March 28th, 2010
New releases were able to dominate the sales chart this week in a way they were not able to last week. The best of the best was 2012, which sold 1.59 million units and generated $26.09 million in opening week sales.
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March 2nd, 2010
The first of the fall season mega-hits comes out this week with the release of 2012. However, while that movie is getting a major release on DVD and Blu-ray, the film itself is only worth a rental. The best of this week's releases is Ponyo and its Blu-ray / DVD Combo is worthy of the Pick of the Week honor.
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March 1st, 2010
Ponyo is the latest from writer / director / animator Hayao Miyazaki, who previously made the Oscar-nominated Howl's Moving Castle, as well as the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. (Not to mention Princess Mononoke, which many believe would have won had the Best Animated Feature category been around back then.) This sets up huge expectations for the film, expectations that might be impossible to match. Can it survive on its own merits?
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August 24th, 2009
Overall the box office was weaker than expected this weekend with only one of four releases meeting expectations, while the holdovers were not able to completely compensate. This led a 10.5% drop-off in ticket sales from last weekend; however, the $127 million total box office take is still 20% higher than the same weekend last year.
2009 stretched its year-to-date lead over 2008 to 6.9%, earning $7.06 billion to $6.60 billion so far.
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August 18th, 2009
Nine was the lucky number over the weekend as District 9 topped the charts with better than expected results.
Also, nine of the ten film talked about in Thursday's column met or exceeded expectations.
This helped the box office bring in $142 million overall, which was only 3% lower than last weekend.
More importantly, it was 14% higher than the same weekend last year, which was much better than expected.
Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $6.86 billion in total revenue, which is 6.6% higher than last year's pace.
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August 16th, 2009
District 9 showed that quality is still worth something at the box office this weekend by topping most predictions to score a healthy $37 million opening, according to Sony's estimate released on Sunday morning.
While that's some way behind the $54.7 million earned by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra last weekend, it was made in almost 1,000 theaters, and at a much lower cost to the studio.
Profitability for the movie seems assured.
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August 14th, 2009
As summer slows down, the number of new releases speeds up. This week we have five films with a shot at reaching the top ten, but only three of those are opening truly wide, and only one is a saturation-level release.
It's hard to say if this week is much stronger or weaker than last year, but it should be close.
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August 13th, 2009
August 1st, 2009
July was a mixed month with several of the big hits failing to live up to great expectations, while still being big hits. There were no surprise hits, but no outright bombs either. No outright bombs is what the industry is hoping for August, but that seems less likely. We could see a monster hit opening on the first week, but that potential hit, G.I.Joe, could also be a monster bomb. There is at least one movie opening each week that I'm personally interested in, although for the most part it is not the widest release of the week that piques my interest.
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May 3rd, 2009
OSS 117: Rio Ne Repond Plus slipped a spot to sixth with $4.74 million on 642 screens in 3 markets for a total of $15.15 million. Almost all of this came from France, where it repeated on top with $4.03 million on 602 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.83 million after two.
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April 26th, 2009
Japan was a major player on the international charts this past weekend, placing three films in the top 30, and helping a couple others as well. Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser placed first in its native market, and sixth internationally, with $6.00 million on 341 screens. More...
April 19th, 2009
Knowing was able to sneak into third place, despite earlier reports to the contrary. Over the past weekend it earned $13.35 million on 2943 screens in 24 markets for a total of $47.80 million. The film opened in a number of smaller markets, but most of the growth came from two major markets: Germany and Spain. In the former it made $1.47 million on 440 screens, while in the latter it made a more impressive $2.35 million on 330 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.11 million. As far as holdovers are concerned, the film held steady in France down just 16% to $3.06 million on 348 screens, but that was for the full week. After two weeks the film now has $6.72 million in that market.
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December 28th, 2008
It turns out studio estimates were highly accurate, and the only real change from Wednesday's column involves a surprise $10 million film. If You Are The One opened in first place in China and fourth place internationally with $11.68 million on 1010 screens.
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September 28th, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor fell more than 50% this past weekend down to $4.24 million on 2905 screens in 46 markets for a total of $276.19 million internationally. It had no major market openings this past weekend, but added $1.36 million on 361 screens during its second weekend in Australia for a total of $5.13 million.
