DVD Sales: Taken Dominates on DVD

May 23rd, 2015

There was only one big new release on the DVD sales chart. Taken 3 earned an easy first place with 435,000 units / $6.48 million. This is well below the opening week sales of the first two films in the franchise. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Taken 3 Leads Trio of New Releases

May 23rd, 2015

New releases were not terrible, which makes this week on the Blu-ray sales chart better than the past couple of weeks. Taken 3 earned first place with 253,000 units / $5.03 million over the week for an opening week Blu-ray share of 37%. Its raw numbers are significantly lower than Taken 2's opening week Blu-ray sales. Additionally, its opening week Blu-ray share was just 37%, which is lower than most action films. Then again, its reviews were awful, so even fans of the franchise might not be interested in spending extra to get the high definition version. More...

DVD Sales: Five Armies Completes Three Weeks on Top

May 15th, 2015

None of the new releases were able to top the DVD sales chart leaving The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in first place with 73,000 units / $1.10 million over the week for a total of 1.13 million units / $16.92 million. More...

Blu-ray Sales: A Most Lonely Week

April 27th, 2015

There was only one new release to chart this week and it didn't reach the top five. It barely reached the top 20. This means the top of the Blu-ray sales chart is mostly the same as it was last week. Interstellar remained in first place with 120,000 units / $2.46 million for the week and 839,000 units / $16.68 million after two. More...

DVD Sales: Interstellar's Earthbound Opening

April 20th, 2015

Interstellar was the top new release and the top selling DVD. However, its opening week numbers were decidedly not stellar. The film sold 291,000 units and generated $4.45 million in revenue. This is barely more than The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies managed during its second week of release. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Easter Week was Out of This World

April 20th, 2015

It was Easter the week the March 31st new releases came out and this had an effect with several, mostly family friendly films earning a boost on the Blu-ray sales chart. Even so, Interstellar opened in first place dominating the rest of the market. The film sold 732,000 units and generated $14.46 million in revenue, for an opening week Blu-ray share of 72%. Granted, this is a film that relies heavily on its special effects to draw in the audience, but that is still a shockingly high percentage. More...

DVD Sales: New Releases were One-Two-Three on DVD

April 13th, 2015

The DVD sales chart was top heavy with new releases. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies earned first place with 682,000 units / $10.21 million, which is about on par with expectations. The Trilogy box set landed in 11th place with 33,000 units / $1.19 million. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Penguins Become King in Tight Race

April 7th, 2015

New releases earned the top three spots on the Blu-ray Sales Chart this week, including a tight race for top spot. Penguins of Madagascar earned first place over Exodus: Gods and Kings in terms of units, 269,000 vs 257,000. However, in terms of revenue, the pair finished in the reverse order at $5.91 million to $5.38 million. As far the their opening week Blu-ray shares are concerned, Penguins managed a very strong 58%, while Exodus managed a very healthy 54% More...

International Box Office: Cinderella Swaps Spots with Insurgent

April 2nd, 2015

Cinderella returned to first place after a week in second. It did so with $40.0 million in 53 markets for totals of $187.7 million internationally and $337.3 million worldwide. The film opened in a number of major markets, including the U.K., where it earned first place with $5.65 million in 554 theaters. The film took $3.8 million in France and $3.7 million in Australia, while Brazil was close behind with $3.4 million. The film's debut in Spain wasn't as strong at $2.1 million, but that was still the best result of the weekend and the third best opening of the year. Meanwhile in China, the film added $12.33 million over the full week for a total of $65.92 million after three. At this pace, the film will have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which will be enough to cover its entire production budget and perhaps all of its P&A budget. More...

DVD Sales: Secret of the Tomb Stuck with the Leftovers

March 29th, 2015

Despite there being five new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, there was a holdover hanging onto top spot. Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 sold 472,000 units and generated $6.36 million in sales during its first full week of release for early totals of 1.19 million units / $16.28 million. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hunger has a Second Serving on Top

March 29th, 2015

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 remained in first place on the Blu-ray Sales Chart during its first full week of release with 499,000 units / $9.98 million for the week giving it totals of $1.71 million units / $34.19 million after two weeks of release. It is losing ground on Catching Fire and it might not get to 3 million units in the end. More...

International Box Office: Insurgent Surges Past Cinderella

March 26th, 2015

As expected, Insurgent earned first place on the international chart earning $48.4 million on 10,187 screens in 76 markets. The film's biggest market was France, where it opened in first place with $6 million, while it made $4.37 million in 497 theaters in the U.K. earning first place there as well. Its best growth came from Brazil, where it nearly tripled the first film with $4.2 million. The film had to settle for second place in Russia with $3.76 million on 1,570 screens, but that was still close to 20% more than its predecessor opened with. More...

