2013 Awards Season: Lincoln Oversees a Divided Group of Nominees

January 10th, 2013

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Avengers Continues Cinderella Story

October 21st, 2012

The Avengers remained in top spot on the Blu-ray sales chart with 824,000 units / $20.61 million for the week giving it totals of 4.21 million / $88.30 million after two. The number of Blu-rays that have sold more units can be counted on the fingers of one hand. More...

DVD Sales: Averages Too Bright for Dark Shadows

October 21st, 2012

The Avengers remained on top of the DVD sales chart selling an additional 664,000 units and generating $12.69 million more in revenue. After two weeks of release, the film has sold 2.75 million units and generated $48.10 million in total revenue giving it fourth place on the 2012 chart. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Avengers Begin To Rewrite Record Book

October 12th, 2012

The Avengers became one of the best selling Blu-rays of all time after just one week of release. Its opening week sales were outstanding at 3.39 million units / $67.69 million. This was by far the biggest new releases of the week and it crushed the competition on the Blu-ray sales chart. In fact, it was easily the best single week on the chart and places the Blu-ray in the top ten on the all-time list. (More on that next week.) Its opening week Blu-ray share was 62%. I suspect by the end of the Christmas shopping season, a 60% opening week Blu-ray share will be the norm for any major release. More...

DVD Sales: Avengers Earns an A Minus

October 12th, 2012

The Avengers dominated a lengthy list of new releases and sold roughly 20 times the number of DVDs of the second place release on this week's DVD sales chart. It sold 2.09 million units and generated $35.41 million in opening weekend revenue. This is a good start on the home market, but not great compared to the film's theatrical run. In fact, it wasn't even the best opening of the year, as both The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 sold more during their first week of release, and they both had shortened opening weeks. That said, it is already in eighth place for the year and this film did much better on Blu-ray than it did on DVD. More on that very shortly. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Indiana Jones Raids Blu-ray Sales Chart

October 2nd, 2012

There was a wide variety of new releases to reach the top ten on the Blu-ray Sales Chart this week. Indiana Jones Blu-ray Box Set opened in first place with 239,000 units / $15.55 million, which is excellent for a box set. More...

DVD Sales: Chihuahua Towers Over Competition

October 2nd, 2012

Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3 led the contingent of new releases earning first place on the DVD sales chart this week. It opened with 292,000 units / $4.96 million, which is excellent for a direct-to-DVD release. More...

Blu-ray Sales: White Shines on Blu

September 25th, 2012

New releases took the top four or five spots on the Blu-ray Sales Chart this week, it depends on which measure you take, units or revenue. Snow White and the Huntsman led the way in both with 893,000 units / $17.86 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 55%, which is excellent, even for a visually impressive film like this. In fact, given its slightly more female demographic, this is an even more impressive result. More...

DVD Sales: Snow White is Alright

September 25th, 2012

It was a busy week for new releases on the DVD sales chart with four in the top five and seven in the top ten. Leading the way was Snow White and the Huntsman with 729,000 units / $12.39 million during its first week of release. This is a good start, and it did better on Blu-ray, so that's a bonus. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Battleship Fires Another Salvo

September 19th, 2012

None of the new releases were able to unseat Battleship on top of the Blu-ray Sales Chart this week, as it sold 145,000 units / $3.63 million for the week giving it totals of 729,000 units / $15.30 million after two. This is better than it is performing on DVD, but that's not saying a lot. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for September 11th, 2012

September 11th, 2012

This week is again dominated with TV on DVD releases, including more than half the first page on Amazon.com's list of best-selling new releases. There is one first-run release that is doing really well: Snow White and the Huntsman - Extended Edition on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. It's worth picking up, but not Pick of the Week material. To find contenders for that title, one must look to the TV on DVD releases, including 30 Rock: Season Six and Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary Specials. But the winner was Castle: Season Four. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

September 10th, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman was one of two big-budget adaptations of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves fairytale. The first, Mirror Mirror, was a much more colorful affair while this one is a much darker, grittier interpretation of the story. Is it also more compelling? More...