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September 21st, 2008
Journey To The Centre of the Earth opened in first place in Australia by a huge margin with $2.87 million on 362 screens, more than four times its nearest competitor. Overall the film made $6.41 million on 1417 screens in 27 markets for a total of $57.65 million, with a few smaller openings from now till its debut in Japan at the end of October.
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September 14th, 2008
Wanted failed to reach first place during its opening in Germany, but still rose dramatically earning sixth internationally with $6.13 million on 1590 screens in 29 markets for a total of $147.68 million. In Germany is finished in second place behind The Dark Knight's third weekend of release earning $3.18 million on 444 screens, which is still impressive. Next up is Spain this weekend, while it opens wide in Japan next weekend and China early in October.
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September 7th, 2008
You Don't Mess With The Zohan slipped out of the top five with $7.96 million on 2296 screens in 33 markets for a total of $69.53 million internationally, which is more than Adam Sandler's previous film made in total internationally. This week the film opened in France landing in 10th place with just $816,000, but it was playing on just 171 screens. On the other hand, it added $1.66 million on 335 screens in Spain for a two-week total of $6.45 million.
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August 31st, 2008
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army returned to the international chart in sixth place with $7.20 million on 828 screens in 14 markets for a total of $32.93 million. Of that weekend haul, $5.45 million was earned on 464 screens in the U.K., where it topped the charts this past weekend. Compared to the original, this film has made more domestically and more worldwide, while it is nearing its international total with openings in Australia, Spain, Brazil, Germany, France, and other markets left ahead of it.
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August 24th, 2008
Ponyo on the Cliff is locked in first place in Japan growing by 13% to $7.75 million on 481 screens over the weekend for a total of $90.47 million at the end of last weekend, and it is likely that it has hit $100 million in the meantime.
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August 17th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda slipped to sixth place with $9.34 million on 4736 screens in 47 markets for a total of $349.69 million internationally. The film is starting to shed theaters and markets at an accelerated pace, however, it still has openings in Italy and other smaller markets ahead of it, while it could reach $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide before the end of its run. (The latter it a lot easier than the former.)
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August 10th, 2008
Hancock fell from second to sixth with $12.03 million on 5425 screens in 68 markets, however, it still reached $300 million internationally since last week and now has a running tally of $319.43 million. Its best market of the weekend was Spain where it added $1.92 million on 567 screens over the weekend for a total of $20.56 million after two. Meanwhile, its best market overall remains the U.K. where it has $47.09 million after a month of release, including $900,000 on 318 screens this past weekend. With Japan and Italy still ahead, the film should become Will Smith's second $600 million movie, but it will end well back of Independence Day.
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August 3rd, 2008
Hancock fell 56% to $20.22 million on 7516 screens in 70 markets, however, that was still enough for second place on the international chart this week, and lifted its totals to $295.58 million internationally and $502.06 million worldwide, reaching a major milestone. The film's best market of the week was Spain where it remained in first place with $3.98 million on 575 screens for a total of $16.86 million. It is also performing well in Germany where it held on to second place with $1.70 million on 755 screens over the weekend and $33.62 million after four. However, it is starting to slip in the U.K. falling to fifth place with $1.40 million on 400 screens, but its total of $45.15 million in that market is still fantastic. Hancock likely hit $300 million early last week, and it has yet to open in Japan and Italy.
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July 27th, 2008
For the third week in a row, Kung Fu Panda performed excellently on the international scene, but was not on par with the top of the chart. Over the previous weekend, the film finished in third place with $29.02 million on 4460 screens in 51 screens for a total of $273.20 million. This week the film opened three of the four Scandinavian markets including Denmark where it opened in first place with $1.10 million on 87 screens over the weekend and $1.23 million in total. Meanwhile, the film only managed third in Norway with $834,000 on 105 screens over the weekend and $1.2 million in total and it managed third place in Sweden with $689,000 on 149 screens and $840,000 in total. Additionally, the film made $3.02 million on 466 screens over the weekend for a total of $27.57 million after three weeks. Next up for the film is Japan this weekend while it opens in Italy at the end of the month.
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