DVD Sales: Mockingjay Leaves DVD Sales a Little Hungry

March 22nd, 2015

There was a flood of new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, including five of the top six best-sellers for the week. Leading the way was Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 with 718,000 units / $9.98 million. This is well below what Catching Fire opened with, but still enough to keep the studio happy. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hunger Games Fills Up on Blu-ray

March 22nd, 2015

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 led the new releases earning first place on the Blu-ray Sales Chart. It wasn't quite as strong as last week's winner, Big Hero 6; however, it did sell better than Catching Fire did. The Blu-ray sold 1.39 million units / $27.92 million, which is even more impressive when you note it was on sale for only two days, not the usual five days for a new release. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 66%, which is great no matter what its genre was. More...

International Box Office: Cinderella Story

March 18th, 2015

Cinderella led the way on the international box office, but it can't be described as a Cinderella opening, as every one expected it to earn first place. The film pulled in $62.4 million in 31 markets during its first weekend of release. This includes $25.01 million during its first weekend in China, which was easily enough for first place. It also earned first place in Russia with $2.62 million on 1,550 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $7.06 million. The film placed first in Mexico ($5 million) and Italy ($4.6 million). It is still too early to tell where it will finish, but this is a strong start. By this time next week, it will likely have pulled in enough to cover its entire production budget. More...

Home Market Numbers: Hero Helps Home Market Grow Bigger

March 15th, 2015

Big Hero 6 dominated the list of new releases and was nearly 80% of the total Blu-ray sales for the week. This helped the overall sales skyrocket compared to last week, up 66% in terms of units and 93% in terms of revenue. Overall sales were not as strong when compared to last year, as Thor: The Dark World was tougher competition than anything that came out this week. Sales grew, but by a more subdued amount of 2.3% in terms of units and 9.8% in terms of revenue. Blu-ray sales growth was stronger this week than DVD sales growth was, so much so that the overall Blu-ray share rose to 55%. That's an unsustainable level, but it is nice while it lasts. More...

DVD Sales: Hero Saves the Day

March 15th, 2015

New releases earned the top three spots on the DVD sales chart this week. This includes Big Hero 6, which opened in first place with 963,000 units / $14.44. This isn't at the same level as Frozen opened with, but it is already the second best selling DVD in 2015. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hero is Bigger than Big

March 15th, 2015

While Big Hero 6 wasn't the only new release on the Blu-ray sales chart this week, it might as well have been. Not only did it crush the competition for the week, it is already the best selling Blu-ray of 2015 by a massive margin. It sold 1.99 million units generating $37.59 million in the process. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 67%, which is stunning. This would be stunning for a visually intensive action film aimed at Fanboys. For a family film, it is hard to comprehend. More...

International Box Office: Jupiter Ascends to the Top

March 12th, 2015

Jupiter Ascending returned to the international chart in first place with $25.3 million in 53 markets for a month-long total of $107.0 million internationally. This includes a first place, $23.08 million debut on 7,028 screens in China. If the film can have even middling legs in China, it will overtake its production budget on the global box office. However, it needed to make twice that to break even. More...

Home Market Numbers: New Releases Help Home Market Survive

March 8th, 2015

There were a ton of new releases to reach the top twenty of the Blu-ray sales chart this week. Unfortunately, while Game of Thrones: Season Four, Birdman, and others did well, the overall box office wasn't particularly sharp. There were 1.1% fewer units sold when compared to last week, but because the number one release was a TV on DVD release, the revenue rose by 7.1%. Compared to last year, Blu-ray sales were up 24% in terms of units and 3.5% in terms of revenue. The overall Blu-ray share returned to normal at 43%. More...

International Box Office: Shades Completes the Threepeat

March 5th, 2015

For the third weekend in a row, Fifty Shades of Grey ruled the international box office, this time pulling in $36 million in 59 markets over the weekend for totals of $337.00 million internationally and $484.40 million worldwide. It will reached $500 million early this weekend [ Copy Ed: Just heard it crossed $500 million today with $352 million internationally and $150 million domestically for a worldwide total of $502 million]. The film opened in South Korea, but struggled earning fourth place with $1.25 million on 510 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.80 million. It might have struggled in South Korea, because by the time it opened there, the word-of-mouth has overtaken the hype. Its biggest single market is the U.K. where it has made $46.27 million, including $3.43 million on 545 screens this past weekend. More...

