April 14th, 2009
Not a busy week on the home market with the least number of new releases on this week for a number of weeks. (It seems busier than it is, because of all of the spotlight reviews. In fact, there are as many spotlight reviews as there are simple mentions. Additionally, there are more spotlight reviews for late arrivals than there are for this week's releases.) Looking for the best of the best, there's not a lot on top worth of the DVD Pick of the Week. The release I'm looking forward to the most is Lost in Austen - Buy from Amazon, which I'm awarding the DVD Pick of the Week. Thanks to the number of spotlight reviews, this week's list had to be split into two with the second part found here.
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March 31st, 2009
It was a strange week on the sales chart, as the best new release didn't come out last Tuesday.
Twilight came out on Saturday, sold an estimated 3 million units on its first day and 4.65 million units over two.
And with that, it instantly became the second-best-selling DVD of 2009 in terms of units sold, and the best in terms of raw dollars.
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March 31st, 2009
Only two new release charted this week leaving Role Models in first place with 13% more revenue than second place Twilight.
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March 17th, 2009
This is a smaller list than it should be as there were no fewer than six DVDs on this list where I am supposed to receive a screener, but the screener is late. The next few weeks could be busy, as I attempt to catch up. In the meantime, there are a trio of serious contenders for DVD Pick of the Week, starting with Murnau, a box set that is a must have for silent movie fans, especially those who enjoy F.W.Murnau. Also up for the honor is Degrassi - The Next Generation - Season Seven, which is fast becoming one of the longest running kids shows ever. Finally, Bolt is making its debut on a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on Sunday, and the movie is fantastic, while the Blu-ray has enough exclusives to be worth the small premium in price. (On a side note, there have been reports that Hounddog's home market debut was pushed back to this week, but that appears not to be the case. It could have been pulled from the schedule temporarily, or it might have been canceled entirely.)
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December 15th, 2008
It was a rough week for new releases as none of the three debut films managed to live up to expectations, in dramatic fashion in some cases. However, holdovers did pick up some of the slack to help the overall box office to $92 million over the weekend. That was 11% higher than last weekend, but 43% lower than the same weekend last year when I Am Legend opened. Or you could compare it to the weekend when The Golden Compass opened, in which case it was nearly 12% higher. Either is acceptable. As for the year-to-date numbers, 2008 extended its lead over 2007 to 1.4% at $8.96 billion to $8.84 billion. It appears that 2008's lead is safe this late in the year, at least in terms of raw dollars. Ticket sales, on the other hand, will decline.
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December 9th, 2008
The winner of our Punish the Competition contest were determined and they are...
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December 9th, 2008
The results at the box office were mixed over the weekend with a couple of films topping expectations while a few others failed at that task.
Overall, box office receipts were $82 million, which was 50% lower than last weekend; however, it was Thanksgiving long weekend last weekend so a sharp drop-off was expected.
Compared to the same weekend last year, 2008 was better, but by only 0.5%.
Year-to-date, 2008's lead on 2007 is now 0.5% at $8.72 billion to $8.68 billion.
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December 7th, 2008
Four Christmases held on at the top of the chart for a second weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
The comedy fell only 41%, the best hold in the top ten, and easily topped the chart ahead of Twilight, which had a better third week, down around 50% to $13 million.
The wide openers were generally weak.
Punisher: War Zone only managed $4 million in 2,508 theaters.
Cadillac Records did much better on a per theater basis, averaging over $5,000 per location, but limited release in 686 theaters meant it was only able to land in 9th place with $3.5 million.
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December 7th, 2008
This is the weakest week for wide releases for the entire holiday season, but there were still several sites that are worth checking. This includes The Punisher - War Zone's Official Site, which is the best of the best and the winner of the Weekly Website Award.
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December 4th, 2008
There are three wide releases this week, if you have a more forgiving definition of the term, "wide." Of these three films, none have a shot at first place, while two of them might not reach the top ten. Additionally, the holdovers will take a tumble as this is a post-holiday weekend. The only bright news is this weekend last year was even worse.
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December 1st, 2008
We end the year with a winning streak, one that will hopefully continue right through the New Year holiday. It seems nearly every film released this month is either an Oscar contender or a potential $100 million hit. Sometimes both. If all six films with box office potentials of $100 million or more reach that milestone, and Bolt and Four Christmases have the legs to make it there as well, we could set the record for most $100 million released in a single year. (It is currently at 29 films set in 2003.)
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November 28th, 2008
December starts the way it usually does, slowly. There's only one truly wide release, The Punisher: War Zone, and it is this week's target film. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office of The Punisher: War Zone.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win A Lobster Tale on DVD and Conspiracy 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 also win A Lobster Tale on DVD, as well as Tony Hawk's Secret Skatepark Tour - Volume 2 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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May 18th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Igor, Soul Men, Hotel for Dogs and more!
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December 2nd, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Shutter, Midnight Meat Train, The Punisher: War Zone and more!
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October 11th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek XI, and more!
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