May 12th, 2010
This week's selection of new releases were relatively slim, leaving Avatar on top of the DVD Sales Chart. Over its first full week of release, the film sold 1.77 million units, lifting its total to 5.73 million units and $96.22 million in consumer spending at retail. It is already the second best selling DVD of 2010 and it might take top spot in as few as two weeks.
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May 5th, 2010
After two weeks of soft sales by new releases, this week's DVD sales chart was dominated by a new release, namely Avatar. That film sold 3.96 million units, generating $75.87 million in sales. This performance was made even more impressive, since the DVD was released on the 22nd, meaning it was only for sale for three days instead of the customary five days for the opening week of sales. In those three days, the film has become the third best selling DVD of 2010 in terms of units sold and second best in terms of dollars generated.
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April 20th, 2010
Paradoxically, this is arguably the biggest week of the year on the home market, as well as one of the slowest. It is the biggest because it marks the release of Avatar on DVD and Blu-ray. However, it is also one of the slowest, because Avatar scared away a lot of other releases. Looking down the list of top sellers and it isn't long before you find busted Oscar bait, TV movies, Direct-to-DVD releases, etc. I expect records could be broken this week, but it is a top-heavy list. As for Pick of the Week contenders, Avatar is obviously a contender, but I'm holding off until the screener arrives.
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March 23rd, 2010
Greenberg easily led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $39,384 in three theaters. This was more than twice as much as the second place movie, City Island, which averaged $16,001 in two theaters. Hubble 3D was the last film in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,536 per theater, while The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo just missed that mark with an average of $9,868.
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March 16th, 2010
Just like last week, there were only two films to top $10,000 on the per theater chart. In fact, these were the same two films that managed the same feat last week. However, they finished in the opposite order with Alice in Wonderland taking the top spot with an average of $16,822 per theater while The Secret of Kells earned $12,537 in one theater.
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March 7th, 2010
The Oscars are being handed out as we speak and I will be updating our list of nominees with some of the winners as they happen. So far we've seen a few awards handed out, but no surprises.
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March 7th, 2010
The Numbers' annual Oscar polls have proved to be remarkably accurate predictors of
the final results on Oscar night.
We call results based on the hundreds of The Numbers readers who vote in our
Predict the Oscars competition.
We've received all the votes now, and are ready to make predictions in all categories.
Percentage figures are the percentage of The Numbers readers who believe a movie or performance
will win.
They are a rough guide to how likely a particular movie is to win in a category.
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March 7th, 2010
Alice in Wonderland blasted into the record books with a huge $116.3 million opening weekend, according to Disney's Sunday estimate.
Among other notable records, it's on track to break the record for the biggest weekend by a non-sequel (overtaking Spider-Man).
It's also the biggest weekend in the first quarter of the third, and only the third movie to top $100 million outside of the Summer season.
The combination of 3D and Tim Burton couldn't have been better timed for Disney.
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March 5th, 2010
While the Independent Spirit Awards are one of the first to announce their nominations, they are one of the last to hand out the awards. This year the clear winner was Precious, which swept all five categories it was nominated for. However, it wasn't the only winner.
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March 5th, 2010
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 Actor in a Lead Role, which is yet another category with a runaway favorite.
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March 5th, 2010
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 Supporting Actress, which is not a very competitive category.
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March 2nd, 2010
Ghost Writer remained in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $18,350, which is a strong hold from its opening last week despite expanding its theater count from 4 to 43. Just a hair behind was A Prophet, which opened in second place with an average of $18,197 in 9 theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Art of the Steal with an average of $13,006 in 3 theaters.
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February 24th, 2010
Showing once again that there's no such thing as bad publicity, Ghost Writer topped the per theater chart with an average of $45,752 in four theaters during its opening weekend. It will be interesting to see if it can maintain this momentum going forward. Shutter Island was the only other film in the $10,000 club, earning an average of $13,729 in nearly 3,000 theaters on its way to the number one spot on the overall chart.
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February 21st, 2010
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio both enjoyed record openings this weekend as Shutter Island made an excellent debut, according to Paramount's estimates released on Sunday.
With $40.2 million in the bank so far, the thriller will most likely be among the ten biggest openers in February, and decent word-of-mouth will most likely propel it past $100 million at the box office.
