October 8th, 2012
It is a soft week for new releases with only Prometheus looking strong. The film has earned polarizing reviews, so while many will like it, it's probably best to rent the DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack instead of buying outright. There are some TV on DVD releases and limited releases coming out this week, but you have to look to the catalogue Blu-rays coming out this week that are contenders for Pick of the Week. E.T. The Extraterrestrial, hasn't arrived yet, but its Anniversary Edition Blu-ray could be the best film on this week's list. However, Dial M for Murder in 3D is also a contender. 3D is still a niche market, so E.T. is the best bet for Pick of the Week.
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October 6th, 2012
Munger Road is a horror film that opened in limited release. If you pay attention to limited releases, you should know how poorly that genre tends to do in limited release. However, this film had an explosive opening earning more than $36,000 in its one theater during its opening weekend. But after a strong opening weekend, it really struggled to maintain its audience and quickly collapsed. Did it deserve this opening weekend? Was its quick collapse justified? Was it a matter of the wrong genre for limited release?
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September 18th, 2012
It's quite a busy week on the home market front, but most of the new releases are TV on DVD. This includes Modern Family: Season Three on DVD or Blu-ray, which is a contender for Pick of the Week. The best limited release of the week is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on DVD or Blu-ray, while the Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Blu-ray Box Set is also a contender for Pick of the Week. However, in the end I went with The Cabin in the Woods Blu-ray, which is practically the only first-run release of the week.
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October 12th, 2011
There were no films that reached the $10,000 mark on this week's per theater chart. The film that came closest was Real Steel with an average of $7,942, which is good for a wide release, but disappointing for the top film on the per theater chart. The best limited release was Munger Road with an average of $5,675 during its second week of release. This is excellent for the genre and bodes well for its home market run. As for the best new limited release, that was Hell and Back Again with just $3,413 in its lone theater. It's hard to put a good spin on that result.
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October 5th, 2011
There were only a couple films to topped the $10,000 mark on this week's per theater chart, while many more failed to reach the Mendoza Line. We find Munger Road on the high end with $36,605 in its lone theater. Meanwhile, Take Shelter was the only other film in the $10,000 club with an average of $17,347. Both film should expand, but the latter should have a better shot at earning some mainstream success over the former.
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October 2nd, 2011
The industry's slow period in September and October is traditionally a dumping ground for films that the studios would rather forget, but it also presents an opportunity for movies that would otherwise be swamped by the competition at busier times of year. This weekend provides a perfect example of this phenomenon, with two pictures aimed at church-going families coming out the big winners. Dolphin Tale dropped just 25% in its second weekend to jump from third to first on the chart, overtaking Moneyball, which had a good second weekend (down 35% to $12.5 million) and The Lion King, which ran out of steam a bit, but still crossed $400 million at the box office. But the bigger surprise was the $8.8 million opening for Courageous from what must have been 1,161 carefully-chosen theaters. Its $7,580 per theater average comfortably tops the list among wide releases.
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September 30th, 2011
The list of limited releases this week includes a few films that are earning amazing reviews while going after very different target audiences. Take Shelter should please fans of art house dramas and has the best shot at earning some measure of mainstream success. Benda Bilili! is the best bet for fans of documentaries, but its potential to expand is more limited. Meanwhile, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is anything but the typical art house film, but its reviews are so good that it deserves to find an audience, even if it has to wait till the home market to do so.
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