Contest: Elementary, My Dear Bond: Winning Announcement

November 10th, 2015

The winners of our Elementary, My Dear Bond contest contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Spectre opening weekend were... More...

Home Market Releases for November 10th, 2015

November 9th, 2015

There are a couple of big hits on this week's list of new releases. Terminator: Genisys was a monster hit internationally, but it failed to live up to expectations here. On the other hand, Trainwreck earned $100 million here, but barely made a peep internationally. Of these two films, Trainwreck is the only one worth picking up. In fact, it is a Contender for Pick of the Week. However, I'm still waiting for the screener and I hate to give out this title when a screener is on its way. Because of that, I'm going with Better Call Saul: Season One as the Best of the Best, but it isn't the only other title worth picking up. More...

Contest: Procrastoween

November 6th, 2015

It is a bit of a messed up week as far as the contest is concerned. I ended the Halloween trick or treat contests a week early, because I got the release date of Mr. Holmes wrong. I had already set aside the two sets of horror or the one set of bad movies, so I might as well give them away this week. Also, the contest is a mess, because the wide releases next week are a mess. By the Sea was dropped to limited release, while My All-American is opening semi-wide, so that's a reversal of expectations. This leaves The 33 and Love the Coopers as the only true wide releases, neither of which is expected to be a even a midlevel hit. Combined they are not expected to be a midlevel hit. Worse for me, neither is expected to be a significantly bigger hit than the other making it harder to choose which film will be the target film. I'm literally going to have to flip a coin. Love the Coopers is the target film for this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Love the Coopers.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win a Frankenprize consisting of two previously reviewed DVDs or Blu-rays. There is a difference this time. Two people will earn Frankenprizes consisting of two horror movies. The other winner will earn a Frankprize consisting of two "horror" movies, that is to say movies so bad that it will fill you with horror. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Home Market Releases for November 3rd, 2015

November 3rd, 2015

It's a short list of new releases this week for two reasons. The first reason is the previously mentioned technical problems. I need to get three days of work done today so that I can get my computer off to the shop for an upgrade. Meanwhile, I've been battling an only mostly functional computer for a week. The second reason is Inside Out is coming out and that scared away the competition. The Blu-ray Combo Pack or 3D Combo Pack are clearly the Pick of the Week this week. However, it is far from the only new release worth picking up. It's just that the rest of the contenders are much smaller releases. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Mr. Holmes

November 3rd, 2015

Mr. Holmes opened in select cities, which is usually a terrible release strategy. It did well enough to earn a significant measure of mainstream success. There has also been a lot of critical praise and even some Awards Season buzz, specifically for Ian McKellen. Do I agree with the majority here? Or am I going to be one of the few who were disappointed in the movie? More...

Contest: Elementary, My Dear Bond

October 29th, 2015

Spectre opens next week and it should dominate the box office. As such, it is the only real choice for the target film for this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Spectre.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Mr. Holmes on DVD, plus a previously reviewed DVD or Blu-ray. 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 Mr. Holmes on DVD, plus a previously reviewed DVD or Blu-ray. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will also win a copy of Mr. Holmes on DVD, plus a previously reviewed DVD or Blu-ray. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Contest: On the Hunt: Winning Announcement

October 27th, 2015

The winners of our On the Hunt contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for The Last Witch Hunter opening weekend were... More...

Home Market Releases for October 27th, 2015

October 26th, 2015

It's the week of double-dips, as there are five double-dips for films that would normally be Pick of the Week contenders, but only if you don't have them already. Army Of Darkness has been released so many times, it is hard to keep track of them all. Same with Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you don't own either of these movies, you need to buy them. However, most fans will already have them. Because of this, I'm giving the Pick of the Week to Mad Men. I reviewed Season Seven, Part Two, but the Complete Series Megaset is the better deal. More...

Contest: Cutis Anserina: Winning Announcement

October 21st, 2015

The winners of our Cutis Anserina contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Goosebumps opening weekend were... More...

