DEG Watched At Home Chart: Sonic Sneaks into First Place

May 28th, 2020

Sonic the Hedgehog was released on DVD / Blu-ray / 4K last week and that helped it climb into first place on the DEG Watched at Home chart. The film was already in fifth place last week on the strength of its digital releases, so it has had a very profitable run on the home market already. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Preying for a Miracle

May 21st, 2020

Birds of Prey hit DVD / Blu-ray / 4K last week, and that helped it shoot up the DEG Watched at Home chart from eighth place last week to land in first place. It looks like Warner Bros. should break even on this film before too long. On the downside, the studio only had two other entries in the top twenty, leaving Sony in first place in that regard with five releases in the top twenty this week. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Sony Scores Again

May 14th, 2020

Sony continues to have a good year, given the circumstances. They just chalked up a win on the DEG Watched at Home Chart for the third week in a row. However, this week it was Bloodshot that topped the chart by rocketing up the chart 11 places. Why the massive jump? It debuted on DVD / Blu-ray. We haven’t seen an increase that dramatic since we’ve been tracking this chart; however, this is also a film that was still in theaters when Covid-19 forced it into VOD early, so there’s mitigating circumstances. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 5th, 2020

May 6th, 2020

It’s a sad week for DVDs / Blu-rays as there are no top-notch first-run releases. Gretel and Hansel is the biggest and the best first-run release on this week’s list, but its DVD / Blu-ray don’t have enough extras to be a Pick of the Week contender. Likewise, The Lodge is amazing, but its DVD / Blu-ray have no extras… Is Elvira: Mistress of the Dark really the Pick of the Week? It came out last week, but the screener was late, so it is the best release on this week’s list. More...

DEG Watched At Home Chart: Skywalker Remains Top Draw

April 23rd, 2020

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker remained on top of the chart on this week’s DEG Watched at Home Chart. In fact, the top five were nearly identical to the top five from last week, so we are going to spend some more time looking lower down the list. More...

VOD Releases: Will these VOD Releases Rescue the Movie Industry?

March 26th, 2020

With the COVID-19 outbreak causing mass shutdowns of non-essential businesses in a lot of places, theatrical releases are, for the most part, non-existent. However, the movie industry is trying to rapidly adapt to this and so are we. They are fast-tracking lots of theatrical releases to VOD and we will be expanding our coverage of VOD releases. Like last week, there are a lot of fast-tracked theatrical releases coming out this week, but we also have the more typical VOD premieres to talk about. Of the former category, Bad Boys for Life is clearly leading the way, although Birds of Prey is coming out on Friday rather than Tuesday, so it gets a jump on the action. Of the latter category, Banana Split is the film that I’m most interested in seeing. Sadly, there are so many major VOD releases this week that I fear it will slip between the cracks. More...

International Box Office: Bloodshot Wins by Default

March 25th, 2020

Sony was the only major studio to release international numbers, so I guess Bloodshot wins the weekend chart by default. That said, it also won last weekend, so it probably was the actual winner this weekend. According to Sony’s numbers, it earned $1.41 million on 3,795 screens in 60 markets for a two-week total of $18.41 million. This includes a $31,842 debut on 65 screens in Nigeria. Its largest market was Russia, where it was down 78% to $549,000 on 1,665 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $3.55 million. It is not surprising that Russia had one of the best holds for the film, as the country was slow to realize the extent of Covid-19. Singapore also held on well down 53% to $119,000 on 65 screens over the weekend for a two week total of $454,000. Singapore was able to hold on this well, because the country has been extremely proactive in combating the Covid-19 outbreak, so they have successfully flattened the curve. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, they are a city-state and I don’t think their methods could be emulated by other nations easily. More...

Home Market Releases for March 24th, 2020

March 23rd, 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak had basically ended the theatrical market with most theaters closed. Only drive-ins are showing any signs of life. Unfortunately, this is having an effect on the home market as well, some of it positive, some of it very negative. There is a rush to get movies from theaters to the home market and that’s helping improve the list this week. On the other hand, uncertainty with supply chains and stores being open means we could have a very short list next weekend, and next month. There are some big releases this week, including 1917, while Birds of Prey leads the VOD list. However, for Pick of the Week, I went with a much older film, Leave Her to Heaven, which is getting a Criterion Collection release this week. More...