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February 17th, 2010
My Name is Khan beat expectations by a large margin with an average of $16,200 in 120 theaters over the three-day weekend and $18,875 million over four. The overall box office champ, Valentine's Day, placed second with an average of $15,351 over the three-day weekend. The Red Riding Trilogy held on strong with averages of $13,374 / $17,056. The re-release of Ran took in $10,128 from Friday to Sunday and $13,470 including Monday in its lone theater.
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February 10th, 2010
The The Red Riding Trilogy opened on top of the per theater chart with $14,526 in one theater, but that was all three shows for one ticket. On the one hand, the higher ticket price would help its average. On the other hand, the long running time is a large impediment. Ajami opened in second place with an average of $11,931 while Terribly Happy was just behind with $11,650. The overall box office leader, Dear John, was the final film to reach the $10,000 mark with an average of $10,262.
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February 2nd, 2010
Oscar nominations were announced at 5:38 this morning, continuing a tradition that have never been adequately explained to me. (Why so early in the morning? Does earning an Oscar nomination become sweeter if people have to wake you up to congratulate you?) Leading the way in nominations were Avatar and The Hurt Locker, both of which pick up nine nods each, many of them in the same categories.
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February 2nd, 2010
Saint John of Las Vegas rode an impressive cast to the top of the per theater chart with an average of $10,833, but given its reviews, I don't think it will stick around much longer. On the other hand, Avatar has been on this list for seven weeks now earning an average $10,176 this past weekend. However, unless the Oscar nominations help it at the box office, this will be the last time it appears on this list.
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January 31st, 2010
Another weekend, another set of records for Avatar.
In fact, there aren't many that it's left to break now, but it did reach one milestone that no movie has ever achieved before this weekend: $2 billion in global box office receipts.
Its worldwide total now stands at an estimated $2.039 billion thanks to another big weekend both at home and abroad.
In North America, it scored $30 million, according to Fox's Sunday estimates, to take it to $594.4 million in total.
That will give it the biggest seventh weekend in history (see chart), and is down just 14% from last weekend.
At this rate, it will overtake Titanic and become the top-grossing movie in North America on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.
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January 26th, 2010
Crazy Heart climbed to first place on the per theater chart with an average of $14,551 in 93 theaters. I think you could officially say it is earning some measure of mainstream success, while further wins during Awards Season will only help it grow. The Last Station slipped to second with an average of $12,409, but it also more than doubled its theater count, which is a good sign moving forward. Avatar was the only other film to top $10,000 on the per theater chart, earning an average of $11,125 in more than 3,000 theaters.
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January 24th, 2010
There were few surprises when the SAG awards were handed out this weekend, and no film dominated the night.
Only one film, Inglourious Basterds, won more than one award, while most of the winners lined up with those handed out at other awards ceremonies so far this season.
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January 24th, 2010
The Avatar juggernaut rolled on this weekend, as it left The Dark Knight in its wake to become the second-highest grossing movie in North America box office history, according to Fox's estimates released on Sunday morning.
Its $36 million haul is the biggest sixth weekend in history (see chart), and its still earning about $10 million a weekend than Titanic was a this stage of its run, so the all-time record (see chart) is now assured.
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January 20th, 2010
The Last Station started its run on top of the per theater chart with an average of $24,574 in three theaters, which was nearly double its nearest competitor. That film was Crazy Heart, which remained in second place with an average of $13,776. That was a decline of just 1.6% from last weekend despite some significant expansion. With a couple of Golden Globe wins, there's little doubt it will remain in theaters for some time to come.
Fish Tank was in a virtual tie with an average of $13,750 in two theaters; in fact, since that is still an estimate, it might climb into second place.
On the other hand, since Avatar was right behind with $13,025, it could slip a spot.
The final film in the $10,000 club was The Book of Eli with an average of $10,540, which was better than expected.
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January 17th, 2010
Some might debate the predictive value of The Golden Globes.
After all, they don't have all of the same categories as the Oscars, and the results for Best Picture in particular have varied from the Oscar result many times over the years.
However, it is hard to argue with the free publicity a film gets from winning, and the big winner tonight was Avatar.
