September 26th, 2009
It's the week before we get the sales numbers of the first of the summer blockbuster that hit the home market, so it comes as little surprise that the overall sales are weak this week. There were six new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's sales chart, including earning three of the top four spots, but it was a case of quantity above quality. The Office - Season Five was the lone bright spot, as the TV on DVD release captured first place with 407,000 units sold and a very impressive opening week sales of $13.91 million.
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September 15th, 2009
Eight new releases reached the top 30 on the sales chart this week, and six of them finished in the top seven.
The new top-selling DVD was State of Play with 345,000 units sold, which was enough to generate $5.51 million in consumer spending at retail.
Heroes - Season Three placed second in terms of units sold with 296,000, but thanks to its TV on DVD pricing, it was clearly the highest grossing DVD of the week with $11.10 million in sales.
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September 9th, 2009
Despite an onslaught of ten new releases to reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, and seven in the top ten, Hannah Montana the Movie remained in top spot for the second week in a row. During its second weekend of release the film sold 408,000 units to lift its total to 1.64 million after two, while it consumer spending at retail was $7.04 million for the week and $27.63 million after two.
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September 1st, 2009
There were eight new releases to reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, and one of them dominated the chart.
The big winner was Hannah Montana the Movie, as the Tween Queen opened in first place after selling 1.23 million units and generating $20.59 million in opening week consumer spending at retail.
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September 1st, 2009
There were only half as many new releases to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week as there were on the sales chart, but we still had a new number one. The Last House on the Left opened in first place with nearly 50% more rentals that I Love You, Man.
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August 18th, 2009
It's that time of year again. It's getting closer to the start of the new TV season, which means there is a flood of TV on DVD releases this week. And next week. And all next month. While there are several TV on DVD releases that are worth picking up, like Dexter - Season Three, there are no releases this week that combines an excellent show plus excellent extras, and therefore there are none that rise to the level of DVD Pick of the Week. However, while there are not a lot of top tier releases, there are plenty of total releases and this week's list had to be split into two. The first part can be found here.
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August 18th, 2009
It's that time of year again. It's getting closer to the start of the new TV season, which means there is a flood of TV on DVD releases this week. And next week. And all next month. While there are several TV on DVD releases that are worth picking up, like Dexter - Season Three, there are no releases this week that combines an excellent show plus excellent extras, and therefore there are none that rise to the level of DVD Pick of the Week. However, while there are not a lot of top tier releases, there are plenty of total releases and this week's list had to be split into two. The second part can be found here.
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July 26th, 2009
Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs was pushed into second place by The Half-Blood Prince, but it became the biggest international hit of the year topping Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen. Over the weekend the film added $61.90 million on 11,089 screens in 102 markets for a total of $430.88 million internationally and $582.75 million Worldwide. It is possible that the film is already the biggest his in the franchise, but we won't know for sure till this weekend's numbers are released.
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July 19th, 2009
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen became the biggest hit of the year on the international scene, at least for a little while. Over the weekend it added $34.27 million on 8210 screens in 62 markets for a total of $371.24 million internationally and $710.46 million worldwide. It has overtaken Angels and Demons for the biggest international hit of 2009, for the time being, while it is just ahead of the original's worldwide total.
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July 12th, 2009
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen fell to second place with $57.50 million on 9158 screens in 61 markets for a total of $301.64 million. This puts the film less than $100 million behind the original internationally, which is a lead that won't last long. The film's biggest market of the weekend was South Korea where it placed first adding $7.76 million on 1076 screens to its total of $27.81 million. It also was impressive in China adding $5.2 million on 1009 screens for a total of $41.6 million, while it remained in first place in Australia with $4.95 million on 456 screens over the weekend and $21.51 million after two, and in Italy with $1.39 million on 565 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.06 million, also after two.
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June 28th, 2009
Terminator Salvation fell to second place with $18.94 million on 9263 screens in 71 markets over the weekend, for a total of $200.84 million internationally and $320.57 million worldwide. The film has been troubled by sharp drop-offs internationally, and that was certainly the case this past weekend, as it was down 65% in Japan. Japan. It was down 65% in Japan, which is a market known for its strong holds. It still added $3.72 million on 697 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.70 million after two, but that's a sharper decline than anticipated.