International Box Office: $400 million for 50 Shades

February 25th, 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey remained in first place internationally with $68.1 million on 10,323 screens in 58 markets for totals of $280.5 million internationally and $409.7 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this weekend, but it does open in South Korea this weekend. It is already the biggest hit of the year after just ten days of release and it has made enough to justify a sequel. However, its legs are definitely weak and I'm don't think the sequel will match its box office dominance. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 24th, 2015

February 24th, 2015

This list is going to be a little shorter than I wanted... a lot shorter actually. My Internet Provider decided it would be a good idea to do maintenance tonight, so I was without internet access for several hours. There are two first-run releases that are contenders for Pick of the Week: Big Hero 6 (DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack) and Whiplash (DVD or Blu-ray). The other contender is the Criterion Collection release for Watership Down (Blu-ray). All three are worth owning, but Big Hero 6 is the Pick of the Week. More...

Oscar Results: The Numbers Readers Score 18 out of 24

February 23rd, 2015

Once more, entrants in The Numbers Predict the Academy Awards Contest did an impressive job of predicting winners, in spite of a volatile Awards Season. Overall, the top voter-getters in 18 out 24 categories went on to win the Oscar on the night, including all acting awards, all but one of the technical awards, and all the short films.

Our biggest misses were actually in the biggest categories: Best Picture was won by Birdman, not Boyhood; Alejandro Inarritu beat Richard Linklater for Best Director; and Big Hero 6 prevailed over How to Train Your Dragon 2. More...

Oscar Contest Results

February 23rd, 2015

Thank you to everyone who entered our 18th annual Predict the Academy Awards Contest. As usual, the contest drew hundreds of high-quality entries, with the winners predicting at least 21 of the winners on what proved to be an unpredictable Oscar night.

Read on for our list of 2015 prize winners... More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Big Hero 6

February 23rd, 2015

Big Hero 6 just won the Oscar, which is great timing, as it hits the home market this Tuesday. Many were surprised that the film won. Should they be? Is this really the best animated film of the year? More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscars - And the Winner is... Birdman for Best Picture

February 22nd, 2015

The Oscar ceremony is tonight and we will be live-blogging the winners... assuming I don't get bored and wander away. On a serious note, while my job is all about movies and I love watching movies, I love paying attention to box office numbers, I even love Awards Season. I hate ceremonies. As per usual, here is the list of nominees marked according to predictions / wishes. Nominees in Bold are the ones predicted to win by our readers. If I predicted a different film, those are in Italics. Meanwhile, the nominees I want to win, but don't think will win, are Underlined. There are a few categories where the film I really think deserves the award were not even nominated, plus a few I don't have a real opinion on. More...

Oscar Predictions: Boyhood and Birdman Neck and Neck for Top Two Awards

February 22nd, 2015

The polls are closed in our 18th annual Predict the Academy Awards contest, and it has turned out to be the most exciting two-horse race in the history of the contest.

After weeks of intense debate among our voters, we have a virtual tie in the biggest categories of all: Best Picture and Best Director. The predicted Best Picture winner is, in fact, a statistical dead heat. Boyhood garnered 47% of the total vote, and Birdman 46%, giving the Linklater epic the tiniest of edges.

Best Director is a clearer contest, but still close, and still a bout between Boyhood and Birdman. Richard Linklater is favorite to win Best Director, perhaps in part because he’s more “due” for the award than Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. As noted, though, “favorite” is strong, given the closeness of this category, with Linklater getting 55% of the votes and Inarritu taking a 46% share.

The other big story about this year’s contest is just how much of a two-horse contest it really is. With 93% of the Best Picture vote going to Birdman and Boyhood, the remaining nominees were left to split the other 7% of the vote. American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything each gathered a handful of votes from The Numbers readers, and Selma and Whiplash are given virtually no chance at all. More...

International Box Office: 50 Shades a Worldwide Phenomenon

February 19th, 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the international box office with an opening weekend of $158 million in 58 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $173.56 million. Worldwide, the film took $258.73 million during its opening weekend, which puts it just behind Taken 3 for the year. It became the biggest hit shortly after the weekend ended. The film's biggest market was in the U.K., where it made $20.90 million in 586 theaters. This is better than it opened with here, relative to the size of the two markets, so we can blame the U.K. for the success of this film. It also did incredibly well in Germany ($15.2 million on 741 screens); France ($12 million on 785); and Russia ($10.68 million on 1,105). Obviously the film is going to be turned into a franchise. More...

International Box Office: Jupiter Ascends to the Top

February 13th, 2015

Jupiter Ascending earned first place on the international chart with $32.5 million. At first glance, this doesn't seem too bad for an opening weekend on the international chart, except the film was playing in 65 markets, so it doesn't have a lot of room to grow. Its biggest market was Russia, where it earned first place with $4.97 million on 1,900 screens. On the other hand, it only managed fourth place in South Korea with $1.67 million on 561 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.03 million. More...

