January 4th, 2012
The nominees for this year's Producers Guild of America were announced and there were not a lot of surprises. For instance, nine of the ten nominees for Theatrical Motion Pictures also earned Golden Globe Nominations for either Best Drama or Best Musical / Comedy. Four of the five Animated films also did the same. It does make the Awards Season picture a lot clearer going forward, but it makes coming up with something to say much harder.
More...
December 16th, 2011
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the Awards Season picture started to look a whole lot clearer. The Artist led the way with six nominations, while The Descendents and The Help were right behind with five apiece.
More...
December 13th, 2011
We are in the final stretch for the Christmas shopping season, but there are still few more summer blockbusters coming out from now till Christmas week. This time around, there were half a dozen new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, led by The Smurfs with 491,000 units / $8.34 million. For a kids' film that sold more than $140 million in tickets, this is slow start.
More...
December 6th, 2011
Cars 2 returned to top spot on the DVD Sales Chart this week thanks in part to Black Friday sales. Over the week it sold 1.06 million units, lifting its totals to 3.86 million units / $61.14 million putting into fourth place for 2011.
More...
November 30th, 2011
The Harry Potter franchise held three of the top four spots on this week's Blu-ray sales chart with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 earning top spot with 1.29 million units / $28.83 million during its first full week of release for totals 3.40 million units / $76.27 million.
More...
November 30th, 2011
New releases this week were a little strange. While there were two massive releases, both were in fact released on Blu-ray a month ago. The weak new releases helped Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 lead the way on the DVD sales chart selling 2.38 million units, while generating $35.57 million in revenue. After just two weeks of release, the film has sold 5.21 million units and generated $77.79 million in revenue, placing it third for the year.
More...
November 23rd, 2011
It was a record-breaking week on Blu-ray as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 made its debut on the home market. That film crushed competition selling 2.71 million units / $60.75 million during its debut, which is even more impressive, as it was released on Friday and not Tuesday. By comparison, Avatar sold 2.55 million units and generated $52.80 million during its debut. (It was also a Friday release, so the comparisons are valid.) Its opening Blu-ray ratio was 49%, which is a little lower than some first run releases have earned. However, I think some of the people who are most likely to buy the films on high definition would either grab the Box Set, or perhaps are waiting for next year's Uber collection. Even without taking into account the box set numbers, the film is instantly in seventh place on the all time chart and, by this time next week, it should be in second place. (It will be a while before Avatar is dethroned).
More...
November 22nd, 2011
While there were a few new releases on this week's DVD Sale Chart, one of them dominated so thoroughly that the others pale in comparison. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 opened with 2.83 million units sold and $42.22 million in sales. This is about 800,000 more units than Part 1 sold during its first week of release, and it is already in fourth place for the year. And this doesn't take into account the Box Set, which placed 13th with 98,000 units / $4.82 million.
More...
November 16th, 2011
Not only did Cars 2 lead the way on the DVD sales chart, it led the way on the Blu-ray sales chart as well. It dominated new releases and holdovers alike, selling 1.76 million units and generating $44.57 million in opening week sales. Its opening Blu-ray ratio was 47%, which is very good for a kids movie and an unexpected boon for the format.
More...
November 16th, 2011
While there were only four new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD Sales Chart, three of them took the top three spots. Cars 2 earned first place with ease, selling 1.98 million units and generating $31.24 million in opening week sales.
More...
November 1st, 2011
The selection of home market releases is rather soft this week. Sure, Cars 2 was a major hit at the box office, but it is the only major hit on this week's list. The best selling TV on DVD release is Californication, which is a cable show, while the top ten selling titles according to Amazon.com include limited releases, catalogue titles and direct-to-DVD releases. There are more second-tier Christmas releases than any other type of release. There are far fewer titles that are worth picking up than last week, and the the Pick of the Week contenders are even more limited. Transformers: Beast Wars comes out on a Complete Series Collection and that could be Pick of the Week material, but I'm still waiting for the screener.
More...
October 29th, 2011
For the first time ever, I'm not starting a review of Pixar film with the phrase, "And the Oscar goes to..." or something to that effect. Cars 2 is the first Pixar film not to with overwhelmingly positive reviews, snapping their record at eleven critically acclaimed films. On the one hand, it was unreasonable to assume the studio was going to keep up that streak forever and they were bound to make a bad film sooner or later. On the other hand, was this a case of unreasonable demands leading to a merely good film looking bad when compared to the rest of Pixar's output?
More...