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June 21st, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian remained in second place adding a solid $18.53 million on 8300 screens in 67 markets for a total of $175.90 million. The film opened in first place in Mexico, no surprise there, but with $3.34 million on 1150 screens its per screen average is not that impressive and being booked on more than 1000 screens, you think the studio was expecting a bit more. The film did hang on better than most in South Korea down just 50% to $2.13 million on 576 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.57 million after two. It also added $1.77 million on 506 screens in the U.K. for a total of $27.96 million, which is its best single market of its run so far.
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June 14th, 2009
Night at the Museum - Battle for the Smithsonian was pushed into second place in the international chart, but still added $27.88 million on 8350 screens in 66 markets while it lifted its international total to $149.55 million. The film opened in first place in South Korea with $4.33 million on 669 screens over the weekend and $4.75 million in total. It also remained in first place in China with $2.1 million on 818 screens over the weekend and $12.2 million in total, but that was a huge drop-off from last week. On the other hand, the film improved by 18% in the U.K. with $3.96 million on 509 screens over the weekend for a running tally of $25.31 million after three. That's better than the film's performance here, if you take into account the relative size of the two markets. The film opens in Mexico this weekend, and in Japan in August. It has likely reached $300 million worldwide already, and could make it all the way to $400 million before it is done. This is a drop-off from its predecessor, but the film is still well on its way to profitability and will get there before it reaches the lucrative home market.
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June 7th, 2009
Terminator Salvation opened worldwide this weekend, but we won't have those numbers till Wednesday. In the meantime, it earned third place with $13.37 million on 1283 screens in 12 markets for a total of $25.52 million. Most of this has come from South Korea, where it slipped to second place with $4.21 million on 713 screens over the weekend for a total of $15.52 million after two. So far the film has been a disappointment domestically, but it can salvage its run with a massive box office next weekend on the international stage. If it does so, profitability will be assured, but that's a big 'if'.
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May 31st, 2009
Star Trek slipped to third place on the international chart with $11.34 million on 5069 screens in 56 markets for a total of $87.68 million. It has now made more internationally than the previous film made worldwide. The film's best market was the U.K. where it has made $24.37 million, including $2.60 million on 474 screens this past weekend. As for future releases, it opens in Japan this weekend, while it has yet to open in Mexico, India, and other markets.
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May 24th, 2009
Star Trek's second weekend of release on the international chart was not as strong as it was domestically as it dropped 44% to 20.02 million on 5782 screens in 55 markets, but it lifted its total of $67.89 million internationally and it became the first in the franchise to reach $200 million worldwide. The film opened in China, but box office numbers were not released. We do have details on most holdovers, including the U.K., where it added $5.27 million on 498 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.42 million after two. The only other multi-million market was Australia, where it earned $2.04 million on 317 screens giving it a total of $6.66 million.
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May 17th, 2009
Wolverine was pushed into second place on the international chart with $28.95 million on 8982 screens in 93 markets for a total of $121.58 million. This was a 60% drop-off, but that was better than it was domestically, and it appears $300 million worldwide is a sure bet. The film was pushed into third place in the U.K., but still managed a healthy $3.39 million on 484 screens over the weekend for a total of $18.47 million. It remained in first place in France with $3.95 million on 700 screens, but that was for the full week giving the film $11.80 million after two. It also finished in first place in Brazil with $2.11 million on 609 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.81 million after two. Next up for the film is Mexico, where it opens at the end of May, while it ends its run in Japan in August.
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May 10th, 2009
We've entered the summer schedule and this year there will be a small change. Instead of dealing with just the films that have reached $1 million or more on the international chart, we will be dealing with just the films that have reached $2 million or more. The reason for this change is simple; with the rise of many midlevel markets, reaching $1 million is just not that big of a feat anymore. The best of the rest of this week's selection was Hannah Montana the Movie, which placed a healthy second with $6.95 million on 1300 screens in 13 markets for a very early total of $8.96 million. This includes second place openings in the U.K. with $3.03 million on 415 screens in the U.K., which was as expected, and $1.44 million on 346 screens over the weekend in Italy and $1.64 million in total, which was better than expected. Also, it is about a week away from topping $1 million in Poland after earning $124,000 on 105 screens over the weekend giving it $932,000 after three. Combined with the nearly $75 million the movie has earned domestically, and this film is very, very close to showing a profit before the lucrative home market.