2014 - Awards Season: BAFTA - Winners

February 8th, 2015

The BAFTA winners were announced on Sunday and there were a few surprises, including the number one winner. The Grand Budapest Hotel took home five awards, while Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash earned three each. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Feature-Length Animated Film

February 4th, 2015

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Feature-Length Animated Film. For a while, it looked like The LEGO Movie would be the favorite to win the Oscar, then it wasn't even nominated. Because of that, it is a little hard to know what will happen going forward. There is one film that looks to be the favorite, but that was true before the nominations and nearly every expert got it wrong before. More...

International Box Office: China Runs a New Release to the Top

February 4th, 2015

Running Man opened in top spot in both China and on the International chart with $37.05 million over the weekend in its native market. Films in China tend to have short legs, most of the time. There's still too much uncertainty to really predict the film's final box office numbers after just this weekend's results. On a side note, it wasn't that long ago that it would be unthinkable for a film opening in just China to finish first on the international chart. Now it is relatively common. More...

International Box Office: Hobbit Battles to the Top of China

January 29th, 2015

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies easily earned first place in China and that helped it rocket back to the top of the international chart with $54.3 million over the weekend for totals of $617.0 million internationally and $866.5 million worldwide. The film had a total opening of $50.00 million in China, which was more than the rest of the market combined. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscars - Nominations

January 17th, 2015

The Oscar nominations were announced early in the morning, when all sensible people were asleep. There were some surprises, as well as some results that would have been surprises had it not been for the previous Awards Season nominations. Seventeen films earned two or more nods, led by Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, both of which picked up nine nominations, while The Imitation Game was right behind with eight. More...

International Box Office: Night Rises to the Top

January 15th, 2015

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb rose to first place with $46.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $148.6 million internationally and $248.1 million worldwide. This includes a $26.39 million "opening" in China for an 8-day total of $31.06 million. 8-day opening? It also opened in first place in Russia with $5.55 million on 1,690 screens. More...

2014 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Winners

January 12th, 2015

We are still waiting for the DGA nominations to be announced, but we had the first major awards show on Sunday. The Golden Globes winners were announced Sunday night and while there were not a lot of surprises, there are some things worth talking about. Leading the way with three wins was Boyhood, while Birdman and The Theory of Everything each picked up a pair of wins. More...

2014 - Awards Season: BAFTA - Nominations

January 11th, 2015

The BAFTA nominations were announced yesterday and unlike most other Awards Season voters, the BAFTA voters gave us some real surprises. For instance, Birdman didn't lead the way. In fact, it was a comedy, The Grand Budapest Hotel, that earned the most nominations at 11. Granted, Birdman and The Theory of Everything were tied for second place with ten each, but it is still strange to see a comedy leading the way. More...

2014 - Awards Season: PGA - Nominations

January 10th, 2015

The Producers Guild of America nominations were announced and there's not a lot of surprises among the three categories. Birdman, Boyhood, The Imitation Game, and others continue to get accolades, but there are also some films that are being passed over too often. More...

International Box Office: Hobbit Hits Half a Billion

January 7th, 2015

It was a big week for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, as it crossed the $500 million mark on the international box office. Over the weekend it pulled in $52.5 million in 65 markets for totals of $504.7 million internationally and $725.3 million worldwide. At this pace, the film will reach $800 million worldwide, possibly as early as this time next week. As for last weekend, there were very few new openings, but the film did earn first place in Argentina with $2.1 million on 397 screens. The film opens in China before the end of the month and the studio is obviously hoping for big numbers in that market. More...

International Box Office: Hobbit Meets More Milestones

January 1st, 2015

For the third week in a row, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies held onto first place with $89.0 million in 62 markets for totals of $405.1 million internationally and $573.6 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Australia with $10.1 million on 603 screens, while the film was particularly strong in Poland earning $5.3 million on 699. By this time next week, it should be at $500 million internationally and $700 million worldwide, which is enough to break even, but not enough to keep pace with the franchise average. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Close Battle over Christmas Break

December 30th, 2014

We are still dealing with studio estimates for the weekend numbers, but we can at least tell you what film won, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and roughly how much it earned, $41.42 million. The new releases were much closer than expected with Into the Woods and Unbroken both earning just over $30 million over the weekend. Because we don't have enough final numbers, we really can't compare the overall box office to last weekend or last year. So far, the final weekend of 2014 pulled in $200 million and that number should grow a little bit as box office numbers filter in. This is 52% more than last weekend and 2.3% more than the same weekend last year. I'm a little more bullish about January's box office chances after this result. More...

