March 17th, 2007
There was only three new releases to chart on the home market this week; however, they included the top rental this week, Borat. While it was absolutely no surprise that the film opened in first place, it was a bit of a surprise that it only managed $9.18 million while doing so.
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March 10th, 2007
There was only one new release in the top five on the rentals charts this week but that new release was Stranger Than Fiction, which took first place with $6.77 million.
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March 3rd, 2007
New releases dominated the top five including taking the number one spot with Babel. Babel opened with $8.73 million, just a fraction ahead of last week's winner, The Departed, which pulled in $8.58 million during its second week of release.
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February 20th, 2007
It's not a great week for DVD releases.
While there are plenty worth talking about, few combine a high quality movie with top-notch extras.
Because of this, it was hard to pick a DVD Pick of the Week.
Sure, the two spotlight films on this week's list, Shut Up and Sing - Buy from Amazon and The Prestige - Buy from Amazon, are great, but the DVDs leave a lot to be desired.
So were the two Canadian entries, Trailer Park Boys - Buy from Amazon.ca and C.R.A.Z.Y. - Buy from Amazon.
In many ways Gandhi - Two-Disc Special Edition - Buy from Amazon was the best choice on this week's list, but I'm going with Trailer Park Boys - Buy from Amazon.ca (and I also recommend the massive box set as well).
You may call this is a result of a pro-Canada bias, and you would be right.
But at least I'm up front about it.
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February 4th, 2007
For the second weekend in a row
Apocalypto earned sixth place on the international charts, this time pulling in 7.03 million on 2308 screens for a total of $47.42 million. Its best market of the weekend was Mexico where it had an easy first place finish with $2.43 million on 502 screens over the weekend and $2.66 million including previews. It was also strong during its second weekend in Spain as it was down 40% to $1.17 million on 284 screens for a total of $3.64 million.
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January 28th, 2007
Apocalypto climbed into sixth place despite dropping 13% to $6.72 million on 2072 screens for a total of $37.90 million. Its best market of the week was Spain where it opened in first place with $1.94 million on 283 screens.
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January 21st, 2007
The Holiday slipped out of the top five this week, but still has plenty of reason to celebrate as the film hit $100 million on the international scene. Over the weekend it added $8.16 million on 3104 screens in 45 markets to its running tally of $102.54 million. This includes Mexico where the film opened with a respectable third place earning $711,000 on 230 screens while it took fourth place in Argentina with $153,000 on 40.
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January 15th, 2007
Apocalypto was the best of the rest this weekend pulling in $8.3 million over the weekend for a running tally of $20 million on the international scene. Its biggest single market was the U.K. where the film opened in third place with $2.62 million on 385 screens, (including very limited previews), which was a record for a
foreign language film. It did even better in Italy with $3.17 million on 316 screens placing second. Given the film's R-rating, it should outperform its domestic total giving it a target box office of over $100 million worldwide.
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January 7th, 2007
Since New Years Eve fell on a Sunday this year, there was precious little in terms of international box office numbers released this week. We have some studio estimates, some box office information for major markets, and some updated totals. But for the most, there's little to share.
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January 4th, 2007
The
PGA announced their nominations today, two of which deal with theatrical releases.
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December 23rd, 2006
Curse of the Golden Flower started its international run in its native
China with a record breaking $12.27 million on 826 screens. That was almost enough to reach the top five falling just short to
Arthur & the Invisibles and its $12.47 million.
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December 14th, 2006
A busy week for new releases didn't stop
Casino Royale earning its fourth first place finish in a row with $35.68 million on 4688 screens in 63 markets for a total of $246.65 million. The film opened in 10 new markets (and setting
franchise records in each). This included Australia where the film's $5.42 million on 401 screens was more than the rest of the market combined and was equally dominate in New Zealand with $827,000 on 92 screens. The film wasn't as fortunate in Mexico where it had to settle for second place with $1.49 million on 564 screens, which was just $30,000 behind the by
box office champ. Speaking of close races, the film was knocked out of top spot in the U.K. with $5.39 million on 495 screens, also falling victim to
Happy Feet in a very close battle. So far the film has made $82.52 million in that one market, and with Christmas on its way it is heading for $100 million and the year's best box office there. Overall the film is rapidly closing in on
Die Another Day international final tally of $271 million; in fact, it should get there by this time next week. However, it is also likely that this time next week it will no longer be in top spot on the international charts.
