DVD Releases for September 18, 2007

September 18th, 2007

There are even more TV on DVD releases this week, many of them worth adding to your DVD collection. I would say that fans of TV on DVD might be tempted to mortgage their house in order to pay for all of the great sets coming out, but after the sub-prime meltdown, that's probably no longer an option. As for the DVD Pick of the Week, I decided to go with a David Hewlett double-shot with both Stargate Atlantis - The Complete Third Season and A Dog's Breakfast winning that honor. More...

DVD Releases for September 12, 2006

September 12th, 2006

Another busy week, but without much in the way of first run releases. There were a couple of limited releases that looking intriguing, and some special editions worth the upgrade, but in the end there were only two real contenders for DVD Pick of the Week: The Office - The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon and Smallville - The Complete Fifth Season - Buy from Amazon. In a photo finish, Smallville - The Complete Fifth Season - Buy from Amazon won out, but this was partially because no matter how good The Office is, it's not as good as the original. More...

Oscar Nominations Sidestep Box Office Giants

January 25th, 2005

The Oscar Nominations were announced this morning and at first glance it appears that most of the nominations went to films with smaller budgets and box office results. Box office hits were nearly shut out of the major nominations. More...

DVD Releases for January 4, 2005

January 8th, 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 and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the winner of the DVD Pick of the Week, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle - Unrated Extended Edition More...

Technical Difficulties

January 3rd, 2005

I'm currently suffering from minor computer difficulties, and by minor I mean I'm writing this story on someone else's computer while I'm awaiting delivery of my new computer, which should arrive later in the week. More...

Spider-Man Stuck on Top

July 27th, 2004

Despite a severe, nearly 50% drop at the box office, Spider-man 2 remained on top with $31.6 million, including a record $1.6 million in India, the biggest opening for a Hollywood film in that market. However, the news isn't all good as big drop-offs continue to plague the Marvel web-slinger, 56% in France, 50% in the U.K. and 59% in Spain. But it is still earning immense figures thanks to record-breaking openings and should cross $600 million worldwide early in the mid-week and $300 million internationally during next weekend. More...

Friendly, International Spider-Man

July 13th, 2004

With openings in more than 20 markets, Spider-man 2 took top spot on the international charts this week with $50.9 million on 6,723 screen in 50 markets. Most of this week's openings were like its domestic opening, huge, but not record breaking. So far the film has earned $113.9 million and is ahead of the first's film pace, in fact, it has already topped Spider-Man's total in five markets: Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Turkey. Worldwide the film has earned nearly $400 million and with very impressive legs it should more double that before its run is over. More...

Shrek Greener on the International Scene

July 7th, 2004

Despite crushing records domestically, Shrek 2's prospects may be even brighter internationally. This week the digital ogre pulled in a massive $78.7 million on approximately 4,700 screens in 30 markets. Highlights include a record breaking opening in the U.K. of $29.2 million, nearly triple the figure the original managed there. It's international total now sits at an impressive $176.4 million and should easily top $400 million by the time it finishes. Worldwide the film has earned $587 million, good enough for third place for the year and 24th all-time. More...

Harry Potter 3 is Number 1 for the 4th Week

June 29th, 2004

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban finished first for the fourth weekend in a row with an amazing $40.9 million. That's represents a tiny decrease from last weekend. A large chuck of that figure came from Japan where the film earned $17.5 million on 782 screens. Also helping was Germany, Italy, U.K. and France being eliminated from Euro 2004. Those four nations represent 260 million people whom were closely following the soccer tournament in Portugal, which hurt the overall box office numbers. Internationally the film has now earned $321 million, putting it in second place for the year and just behind E.T. for 25th all time. Worldwide its $533 million is also second for the year but 28th all time. More...

Harry Potter Holds Off New Competition / Euro 2004 to Win

June 22nd, 2004

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban still leads the pack internationally despite increased competition from fellow family friendly film Shrek 2 and from Euro 2004 coverage. With an additional $44.9 million from over 10,000 screens in 48 territories, including number one openings in 7 mostly minor markets. The lone exception was Spain, which added $6.1 million to Harry Potter's coffers, and that number would have been higher had it not been for Sunday's Spain Portugal soccer match. Internationally, the film has earned almost $270 million so far and is still tracking ahead of the other films in the Harry Potter Franchise, but with greater week-to-week drop-offs it is unlikely to finish quite as high. Worldwide the film has already pulled in $450 million making it the second highest grossing film of the year. More...