International Box Office: Hobbit Stands Tall

December 23rd, 2014

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies remained in first place with $109 million in 59 markets for a two-week total of $269 million internationally and $358 million worldwide. It is still too early to tell where this film will end up, but by this time next week it should be well past $500 million worldwide, which is enough to pay for its production budget. The film debuted in first place in South Korea with $10.3 million. Meanwhile, it was tops in Spain and Italy with $6.5 million and $6.1 million respectively. Despite opening in nearly two dozen new markets, the film's biggest market was a holdover, Germany, where it added $13.3 million over the weekend to its running tally, which now sits at $38.6 million. It was also strong in the U.K. earning $8.5 million over the weekend for a total of $31.8 million after two, while in France the film made $8.2 million over the weekend for $25.5 million, also after two weeks of release. More...

International Box Office: Hobbit Stands Tall

December 17th, 2014

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies started its international run earning first place with $122.2 million on 15,395 screens in 37 markets. Not only did it earn the best opening of The Hobbit Trilogy, but it was often times the biggest opening in Peter Jackson's career, or even occasionally in Warner Bros' history. Its biggest opening came in Germany where it pulled in $20.5 million on 1,442 screens. Next up was the U.K. and France, which had nearly identical openings of $15.2 million on 1,489 screens and $15.1 million on 914 screens respectively. It earned $13.56 million on 2,390 screens in Russia. Brazil and Mexico were neck-and-neck with $6.8 million on 1,037 screens and $6.3 million on 2,775 screens respectively. It earned $2.4 million on 640 screens in Japan, which seems low compared to the other markets, but it is nearly double the debut The Desolation of Smaug earned. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Exodus Win, but Overall Box Office is on the Run

December 15th, 2014

All-in-all, the box office matched expectations, but sadly, that is not a good thing. Exodus: Gods and Kings opened with $24.12 million, which is anemic for a film that cost $140 million to make. Top Five had a better per theater average, but was playing in less than 1,000 theaters, so it will only become a midlevel hit, at best. Overall, the box office did rise 6.8% from last weekend, but this still only amounted to $83 million. Worse still, this was 43% lower than the same weekend last year. Last year, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opened with $73.65 million, which is about 2% less than the top ten earned this year. It should come as no surprise that 2014 lost in the year-over-year comparison, while it continues to lose ground in the year-to-date race as well. Currently, 2014 has pulled in a total of $9.41 billion, which is 4.8% or $470 million lower than last year's pace. There's no chance 2014 will catch up at this point. I just hope it doesn't sink any lower. More...

2014 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Nominations

December 11th, 2014

The Golden Globes nominations were announced this morning, at three in the morning, because the people at Golden Globes are under the delusion that news announced at 3:00 a.m. is somehow more important if it is announced before anyone is awake. As for the actual nominations, like with the Independent Spirit Awards and the SAG nominations, Birdman led the way. It earned seven nominations, while Boyhood and The Imitation Game tied for second with five apiece. Starting to notice a pattern here? This could be a really dull Awards Season with very few surprises. On the other hand, predictable means less work for me. Plus, predictable probably means the Awards Season voters are making the right choices, as surprises usually mean someone made the wrong choice. More...

International Box Office: Mockingjay Maintains Milestone Pace

December 11th, 2014

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 reached a couple of milestones hitting $500 million worldwide before the weekend and $300 million internationally during the weekend. Over the weekend, the film pulled in $32.9 million in 87 markets for three-week totals of $306.6 million internationally and $564.8 million worldwide. The film will top $600 million worldwide over the weekend, while it is on pace to top the original's worldwide total before the end of its run. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office has Post-Holiday Indigestion

December 9th, 2014

The post-holiday weekend is rarely a great weekend and this weekend was no exception. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 fell more than 60%, while no film in the top ten fell less than 40%. The only wide release in the top ten was The Pyramid, which barely topped the Mendoza Line. Overall, the box office fell 52% from last weekend to $78 million. That's 16% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2014 is behind 2013 by a 4.5% or $440 million margin. It is not going to close that margin over the next four weeks, but it should still top $10 billion before the year is over. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Pyramid Scheme Its Way to the Top (Five)

December 5th, 2014

It's the weekend after Thanksgiving, one of the worst weekends of the year for a new release. This year, no film is daring to open wide, but The Pyramid is coming the closest opening in just under 600 theaters. The film would need a per theater average of more than $10,000 to reach the top five, which is nearly impossible at this stage. This means the top five this week will mostly be the same as the top five last week with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 leading the way. Likewise, this weekend last year, Frozen led the way with more than $30 million. There is very little chance Mockingjay, Part 1 will match that, so 2014 will lose yet again in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Thanksgiving Gives the Box Office Indigestion

December 2nd, 2014

Thanksgiving weekend was... well, it wasn't good. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 easily won the race for top spot and actually topped expectations by a tiny margin. On the other hand, the two new releases, Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2, both really struggled. Neither managed to top their three-day prediction over the five-day long weekend. Overall, the three-day weekend fell 17% to $162 million from last weekend. Worse still, this was 22% lower than the same weekend last year. 2014 is now behind 2013 by a margin of $370 million or 3.9% at $9.20 billion to $9.58 billion. There's no way we will catch up by the end of the year. I just hope we don't fall further behind.

