April 21st, 2009
Not much in the way of first run releases this week, but we do have more Awards Season players coming out on the home market. However, if you want the best of the best, you have to look to Sin City - 2-Disc Blu-ray. This week's list was a little too big to fit on one page, so the second part can be found here.
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April 21st, 2009
Not much in the way of first run releases this week, but we do have more Awards Season players coming out on the home market. However, if you want the best of the best, you have to look to Sin City - 2-Disc Blu-ray. This week's list was a little too big to fit on one page, so the second part can be found here.
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December 8th, 2008
It's a deceptively light week with most of the top ten DVDs on Amazon's sales chart coming from The Dark Knight.
In fact, that film is dominating sales so much that it has scared away most of the competition.
Don't get me wrong, it's not the only release worth picking up, but the either the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD or the Blu-ray w/ Digital Copy are probably the best picks this week.
Personally, I went with the Limited Edition Blu-ray w/ Batpod, but I clearly should not be trusted with money.
There are other DVDs coming out this week that are also worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week, including Man on Wire - Buy from Amazon and Lost - Season Four - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray.
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December 23rd, 2005
The 40-Year Old Virgin not only did it lead the way on the rental chart bringing in $10.18 million in combined rentals, ($9.82 million from DVDs and $370,000 from VHS), but it also led the way in sales with 3.7 million units sold. Sales totaled $65 million in its opening week. To put this in perspective, the home market release made more than $75 million during its opening week, which is more than the film earned during its first three weeks of theatrical release.
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December 12th, 2005
It's Special Edition week, with several such releases just screaming to become last minute Christmas gifts.
Many of these are not A-List gifts and are more for people who are difficult to shop for.
Even so, just a quick glance reveals more than half-a-dozen releases worthy of consideration for the DVD Pick of the Week, with The 40-Year Old Virgin - Unrated Widescreen Edition leading the way.
Other choices include Airplane - Don't Call Me Shirley Edition, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fifth Season, Rock 'n Roll High School - Rock On Edition, and The Simpsons - The Complete Seventh Season.
And from the Better Late Than Never Category, there's Nothing - Buy from Amazon.
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November 6th, 2005
With
The Legend of Zorro earning a nearly worldwide release this past weekend, and the imminent release of another
juggernaut, there was little room for other releases this weekend on the international scene.
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October 30th, 2005
Oliver Twist opened in two major markets over the weekend, placing second in both France with $2.4 million on 547 screens and Italy with $1.3 million on 301 screens.
Other markets include $360,000 in the U.K. for a $3.6 million total there and $140,000 in Poland for $1.1 million. Add it up and you have $4.2 million for the weekend and $9.6 million in total.
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October 23rd, 2005
The Brothers Grimm dropped just 35% during its second weekend in France adding $2.1 million to its $5.7 million total there. In Germany, the film performed a nearly the same level falling 36% to $950,000 over the weekend and $2.9 million during its run. Overall the film made $4 million for a $27.8 million runny tally and that places it fourth on this week's charts. While the film struggled domestically, it is doing quite a bit better on the international scene, and could show a profit sometime during its home market run.
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October 16th, 2005
Company 9 remained in first place in Russia, its home market, down just 13% to $4.3 million for a running total of $14.3 million, which is well ahead of Revenge of the Sith's final box office in the market (which was just shy of $10 million).
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October 9th, 2005
Company 9 opened in its native market of Russia with a stunning $5.0 million over the weekend and $6.25 million including the midweek numbers, which is better than Revenge of the Sith's opening in that market.
This also means there were two films that did so well in their local markets that they managed to place in the top five overall.
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October 2nd, 2005
Red Eye added another $3.7 million on 2,057 screens in 37 markets to its $22 million international total. The film opened in second place in both Spain with $850,000 on 215 screens and in the Netherlands with $250,000 on 59 ($300,000 including previews).
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September 25th, 2005
Marrying the Mafia 2 again led its native market of
South Korean with $4.81 million over the weekend and $12.78 million during its two-week run. And like
last week, this was enough for the film to secure a place in the top five overall just beating out
Pride and Prejudice.