International Box Office: International Releases hit an Iceberg

July 18th, 2012

Ice Age: Continental Drift returned to top spot with $97.56 million on 14,354 screens in 64 markets for totals of $339.21 million internationally and $385.84 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in the U.K. with $15.66 million on 522 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $20.27 million, including previews. It was just as powerful in Russia with $16.86 million on 2,090 screens. The film grew by 9% in Germany to $12.16 million on 825 screens over the weekend for a total of $31.20 million after two weeks of release. The film doesn't have a lot of markets left to open in, but it has already made enough to pay for its production budget and likely has covered a large chunk of its P&A budget. More...

International Box Office: Spidey Reboot Ensnares First Place

July 11th, 2012

After a narrow opening last weekend, The Amazing Spider-Man expanded worldwide this weekend taking first place with $127.49 million on 18,343 screens in 74 markets for an early total of $200.86 million internationally and $337.89 million worldwide. If it didn't make another dollar at the box office, it would still likely break even early in its home market run. The film's biggest opening was in the U.K. where it dominated the box office with $17.19 million on 552 screens. That is like opening with about $100 million here. More...

International Box Office: Ice Drifts to the Top

July 5th, 2012

Ice Age: Continental Drift started its international run a little earlier than its domestic run, and if this is any indication, its box office chances here are fantastic. The film pulled in $80.31 million on 9,653 screens in 35 markets. This includes $12.23 million on 2,617 screens over the weekend in Mexico for a total opening there of $13.87 million, which was the third biggest opening of all time in that market. It also made $11.31 million on 841 screens in France, which was the biggest opening of the year. The film dominated Brazil with $6.56 million on 1,004. Its opening in Australia was not quite as strong with $5.02 million on 490 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $6.43 million, but that's still equivalent to $60 million here, given the relative size of the two markets. It broke the record for biggest opening in Argentina at $4.1 million on 284 screens, and did the same in a number of smaller Latin American markets ($3.2 million on 296 in Colombia, $3.1 million on 252 in Peru, etc.). I think its chances of reaching $1 billion worldwide are better than I previously thought. More...

International Box Office: Madagascar Tops Another Milestone

June 27th, 2012

For the third weekend in a row, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted earned top spot on the international chart, this time pulling in $35.43 million on 9,499 screens in 43 markets for a total of $214.17 million internationally and $371.26 million worldwide. Its best market of the weekend was Mexico, where it remained in first place with $3.81 million on 1,612 screens over the weekend for a total of $20.78 million after three. Meanwhile in Russia, the film has amassed a total of $43.05 million, including $3.41 million on 1,485 screens this past weekend. The film's next major market is Spain, but it doesn't open there till the end of July. It doesn't finish its run till October when it opens in the U.K. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Brave Hits Bullseye

June 25th, 2012

Turns out the weekend was rather predictable, with nearly every film earning roughly what they were expected to do. More films topped expectations than missed them, and this includes Brave, which earned more than last year's winner, Cars 2. This helped the overall box office grow 26% from last weekend to $164 million. Unfortunately, the other two new releases, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, were not as strong compared to the counter-programming from last year, Bad Teacher, and this meant 2012 lost to 2011 by 7%. Worse still, next weekend will be a disaster, as there are four middling releases that will have to compete with Transformers: Dark of the Moon. More...

International Box Office: Madagascar Cracks Quarter Billion

June 20th, 2012

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted held firm on top of the international chart with $52.82 million on 11,633 screens in 43 markets for a total of $158.43 million internationally and $277.44 million worldwide. It fell just 36% in Russia for a weekend haul of $10.09 million on 1,830 screens over the weekend and a total of $36.00 million after two. Quite frankly, this is a stunning hold. Russia is known for steep declines (drop-offs greater than 60% are the norm). At this pace, the film could top The Avengers as the biggest hit in the market this year by this time next week. In Mexico, it made $5.03 million on 572 screens over the weekend for a total of $14.82 million after two, while in Brazil it managed $4.19 million on 870 screens over the weekend for a total of $17.53 million after two. In both of those markets the film remained in top spot. On the other hand, it slipped to second place during its second weekend in France down 45% to $4.41 million on 685 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.17 million so far. This is about on par with its run here. With many, many major markets left ahead of it, the film should have little trouble reaching more major milestones, while it should break even before it reaches the lucrative home market. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Rock Sinks, Boy Bombs