More...

Weekend Predictions: Thanksgiving Means Leftovers

November 27th, 2014

It's Thanksgiving weekend and there are two films trying to take advantage of the boost to the box office. Penguins of Madagascar looks like it will top Horrible Bosses 2 at the box office, but neither really have a shot at dethroning The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 for top spot. In fact, it is possible both of them combined won't top last year's number one new release, Frozen. Additionally, Mockingjay, Part 1 very likely won't match Catching Fire by a significant margin, so November will end the month on a down note.

More...

International Box Office: Mockingjay has $275 million Worldwide Weekend

November 27th, 2014

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 opened in first place on the international chart with $154.3 million in 85 markets for a worldwide opening of $276.2 million. Its international opening was about 4% higher than the previously entry in the franchise. The film managed $19.8 million in the U.K. and $13.8 million in Germany. This was 5% and 9% higher than the previous film's debut in those two markets. Mockingjay, Part 1 opened 19% higher in Russia with $11.9 million. The film also topped $10 million in Mexico ($12 million) and Australia ($10.3 million). More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Hunger Games Goes on a Diet

November 24th, 2014

As expected, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 earned first place with ease pulling in more than the rest of the box office combined. On the downside, it was well below the optimistic expectations at just $121.90 million. ... It seems strange that an opening of $121.90 million is considered disappointing. Worse still, none of the other films in the top five topped predictions, so they couldn't help mitigate Mockingjay, Part 1's softer than anticipated opening. The overall box office still rose 38% from last weekend to $194 million, but this was 14% lower than the same weekend last year. There's really no way to spin that in a positive manner. Year-to-date, 2014 has earned $8.94 billion, which is 3.2% or $290 million lower than last year's pace. Again, it is hard to spin that number in a positive way.

More...

Weekend Estimates: Mockingjay Sets 2014 Record with Disappointing Debut

November 23rd, 2014

If you could sum up 2014 at the box office in one sentence, this weekend’s headline probably comes close. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 is the film we’ve been waiting for all year: the third film in a franchise that has already topped $150 million on each of its previous two opening frames, with the weekend before Thanksgiving all to itself, and reviews that, if not stellar, are at least very respectable for a franchise tentpole. A weekend of $150 million plus seemed a very good bet, and something bigger still couldn’t be ruled out. But, come Sunday, Lionsgate is projecting a $123 million weekend, down about 20% from previous installments. That is, of course, a fantastic weekend by most measures: it’s the 15th-best weekend of all time, and easily the biggest opening weekend in 2014. But this will now be the first year since 2010 without a $150m+ weekend, and the debate about the waning influence of theater-going on the industry will undoubtedly be re-opened. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will Hunger Games Leave Moviegoers Hungry?

November 20th, 2014

There is only one wide release coming out this weekend, but it is the biggest release of the year. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 should have no trouble earning the biggest opening weekend of the year so far and it shouldn't take very long before it surpasses Guardians of the Galaxy for number one film of the year. As for the rest of the box office, there's not a lot to look forward to. Dumb and Dumber To will likely take a serious hit, while Big Hero 6 should overtake it over the weekend. This weekend last year, Catching Fire led the way with $158.07 million, which could be more than the entire box office earns this year. Hopefully that won't be the case, but I don't see how 2014 comes out ahead on the year-over-year comparison.

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International Box Office: Century Weekend for Interstellar

November 20th, 2014

Interstellar remained in first place with $107.9 million in 63 markets over the weekend for totals of $225.8 million internationally and $322.7 million worldwide. This might be enough to cover the film's production budget, but probably not. That said, by this time next week, its worldwide total will be close to $500 million, which should put the film in the black. This weekend the film opened in first place in China with $42.67 million during its five-day opening. Perhaps more impressively, the film grew by 6% in South Korea helping it remain in first place with $13.13 million on 1,410 screens over the weekend for a total of $35.24 million after two weeks of release. It didn't hold up quite as well in the U.K., but still remained in first place with $5.91 million on 576 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.11 million.