September 8th, 2011
The Smurfs started September the same way they ended August, on top of the international chart. Over the weekend the film earned $25.09 million on 8,318 screens in 78 markets for totals of $297.72 million internationally and $429.77 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in the United Arab Emirates with $1.9 million on 37 screens, which was the second best opening in the market this year, behind only Pirates of Caribbean on Stranger Tides. It also earned first place in Sweden with $1.11 million on 128 screens and second place in Norway with $1.05 million on 132. Given its surprising strength over the weekend, getting to $500 million worldwide has become more of a reality.
More...
September 1st, 2011
For the third weekend in a row, The Smurfs earned first place on the international chart. This time they pulled in $26.82 million on 9,023 screens in 48 markets for a total of $258.27 million internationally and $384.22 million worldwide. It was a pretty slow weekend in terms of new releases (it earned $739,000 on 137 screens in Denmark) but that changes next weekend with an opening in Japan, while Australia and Italy are also just around the corner. Even if the film had no markets left to open in, it would still get to $300 million internationally and $400 million worldwide, but even with these three major markets, it probably won't hit any other major milestones.
More...
August 24th, 2011
The Smurfs remained in first place with $35.18 million on 10,737 screens in 47 markets for a total of $211.52 million internationally and $329.07 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, but did add $3.95 million on 504 screens during its third weekend in Brazil and it now has $21.91 million in that market. That's like earning more than $200 million domestically. With openings in Italy, Japan, and Australia still ahead, the film should have no trouble getting to $400 million worldwide, which means it is on pace to earn a profit before the home market.
More...
August 18th, 2011
The Smurfs continued to expand this past weekend and reached first place with $61.48 million on 11,055 screens in 40 markets for a total of $143.23 million internationally. Its biggest opening came in China where it debuted in first place with $13.4 million on 3,110 screens from Wednesday through Sunday. It also opened in first place in Russia with $4.28 million on 662 screens, but had to settle for second place in the U.K. with $6.16 million on 447 and third place in South Korea with $2.07 million on 455 screens over the weekend and $2.42 million in total. It also held on really well in Brazil, down just 21% to $5.34 million on 559 over the weekend for a total of $15.36 million after two.
More...
August 10th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 became just the third film in history to reach $800 million internationally, and that wasn't the only big news of the week. Over the weekend, the film pulled in $62.43 million on 14,316 screens in 62 markets for totals of $801.32 million internationally and $1.14 billion worldwide. It is now the highest grossing non-James Cameron film of all time. The film opened with just shy of $30 million in China, which is more than twice the previous film's debut there. In fact, it is about 10% less than the previous film's final box office there. There is a chance Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 will break the century mark in this market. Other big news of the weekend came from the U.K. where it earned $4.61 million on 525 screens for a total of $102.39 million. It's still very rare for films to earn $100 million or more in any individual box office, so this is good news. Its next biggest individual market is Japan at $82.19 million, including $4.76 million on 822 screens this past weekend. Looking forward, the film should have no trouble reaching $900 million internationally and it should top Titanic's international number worldwide.
More...
August 3rd, 2011
It took just 17 days for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 to reach the $1 billion milestone at the worldwide box office, matching a record set by Avatar. Over the weekend it pulled in $65.91 million on 13,156 screens in 61 markets for a total of $698.92 million internationally and $1.02 billion worldwide. It is only the ninth film in history to reach that milestone, but amazingly, it isn't the first, nor is it the last film of the year to do so. The film remained in first place in Germany with $7.93 million on 899 screens over the weekend for a total of $61.70 million after three. It also topped the chart in the U.K. with $7.43 million on 576 screens over the weekend for a total of $90.29 million after three. It was pushed into second place in Japan ($6.93 million on 853 screens over the weekend and $68.74 million in total); France ($5.16 million on 815 screens over the weekend and $44.80 million in total); and in Australia ($4.20 million on 663 screens over the weekend and $48.87 million in total). At this pace, it should overtake Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides before too long, especially since it hasn't opened in China yet. While it has its sights set on the record for biggest worldwide box office for a non-James Cameron film, currently held by Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
More...
July 27th, 2011
After just 12 days of release, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 raced into second place for the year on the international chart with $564.36 million, putting it just ahead of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. This includes its weekend haul of $119.54 million, which was earned on 16,529 screens in 60 markets, while its worldwide total reached $837.90 million, putting it into third place for the year, just behind Dark of the Moon. It is still miles away from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is nearing $800 million internationally. I'm not saying the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 won't get there, but I'm also unwilling to bet money it will.
More...
