January 26th, 2009
There were plenty of new releases to reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, but none were particularly strong. The best was The Family that Preys, but it failed to crack a half million units with 491,000 units and $10.78 million for the week.
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January 26th, 2009
While there were five new releases to chart this week, we were left with a holdover on top as Pineapple Express remained champion.
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January 13th, 2009
It's still early in the year and people are dealing with the bills from their Christmas shopping, which means they don't have as much disposable income. This reduces the demand for DVDs, and studios are hesitant to put out marquee releases. Looking at this week's selection, you can really tell. At the top of the list, Supercop - 2-Disc Special Edition is probably the best bet, but Appaloosa on either DVD or Blu-ray is up there as well.
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December 17th, 2008
Gran Torino opened on top of the Per Theater Chart with an outstanding average of $45,287 in six theaters. Wide expansion seems inevitable at this point. Likewise, Doubts debut of just over $500,000 in 15 theaters gave it an average $33,815 making expansion almost assured. Che - The Argentine was close behind with $30,535 in two theaters. The Reader opened with an average of $21,006 in 8 theaters, which most weeks would be enough to score top spot; however, given the competition, without continued success during Awards Season, it could struggle to expand. There were only two holdovers in the $10,000 club with Frost/Nixon earning an average of $16,061 and Slumdog Millionaire earning $12,873. The final $10,000 film was Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which opened with $10,985. However, both My Name Is Bruce and Wendy and Lucy came relatively close with averages of $9,119 and $9,109 respectively.
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October 28th, 2008
Changeling's weaker than expected reviews didn't hurt it at the box office, at least not its opening weekend. The film topped the per theater chart with an impressive average of $32,601 in 15 theaters. Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom placed a close second with a surprisingly strong average of $30,336 in five theaters. Synecdoche, New York also opened better than expected despite weaker than expected reviews with an average of $19,133 in nine theaters. Let the Right One In did something no horror film has been able to do in a while: survive in limited release. It opened in four theaters with nearly $50,000 for an average of $12,324. Now all it has to do is maintain this momentum as it expands. The final film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, High School Musical 3, which opened with an average of $11,601 in saturation release.
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October 15th, 2008
Two limited releases performed amazingly on this week's per theater chart with RocknRolla earning first place with an average of $20,672 in seven theaters. Second place went to Happy-Go-Lucky with an average of $18,467 in four. Meanwhile, last week's winner, Rachel Getting Married, remained potent with an average of $16,505, despite tripling its theater count.
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October 13th, 2008
With four wide releases this past weekend, I knew not all of them would be hits, but I also didn't expect all of them to be misses. Perhaps that's not entirely fair, and given the production budgets involved, not all films flopped at the box office, but enough did that overall box office receipts dropped 10% to $102 million. Compared to the same week last year, that still represents an increase, albeit by less than 3%, which is more or less in line with ticket price inflation. Year-to-date, 2008 and 2007 have both brought in $7.38 billion, but 2008 has had the edge the past few weeks and could retake the lead this upcoming weekend.
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October 7th, 2008
It was a light week for limited releases, but we had one of the best results of the year on the per theater chart with Rachel Getting Married earning an amazing $32,597.
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October 7th, 2008
Of the eight films that opened or expanded on Friday, only two were able to do some serious business, while most were lucky if they topped the Mendoza line by earning more than $2,000 per theater. It was just a disaster, in many ways. That said, it was still the first weekend in October and the overall box office was up 13% from last weekend to $113 million. More importantly, it was 35% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2008 closed the gap with 2007. 2008 is just a little below and 2007 a little above $7.25 billion. By this time next week, 2008 could retake the lead, at least in terms of raw dollars.
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October 5th, 2008
Beverly Hills Chihuahua rose above a very crowded field of openers to claim the box office crown, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
The movie scored Disney's biggest opening weekend in October with an estimated $29 million.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist also performed well with a $12 million debut in 2,421 theaters.
That's a great return for a movie with a budget reported at $13 million.
The other strong performer was Appaloosa, which expanded to 1,045 theaters and pulled in $5.015 million for an impressive 5th place.
The rest of the wide openers didn't fare so well, although a couple of limited releases impressed...
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October 3rd, 2008
If you thought last weekend was too busy, this weekend is worse with eight films opening or expanding wide, or at least wide-ish. However, only one film is opening at saturation level (3,000 or more theaters) and one other is opening truly wide (2,000 or more theaters). After those two films, the rest of the new releases will be forced to fight over the table scraps.
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October 1st, 2008
September ends, and for that we are all very grateful. However, while we are entering the final push for 2008 at the box office, things don't look too rosy for the upcoming month. First of all, there are way too many films opening, including eight that are opening or expanding on the first weekend. Of those two, maybe three will thrive. Most will sink without being noticed, which could negatively affect the overall box office going forward. On the other hand, there are a few films opening this month that could be players come Awards Season, which is just around the corner. Perhaps this will help a few mid-level hits rise above the crowd.
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October 1st, 2008
The top of the per theater chart looks strikingly similar to last week with two holdovers being the only two films to top $10,000. This week Appaloosa squeaked ahead of The Duchess $10,469 to $10,238. However, the latter also saw its theater count explode from 7 to 55, which explains its declining average.
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September 23rd, 2008
The Duchess was a fashionable choice for moviegoers over the weekend, as it made just under $200,000 in just 7 theaters for an average of $27,204, which was the clear winner. The reviews were not great, but the film still has a shot at being nominated for several technical Oscars. Appaloosa was the biggest limited release of the week, pulling in just shy of $250,000 in 14 theaters to give it an impressive average of $17,775. Next up was August Evening with $11,033, while the final film to top $10,000 on the per theater chart was Walking on Dead Fish with $10,524 in one theater.
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September 21st, 2008
After the Oscars are handed out, the opening of The Duchess this weekend might be seen as the unofficial opening of Awards Season. However, regardless of how many awards the movie wins, its Official Site was able to take home the Weekly Website Awards, and I'm sure that will make someone very proud. That is if anyone involved in the movie ever hears about the award.
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September 19th, 2008
Awards Season gets underway shortly, and when it does we will be flooded with elite limited releases. But this week we have none that are earning the reviews that suggest they will be able to thrive in limited release, never mind being major players during award season.
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August 28th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for City of Ember, Flash of Genius, Toy Story 3, and more!
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August 24th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The International, Youth in Revolt, Fame and more!
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August 17th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Bolt, Valkyrie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and more!
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August 16th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Chilled in Miami, Dorian Gray, Surfer Dude, and more!
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August 3rd, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Nothing Like the Holidays, Not Easily Broken and more!
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July 5th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Appaloosa, Bad Lieutenant, Night at the Museum 2, and more!
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July 2nd, 2008
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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June 29th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Pride and Glory, Final Destination 4, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and more!
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