New on Disc: Portrait of a Lady on Fire gets a Picture Perfect Release

June 23rd, 2020

This could be the worst week for DVD / Blu-ray releases I’ve seen, outside of when a Tuesday falls on January 1st. The reason for this is simple, Trolls World Tour is hitting VOD. Or to be more precise, it is transitioning from premium VOD to electronic sale through VOD. You can now buy it for the same price you could rent it before. This film is easily the biggest release of the lockdown and it will easily be the biggest DVD / Blu-ray release of the summer. Unless there’s a monster TV-on-DVD release this fall, it will be the biggest release until the pandemic fully subsides. And, since there are parts of the world that are hitting daily records for new cases, including many parts of the United States, that could be a few more months at the very least. Fortunately, while there are only three releases on the highlights list this week, two of them are Pick-of-the-Week contenders. Murder by Decree and Portrait of a Lady on Fire are both absolutely worth picking up, but the latter wins out for Pick of the Week thanks to its Criterion Collection Blu-ray release. More...

Theater Averages: First Cow Comes Home

March 12th, 2020

First Cow was one of two films in the $10,000 club earning an average of $20,331 in four theaters. The Booksellers was the only other member of the $10,000 club opening with $15,794 in its lone theater. More...

Theater Averages: Frances has a Saintly Start

March 6th, 2020

Saint Frances was the only new release to land in the $10,000 club opening with $14,298 in one theater. The re-release of Come and See continued to do well earning $12,859, also in one theater. Emma expanded into nearly 100 theaters earning an average of $11,955 along the way. More...

Theater Averages: A Match Made in Heaven

February 27th, 2020

Emma played matchmaker with audiences and succeeded to the tune of $234,000 in 5 theaters for an average of $46,896. It has significant expansion planned for this weekend and an opening like this is a hopeful sign. On the other hand, I don’t think Come and See will expand significantly, as re-releases rarely do. That said, it did earn $16,053 in one theater, so that theater is happy they booked it. It isn’t looking as bright for Seberg. Granted, it did earn an average of $15,727 in three theaters; however, it was very front-loaded and that’s a bad omen going forward. More...

Theater Averages: Bill Cunningham has the Time of his Life

February 20th, 2020

The Times of Bill Cunningham led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $20,973 in two theaters. That’s amazing, especially since it is playing on VOD. The second best new release was Portrait of a Lady on Fire with an average of $19,500. This is arguably more impressive, because it was playing in more theaters, 22 theaters, while it had previously had an Oscar-qualifying run in December. Sonic the Hedgehog rounded out the top five with an average of $13,923. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Playing With Fire

February 14th, 2020

Well, limited releases are back with a vengeance. It is not an exaggeration to say there are dozens of limited releases coming out this week, which means I have to be more judicious when trimming to get the list to a more manageable size. This means there are several worthy films that just didn’t make the cut, like I Was at Home, But… and You Go to My Head. There are still several releases worth checking out, including Buffaloed, Ordinary Love, Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, VFW, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. More...

Theater Averages: Portrait has a Fiery Start

December 12th, 2019

Portrait of a Lady on Fire was the only new release to make an impart on the per theater chart earning an average of $33,672 in two theaters. If we combine this with its early Awards Season success, we can confidently predict a long run in theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was 63 Up with an average of $10,313 in two theaters. More...

2020 Awards Season: Golden Globes Nominations

December 11th, 2019

The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. It is still very early in the year and the predictive value of the Golden Globes is a little suspect, but there are still some things to learn here. (This is especially true on the TV end, as there’s talk about how strange the nominations are this year.) Marriage Story led the way with six nominations, just ahead of The Irishman and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, both of which picked up five nods. More...

Weekend Estimates: Frozen Falls, Still Set to Top Predecessor

December 8th, 2019

Frozen II fell both faster than expected, and faster than projections based on Friday’s estimates. However, the film is still managing an estimated $34.67 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $337.59 million. This is enough to push it ahead of Joker and into seventh place on the yearly chart. If this holds up, then it will have an excellent shot at topping the first Frozen’s domestic total, even without the Christmas break coming up. Internationally, the film pulled in $90.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $582.1 million internationally and $919.7 million worldwide. It had no major market openings this weekend, but it is earning an estimated $800,000 in South Africa, which would make it the second biggest opening for an animated film there, behind only Minions. The film has become the biggest animated film in South Korea with $75.5 million. It as also topped its predecessor in Russia ($23.0 million) and Mexico ($21.1 million) and a lot of smaller markets. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Limited Releases Take to the Sky

December 6th, 2019

December should be a prime month to release an Awards Season contender, one that will last in theaters potentially for months. However, while there are at least a couple of films on this week’s list that could win awards, none of them look like they will thrive in theaters. Some like The Aeronauts have just too short of a window between theatrical release and VOD debut. More...

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Trailer

December 2nd, 2019

Historical drama starring Noémie Merlant and Adele Haenel opens December 6 ... Full Movie Details.

France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse’s first moments of freedom. Héloïse’s portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of, and testament to, their love. More...