2019 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part III - Limited Releases, Classics, Foreign Imports

December 16th, 2019

The first two installments of our Holiday Gift Guide had plenty of first-run releases and several TV on DVD releases. This installment includes limited releases and foreign imports. The list of classics isn’t up to the usual standards for the same reasons the TV on DVD list was rather short. Streaming is taking over that part of the market. Did you know The Criterion Collection has their own streaming service? So does Magnolia Pictures. On the one hand, that’s a lot of amazing movies for one price. On the other hand, as a fan of physical media, I’m not happy streaming is becoming so popular. There are still some great smaller titles worthy of the season. More...

Home Market Releases for August 6th, 2019

August 7th, 2019

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is the biggest release of the week and it is also one of the best. Amazing Grace and Penguin Highway and better movies, but Pikachu is the only one of the three Pick of the Week contenders with significant extras on its DVD / Blu-ray release. More...

Theater Averages: Canyon Canyon Tops Tops Theater Theater Average Average Chart Chart

May 30th, 2019

Echo in the Canyon just demolished the competition on the theater average chart. It earned an average of $58,826 in two theaters. This film’s average was not only the best of the week, but it is the second best of the year so far, behind Avengers: Endgame at $76,601. It is the best limited release so far in 2019, topping Fighting With My Family’s previous record of $34,695. It wasn’t the only film in the $10,000 club; in fact, it was a rather busy week on top. Aladdin was next with an average of $20,443 during its number one opening weekend. Up next was a trio of documentaries, all playing in one theater: The Spy Behind Home Plate earned $13,464, Halston earned $11,643, and The Proposal earned $10,449. More...

Theater Averages: Biggest Little Opening of the Week

May 16th, 2019

The Biggest Little Farm earned first place on the theater average chart with an average of $22,098 in five theaters. Up next were the top two films on the overall box office chart, Avengers: Endgame and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. The two films earned averages of $13,578 and $12,938 respectively. The final film in the $10,000 club was All is True, which earned an average of $11,053 in four theaters. More...

Theater Averages: The $10,000 Club Doesn’t End with Endgame

May 2nd, 2019

Avengers: Endgame led the way on the theater average chart with an average of $76,601. This is not only the best theater average of the week, it is the best theater average of the year, doubling the previous best of $35,599 set by Captain Marvel. It is also the best theater average of all time for a wide release, beating The Force Awakens’ old mark of $59,982. Impressively, it wasn’t the only film in the $10,000 club this weekend. The White Crow was in a distant second place with an average of $15,756 in five theaters, but that’s still something to be proud of. More...

Theater Averages: Silvers Wins Gold

April 25th, 2019

Under the Silver Lake earned top spot on the theater average chart with an average of $17,635 in two theaters. This is amazing for two reasons. Firstly, its reviews are barely above the 50% level. Secondly, it opened on VOD on Tuesday, so anyone who was interested in seeing the movie didn’t have to wait long to see it at home instead. On the other hand, it is a A24 release and the company has had an amazing track record at the box office during its young career. More...

Amazing Grace Trailer

April 12th, 2019

Concert performance by Aretha Franklin opened April 5 ... Full Movie Details.

A documentary presenting the live recording of Aretha Franklin's album Amazing Grace at The New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972. More...

Weekend Estimates: Shazam Flies to First Place with over $50 million

April 7th, 2019

Shazam is easily topping the weekend box office chart with an estimated $53.45 million for a total of $56.78 million, including its previous special engagement. This is marginally better than our prediction, but not as strong as I thought it would be after its surprising previews. The film should have strong legs with its amazing reviews, its A from CinemaScore, and its family-friendly target audience. On the other hand, Avengers: Endgame is on its way, and that film could practically end Shazam’s run at the box office. Internationally, Shazam is opening with an estimated $102 million in 79 markets. This includes $30.9 million in China, as well as $6.2 million in Mexico. On the other hand, it only managed $5.3 million in the U.K., which is far less impressive than its debut here. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Only a Couple of This Week’s Films are Amazing

April 5th, 2019

If I were to use just one phrase to describe this week’s list, it would be “Good, but not great.” More than half of the films on this week’s list have reviews that are exactly that, merely good, but not good enough for limited release. Of the exceptions, Amazing Grace is the one I want to see the most. More...