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Weekend Wrap-Up: Dumb Leaves the Competition Smarting

November 18th, 2014

There was some good news and bad news over the weekend. The good news was Dumb and Dumber To, which managed a stronger than expected opening, despite its reviews. The bad news was Beyond the Lights, which couldn't turn its reviews into box office success. That said, the good outweighed the bad and overall the box office was quite strong. It was still down 11% from last weekend to $140 million, but that's still 12% more than the same weekend last year. 2014 remains behind 2013's pace by 3.4% or $310 million at $8.72 billion to $9.03 billion, but every little victory will help soften the blow at the end of the year. More...

Weekend Estimates: Dumb and Dumber Top

November 16th, 2014

The box office chart is starting to take on a decidedly seasonal look, with a comedy sequel topping the chart, a smattering of Oscar hopefuls doing well in limited release, and not a single top 10 film dropping by more than 50% from last weekend. The comedy sequel, Dumb and Dumber To, will narrowly win the weekend with a shade over $38 million, per Universal’s Sunday estimate. That’s $2 million more than Big Hero 6 will post in its second weekend in release. The animated adventure will be off just 36% from last weekend. Also posting an impressive hold from a big opening weekend is Interstellar, with $29.1 million—39% below its opening frame. More...

Weekend Predictions: Does it Pay to be Dumb?

November 13th, 2014

It is a slower weekend at the box office than last weekend. Granted, there are two films opening wide, but neither of them are expected to be a huge hit. Dumb and Dumber To is earning terrible reviews, but it is expecting to earn first place at the box office. Beyond the Lights is earning much better reviews, but it will likely only become a midlevel hit at best. As far as holdovers are concerned, both Big Hero 6 and Interstellar will continue to be big factors at the box office, but only these four films have a shot at $10 million or more at the box office. This weekend last year, Thor: The Dark World led the way with $36.59 million while The Best Man Holiday opened in second place with $30.11 million. I think the one-two punch this year will be better, plus we will have a lot more depth leading to 2014 earning a win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

International Box Office: Interstellar Reaches for the Stars

November 13th, 2014

As expected, Interstellar opened in first place on the international chart earning $82.90 million on 14,800 screens in 62 markets during its opening weekend. As you may or may not know, we introduced a new comprehensive look at the international numbers, so there's little more than needs to be said here. I will point out that the film's opening in South Korea was particularly strong at $12.46 million on 1,310 screens over the weekend, for a total opening of $14.21 million. The film also opened in first place in the U.K., with $8.53 million on 1,298 screens, which is about on par with its domestic opening, given the relative size of the two markets. Russia was close behind with $8.00 million on 1,800 screens. The film opened in China this week and those numbers should help the film remain in first place next weekend.

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Contest: Be the Hero: Winning Announcement

November 12th, 2014

The winners of our Be the Hero contest were determined and they are... More...

Per Theater Chart: Everything Above All Others

November 12th, 2014

There were four films in the $10,000 club, including The Theory of Everything, which led the way with an average of $41,753 in five theaters. This is high enough to make some measure of mainstream success nearly inevitable. Up next were a pair of wide releases. Big Hero 6 earned an average of $14,947, while Interstellar was right behind with an average of $13,342. The final film in the $10,000 club was National Gallery, which earned $10,049 in one theater over the weekend for a total opening of $13,165.

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Weekend Wrap-Up: Hero had a Big Opening

November 10th, 2014

We had two potential monster hits go at it over the weekend and it appears the competition was a little too much and neither Big Hero 6 nor Interstellar lived up to lofty expectations, although Big Hero 6 was close. Combined the two movies earned more than $100 million over the weekend, which is reason to celebrate, even if the rest of the box office barely registered. Overall, the box office rose 65% from last weekend reaching $157 million. Wow. Unfortunately, this was still 6.5% lower than the same weekend last year. Had Interstellar matched expectations, 2014 would have come out on top of the year-over-year comparison. Hopefully it will have better legs than Thor: The Dark World did, or this weekend could be another loss. I'm hopeful, because The Dark World was a pretty big Fanboy film. More...

Weekend Estimates: Big Hero Tops Interstellar

November 9th, 2014

With studios cutting down on tentpole releases, and ever-more careful grooming of release schedules, it’s getting rarer to have a genuine head-to-head battle for top spot at the box office. But that’s exactly what we had this weekend, and, although both studios will rightly claim to be very happy with the outcome, execs at Disney will have the slightly bigger grins this Sunday. They are predicting a $56.2 million opening weekend for Big Hero 6, making it a clear winner over Interstellar, which Paramount says will post a round $50 million. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will we have Stellar New Releases?