Per Theater Chart: Grandma's Road Trip to Success

August 26th, 2015

Grandma led all of the new releases, both in terms of reviews and in terms of per theater average. The film opened with $116,000 in four theaters for an average of $28,885. There was a very tight race for second place between The Quay Brothers in 35MM ($16,955 in one theater) and Learning to Drive ($16.504 in four theaters). More...

Per Theater Chart: Strong Beginning for The End

August 4th, 2015

The End of the Tour is the latest success for A24, as it topped the per theater chart with an average of $30,810 in four theaters. Up next were a pair of documentaries, Best of Enemies and Listen to Me Marlon, with averages of $16,913 and $15,034 respectively. The overall number one film was next, as Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation earned an average of $14,034. The final film in the $10,000 club was Phoenix. Its theater count doubled, but its per theater average dropped just 20% to $12,004. That's amazing and it could be an omen that it will expand wide enough to earn some measure of mainstream success. More...

Per Theater Chart: Phoenix Reborn

July 28th, 2015

None of the wide releases earned a spot in the $10,000 club, but at least we had a couple of limited releases that found their way there. The number one film was Phoenix with an average of $15,148 in two theaters. Samba was next with an average of $12,294, also in two theaters. More...

Per Theater Chart: Irrational has Very Reasonable Debut

July 22nd, 2015

The $10,000 club was led by Irrational Man with $175,312 in five theaters for an average of $35,062. While this was the best average of the weekend, it was the weakest opening weekend for a Woody Allen movie since You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. The Stanford Prison Experiment was next with an average of $18,757 in two theaters. Its reviews are good, but not great, so its chances to expand significantly are still just 50/50. Up next is a pair of wide releases, Ant-Man and Minions, which earned averages of $14,841 and $11,430 respectively. The final entrant in the $10,000 club was Bajrangi Bhaijaan with an average of $10,239; however, it was playing in 256 theaters and arguably it had the most impressive opening for any limited release this week. This is the second weekend in a row a Bollywood film did this well on the per theater chart. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Ant-Man Tops Terrific Weekend

July 20th, 2015

The top of the box office had a small surprise, as Ant-Man earned first place with $57.23 million over the weekend. This is a little lower than predicted, but Minions really collapsed, so Ant-Man easily won the race for the top of the box office race. Meanwhile, Trainwreck had a solid third place opening and could be on its way to $100 million, thanks in part to its target demographic and to its reviews. Overall, the box office pulled in $194 million. This is 9.6% lower than last weekend, but more importantly, it is 30% higher than the same weekend last year. 30%. That's a massive margin of victory. Year-to-date, 2015 has pulled in $6.20 billion, which is 8.1% more than 2014's pace. Summer is winding down, so 2015 is in a great place moving into the slower part of the year. Even if August and September are slower than average, there's almost no chance 2015 will blow through the $460 million lead it has over 2014. More...

Weekend Estimates: Ant-Man Misses Out, Trainwreck Breaks Out

July 19th, 2015

Perhaps we’re seeing the first signs of multiplex fatigue? In the midst of a buoyant Summer at the movies, Ant-Man will debut with around $58 million, according to Sunday estimates, about 10% below expectations, and well short of the $94 million earned by Guardians of the Galaxy this time last year. It’s a very good opening, to be sure, but the second slightly disappointing debut from the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year, after The Avengers: Age of Ultron’s $191 million opening weekend back in May. We’re talking disappointment of the level of seeing Babe Ruth only hit one home run in a game here, so we need to put things in perspective. It’s the twelfth straight $50 million-plus opening for the franchise in seven years—an unprecedented box office run. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Holmes is on the Case

July 17th, 2015

There are very few films on this week's list that have a real shot at earning mainstream success. I would like to think Court or A Hard Day could do so, but they are both foreign-language films and that's usually too big of an obstacle to overcome. Mr. Holmes has both the cast and the reviews to thrive, but it is playing in more than 300 theaters. That might be too many to thrive. Let's hope I'm being too pessimistic. More...