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May 7th, 2009
Wolverine opened worldwide over the weekend and easily won the race to the top of the international box office. During its opening weekend, it managed $73.11 million on 9364 screens in 101 markets. This includes number on openings in many major markets, the best of which was the U.K. at $9.93 million on 488 screens, which was triple its nearest competition.
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May 4th, 2009
The first weekend of summer was a success, mostly. Overall the weekend ticket sales amounted to $158 million, which was 39% more than last weekend. It was below the same weekend last year, but by less than 1%. Year-to-date 2009 has now made $3.25 billion, which is 16% more than last year's pace, If 2009 can simply maintain pace with 2008 over the summer, most in the industry will be ecstatic, so this is a fine start.
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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 21st, 2009
As spring draws to a close, and studios sweep out the potential misfires, the overall box office numbers slip in anticipation of Wolverine.
Actually, the overall box office was better than expected at $108 million over the weekend, but that was still 18.8% lower than last weekend. More importantly, thanks to 17 Again's stronger than expected start, it was 15.8% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $2.91 billion, which is 17.2% higher than last year's pace. I'm not sure it will be able to maintain this pace over the summer. In fact, I'm nearly 100% sure it won't. That said, the year has built up a sizable lead, and as long as the summer is merely average, we should go into the fall with higher ticket sales.
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April 16th, 2009
Not a lot of competition for the top of the box office chart as nearly all analysts are expecting 17 Again to come out on top. The real question is whether or not the film will top last year's number one film, The Forbidden Kingdom, and whether or not 2009 will continue its domination over 2008.
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April 16th, 2009
The winners of our Astounding Success contest were determined and they are...
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April 15th, 2009
There were only two films to get into the $10,000 club on the Per Theater Chart this past weekend, and both had a musical theme. Anvil! The Story of Anvil was first with $11,550, while Hannah Montana the Movie was second with $10,367.
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April 14th, 2009
Records fell over Easter weekend, as the overall box office pulled in $133 million, which was the best ever for an Easter Weekend. It was 14% lower that last weekend when Fast and Furious beat records. On the other hand, it was it was 15% higher that last Easter and 41% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2009 has earned $2.57 billion, which is 14.3% higher than the 2008's pace.
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April 13th, 2009
While Easter is not a huge weekend when it comes to the box office, it is still a holiday and this is causing some delays. Specifically, because there were no deliveries on Friday and today, there will be a one-day delay in the DVD Release Report while I await the arrival of some Blu-rays. (I've seen all of the movies, in fact, I've reviewed a couple of the movies, so the reviews should be fast to add to the list once they arrive.) Also, the weekend wrap-up might be a tad late, as in shortly after midnight. (Short preview: Box office numbers were good, very good, especially for the
number one film.) The rest of the week's columns should be unaffected.
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April 12th, 2009
Summer can't come soon enough as there was not much in the way of top notch movie sites this week. In fact, there was only one site that was above average, Hannah Montana the Movie's Official Site, and even there is was barely above average.
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April 10th, 2009
Easter long weekend is not a major holiday at the box office; in fact, the best Easter opener is Scary Movie 4 at just over $40 million while number two is Panic Room at just over $30 million. There's little chance the record will be broken, but Hannah Montana the Movie could open in first place over the weekend and in second place all time, while it should do its part to keep 2009 ahead of last year's pace.
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April 3rd, 2009
There's only one saturation level release next week, Hannah Montana the Movie, and it is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of Hannah Montana the Movie.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a AstoundStereo T-shirt, coupon, as well as a copy of Hellboy II - The Golden Army on DVD, which is the first DVD mastered in AstoundSurround. This person will also win a copy of Kung Fu Panda - Secrets of the Furious Five on DVD.
Meanwhile, 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 JAG - Season 8 on DVD, as well as a copy of Kung Fu Panda - Secrets of the Furious Five on DVD.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
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April 1st, 2009
April is a transition month. At the beginning it is strong, but as we near May, the looming competition is just too great and that scares away the big-ticket releases. That said, there are still a few films that could reach the century mark this month, and it does look stronger than last April and that will help 2009 extend its lead in the box office race.
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September 29th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Hannah Montana, Old Dogs, Legion and more!
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August 23rd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Extract, Gnomeo and Juliet, My Life in Ruins, and more!
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February 28th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Driving Lessons, Night at the Museum 2, Shutter Island, and more!
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February 26th, 2008
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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February 24th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Old Dogs, Prince of Persia, Alice in Wonderland and more!
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