June 18th, 2012

The weekend could be be described as an epic disappointment. Rock of Ages and That's My Boy earned less during their opening weekends than some expected they would make during their opening days. This meant Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted had an easy win, even though it slumped a little bit more than expected. In fact, the only film in the top five that beat expectations was Snow White and the Huntsman. The overall box office fell 28% from last weekend to $130 million. More importantly, this was 15% lower than the same weekend last year. These wild swings at the box office are making it hard to predict what will happen in the future. We can't seem to get any momentum either way these past few weeks. Still, 2012 is ahead of 2011 by 9.5% at $4.91 billion to $4.49 billion and we do have at least one monster hit left to open this summer, so that lead could increase by the end of August. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will the Box Office Rock?

June 14th, 2012

It could be a really close race for the top of the box office chart between Rock of Ages, That's My Boy, and last week's winner, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. All three films have a shot at a weekend haul in the mid-to-high $30 million range. That's the good news. The bad news is, none of them really have a shot at matching Green Lattern's $50 million opening from this weekend last year. Because of this, 2012 will need to rely on depth to earn a win in the year-over-year comparison and while there are some positive signs, it could be a close race. More...

International Box Office: Madagascar is Wanted Worldwide

June 13th, 2012

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted led the way on the international chart with $77.28 million on 10,877 screens in 28 markets. Its best single market was Russia, where it pulled in $9.80 million on 1,670 screens, which was easily enough for first place. It was also dominant in France with $7.96 million on 685 screens. A pair of Latin American markets also contributed to its overall success with it earning $7.53 million on 890 screens over the weekend in Brazil, for a total opening in that market of $10.85 million. In Mexico, it earned $6.98 million on 1,965. The studio is going with a spread out release schedule, so it doesn't have a whole lot of major markets in the coming weeks, while it doesn't end its international run till October when it debuts in the U.K. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Animated Animals Outpace Aliens

June 12th, 2012

In just two weeks, the box office went from slump to soaring. Both Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Prometheus were box office hits and for first time in nearly four years and for only the second time ever, two films opened with more than $50 million at the box office. The overall box office reached $182 million, which shows the holdovers were also an important part of the overall picture. This was an increase of 27% from last weekend and a 32% increase from last year. A 32% increase would be amazing under normal circumstances, but just two weeks ago, we saw a 30% decrease in the year-over-year comparison, which makes this turnaround even more stunning. Year-to-date, 2012 remains ahead of 2011 by just shy of 10% at $4.70 billion to $4.28 billion and things look pretty good next weekend as well. Not as good as they were this weekend, but pretty good. More...

Weekend Predictions: Aliens vs. Predator

June 7th, 2012

There is an actual race for top spot on the box office chart between two new releases. We haven't seen that since early February. This week we have Aliens, represented by Prometheus, and we have Predators, represented by Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Okay, technically only Alex is a predator, but that's close enough. Both films are expected to top last year's number one film, Super 8, and with Snow White and the Huntsman opening better than expected last weekend, the holdovers should be stronger as well. 2012 should finally end the slump that began three weeks ago. More...

International Box Office: International Men of Money

June 7th, 2012

Men in Black 3 held on extremely well during its second weekend of release on the international scene earning an easy first place with $78.67 million on 20,554 screens in 90 markets for a total of $275.17 million internationally. This is already more than Men in Black 2 made during its entire run. Worldwide the film has $386.25 million, which is higher than the high end of the film's reported budgets. It's on track to reach between $500 million and $600 million worldwide, which is enough to put it on track to earn a profit sometime on the film's home market run. Amazingly, the film actually held on well in China, where it was down less than 30% to $15.4 million on 5,200 screens over the weekend for a total of $51 million after two. Perhaps it will reach the century mark there. In Germany, it grew by 3% to $5.32 million on 742 screens over the weekend for a total of $13.44 million. It also grew by 3% in the U.K., but fell to third place with $4.69 million on 533 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.30 million after two. In Britain, it was the Jubilee Holiday, so that explains the growth. More...

