2016 - Awards Season - And the Oscar Goes to... La La Land Moonlight!

February 26th, 2017

It’s Oscar night and we were live blogging the show. Read on the the highlights of what turned out to be a crazy night. More...

2016 - Awards Season: Oscars - Nominations - Final Look

February 26th, 2017

It’s Oscar night and we will be live blogging the show. Before that, let’s take a last look at the nominations with a few annotations. Nominees in italics are those that have received the most votes from our readers so far in our Oscar contest (which is open to new entries until noon, Pacific, today—enter now!). Bold films are those films I think will win. Meanwhile, those that are Underlined are those I want to win. Not all categories have underlined nominees, because not all categories have someone I’m cheering for, or because there are two nominees I couldn’t pick between. More...

2016 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Original Screenplay

February 22nd, 2017

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 the two Screenwriting Categories, starting with Best Original Screenplay. At one time, La La Land looked to be the favorite, but that no longer seems to be the case. More...

2016 Awards Season: Oscar Nominations

January 24th, 2017

The Oscar nominations were announced starting at 5:18 am Pacific time. Nothing is good that early in the morning. Worse still, it’s a boring year for nominations with very few surprises worth talking about, especially in the biggest categories. Leading the way was La La Land with 14 nominations, tying the record. More...

2016 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Nominations

December 12th, 2016

The Golden Globes nominations were announced and we are starting to see a few names pop up over and over again. La La Land led the way with seven nominations, but Moonlight was right behind with six and Manchester by the Sea earned five. You will be hearing those three names over and over and over again this Awards Season. More...

Home Market Releases for August 2nd, 2016

August 3rd, 2016

It is the beginning of August, a.k.a., the beginning of TV on DVD season. While there are a few prominent releases in that category, the biggest release is Batman: The Killing Joke, which is still a hot mess, but this time on Blu-ray. There are plenty of smaller releases that are worth picking up, including April and the Extraordinary World. Its reviews are nearly 100% positive and the Blu-ray Combo Pack is the Pick of the Week. More...

Theater Averages: Conjuring Comes Out on Top, but De Palma is De Lightful

June 15th, 2016

There were only two films in the $10,000 club on the theater average chart. This includes the overall number one film, The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, which opened with an average of $12,087. The only other film in the $10,000 club was De Palma, which earned an average of $10,118 in three theaters. More...

Theater Averages: Witness Seen by Many, Earns $14,523

June 8th, 2016

The Witness was the top draw on the theater average chart earning $14,523 in its lone theater. The Fits was the only other member of the $10,000 club earning $10,602, also in one theater. One last note: We are still relying on estimates for Art Bastard and since it is an independent film, we might not get the final number. At the moment, it has an average of $9,800 in two theaters, so there's a chance it actually snuck its way into the $10,000 club. More...

Weekend Estimates: X-Men Debuts to $80 Million Long Weekend

May 29th, 2016

The X-Men franchise has an impressive track record of Memorial Day openings, starting with X-Men: The Last Stand, which became the first film to gross $100 million over the 3-day part of the long weekend back in 2006. Days of Future Past grossed $90 million this weekend two years ago. In that context, a 3-day opening of $65 million for X-Men: Apocalypse is very much on the low end of expectations, although not too far behind the $72 million we were expecting earlier in the week. It’s a start that points towards a total domestic box office between $130 million and $150 million, even with the extra boost of another $15 million or so expected on Monday. That leaves the international markets with a lot to do, and the news overseas hasn’t been that great, with about $115 million in the bank after most markets opened last weekend. More...

Theater Averages: Weiner Wins Weekend Race with $16,835

May 25th, 2016

Weiner earned first place on the theater average chart, which is terrible news for me, because there are so many immature puns that I want to be using right now. The film earned an average of $16,835 in five theaters, which is fantastic for a documentary. The Lobster was right behind with an average of $16,212 in 24 theaters during its second week of release. The film has already hit $1 million in total and has plenty of room to grow. Maggie's Plan was next with an average of $12,662 in five theaters. It has a shot at expanding significantly, but it likely won't expand truly wide. Love and Friendship remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $11,911. Its better than expected theatrical run appears to have pushed back its VOD release. More...

Weekend Estimates: Angry Birds Win Civil War with $39 Million Debut

May 22nd, 2016

The Angry Birds Movie is performing at the top end of expectations this weekend, and will top the box office chart with a commendable $39 million. While that’s a long way behind the $75.1 million earned by Zootopia on its opening weekend back in March, it’s a very respectable figure, and gives Sony the increasingly-rare bragging rights over Disney this weekend, with Captain America: Civil War dropping to second place with $33.1 million. More...

Theater Averages: The Lobster has Tasty Opening of $47,563

May 17th, 2016

The Lobster had the best theater average of any film opening in 2016 earning an average of $47,563 in four theaters. It beat the previous record set by Captain America: Civil War, a record that lasted all of one week. The second best theater average of the week was pulled in by Love and Friendship with an average of $33,378, also in four theaters. Captain America: Civil War remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $17,188. The final film in the $10,000 club was Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero, which managed $15,215 in 4 theaters. More...

Weekend Estimates: Disney still dominant, but Money Monster solid on debut

May 15th, 2016

After recording the 5th-biggest opening weekend of all time last weekend, Captain America: Civil War will decline 59% this time around to $72.56 million, according to Disney’s Sunday projection. If that number holds, it will put Civil War 8th on the list of best second weekends, almost exactly tied with Iron Man 3. That comparative slip in the rankings isn’t of huge consequence, given that the film will sail past $300 million domestically on either Monday or Tuesday, and has already racked up $645 million worldwide, putting it on the brink of $1 billion worldwide a little over two weeks after its international rollout. The Marvel juggernaut continues to roll on. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Limited Releases Served with Drawn Butter

May 13th, 2016

It's a relatively good week for limited releases with several that are earning excellent reviews. Of these, The Lobster is the one I think will do the best at the box office. Kill Zone 2, Love & Friendship, and some others are also earning excellent reviews, but are playing in VOD. More...