Harry Potter Holds up Better Overseas

June 15th, 2004

Despite massive competition form the TV coverage of the Euro2004 Football championships, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban help up rather well internationally. Its weekend take of $65.4 million was down just 25% from last weekend. Granted number one openings in 16 nations helped, especially the $8.5 million earned in Australia. The film's international take has already hit $204 million and with it still tracking ahead of Chamber of Secrets in most markets, $500 million international is virtually guaranteed with $600 million not out of the question. By next weekend it will have overtaken fellow Warner Bros. blockbuster Troy for second biggest worldwide box office of the year. More...

Big Harry Potter Drop not Enough to Remove it from the Top

June 14th, 2004

The weekend box office was filed with bad movies and that makes predicting that much more difficult. However, while there were a few surprises, it wasn't as chaotic as it could have been. But with the three new movie combined opening barely above the drop Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban suffered. And that lead to a serious drop from last weekend of 15.75%. But last year at this time, the trio of films that opened really bombed leading to a spectacular 29% increase at the box office. That's several weeks in a row of year to year increases. More...

Harry Potter has Biggest Worldwide Opening of the Year

June 8th, 2004

Despite only opening in 24 international markets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban had both the biggest international and worldwide opening of the year. Its three day total of $87.2 million was ahead of last week's winner The Day After Tomorrow despite opening in just a fraction of the markets (24 to 110) and significantly fewer screens (7,885 to 9,276.) If you include the weekday numbers in the U.K., (which are being treated as previews by Warner Bros.) then it has the third biggest international opening ever with $113.5 million. This is a fare comparison since the two films ahead of it also were not strict 3-day openers either. (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's $125.9 million included sneak previews and The Matrix Revolutions's $117.6 million was a five day total.) Worldwide the film has already earned more than $200 million, which is good enough for sixth place for the year. More...

More Records Fall as Harry Potter Opens

June 7th, 2004

Just a month ago it was looking as if 2004 would suffer through a disastrous summer as the first two tent-pole releases failed to live up to expectations. However, since then we've had record after record fall. The first weekend in June continued this trend as the top 3 films broke several records between them. Since it was a post holiday weekend, a drop in the overall box office was expected, but with a decline of just 2.8% to $186.7 million it was enough to become the largest ever 3-day weekend. And the increase from last year was an incredible 14.6% there's more and more to celebrate about 2004. More...

Another Record Breaking Weekend

June 4th, 2004

If you were to ask a hundred moviegoers at the beginning of the year what their most anticipated film of 2004 was, I'd bet Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban would be in the top three, if not number one. And because of that, it's no surprise that no other studio would try and take on Harry Potter. More...

Far from a Global Disaster

June 2nd, 2004

It was a massive worldwide opening for The Day After Tomorrow, which debuted in 9,276 theatres in 110 markets. It's $85.0 million over three days was almost the same has its four day domestic take. And with more than $150 million, it became the biggest worldwide debut this year. This is a great start, but the real test is yet to come. What will determine if this film is a blockbuster verses it being an elite film is how well it holds up to competition next weekend. More...

Record Breaking Weekend for Day After, but still can't top Shrek 2

June 1st, 2004

In retrospect, I may have been a little harsh on the new films opening this weekend as two of the three earned more during the 3-day weekend than I thought they'd earn during the 4-day weekend. And that helped this Memorial Day long weekend become the biggest weekend ever. Comparing the 3-day total we see a 12.4% increase from last weekend and a 9.9% increase from last year. However, last year at this time it was not Memorial Day. Compared to last year's Memorial Day the three-day portion is up 16.9% and the four-day potion is up an incredible 22% to nearly $250 million. This will create a lot of buzz, which will result in free publicity for the rest of the summer movies. More...

Double the Fun for Shrek 2

May 28th, 2004

With the buzz around this week's new wide releases less than impressive, Shrek 2 should repeat as winner at the box office. And at least one, and possibly both, of the wide releases could be D.O.A. More...

Troy Triumphant

May 25th, 2004

Opening in an additional 11 markets helped Troy's international box office grow substantially during its second weekend of international release. Its sophomore session saw it take in $71.0 million on 10,272 screens in 58 markets, that's almost 30% more from its debut. The film was huge in several major markets including $10.9 million in the U.K., $6.1 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Italy, $4.6 million in South Korea, and $3.4 million in Russia. Its international box office is now just shy of $150 million and should become the number one film of 2004 on that chart within a few weeks. Worldwide the film has earned more than $200 million and should double that before its run is over. More...