Contest: Fairy and Balanced: Winning Announcement

June 6th, 2012

The winners of our Fairy and Balanced contest were determined and they are... More...

Full Moon on the Per Theater Chart

June 5th, 2012

Moonrise Kingdom remained on the top of the per theater chart with an outstanding average of $54,805 in 16 theaters. If it had opened with that average in four theaters, it would have been considered a huge hit, so this is a fantastic sophomore stint. Snow White and the Huntsman was the only other film in the $10,000 club with an average of $14,900. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Snow White and the Holdovers

June 4th, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman not only earned first place on the weekend box office chart, it did so with ease, topping all but the most bullish predictions. In fact, it even topped last year's opening of X-men: First Class, which means the film nearly helped 2012 back in the winning circle. The overall box office did fall 7% when compared to last weekend, but it was the post-Memorial Day weekend, so that's a very strong finish. The year-over-year decline was 11%, which normally would be really disappointing, but the previous weekend, the decline was over 30%, so this represents a huge recovery and bodes well for the next few weeks. 2012's lead over 2011 has shrunk to just under 10% at $4.47 billion to $4.07 billion, but even if the overall box office is flat for the rest of the year, a $400 million increase over the full year would be worth celebrating. More...

Weekend Estimates: Very Fair Start for Snow White

June 3rd, 2012

After a disastrous start for Battleship a few weeks ago, Universal execs will be breathing a lot easier this morning thanks to an impressive debut for Snow White and the Huntsman. The fantasy adventure is projected to earn $56.26 million, according to the studio's Sunday estimate, which will give it a good shot at matching its production budget (which reportedly ended up at more than $170 million). More...

2012 Preview: June

June 1st, 2012

As May ends and we look forward to June, we have some good news and some bad news to report from last month. First the bad news. Nearly every film missed expectations, sometimes by massive levels. The good news? The Avengers was a record-breaking hit and it managed to compensate for every miss of the month and May of 2012 was just as strong as May of 2011. Unfortunately, the month has ended on a low note and The Avengers is shedding theaters, so new releases will be really important for June's chances. There are two films that were supposed to open wide this month that are no longer doing so, although we did have one film moved up to replace G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but that still leaves just twelve films opening wide over the five weekends in June. This does include six films that have a real shot at earning $100 million or more at the box office, and three of those have a shot at $200 million. Prometheus is earning a ton of buzz and there are some that think it will be the biggest hit of the month. It might even be a $300 million hit. However, you can't count out Brave in the race to become the biggest hit of the month, as Pixar's average is over $250 million and $300 million is also not out of the question. It's hard to compare last June, because there were only four weekends last June, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon opened on the Wednesday before the July 1st long weekend, which throws off the numbers. If you consider Dark of the Moon a June release, then there were six $100 million movies and one $300 million this month last year. We will need nearly every film to match expectations in order for 2012 to continue to strengthen its lead on 2011. More...

Weekend Predictions: Black and White

May 31st, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman is the only new wide release of the weekend and it is looking to overthrow Men in Black 3 on the top of the chart. It should have a pretty easy time winning, if not, the box office is in serious trouble. It is more important to compare its opening to that of X-men: First Class, which opened this weekend last year. Asking Snow White to make $55 million is probably asking too much, while the holdovers won't be able to match last year's crop, so June will likely start off on a low note when compared to last year. After an amazing start to the year, 2012 is starting to really struggle. Hopefully it is just a minor bump in the road. More...

Contest: Fairy and Balanced

May 25th, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman is the only wide release next week, although that's a recent change. Piranha 3DD was supposed to open wide, but that's changed to a limited release. Because of this, it is the only choice for target film for this week's box office prediction contest. And because our target film is a fairytale adventure, so is the main prize. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Snow White and the Huntsman. 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 Dora the Explorer: Dora's Storybook Adventure 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 a copy of The Backyardigans: Robin Hood the Clean on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Contest: Winning the Battle: Winning Announcement

May 23rd, 2012

The winners of our Winning the Battle contest were determined and they are... More...