July 20th, 2011
It seems every day we have another broken record to report on. The final international numbers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2's opening weekend came in, mostly, and the film earned $264.32 million on 17,539 screens in 58 markets for a total opening of $323.38 million internationally and $492.57 million worldwide. Needless to say, this is the biggest international and worldwide opening ever. To put this into perspective, not counting the fellow Harry Potter films, this is already the tenth best Warner Bros. movie of all time. (With this franchise and Christpher Nolan's Batman franchises ending, there's got to be someone at the studio is full panic mode. They might have an entire division of people whose sole job is to panic 24 hours a day.) The only small downside for the film is its per screen average, which didn't lead the international chart, but more on that in a bit.
More...
July 19th, 2011
After a weak start, 2011 started to improve in late April. However, by June it had all fallen apart again and it looked like the summer of 2011 would be even worse than the summer of 2010, which was the worst summer in a decade. Thank goodness Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 came along. That film made more than the entire box office did last weekend and came within $10 million of doing the same in comparison to last year. It helped the overall box office reach $262 million, or 68% more than last weekend and 47% more than the same weekend last year. 2011 is still off 2010's pace by more than 7% at $5.85 billion to $6.30 million, but at least there's some hope for the near future.
More...
July 13th, 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon repeated as champion on the international stage with $94.70 million on 11,222 screens in 58 markets for a total of $386.43 million internationally and $647.51 million worldwide. At this pace, by this weekend it will be ahead of Transformers and will have no trouble becoming the biggest hit in the franchise. As for individual markets, it earned the most in South Korea where it was down just 31% to $15.11 million on 1,301 screens over the weekend for a total of $54.47 million after two. It became the fastest film to reach $50 million in that market. It wasn't able to hold on as well in the U.K. down 56% to $7.58 million on 522 screens over the weekend for a total of $31.45 million after two. In Australia it was down 43%, which at first glance seems strong, but it was a holiday weekend in that market and half the films in the top five saw growth. It still added $7.52 million on 596 screens over the weekend for a running tally of $29.13 million, which is stronger than its performance, given the relative size of the two markets. The film fell 56% in Russia, which isn't bad compared to the average drop-off in that market. It managed $7.47 million on 1,385 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $36.03 million.
More...
July 11th, 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon led the way for the second weekend in a row and overall the top five films were a little stronger than expected, but sadly that wasn't enough for 2011 to score a win. It didn't even come close. The overall box office was just $156 million, which was 23% lower than last weekend, but the post-holiday slump mostly explains that. However, it was 19% lower than the same weekend last year and there's no excuse for that. The bad news continues as 2011 has fallen more than $500 million behind 2010's pace, while attendance is just down close to 10%. Unless Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is an exceptional hit at the box office, the summer of 2011 could have the worst ticket sales in more than a decade.
More...
July 7th, 2011
While there are two wide releases coming out this week, it seems unlikely that either of them will seriously challenge Transformers: Dark of the Moon for top spot at the box office. In fact, it's more likely that Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper combined won't make as much as Dark of the Moon will make this weekend. The new releases are certainly weaker than those from last year and there's no hope any film will make more than Despicable Me did during its opening weekend. Worse still, June 2011 sold the fewest number of tickets for any June since the year 2000; we really can't afford another slow week at the box office, but that's likely to be exactly what we are going to get.
More...
July 6th, 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon earned top spot on the international chart, which came as no surprise. However, it did so in impressive fashion with $154.93 million on 11,565 screens in 58 markets over the weekend for a total opening of $219.81 million. This is the best international debut for Paramount topping the previous champion, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Its biggest opening came in South Korea where it scored $21.82 million on 1,442 screens over the weekend for a total opening of 31.09 million. It was also tops in Russia with $16.95 million on 1,385 screens over the weekend and $21.97 million in total. It earned $17.30 million on 521 screens in the U.K. and $16.18 million on 595 in Australia, including midweek numbers. It also cracked $10 million in Germany with $15.29 million on 617, including midweek numbers, and in Mexico with $10.81 million on 2,097 screens.
More...
July 6th, 2011
There was mostly good news over the Independence Day long weekend, with the number one film topping expectations. However, while Transformers: Dark of the Moon set records, it was the only film to surpass Thursday's predictions by any serious degree. The total box office take was $202 million over three days and $241 million over four, but the lower-than-expected Monday numbers meant that, while the combined take from Friday to Sunday for all films was up 15% from last weekend and 7% from last year, over four days, 2011 was down 4% compared to last year. I think we can conclude 4th of July fireworks had a lot to do with this.