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September 24th, 2005
Crash repeated on top of the home market this weekend despite falling 27% during its second week to $6.50 million in combined rentals. This was not a particularly strong performance and further underscores the depth of the slump we're in.
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September 18th, 2005
Marrying the Mafia 2 is the latest local film to lead the South Korean box office as it opened with $5.555 million on 449 screens, $7.515 million including Thursday.
Not only was that easily enough for first place in its home market, but also put the film in third place on the overall international box office charts.
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September 11th, 2005
The 40-Year Old Virgin topped the U.K. marked with an impressive $3.26 million on 394 screens in the U.K., but this is probably not indicative of its potential in other international markets. The film should do well in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, but will likely struggle in non-English speaking markets. (Germany may be an exception.)
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September 10th, 2005
For the first time in a long time it was a good week on the rental charts with two films cracking $10 million in combined rentals. Leading the way was
Monster-In-Law with $11.06 million in combined rentals, $9.84 million from DVDs and $1.22 million from VHS. On the other hand, it came in second on the DVD sales chart, but more on that later.
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September 4th, 2005
War of the Worlds opened in its last international market over the weekend making $3.0 million on 583 screens in China. That's about 10% more money that
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith earned, but
War of the Worlds needed nearly double the number of screens. Overall the film added $4.5 million to its $345 million international total, easily the second best of the year so far.
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September 3rd, 2005
This week there were three new releases ranking in the top five on the rental charts led by
The Ring Two with $7.45 million, $6.99 million of that coming from DVD rentals. On a side note, many rental places are phasing out VHS rentals and it won't be long before the industry stop tracking these numbers entirely.
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August 28th, 2005
The Skeleton Key opened in 10- more markets over the weekend and in now playing on 1400 screens, however, it still hasn't found the success the studio was hoping for. It did open in first place in Germany, but it still had a very soft opening with $1.6 million. It also opened in first place in Russia with $625,000 over the weekend and $780,000 since Thursday, but in Australia and New Zealand it had to settle for a distant second place with $760,000 and $110,000 respectively.
The Skeleton Key also open in Austria with $230,000 for the week, but its placing is unknown at the moment. Add in holdovers in France, ($250,000 for $2.2 million) and the U.K., ($130,000 for $4.5 million) and you have roughly $4 million for the weekend and $16.5 million so far.
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August 27th, 2005
It's no surprise that
Sin City led the rental market this weekend, but it was a little surprising that it was the top seller as well. During its opening week the film earned $8.61 million in DVD rentals and $480,000 in VHS rentals for a grand total of $9.09 million, which is lower than I would have thought.
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August 17th, 2005
There are a lot of people at
Dreamworks breathing a sigh of relief over this weeks international box office numbers.
The Island, which was a huge bomb domestically, lead the international box office race with $13.9 million on 4200 screens in 33 markets. That's not a great result, but will probably save someone his or her job. Among its dozen or so debuts were second place finishes in the U.K. with $2.6 million on 413 screens, as well as a first place finish in Mexico with $1.91 million on 500 screens. Other openings include $1.2 million on 241 screens in Russia, $434,500 on 86 screens in the Netherlands, and $198,000 on 50 screens in Argentina. While holdovers were less impressive down 40% in Germany to $1.66 million, 55% in Spain to $1.13 million, and 55% in Australia to $435,000. Overall
The Island has brought in $63 million internationally, almost a third of which came from South Korea at $19 million, including another $1 million this weekend.
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August 15th, 2005
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases, classics and a few from the growing TV on DVD section. There's been quite a slump for high quality wide releases the DVD front, mainly because there wasn't a single wide release that earned overwhelmingly positive reviews during the first three months of the year. This week the first such film is hitting the home market, but the DVD release is crap, so it's up to the TV on DVD section to bail us out once again. Fortunately there are two amazing sets coming out tomorrow, one was a critically acclaimed but short-lived series and the other is a critically acclaimed and incredible enduring show. The first is Undeclared - The Complete Series -
Buy from Amazon, which is coming out just in time for the release of
The 40 Year-Old Virgin, both of which were created by Judd Apatow. And the second is
The Simpsons - The Complete Sixth Season -
Buy from Amazon, which needs no other explanation. Lastly we have Ryan -
Buy from Amazon, which was released earlier in the month, but should be part of everyone's collection.