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December 6th, 2006
A slow week for
Casino Royale with only four openings, and only one of those in a major market. In Japan the film had to settle for second place with $2.34 million on 443 screens over the weekend and $3.25 million in total; this was a tiny margin behind local film, Love and Honor. The film also opened in a trio of African markets: South Africa with $509,000 on 77 screens, Kenya, $59,000 on 8, and Nigeria with $44,000 on 4. (Although I've received an e-mail saying the movie made $25 million there and I can earn 12.5% of that if I help a certain theatre owner smuggle it out of the country.) The film's best market remains the U.K. where it added $10.51 million on 506 screens for a total of $73.45 million. The film has already topped
Die Another Day in that markets and is gunning for
Dead Man's Chest, which ended its run in the market with $98.63 million. Overall, the film earned an easy first place with $43.73 million on 6728 screens in 53 markets for a total of $194.65 million. And with openings in Australia, South Korea, Italy, Mexico and other significant markets left to go, it should have no trouble topping $300 million before long.
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December 3rd, 2006
Open Season only has a few more markets to open in and is starting to shed screens and markets; however, it sill managed sixth place with $4.08 million on 3489 screens in 49 markets for a two-month total of $76.58 million. This week the film opened in first place in both South Africa with $257,000 on 77 screens and in the Czech Republic with $79,000 on 23 screens.
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November 26th, 2006
Late numbers for the international weekend meant there was a shakeup in the top five with
Saw III trading places with
The Devil Wears Prada.
Saw III took fourth with $6.54 million on 1912 screens in 20 markets for a total of $37.18 million. Meanwhile,
The Devil Wears Prada fell to sixth with $5.87 million on 2452 screens in 23 markets for a total of $172.54 million. It was also the first time in nearly two months that the film didn't place in the top five on the international box office.
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November 21st, 2006
There were a few surprises on the charts this week, including the number one film.
But overall things played out almost exactly as expected, leading to a total of $146 million at the box office.
This was 15% higher than last weekend but 19% lower than the same weekend last year.
However, that was the weekend when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opened and no-one was expecting this year to be able to keep pace.
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November 19th, 2006
Desu Noto 2, a.k.a., Death Note 2: The Last Name held on strong adding $5.12 million on 397 screens in 2 markets for a two week total of $20.85 million. In
Japan the film remained in top spot with $4.66 million on 346 screens for a two week total of $19.34 million.
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November 16th, 2006
What do penguins and secret agents have in common? (Not counting the fact that they both wear tuxedos.) Not a whole lot. However, movies featuring both will be in a close battle this weekend for top spot on the box office charts. Personally, in these battles I usually put my money on the guy with the gun, but cuteness might win out.
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November 14th, 2006
There were four new releases opening in varying degrees of wideness this past weekend, but none of them could live up to lowered expectations.
This left the overall box office at $127 million, which was down about 2% from last weekend while up less than 1% from the same weekend last year.
That's not a large enough increase to keep up with ticket price inflation, but any good news is still welcome at this point.
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November 12th, 2006
Desu Noto 2, a.k.a., Death Note 2: The Last Name opened in two market last weekend taking in a total of $7.29 million on 393 screens including finishing first in
Japan with $6.50 million on 342 screen over the weekend and $10.33 million in total. In the mean time, the film opened in second place in South Korea with a respectable total of $1.37 million, which includes more than just the weekend, obviously.