More...
June 30th, 2011
It's Independence Day long weekend, which is generally one of the busiest weekend of the year. School kids are all out of school for summer, adults have Monday off, and it is the perfect time to celebrate by going to an air conditioned movie theater. Unfortunately, while there's a lot of hype surrounding the megawide release of the week, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the reality might not live up to the hype. It's already off to a slow start compared to last year's number one film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and since 2011 is still $400 million behind 2010, we can't afford a major loss this weekend.
More...
June 29th, 2011
In a battle of digitally animated sequels, Cars 2 came out on top with $39.23 million on 4,873 screens in 25 markets for a total opening of $43.98 million. Its best market was Russia where it opened in first place with $9.42 million on 950 screens. By comparison, the original Cars made $4 million in that market, in total. The film was also very strong in Mexico with $8.08 million on 1,981 screens and in Brazil with $5.29 million on 747 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $7.04 million. The film had to deal with direct competition in Australia, but still came out on top with $5.13 million. The final major market it debuted in was Italy, where it earned $3.86 million on 834 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $5.71 million. Overall, the film more than doubled the debuts of Cars in the markets it opened in, while it was on par with Toys 3's openings. Granted, it likely won't have the same legs, but this is still a great start.
More...
June 29th, 2011
The winners of our As Fast as Possible contest were determined and they are...
More...
June 29th, 2011
Cars 2 led the way on IMAX with a global debut of $3 million on 153 screens, of which $1 million was earned on just 33 screens internationally. Since the film's per screen average was much stronger internationally than it was domestically, this could be an excellent sign for its international numbers overall.
More...
June 29th, 2011
Not only did Cars 2 win the overall box office race, but it also won the race on the per theater chart with an average of $16,072. A Better Life and PASSIONE: A Musical Adventure were right behind with $15,522 and $15,377 respectively. The final film in the $10,000 club was Bad Teacher, which was a surprise entrant with $10,365.
More...
June 27th, 2011
Despite what critics thought of the film, Cars 2 proved popular with moviegoers while Bad Teacher was also a hit in its counter-programing role. Their combined effort helped the overall box office grow 15% from last weekend to $176 million. That's 7% higher than the same weekend last year, which gives 2011 a much-needed win. The year is still $400 million behind last year's pace at $4.90 billion to $5.30 billion, but even little victories are important. Remember, 2010 was ahead of of 2009 by $300 million at the beginning of October, but just three months later, that lead had completely evaporated. Hopefully the reverse can happen this time around and 2011 can squeeze out a victory. However, for that to happen, it needs to slowly chip away and close the deficit.
More...
June 23rd, 2011
While the summer blockbuster season starts the first weekend in May, for many school kids the summer is only just about to get into full gear. Cars 2 is arguably the most anticipated kids movie of the summer, possibly of the year. However, there are some signs it might not live up to past Pixar releases with a few predicting it might actually become the studio's first miss at the box office. This is bad news, as 2011 has started to fall further behind 2010's pace after a few bright weeks in late spring and early summer. This weekend last year wasn't particularly strong when it comes to new releases with Toy Story 3 repeating in top spot with just under $60 million, so there was an opportunity for the box office to recover some ground. Unfortunately, the number one film this year might not match that figure and there's not as much depth either.
More...
June 17th, 2011
It's another week where choosing the target film for the box office prediction contest is an easy task, as Cars 2 is expected to dominate the competition. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Cars 2.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Cedar Rapids on DVD.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Nickelodeon Favorites: Summer Vacation on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
More...
June 1st, 2011
After a strong May in which most weekends saw growth year-over-year, there is finally some real optimism at the box office. Will that continue this month? It might be tough, as last June was actually pretty good, all things considered. It was certainly busier. This time around there are only seven wide releases, but the lack of competition should help each individual film reach its full potential, and there's a chance five of the seven films will earn more than $100 million at the box office. If less than three of them reach the century mark, it would be a huge shock. On the other hand, there's nothing opening this month that will compare to Toy Story 3, which earned more than $400 million last year. The only one that has a real shot to come close is Transformers: Dark of the Moon. However, since that film opens on a Wednesday the 29th of June and the Friday is the 1st of July, it is more of a July release and we will preview it at the beginning of next month.
More...
October 2nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Paper Man, Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more!
More...
September 29th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Hannah Montana, Old Dogs, Legion and more!
More...
April 13th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Valkyrie, The Wolf Man, Public Enemies and more!
More...
April 9th, 2008
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
More...
