Awards Season: Lincoln Shows a United Front at the Golden Globes

December 13th, 2012

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the same list of films that have been mentioned since the beginning of Awards Season were rewarded today. Lincoln led the way with seven nods, while Argo and Django Unchained were close behind with five. More...

Blu-ray Sales: New Releases Lose to the Game

July 4th, 2012

There were four new releases to reach the top ten on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, but none of them were able to unseat Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. That film remained in first place with 444,000 units / $11.08 million for the week lifting its totals to 1.90 million units / $44.59 million after two. More...

DVD Sales: Shadows Linger On Top

July 4th, 2012

None of the new releases were able to overtake Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows for top spot on the DVD sales chart. It repeated in first place with 497,000 units / $7.44 million for the week giving it totals of 1.75 million units / $26.14 million after two. It is already the fifth best selling DVD released in 2012. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Shadows Brighten Blu-ray

June 27th, 2012

It was a nearly record-breaking week on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, which is very strange for this time of year. Granted, we had the last of the winter blockbusters, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, leading the new releases, but it was still better than expected. That film sold 1.77 million units generating $40.71 million for a for an opening week Blu-ray share of 54%. More...

DVD Sales: Sherlock Graduates

June 26th, 2012

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows dominated the new releases and easily took top spot on top of the DVD sales chart this week. It sold 1.52 million units and generated $22.71 million in revenue, which is substantially more than its predecessor made during its opening week, despite selling fewer tickets while in theaters. It's hard to explain that. More...

Blu-ray Sales: John Carter Acts Up

June 20th, 2012

New releases dominated the Blu-ray sales chart just as much as it did the DVD sales chart. Two Blu-rays, John Carter and Act of Valor topped the list. John Carter led the way in terms of units with 965,000 units / $19.30 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just shy of 60%. The film is still going to lose money, but its high definition run should at least cut the loses a bit. More...

DVD Sales: New Releases Get into the Act

June 18th, 2012

New releases dominated the DVD sales chart this week earning the top five spots. They also placed five more DVDs in the top twenty. Act of Valor led the way with 703,000 units / $11.94 million, which is a surprisingly strong start. More...

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...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office is Stuffed

March 26th, 2012

The buzz surrounding The Hunger Games became nearly deafening by the time it opened. There were some concerns that the film couldn't possible live up to the hype. However, not only did it live up to the hype, it crushed expectations and set records. Overall the box office pulled in $214 million, which is the ninth best combined weekend total and the best non-Holiday season weekend (Summer blockbuster season and the Thanksgiving to New Years holiday run). This was 93% higher than last weekend and 76% higher than the same weekend last year. Needless to say, 2012 stretched its lead over 2011, and it now sits 19% ahead of last year's pace at $2.41 billion to $2.02 billion. This is behind 2010's running tally of $2.69 billion, but ahead of 2009, which had $2.38 billion at this point of the year, so while we are not quite on a record-breaking pace, it has been a very good year so far. More...

Weekend Predictions: How Hungry are Moviegoers?

March 22nd, 2012

At the beginning of the month, most people were expecting The Hunger Games to have one of the biggest openings of March and one of the all-time biggest openings for a non-sequel film. However, that's changed... for the better. Instead of analysts predicting $70 million to $80 million over its opening weekend, expectations have grown to the point where it could earn over $100 million over the next three days and still be considered a disappointment. In fact, there are many who are predicting The Hunger Games will make more by itself than the entire industry made last year. Needless to say, if that happened, 2012 will make up for last week's 3.6% year-over-year decline in a huge way. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: 21 Jumps High, but Overall Box Office Low

March 19th, 2012

2012's winning streak finally came to a close, but it was close. Overall the total box office was $111 million, which was 17% lower than last week and more importantly, down 3.6% compared to the same weekend last year. 21 Jump Street did hold up its end of the box office numbers, but since the only other new release in the top ten was Casa di me Padre, is wasn't enough. Year-to-date, 2012 is still ahead of 2011's pace by 16% at $2.16 billion to $1.87 billion. That lead will grow next weekend with the release of The Hunger Games, which could be record-breaking at the box office and is just as strong with critics. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Moviegoers Jump at a Quality Release?

March 15th, 2012

So far 2012 has brought hit after hit, but what has been lost in the box office success is the dearth of quality releases. Last weekend, there wasn't a single film in the top ten to earn overall positive reviews. (Although Doctor Seuss' The Lorax is very close to that level.) Fortunately that will change this weekend as 21 Jump Street is earning unbelievably positive reviews. It is the only wide release of the week, compared to three wide releases last year. On the other hand, the best of last year's crop, Limitless, opened with less than $20 million and all but the most pessimistic think 21 Jump Street will top that with ease and if the holdovers can hold on, we could see yet another win at the box office. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Lorax has a Sustainable Run

March 12th, 2012

As expected, Doctor Seuss' The Lorax led the way at the box office, but unfortunately, it was on the low end of expectations. Unfortunately, while John Carter did land on the high end of expectations, it really wasn't able to pick up the slack. Overall, the box office fell 21% from last week to $133 million. This was higher than the same weekend last year, but by only 3%. At least the streak is still intact and has now reached ten weeks. Year-to-date, 2012 has reached $2 billion and is now ahead of 2011 by 18% at $2.01 billion to $1.70 billion. Let's hope next week is just as lucrative. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will New Releases Be Silent?