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November 10th, 2006
With Borat beating all expectations last weekend, all eyes are on it this weekend. Can it maintain this amazing pace? Will it be able to keep its momentum as it expands? Will it suffer a major drop-off? What about the competition? Can they handle the pressure?
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November 7th, 2006
To call this weekend unpredictable is an understatement as there was a surprise number one film and records fell.
But despite this, the overall market was only mixed. Sure, week-to-week the box office was up roughly 24% from last weekend, but Halloween tends to depress the box office, even when it doesn't hit on the weekend. Compared to the same weekend last year, the $130 million total box office was 4% lower.
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November 3rd, 2006
Slow week for websites with only one real contender for the weekly website award, (not counting those sites that have already won). Fortunately, that site,
Flushed Away -
Official Site, truly deserved to win.
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November 2nd, 2006
It's the first week of the winter / holiday season and this weekend alone we have two films coming out that are aimed at the family market.
While the time of the year is great for these films, the direct competition will keep both from becoming more than mid-level hits.
On the other hand, neither look likely to bomb either.
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November 1st, 2006
Note: Article updated 11/18/2006 with correct budget for Harsh Times
It's that time of the month again, a time to look forward, but it is also a time to look back.
October was a stronger month than expected and, while there are a lot of reasons for that, I think one must pay particular attention to the play of Taylor Pyatt.
The departure of Anson Carter to free agency over the summer was troublesome and many felt finding a right winger for the Sedin twins was a key in maintaining or even improving upon last year's numbers.
Without good chemistry, Daniel and Henrik might have taken a step back this year.
However, with a team leading 6 goals, Taylor Pyatt is more than proving he can play with the speedy Swedes. ...
What?
Oh right, movies.
It was a pretty good month for movies as well.
November sees the beginning of the most important time of year for the movie industry.
Not only do the holidays start with Thanksgiving, but this is also the time of year that award season really heats up.
This means there is an excellent mix of blockbusters, especially family films, and critically acclaimed films hoping that first impressions are lasting impressions.
It also means there are several limited releases that could expand wide later in their run; these include Fur, Bobby, For Your Consideration and others.
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October 20th, 2006
Strange week with very few site featuring updates, but several very strong contenders for Weekly Website Award. In the end I went with
The Prestige -
Official Site, but several others on this list should win awards in the coming weeks.
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October 7th, 2006
Good week for websites, but most were smaller updates or new sites with just a few features. Two sites,
Happy Feet -
Official Site and
The Prestige -
Official Site, stood out above the crowd, but both will need a few more update to take home the Weekly Website Award.
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September 16th, 2006
High quantity on sites this week, but many of them were for new releases, most of which haven't had any updates in a while. Those that did have updates were generally quite small, but one site stood above them all,
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny -
Official Site, which is easily the winner of the Weekly Website Award.
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July 21st, 2006
Another busy week, but unlike last week there was no massive blockbuster launching its flash site. Two sites stood out this week, (not counting past winners), and they are wildly different both in terms of style and in terms of the movie they are selling:
Accepted -
Official Site and
World Trade Center -
Official Site. The former is goofy and seriously immature, while the latter is one of the most emotional sites I've ever seen. In was nearly a coin flip, but in the end I went with
Accepted -
Official Site, but I would be willing to bet the other site will win before the movie comes out.
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May 19th, 2006
It was a good week for movie sites, although it's hard to tell looking just at the number of sites featured here. However, while the numbers of sites is low, the quality is very high with three sites in the running for the Weekly Website Award, (four if you include
Casino Royale -
Official Site, which I preemptively gave the award to when the placeholder site went live). Both
The Break-Up -
Official Site and
Pulse -
Official Site were also in the running, but in the end I went with
See No Evil -
Official Site. However, I expect the other two sites to win the award in later weeks.
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February 9th, 2006
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. It was the busiest week in more than a month, but there weren't many big launches or massive updates, so it is the slow-growing
V For Vendetta -
Official Site that earns the Weekly Website Award.
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