Blu-ray Sales: New Releases Not Attached to Top Spot

May 25th, 2011

As I mentioned at the time, the list of Blu-rays were weak this week, so weak that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I was able to return to top spot. That said, its weekly sales of 94,000 units and $2.16 million was terribly weak for the number one Blu-ray. On the other hand, its totals after five weeks of release are 2.79 million units and $63.26 million, which are the best of the year so far. More...

DVD Sales: Bieber Makes Short Work of Competition

May 24th, 2011

Despite coming out a few days later than the rest of the new releases, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never topped the DVD sales chart this week with 471,000 units sold and $7.26 million in consumer spending at retail. No Strings Attached opened in second place with 315,000 units / $5.41 million, which is not particularly strong, but not too bad, all things considered. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I remained in third place adding 168,000 units / $2.68 million for the week for running tallies of 4.92 million units / $68.61 million after five. It should quickly become the second DVD release of 2011 to sell 5 million units. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 10th, 2011

May 9th, 2011

While summer is the busiest time of year at the box office, it's the weakest time of year on the home market. That said, this week isn't bad with a few high profile releases. Unfortunately for me, I'm still waiting on the screeners for several of these. As far as the best of the best is concerned, there are a few contenders for Pick of the Week, including the pair of Doctor Who releases. But in the end I went with The Illusionist on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack. More...

Oscar Contest: Category Highlight: Best Actress

February 13th, 2011

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 nominees should just feel honored to be nominated. This weekend we will look at the four acting categories, ending with Best Lead Actress, which is, while not exactly competitive, at least has a long shot with a shot. More...

Per Theater Chart is Explosive

February 1st, 2011

There's was only one film able to top $10,000 on the per theater chart and that film was Kaboom, which made $13,714 in one theater. More...

Awards Season: Oscars Offer a Truly Regal Performance

January 25th, 2011

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, thus ending months of speculation. Along with a (very) few surprises, the list of nominees is mostly a case of Deja Vu. Leading the way, as it has so often this year, was The King's Speech, with 12 nominations, including six in seven of the most prestigious categories (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and the four acting categories). But it was far from the only multi-nominated film on the list. More...

Per Theater Chart: Cleaning House

January 25th, 2011

There's a bit of a controversy on the per theater chart with The Housemaid and Barney's Version in position to claim top spot. The latter made $143,000 in 16 theaters for an average of $8,938, in the United States. Adding it what it made in Canada, and it earned almost $500,000 in 77 theaters for an average of $6,217. That was a great weekend, but only third best on the chart. The winner was The Housemaid with an average of $8,335 in two theaters. This suggests it will be able to find more theaters willing to play it, but it is unlikely that it will expand significantly. More...

Per Theater Chart: Barney Leads the Way, In This Version Anyhow

January 18th, 2011

After an Oscar-qualifying run and a limited release in Canada, Barney's Version, finally started its theatrical run in the United States with an average of $16,310 in four theaters, which was enough to lead the per theater chart. Sort of. It's also playing in Canada, and despite the fact that Canada's considered part of the domestic box office when it comes to wide releases, smaller releases often don't have their box office numbers North of the border reported. This means it is possible that Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune remained on top with $12,377 in its lone theater. More...

Per Theater Chart: Phil Ochs has Fortunate Start

January 11th, 2011

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune opened on top of the per theater chart with $18,211 in one theater over the weekend and $26,846 since Wednesday. This pushed Blue Valentine into second place with an average of $17,608; however, Valentine also saw its theater count balloon from 4 to 40. Another Year added one more theater, but it wasn't enough to keeps its overall box office level, as its average slipped to $12,466. The Illusionist hung on with an average of $10,996, but I think it has taken too long and it might be too late to expand significantly. More...

Per Theater Chart: Blue Pulls in the Green

January 4th, 2011

The final weekend of the year saw no less than six films topping the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart. Leading the way was Blue Valentine with an average of $48,432 over the weekend and it already has close to $300,000 in just four theaters since Wednesday. Country Strong saw its average grow to $20,753, but it was still pushed to second place due to the competition. Another Year opened in third with $18,645 in six theaters, while Somewhere remained steady with $17,302 in eight. The Illusionist grew by 20% to $15,472, but it did have an extra day, as last weekend it opened on Saturday. The final $10,000 film was The King's Speech, which earned more than $7 million in 700 theaters for an average of $11,108. More...

Weekend Estimates: Fockers Narrowly Beats True Grit

January 2nd, 2011

With no new wide releases over New Year's weekend, this week's was a battle of the holdovers at the box office, and thanks to the fact that Christmas Eve (a slow day at the box office) fell on a Friday in 2010, the weekend-to-weekend comparison for each movie generally looked good. Curiously, though, the top three movies all declined from last weekend while all the other movies in the top 20 saw increases. With plenty of films to choose from, audiences spent over $4 million on at least 13 different films, seven of which topped $10 million. That's not quite a record (no less than nine movies earned over $10 million over MLK weekend in 2001), but it is unusual. More...

Limited Releases Looking for Last Chance for Oscars

December 31st, 2010

If you are interested in winning Oscars, this is the last chance for a theatrical release to qualify for the awards this year. So it comes as no surprise that there are a handful of Oscar hopefuls coming out this weekend. One of them, Blue Valentine, has already earned some success during Awards Season and it looks like that will translate into at least some success theatrically. More...

Awards Season - King of the Globes, or at Least the Nominations

December 14th, 2010

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations early this morning, and there are some interesting surprises included in the mix. Leading the way was The King's Speech, which has long been seen as one of the major players this Awards Season. Meanwhile, The Fighter and The Social Network were right behind with six each. There were many, many other films nomination, including more than a few shocks. ... Mostly in one category. More...

Awards Season: Winter Showed Its Independence

December 1st, 2010

The official arrival of winter is still a few weeks away, but Winter's Bone ushered in the start of Awards Season picking up seven Independent Spirit Award nominations. This was the most of any film, with The Kids Are All Right placing second with five. More...