March 8th, 2012

Three films open wide release this week, but none of them look like they will compete with the Doctor Seuss' The Lorax for top spot. John Carter is the only one with a real shot at first place, but there's a chance it won't make half as much as The Lorax does over the next three days. Silent House is the best-reviewed new release of the week, and if it can remain above 60% positive, it will be the only film in the top ten with overall positive reviews. Finally there's A Thousand Words, but the less said about that film, the better. (It's opening in under 2,000 theaters with zero positive reviews.) Last year Battle: Los Angeles opened in first place with $35 million, a figure The Lorax should top, while the rest of the top ten look about same this year as last. The winning streak should continue. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Lorax Parties On Top of the Chart

March 5th, 2012

Nearly everyone expected Doctor Seuss' The Lorax to top the box office chart this weekend, but very few people saw it doing this well. It opened so well that The Hunger Games could have trouble topping it for biggest hit of the month. The overall box office rose to $168 million, which was 26% above last week's pace, as well as the same weekend last year. And here I was worried the streak might end. Year-to-date, 2012 has now pulled in $1.82 million, which is 19% higher than last year's pace. Hopefully this winning streak will continue, and it will if The Lorax has strong legs. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Lorax Chop Down the Competition?

March 2nd, 2012

March begins with two wide releases, although there's no real suspense which one will lead the way at the box office. Doctor Seuss' The Lorax should have no trouble earning first place. The real question is whether or not it will top Rango, which opened with $38 million last year. Not everyone is convinced it will. The only other wide release is Project X, which has a range of expectations going from the low teens to the mid-twenties. If both films land in the high end of expectations, then 2012 should continue its winning streak, as this year has slightly better depth than last year. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Valor Acts Up

February 28th, 2012

There was a surprise winner at the box office this weekend as Act of Valor opened on the very high end of expectations while Good Deeds did the opposite. Overall, more films missed expectations than met them and this led to a 14% drop-off from last week. However, the total haul of $134 million was still 23% higher than the same weekend last year, which stretches the winning streak to eight weeks. Or to put it another way, every single weekend this year has been higher than the corresponding weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2012 is ahead of last year's pace by 18% at $1.62 billion to $1.38 billion. There is some bad news going forward, as I don't think March 2012 is as strong as March 2011. More...

Weekend Estimates: Act of Valor Scores Strong Win

February 26th, 2012

This weekend's box office charts will feature two hits and two misses, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Very much in the hit column, and leading the weekend overall, is Act of Valor, a reality-tinged actioner from Relativity that is set to open with around $24.7 million, which is on the high end of expectations. With a $13 million acquisition cost and $30 million committed to marketing, Relativity should see a profit from the film after several recent misses. In second place, Tyler Perry's Good Deeds will pick up around $16 million for the weekend, which is on the low side for Perry -- in fact it will most likely be his worst opening weekend ever -- but will still earn money in the end thanks to a low production and marketing budget. More...

Weekend Predictions: Is the Box Office Looking Good or Good Enough?

February 23rd, 2012

While this weekend is one of the most important weekends of the year for movies, it's not because of the films in theaters. Oscar weekend is generally not a good time to release a film, as a lot of fans will be distracted. To emphasize that, there are four films opening wide this weekend, but three of them are opening in barely more than 2,000 theaters. Expectations for most films are in the mid teens, or lower, and there's a chance that no film will come close to $20 million over the weekend. Obviously this is not good news; however, this weekend last year was a disaster as Hall Pass led the way with just $13.54 million. There's a chance that every film in the top five will earn more than that this year. Granted, that's on the optimistic side of expectations, but even the low end of expectations has 2012 continuing its streak. More...

Contest: Apart from the Crowd

February 17th, 2012

Next weekend, the widest release of the week will be Act of Valor, which is opening in 3000 theaters, going by early estimates. On the other hand, Tyler Perry's Good Deeds is only opening in 2000 theaters, again, going by early estimates. Despite this chasm in theater counts, many expect the latter to top the former by a wide degree at the box office and because of this, we are going to use Tyler Perry's Good Deeds as the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction Contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Tyler Perry's Good Deeds. 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 Apartment 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 Manhattan on Blu-ray. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

2012 Preview: February

February 1st, 2012

2012 got off to a great start, with January earning four wins in a row in the year-over-year comparison and finishing the month with a double-digit lead over 2011's pace. This has made me very hopeful going forward. That said, there are fourteen films opening wide or being re-released wide in February, and I don't think there's a $100 million hit in the group. In fact, I don't think any will get all that close to the century mark. There are several that should be solid mid-level hits and with a little luck, half of them could reached $50 million and there are five that could reach $75 million. Last February, Just Go With It topped $100 million while Gnomeo and Juliet came within $33,000 of doing the same. We won't replicate that this year, so we have to hope for a lot more depth. If films like Safe House, Journey 2, Ghost Rider 2, The Phantom Menace: 3D and The Vow all meet expectations, then perhaps 2012 will continue its hot start. More...