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August 14th, 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Smith opened in Belgium with $1.7 million on 80 screens, easily enough for first place and had a similar result with $480,000 in Poland. It also remained in first place in France with $2.88 million, (despite falling 54% there) and in the Netherlands with $740,000. In Germany the film remained in second place for the third straight week with $3.06 million for a $17.06 million running tally. The film now have $140 million in territories where
Fox is handling the distribution and $192 million overall.
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August 7th, 2005
The Island managed a couple of first place finished over the weekend, but the results were still less than impressive. In Australia the film opened with $1.404 million for a close victory while in Hong Kong it earned a disappointing $490,000 over the weekend and $520,000 including previews. It's best market continued to be South Korea with $3.167 million, down 38% from last weekend dropping to second place along the way. On the other hand, no wide openings and a mere 23% drop-off allowed the film to rise to first in New Zealand. Overall the film added $7.64 million to its $24.1 million running tally on the international scene and will opens in several markets this weekend including the U.K., Germany and Spain.
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July 31st, 2005
Early numbers had
Mr. and Mrs. Smith taking fifth place on the overall international box office charts, but better than expected results has
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory overtaking them $6.7 million to $5.4 million. It's biggest single market continues to be France where the film dipped just 6% during its second weekend there earning $3,533,857 for a $9,034,141 running tally. But it was even more impressive in Belgium where the film shot up by 68% to $400,000 for the weekend and $785,000 in total. The film also opened in first place in three markets, Brazil with $1.1 million on 200 screens, Holland with $625,000 on 124 screens, and South Africa with $275,000 on 41 screens.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has $13.3 million so far and opens in a couple of important markets this weekend, (The U.K. and Mexico.)
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July 24th, 2005
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opened in three French speaking markets over the weekend and while it didn't finish first, it still had a great start.
In France the film earned $3,741,793 in 670 theaters for the best per theater average in the top ten.
The result was similar in Belgium ($250,000) and Switzerland ($190,000), giving the film $4.2 million for the weekend.
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July 17th, 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Smith continues its excellent run in Asia with a $2.2 million opening in 450 theatres in China. The film also added $1.8 million in South Korea for an $18 million running total in that market, (although it was pushed out of the top spot in that market. Overall the film made $4 million pushing its total to $117 million internationally and $275 million worldwide.
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July 10th, 2005
With the last of this summer's worldwide releases opening last weekend, the international details are once again dominated by smaller films. And to compound matters, most of those are only making noise in one of two markets. However, over the next few weeks there are plenty of big films opening in big markets and the International Details column should start showing signs of life soon.
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June 29th, 2005
Batman Begins didn't see the sharp drop-off many had feared after its soft opening
last weekend slipping by a reasonable 36%. Its best market continued to be the U.K. where the film added $5.1 million on 516 screens to its $16.7 million running tally. Other strong holdovers include Australia at $2.1 million, France at $1.96 million, and Mexico with $1.94 million. The film had a few openings over the weekend managing second place in South Korea with $2.1 million on 201 screens, $430,000 in Indonesia, and $388,000 in Portugal. Overall
Batman Begins made $26.7 million on 8,350 screens in 85 markets for an international tally of $83.4 million, while its worldwide box office climbed above $200 million. That's not up to initial expectations, but still impressive.
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June 22nd, 2005
Batman Begins opened worldwide in a day-and-date release but it's international fortunes were no better than its domestic. The film was easily the number one movie on the international scene with $41.7 million on 8,000 screens in 73 markets. Compared to other international hits this year,
Batman Begins' debut is softer than
Kingdom of Heaven, ($53.8 million on 6500 screens in 100 markets) and not that much above
last week's champ,
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which wasn't even a worldwide release, ($32 million on 3,600 screens in 35 markets.) It's best market was the U.K. at $7.8 million, but the film also did well in Mexico, ($4.2 million over five days) and France, ($3 million.) On the other hand, in Australia the film finished in second place to
Madagascar, ($3,223,600 to $3,578,000) and the same happened in both Spain and Holland, but box office numbers from those markets are unavailable at the moment. Overall the film performed below expectations, but well enough that it should show a profit before it reaches the home market.