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January 12th, 2010
Avatar returned to the top of the per theater chart thanks to its record-breaking weekend result. It earned more than $50 million in 3,422 theaters for an average of $14,701. Crazy Heart was very close behind with an average of $14,004 in 33 theaters, which suggests further room to expand. Likewise, The Lovely Bones could do reasonably well this Friday when it expands after pulling in an average of $12,857 this weekend; however, there is a note of caution, as the film is still playing in only three theaters.
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January 12th, 2010
The WGA announced their nominations this week, which include eleven awards, three of which are for theatrical releases.
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January 5th, 2010
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus topped the per theater chart this weekend, based on reports from theaters in the United States.
The film earned $128,000 in 4 theaters for an average of $31,909, which is roughly what it made last weekend.
It is also playing in many more theaters in Canada, but numbers have not been reported from those locations, at least so far this week.
The final figures may therefore, as last week, push the final average down considerably.
Second place went to to Lovely Bones, which climbed more than 54% to an average of $21,559 in three theaters.
This is excellent news for its planned expansion in a couple of weeks, assuming it doesn't fall by the same amount next week.
White Ribbon opened next with an average of $19,949, also in three theaters.
The overall number one film, Avatar, was just a fraction behind, earning an average of $19,789.
At this point, we've nearly run out of superlatives to describe the film's box office run and it is far from over.
Crazy Heart saw growth over the weekend, up 38% to an average of $18,416.
3 Idiots expanded somewhat and earned a very impressive average of $11,322 in 132 theaters.
A Single Man returned to the $10,000 club with an average of $10,586 in 46 theaters.
The final film in the $10,000 club was Sherlock Holmes, which fell sharply but still managed an average of $10,097.
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December 29th, 2009
As it did on the overall chart, Avatar led the way on the per theater chart, earning an average of $21,880.
Second place went to the overall second place film, Sherlock Holmes, which pulled in an average of $18,031.
3 Idiots did something most Bollywood films don't manage to do, namely top $10,000 on the per theater chart.
Additionally, it was a wider release than most of its compadres, which makes this opening even more impressive.
Crazy Heart expanded somewhat, but still remained strong with an average of $13,321 and this makes hitting milestones much more likely.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was the third wide release to crack $10,000 with an average of $13,210.
Finally we get to Lovely Bones, which is down to an estimated average of $12,667.
This is roughly a third of its opening weekend average and it still hasn't expanded, which doesn't bode well.
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December 22nd, 2009
Like last week, the number one film on the per theater chart managed that feat despite mixed reviews.
This week it was Nine, which opened with an average of $64,308, but I am concerned about its ability to expand, especially if its word-of-mouth match its reviews.
The number one film on the overall chart, Avatar, placed second with $22,313 while Crazy Heart was not that far behind with an average of $20,666.
Up in the Air's expansion continues but it remained strong on the per theater chart with an average of $18,344 in 175 theaters.
Finally, Lovely Bones saw its average plummet this weekend to $15,032, which is more than 60% lower than last weekend.
Had this been accompanied by an expansion this wouldn't be an issue, but it is still playing in just three theaters.
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December 18th, 2009
Just a few limited releases on this week's list; however, all three have Awards Season aspirations, and all three have already picked up at least a one major nomination. That said, the usual caveats with regards to limited releases expanding wide still apply. Even though they have a lot of buzz, they have even more competition.
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December 17th, 2009
The SAG nominations were announced this week, and the trend of the year continues with Up in the Air leading the way, but no one film dominating. This time around Up in the Air was in a three-way tie with Inglourious Basterds and Precious, which makes the race even more interesting.
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December 16th, 2009
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations this week, but looking over the list of films chosen, it is hard to declare any one film as the big winner. Up in the Air did pick up six Golden Globe nominations, including several of the most prestigious nominations, but it is far from the only major player.
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December 2nd, 2009
As always, the Independent Spirit Awards represent the unofficial start of Awards Season with the announcement of their nominations.
This year The Last Station and Precious topped the list of nominees with five each.
For the former, it should help build buzz for its 2010 release.
For the latter, it is the first step towards possible Awards Season glory and further enhances its already lofty box office potential.
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