November 6th, 2014

November begins with a powerful one-two punch. Both Interstellar and Big Hero 6 are expected to open with more than $50 million. On the high end, they could both clear $60 million. Interstellar was expected to win by a sizable margin, but its Wednesday IMAX opening was not quite as strong as expected, so it could be a closer than expected weekend. Those two films should easily pull in more than $100 million over the weekend, but unfortunately the rest of the box office will be well back. This weekend last year was similarly top-heavy with Thor: The Dark World earning $85.74 million, which was more than the rest of the box office combined. It looks like the year-over-year competition could be quite close, but I have to give 2014 the edge. More...

2014 Preview: November

October 31st, 2014

October was a better than expected month with the overall box office keeping pace with October of 2013, for the most part. (The last weekend will be terrible, but that's because of Halloween.) We were able to close the gap somewhat in the year-over-year comparison, at least by a little bit. So how will November do compared to October. Let's put it this way. There are only seven films opening wide this month. Of those, Beyond the Lights will likely not make an impact at the box office. Every other film has at least a reasonable shot at $100 million. More than half the of the films opening this month could hit $200 million. Leading the way will be The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, which could hit $400 million. The only problem is when book franchises split the final installment into two parts, the first part tends to be weaker at the box office. Interstellar is a big question mark. On the low end, it could make just over $100 million, while on the high end, just over $300 million is within reach. That's a wide range of expectations. On the downside, last November, there were two movies to reach $400 million: Catching Fire and Frozen. On the other hand, there was only one other movie to make more than $100 million, Thor: The Dark World, so perhaps the depth this year will help 2014 come out ahead in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Contest: Be the Hero

October 30th, 2014

Next weekend, Interstellar and Big Hero 6 open wide. I think Interstellar will be the bigger film; however, it is opening on IMAX on Wednesday and I'm not sure if the studio will lump those figures into the weekend numbers and that's an added complication I don't want to deal with. Because of this, Big Hero 6 is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Big Hero 6.

The prizes this week are codes for a UV digital HD download for The Blair Witch Project. There's actually only supposed to be one code as a prize and one is supposed to be going to me, but I already own the move on Blu-ray, so I thought I would give away both codes as prizes.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a code for a UV digital HD download for The Blair Witch Project. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a code for a UV digital HD download for The Blair Witch Project. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Territory	Release Date	Opening Weekend	Opening Weekend Screens	Maximum Screens	Theatrical Engagements	Total Box Office	Report Date
Argentina	12/12/2014	$0	0	2	2	$1,625,221	11/24/2018
Australia	12/26/2014	$3,013,056	403	403	2588	$14,881,640	7/16/2024
Belgium	2/11/2015	$0	0	57	123	$2,511,225	7/8/2015
Brazil	12/26/2014	$0	0	0	0	$7,381,314	11/5/2018
Bulgaria	1/23/2015	$0	0	5	6	$358,261	12/30/2018
China	2/27/2015	$12,530,000	30780	30780	102795	$76,530,000	8/27/2020
Croatia	1/15/2015	$0	0	14	14	$160,671	6/26/2015
Czech Republic	11/20/2014	$0	0	0	0	$0
France	2/13/2015	$3,003,509	0	0	0	$11,119,483	8/21/2018
Germany	1/22/2015	$3,659,138	0	1	1	$14,362,698	8/22/2018
Greece	11/6/2014	$0	0	0	0	$0
Hong Kong	12/19/2014	$0	0	93	269	$4,033,271	11/25/2018
Italy	12/18/2014	$0	0	0	0	$10,770,029	11/6/2018
Japan	12/20/2014	$0	0	0	0	$76,400,000	8/23/2018
Mexico	11/14/2014	$0	0	0	0	$16,989,440	8/30/2018
Netherlands	2/12/2015	$254,427	183	189	1450	$2,724,717	11/21/2018
New Zealand	12/26/2014	$39,164	21	134	173	$2,099,420	10/19/2020
North America	11/7/2014	$56,215,889	3,761	3,773	32,851	$222,527,828
Poland	11/28/2014	$0	0	0	0	$2,968,918	12/30/2018
Portugal	12/19/2014	$0	0	2	2	$1,404,389	6/15/2016
Russia (CIS)	10/25/2014	$0	0	0	0	$0
Slovenia	1/15/2015	$0	0	17	17	$91,594	6/26/2015
South Korea	1/22/2015	$6,400,000	0	0	0	$19,791,592	8/29/2018
Spain	12/19/2014	$0	0	320	2519	$18,460,856	11/28/2018
Taiwan	1/2/2015	$1,030,005	0	21	34	$4,712,162	11/2/2018
Turkey	1/16/2015	$522,324	164	164	652	$3,068,560	12/30/2018
United Kingdom	1/30/2015	$6,472,030	0	544	2098	$31,144,526	8/27/2018
Rest of World						$101,145,190
Worldwide Total						$647,263,005	7/16/2024