January 20th, 2016
It was a slow week with only a handful of significant releases. However, that was good news for me, because it allowed me review the screener that arrived late. That screener was for The Martian, which was as good as I had hoped it was and it is the Pick of the Week. It is not the only new release that was in contention for that title. Both Adventure Time - Stakes! (DVD) and All Things Must Pass (DVD or Blu-ray) were in the running.
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October 8th, 2015
Only two films were in the $10,000 club this weekend. He Named Me Malala led the way with an average of $15,221 in four theaters, which is very strong for a documentary. The film's reviews are only good, but the appeal here is Malala Yousafzai and I don't think moviegoers are too upset that the film is a little shallow. The Martian was close behind with an average of $14,176.
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September 22nd, 2015
Sicario not only led the weekend on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $66,881 in six theaters. It also had the best per theater average for any film released in 2015, beating out the previous record-holder, Ex Machina, by about $7,500. On a related note, there's already reports of a sequel in the works. Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer was up next with an average of $18,750 in twelve theaters. Finally, there's Everest. This film not only earned a spot in the top five overall, but pulled in an average of $13,251 in over 500 theaters.
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September 16th, 2015
Sleeping with Other People wasn't expected to do well in theaters, because it only earned mixed reviews, while it was also playing on VOD. Despite this, it led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $17,820 in five theaters. Goodbye Mommy was in second place with an average of $15,063. It could do well in the art house circuit, but expanding wide will be nearly impossible for this German film. Meet the Patels was right behind with an average of $14,436. It too could do well in the art house circuit, but it is a documentary, so expanding wide is likely out of the question. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution was the only holdover in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,288 in three theaters. The overall number one film, The Perfect Guy, was next with an average of $11,656. The final film in the $10,000 club was A Brilliant Mind with an average of $10,469 in three theaters.
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August 30th, 2015
Straight Outta Compton will win a third weekend at the box office, according to studio estimates released on Sunday, but it won’t be without a struggle. The biopic lost on Friday to War Room, a faith-based film that opened in just 1,135 theaters, and the weekend race will finish with just a couple of million dollars between the two films, with Compton’s $13.2 million edging out War Room’s $11 million. Compton now has $134 million in the bank, making it the fifth-highest-grossing biographical film after American Sniper ($350 million), Lincoln ($182 million), A Beautiful Mind ($170 million), and Catch Me if You Can ($165 million). If you’re playing the Oscars game at home already, it’s worth noting that three of the four films above it received Best Picture nominations (Catch Me if You Can being the odd-one-out).
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August 26th, 2015
Grandma led all of the new releases, both in terms of reviews and in terms of per theater average. The film opened with $116,000 in four theaters for an average of $28,885. There was a very tight race for second place between The Quay Brothers in 35MM ($16,955 in one theater) and Learning to Drive ($16.504 in four theaters).
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August 23rd, 2015
As expected, Straight Outta Compton is continuing to dominate at the box office this weekend, with a second weekend of $26.76 million and a total of $111.5 million projected by Universal on Sunday morning. In fact, Compton is so dominant that the music biopic will earn more than the combined grosses of all three debutants. Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation’s fourth-weekend $11.7 million will be enough for second place.
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August 21st, 2015
It might not be a good week for limited releases overall, but we do have a potential Oscar nominee opening this week. Grandma is not only earning the best reviews of the week, but Lily Tomlin is earning some early Awards Season buzz.
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