International Box Office: One Last Shot at the Box Office

March 18th, 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak has been causing major closures of theater chains both domestically and internationally, which means this could be the last meaningful box office report for weeks, if not months. Bloodshot led the way with $12.47 million on 10,443 screens in 59 markets for an early international total of $14.59 million. The film is playing in most major markets, but it only cracked $1 million in three of them, led by Russia at $2.47 million on 1,665. Indonesia isn’t considered a major market, but the film earned $1.72 million on 868 screens there. The film topped the charts in both of those markets, but had to settle for second place in Mexico with $1.13 million on 1,510 screens in that market. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: COVID-19 Scare Results in Worst Weekend in Decades

March 16th, 2020

The weekend broke a record, one that I thought would never be broken. Ticket price inflation means the smallest overall weekend record looked unbreakable, but this weekend only managed $53.50 million, although that number should be adjusted up as some indie films report numbers later in the week. This is down 47% from last weekend and down 61% from the same weekend last year. Only one film managed to top $10 million, Onward, while the total box office was less than what Captain Marvel earned this weekend last year. This is easily the worst weekend since I’ve been in the business, but I fear it will get worse before it gets better. Year-to-date is, to be blunt, a disaster. 2020 is already $100 million behind 2019’s pace and 2019 was not a good year at the box office. Furthermore, the $1.76 billion box office is only 195 million tickets sold, meaning we are on pace for the lowest ticket sales since the turn of the century. More...

Weekend Estimates: Onward Hit by Box Office Shutdown

March 15th, 2020

People are clearly taking the concept of social distancing seriously and this is causing a massive drop at the box office. Onward is going to lead the way at the box office this weekend, but with just $10.53 million. This is down 73% from its opening weekend, which is the worst in the top ten. Granted, it is a family film during its sophomore stint, so it would naturally be affected the most by social distancing. Internationally, things were much worse as some markets were shutting down theaters entirely. The film is only earning $6.8 million in 47 markets for totals of $41.4 million internationally and $101.7 million worldwide. On the positive side, its reviews are really strong, so it should find a second life on the home market. More...

Friday Estimates: COVID-19 Outbreak Takes Out Box Office

March 14th, 2020

I Still Believe debuted in first place with $4.0 million on Friday, putting it on pace for close to $11 million over the full weekend. On the positive side, this is what was predicted, so at least it is matching lowered expectations. On the negative side, it won’t be enough to remain in first place for long. Its reviews are mixed, but it did earn an A-rating from CinemaScore, which is easily the best of the three new releases that came out this week. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Bloodshot Draws First Blood

March 13th, 2020

Bloodshot opened with $1.2 million during Thursday previews, which is almost as much as the other two wide releases earned combined. Granted, its reviews are the weakest of the three new releases, but this start should still be enough to top our $8 million prediction. The demographics are extremely male and young and young men are the ones least likely to take precautions during something like the COVID-19 outbreak, so perhaps this is not a surprise. More...

Weekend Predictions: Trio of Films Opening Wide could be Last Wide Releases for Weeks

March 12th, 2020

Wash your hands. This could be the worst weekend of the year at the box office, perhaps even the worst weekend of the past several years. COVID-19 has caused the suspension of the NBA and NHL seasons, while practically every wide release for the next several weeks has been pushed back indefinitely. This news is very likely going to hurt ticket sales as people are taking the concept of “self isolation” seriously. Last weekend, Onward and Sonic the Hedgehog were hit the hardest, which makes sense, as families would be the first to avoid going out because of a pandemic, but now I think general audiences will also avoid crowds. Worse still, none of the three wide releases were expected to be anything more than midlevel hits at the best of times. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if none of Bloodshot, The Hunt, and I Still Believe hit $10 million over the weekend. This weekend last year, Captain Marvel earned $67.99 million during its second weekend of release. That will be more than the three new releases will open with combined. It could be more than their combined domestic totals. More...

2020 Preview: March

March 1st, 2020

The box office had mixed results during February with Birds of Prey missing expectations by a huge margin, but Sonic the Hedgehog did well enough to almost make up the difference. This March, there are three films that will almost certainly reach $100 million domestically: Onward, A Quiet Place: Part II, and Mulan. In fact, all three at least have a slim shot at $200 million domestically. By comparison, last March Captain Marvel was released, which earned more than $400 million, while Us and Dumbo earned close to $300 million combined. I don’t think the top three films this year will match last year’s top three, or even come particularly close, and I fear 2020 will fall behind 2019 in the year-over-year comparison. So much for that lead 2020 built up in January. More...

Bloodshot Trailer

October 21st, 2019

Action movie starring Vin Diesel opens February 21 ... Full Movie Details. More...