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June 15th, 2005
We have a new champion atop the International Box Office charts as
Mr. and Mrs. Smith overtook
Revenge of the Sith with $32 million on 3,600 screens in 35 markets. The film best market was the U.K. at $7.1 million on 448 screens, which was slightly below
Hitch's debut earlier in the year. In Australia it brought in $4.7 million on 356 screens, as well as $3.6 million in both Mexico and Taiwan. Other million dollar markets include Brazil, ($1.6 million on 401 screens); Hong Kong, ($1.2 million on 68) and Thailand, ($1.2 million on 250.)
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June 8th, 2005
Revenge of the Sith's drop-offs were much shallower this weekend, which helped the film reach another milestone. Overall the added $38.5 million on 10,586 screens in 105 markets, pushing its international number to $308.4 million, virtually tied with its domestic total. The film is now in the Top 40 on the all-time international charts and Top 30 on the all-time
worldwide charts. Compared to the rest of the
Star Wars films,
Revenge of the Sith is already ahead of
Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi and should top
Attack of the Clones by this time next week. It has a reasonable shot at eventually toppling
A New Hope, but unless something freaky happens
The Phantom Menace will remain the highest grossing entry in the
franchise. (Which is ironic, since it is widely regarded as the weakest film.)
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June 5th, 2005
It was a slightly busier weekend as several studios were brave enough, or foolhardy enough to try and sandwich their film between the worldwide release of
Revenge of the Sith and
Batman Begins, which debuts in just 10 days. With
War of the Worlds' worldwide release just two weeks after that, there's very little room for smaller films to survive.
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April 18th, 2005
Is 2005 officially in trouble? Maybe not, but it's getting close. This week the box office was down 4.25% compared to last weekend and an insane 20.1% from last year. Year-to-date, the box office for the year is now at $2.243 billion, or 5% down from the same timeframe last year. At this pace, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith will need to be a monster hit to turn the earnings around. And by monster I mean Titanic-like numbers.
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April 15th, 2005
The 2005 box office has entered a bit of a slump and is falling further and further behind 2004 -- sitting 5% behind last years pace. To compound matters, it seems unlikely this weekend will turn things around as the lone wide release is a horror film, and they tend not to do extremely well in spring.
While the film should easily win the weekend race, it could be the only film to bring in $10 million over the weekend.
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April 11th, 2005
It was another weak weekend at the box office as no film was able to break $20 million for the first time since the first weekend in February and Sahara had the worst box office for a number one film for the entire year. This pushed the box office down an incredible 17.8% from last week and an even more troubling 25.0% from last year. (This time last year was Easter, so that mitigates the situation somewhat.) Year-to-date, 2005's box office now sits at $2.134 billion, down 4% from 2004. Considering how poor box office receipts were at this time last year, 2005 is in serious trouble if things don't turn around soon.
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April 8th, 2005
Two wide releases hit theatres tonight, compared to the five that come out this time last year. But overall this year should still come out on top. And while neither of the films looks like it will be a massive, breakout hit, at least they don't look like they will be massive bombs either and that should lead to an interesting weekend at the box office.
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April 4th, 2005
April started off well but not great. A strong number one film and impressive holdovers helped the market climb 7% over last weekend. But for the sixth straight weekend 2005 was behind the same weekend in 2004, this time by 17.0%. Year-to-date, 2005's box office is now at $2.02 billion, 2% behind 2004, but will hopefully do some catching up next weekend.
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April 1st, 2005
April gets off to a fast start with the mostly highly anticipated film of the month debuting tonight. It should win, and win big - more than doubling its nearest competitor.
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April 1st, 2005
April is one of the weakest months of the year because it is so close to the massive summer box office season. A film released in late April only has one or two weeks at the box office before being crushed by the competition, so studios tend to be wary of what they release at this time. On the plus side, they tend not to dump too many duds either and it doesn't take much for any of these films to please the studios since expectations are low to begin with.
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March 31st, 2005
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner, The Longest Yard - Official Site.
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March 17th, 2005
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner, Ice Princess - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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March 10th, 2005
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner,
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
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February 17th, 2005
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and a few updates, including this week's winner, Sin City - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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