February 26th, 2011
Independent Spirit Award hand out their nominations earlier than the other major awards, but don't hand out the hardware till the day before the Oscars. The long wait ended last night and Black Swan became the big winner sweeping the four categories it was nominated it. It wasn't the only winner of the night, however.
More...
January 4th, 2011
WGA nominations were announced this week, and there were some strange results, as the guild is sticking to their rules, which resulted in a number of possible Oscar contenders being ruled ineligible. That said, of the non-documentary films, only one hasn't picked up a single nomination previously, so it is hard to say this list is too out there.
More...
December 9th, 2010
Christmas shopping season continues, as does our Holiday Gift Guide. We started with Part I, which talked about the big first run releases, while Part II dealt with box sets and TV on DVD releases. This week we look at limited releases, foreign releases, and some old time classics, starting with...
More...
December 1st, 2010
The official arrival of winter is still a few weeks away, but Winter's Bone ushered in the start of Awards Season picking up seven Independent Spirit Award nominations. This was the most of any film, with The Kids Are All Right placing second with five.
More...
October 18th, 2010
There's a bit of a lull in activity on the home market this week, at least in terms of big sellers. The best selling release is Predators and while I recommend picking up the Blu-ray, the movie barely made $50 million at the box office, so I have realistic expectations regarding its sales potential. Meanwhile, the Pick of the Week is a classic from 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 35th Anniversary Blu-ray.
More...
August 30th, 2010
No film was able to top the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart with Takers coming very close with an average of $9,298.
More...
June 29th, 2010
Restrepo opened in top spot on the per theater chart with an average of $17,791 in two theaters. This was just a hair above Cyrus' average of $17,719 during its second weekend of release. Further expansion is all but assured, as are at least a couple of earning milestones. Toy Story 3 remained in top spot on the overall chart, earning an average of $14,731. Meanwhile, a fellow wide release, Grown Ups, was the only other film in the $10,000 club, opening with an average of $11,462.
More...
June 21st, 2010
It was another strong weekend on the per theater chart with Cyrus leading the way with $180,000 in just four theaters for an average of $45,429. This is strong enough to suggest the potential to expand wide, or at least wide enough to secure some measure of mainstream success. The overall box office leader, Toy Story 3, was next with an average of $27,385. I Am Love opened with $120,000 in eight theaters for an average of $15,188. Meanwhile, The Killer Inside Me and The Girlfriends opened with relatively similar results, the former earning $11,083 in one theater while the latter earned $10,092, also in one theater.
More...
May 25th, 2010
Solitary Man led the way on the per theater chart with nearly $100,000 in 4 theaters for an average of $23,734. Placing second was Shrek Forever After, as the overall box office leader earned an average of $16,251. Holly Rollers opened with $40,000 in 3 theaters for an average of $13,228. The final film in the $10,000 club was The Father of My Children, which opened with $10,414 in one theater.
More...
May 5th, 2010
Please Give opened on top of the per theater chart with an impressive average of $23,625 in 5 theaters. This suggests significant room for expansion. With summer less than a week away, it could even be the first limited release of the season to expand enough to earn some measure of mainstream success. It wouldn't be the first Nicole Holofcener film to do so. The Human Centipede earned $12,424 in its lone theater during its opening weekend. Meanwhile, the overall box office leader, A Nightmare on Elm Street, just missed the $10,000 club with an average of $9,875.
More...
May 2nd, 2010
A Nightmare on Elm Street continued what is now practically a tradition of impressive performances for franchise reboots by opening with $32.2 million this weekend, according to Warner Bros.' Sunday estimate.
That's the second-best opening performance for a movie in the franchise, behind only the franchise-crossover Freddy vs. Jason.
It also helped shake up the market a little after a few sluggish weeks.
More...
April 30th, 2010
It's the week before summer starts and there are very few limited releases on this week's list. Even fewer have a real shot at mainstream success. The best-reviewed release of the week is Please Give, while the widest release might actually be Gunless, a Canadian offering.
More...