U.K. where it made $10.63 million on 481 screens over the weekend and $12.31 million since Wednesday. In France it made $7.3 million on 721 screens, and $6.38 million on 739 screens in Germany. On the other hand, the film wasn't a big hit in Italy, taking in just $2.33 million on 467 screens, which was only good enough for third place. Granted, there were three wide releases this week, including two Italian films. It also missed finishing first in Japan with $2.6 million at 709 screens, finishing second to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire's third weekend of release and suffered the same fate in the Czech Republic with $170,000 on 26 screens. On the other hand, the film opened in Thailand with $1.6 million on 345 screens for an unbelievable 92% share in that market. Overall the film has made $149 million worldwide, which is barely more than half of what Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith made in the same timeframe. Granted, I don't think anyone was expecting the film to have a Sith-like run, but it does put $600 million worldwide in serious jeopardy. More...

Back in the Saddle

December 20th, 2005

Brokeback Mountain remained in top spot on the per theatre charts despite a massive expansion in its theatre count. It went from five theatres to 69 while its per theatre average remained amazing at $36,355. Second place went to The Producers with an average of $25,765 in five theatres, which is a good start, but perhaps not as good as Universal was hoping for. Memoirs of a Geisha slipped to third with $25,045 in 52 theatres; it's not holding up as well as Brokeback Mountain did, but that's hardly a reason for Sony to be upset. The overall box office champ, King Kong, came in fourth with an average of $14,050 in its 3,568 theatres. More...

Kong's King

December 19th, 2005

It was a good news/bad news weekend. Bad news, King Kong didn't meet original expectations. Good news, the weekend box office was still up 4.5% from last weekend, and more impressively and more importantly, it was up 20.2% from the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2005 is still down by 5% at the box office, and there's just no time to recover. However, the deficit is not nearly as bad as it looked earlier in the year. More...

Not Quite Like Heaven

December 18th, 2005

Just Like Heaven dipped at the box office falling out of the top five with $4.53 million on 1609 screens in 30 markets over the weekend for an early total of $18.04 million internationally. Its best opening was in Belgium where it debuted in second place with $252,000 on 40 screens over the weekend and $290,000 in total. It also had debuts in Holland with $139,000 on 57 screens over the weekend and $167,000 overall, and in Greece with $116,000 on 24 and Norway with $113,000 on 26. Holdovers include Germany where the film dropped 24% to $890,000 on 273 screens for a total of $2.41 million so far, while in Spain the film fell 39% to 718,000 on 200 screens for a two-week total of $3.09 million. More...

Kong has Titanic-Like Start

December 16th, 2005

What should have been a weekend the movie industry would celebrate is now one filled with dread and foreboding. Saying King Kong didn't get off to the start the studio was hoping for could be the understatement of the year, but even so, a lot of analysts are cautiously optimistic that the film can rebound. Right now it's just a case of wait and see, but by the time Thursday's numbers are in, we should be in a much better position to know what the future holds. More...

Movie Website Updates for December 9 - December 15

December 15th, 2005

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. We've hit another slow patch for movie websites, which is not unexpected since the most of the new site on this list are for films that open months from now so there's hardly any content, or open during the dead zone that is January. I would say the best of the rest would be King Kong - Official Site, but it is not strong enough to win the Weekly Website Award. More...

Theater Counts: Narnia Still Widest Release, Kong to Win Weekend

December 15th, 2005

The Chronicles of Narnia remains the widest US release this weekend, adding 64 venues from last week to play in 3,680 theaters. Its second weekend will be a crucial indicator of its long term future, but all eyes will be on King Kong. The ape movie opened with a soft $9.8 million on Wednesday, and Universal will be hoping it picks up pace going into the weekend. More...

King Kong Contest Closed

December 15th, 2005

Our contest to predict the opening weekend for King Kong is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered - we had a record turnout! We'll determine the winner on Monday, December 19, once the official Friday-Sunday numbers are published. Because of the hundreds of entries received, we expect to be able to announce the winner on Tuesday next week. More...

King-Sized Expectations

December 14th, 2005

Normally when a movie opens wide on a Wednesday, I do a full prediction. However, with an ongoing contest to predict King Kong's weekend box office, I'll be sticking with the Wednesday / Thursday portion for now. More...