Panic Mode - Disengaged

May 25th, 2004

Finally, we have something to celebrate this summer. The lone wide release this week, Shrek 2 had a multi-record breaking opening, and that meant a huge 51% increase in the overall box office from last weekend. And that lead to a huge increase over the same weekend last year, right? Well not quite, the increase was rather minimal at just 3.6%, inline with estimated ticket price increases. However, this weekend last year was the Memorial Day long weekend, so the comparison is not quite fair. Further more, 2004 has again slipped behind 2003 year-to-date, albeit by the narrowest of narrow margins $3.125 billion to $3.119 billion based on Sunday's estimates. More...

Is it Time to Panic?

May 21st, 2004

Shrek 2 didn't get off to as solid a start as predicted and without any other wide releases this week we could be in trouble. But there may be mitigating circumstances that will help the box office this weekend. More...

Per Theatre Average takes a Coffee Break

May 19th, 2004

While the overall box office hasn't caught on fire since the beginning of May, the per theatre average charts have seen a much needed boost. This week another four movies were able to earn more than $10,000 per theatre lead by the debut of Coffee and Cigarettes with an impressive average of $19,832 in 5 theatres. Next on the list was the overall box office leader Troy, which was well back with $13,739. Perhaps more impressive is the sophomore stint of Godzilla: The Original Japanese Version; despite doubling its theatre count it was able to maintain a large portion of its average finishing at $12,176. Rounding out our quartet of $10,000 films is the comedy / social commentary film A Day Without A Mexican, which earned over $600,000 in 56 theatres throughout Southern California for an average of $11,071. More...

$100 Million Opening for Troy

May 18th, 2004

In addition to the $46.9 million Troy earned at the domestic box office, the ancient history movie made $54.7 million on 6,722 screens in 47 markets internationally. Some highlights were the $8.5 million in Germany, $6.3 million in Spain, $5.1 million in France and $4.7 million in Australia. And while a $107 million opening weekend seems spectacular, this is a very expensive film to get to theatres. Combine the production budget, domestic P&A budgets, translations / dubbing / subtitles, etc. and the final cost is nearing $250 million. On the plus side, Troy should have better legs and more international appeal than Van Helsing so Warner Bros. should see a profit before the home market. P.S. If this story sounds familiar, you must have a long memory. More...

Slight Setback at the Top of the Charts

May 17th, 2004

Both opening films were unable to reach expectations and because of this we saw a relatively flat performance week-to-week of just 6.8%. And compared to last year's monster opening for The Matrix Reloaded this year was down an amazing 26.5%. Year to date now has 2004 up by just 1.2%, half the estimated ticket price inflation and unless Shrek 2 opens huge next weekend this year will dip below last year's pace. More...

Summer Should Start to Simmer

May 14th, 2004

This week looks reasonably stronger than last week, but nothing like this time last year when The Matrix Reloaded opened. Still, as long as we can see significant growth each weekend in May, then 2003 should maintain its lead on 2004. More...

Movie Websites Launches for May 7 - May 13

May 13th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, The Chronicles of Riddick - Official Site . If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for Aril 30 - May 6

May 6th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, Shrek 2 - >Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

2004 Summer Preview - Part 2: May

May 4th, 2004

May marks the start of Summer, at least according to the movie industry. And while Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of Summer, the first weekend in May is becoming increasingly important. So it's no surprise that there are 8 movies set for wide released during the upcoming month. ... Wait a minute; that can't be right. With just 8 movies opening each week there will be the potential blockbuster and the counter-programming movie, thereby maximizing profits. Obviously this has to change. More...

Movie Websites Launches for Aril 23 - April 29

April 29th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, Mean Girls - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for Aril 9 - April 15

April 15th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, The Punisher - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for March 12 - March 18

March 19th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, Connie and Carla - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for March 5 - March 11

March 11th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, The Ladykillers - Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for February 6 - February 12

February 12th, 2004

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 the winner for the week, Eternal. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for November 7 - November 13

November 13th, 2003

Movie Websites Launches for October 31 - November 6

November 6th, 2003

Movie Websites Launches for October 24 - October 30

October 30th, 2003

Territory	Release Date	Opening Weekend	Opening Weekend Screens	Maximum Screens	Theatrical Engagements	Total Box Office	Report Date
Australia	5/13/2004	$4,586,076	418	418	2628	$16,534,274	4/8/2020
North America	5/14/2004	$46,865,412	3,411	3,411	18,707	$133,298,577	2/24/2014
South Korea	7/3/2020	$26,042	159	159	195	$60,705	8/12/2020
Rest of World						$333,258,484
Worldwide Total						$483,152,040	8/12/2020