King Kong Opens in 3,568 Theaters in US, 10,000 Worldwide

December 14th, 2005

Universal launches King Kong today (Wednesday) in 3,568 theaters across the US and Canada. In total, it will be playing on about 7,500 screens. That's their second-biggest opening ever, after Hulk's debut in 3,648 venues back in 2003. Based on reviews and early buzz, it's fair to say that the studio is expecting a better result this time. More...

Cowboys find Gold in Brokeback Mountain

December 13th, 2005

Brokeback Mountain was the big winner today as Golden Globe nominations were announced. With seven nods, it led all films, which is an important Oscar indicator. More...

Movie Review - King Kong

December 13th, 2005

King Kong is a movie that captures the spirit of the original, will leave you laughing at the sheer audacity of its action sequences, and features surprisingly moving onscreen chemistry between its two leads. Peter Jackson tries to have it both ways, creating a fable about man's careless destruction of beauty in a movie that has the biggest, loudest, most over-the-top action sequences you will ever see. Thanks to a magnificent ape, he gets away with it. More...

DVD Releases for December 13, 2005

December 12th, 2005

It's Special Edition week, with several such releases just screaming to become last minute Christmas gifts. Many of these are not A-List gifts and are more for people who are difficult to shop for. Even so, just a quick glance reveals more than half-a-dozen releases worthy of consideration for the DVD Pick of the Week, with The 40-Year Old Virgin - Unrated Widescreen Edition leading the way. Other choices include Airplane - Don't Call Me Shirley Edition, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fifth Season, Rock 'n Roll High School - Rock On Edition, and The Simpsons - The Complete Seventh Season. And from the Better Late Than Never Category, there's Nothing - Buy from Amazon. More...

Contest - Predict Kong's Opening Weekend

December 12th, 2005

To celebrate Wednesday's release of King Kong, we're running another predict the opening weekend contest. The winner will receive an official King Kong T-Shirt and cap, plus the movie soundtrack. All you have to do to enter is predict the opening 3-day weekend (Friday to Sunday) gross for the movie. The winner will be whoever's prediction is closest to the actual result without going over. Entries must be received by 10am, Pacific Time on Thursday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Can Narnia Lord Over the Box Office?

December 9th, 2005

The 2005 box office enters its final sprint to the finish line with two potential monster hits opening within 5 days of each other, the first tonight. Looking at the pure mathematics of it, there's almost no chance of 2005 catching up to 2004, or even 2003 or 2002. However, if Narnia and Kong both out perform, they can help cut the gap to something respectable. More...

Movie Website Updates for November 26 - December 8

December 8th, 2005

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Despite being there being two weeks between updates, this was not a very strong week. Sure, there were plenty of websites updated, but not a lot that really stood out as being award worthy. In the end it was Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks - Official Site that was the best of the bunch and hopefully it will continue to grow and earn that award. More...

2005 Preview: December

December 1st, 2005

After Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire saved last month, we have two potential monster hits leading the way this month. However, both will be compared to Lord of the Rings, and neither will be able to live up to that high standard. Even so, it should be a better month than December last year, but will it be too little, too late to save 2005's box office?

Since this is the heart of award season, there are plenty of films that are first opening in limited release. Some will get a wide release later in the month, while others, like Munich, The New World and Match Point, don't open wide untill after the new year, and will appear in January's preview. More...

DVD Releases for November 22, 2005

November 21st, 2005

As Christmas approaches, each week more and more DVDs are being released that theoretically would make perfect gifts. But for the DVD Pick of the Week I went with the perfect Re-Gift, Seinfeld - Re-Gift Set. There are a couple others I would recommend (like the King Kong - Collector's Edition), but overall it feels like a really slow week. More...

Movie Website Updates for November 4 - November 10

November 10th, 2005

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner, Aeon Flux - Official Site
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Movie Website Updates for October 28 - November 3

November 3rd, 2005

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner, Pride and Prejudice - Official Site
More...

Universal Extends King Kong, Sets New Budget Record

October 27th, 2005

Variety reports that Universal has agreed to release a three-hour cut of Peter Jackson's holiday epic King Kong, a move that will push the budget to a record $207 million. The additional money will pay for special effects sequences. More...

Movie Website Updates for June 24 - June 30

June 30th, 2005

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner, Pretty Persuasion - Official Site. More...

Movie Websites Launches for December 3 - December 9

December 9th, 2004

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner In Good Company - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...