June 20th, 2012
Louis C.K. returns for a second season of Louie. The first season earned a couple Emmy nominations, a WGA nomination, as well as some other nods and a couple wins. Can it maintain this level of quality through the second season?
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May 28th, 2012
It likely won't be a strong week on the home market. There's only one prime release, True Blood on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. It is an excellent show and the Blu-ray is a clear contender for Pick of the Week, but as a TV on DVD release, I doubt it will sell as many units as the average first-run theatrical release sells. The biggest first run release is Man on a Ledge, but it did so poorly in theaters that I doubt it will have a real impact on the home market. True Blood isn't the only contender for Pick of the Week. Goon's Blu-ray Combo Pack is on that list. The price of the Combo Pack dropped since my review went online and at $15, it is the Pick of the Week, or should I say Puck of the Week. Also of note, Degrassi: Season 11, Part 1 - Buy from Amazon would also be a contender for Pick of the Week, but the full season set will likely be significantly cheaper on a price-per-minute basis.
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January 25th, 2012
There were only three films this past weekend to reach the $10,000 mark on the per theater average, and none of them were new releases. Pina finally expanded playing in ten theaters, while it climbed to the top of the per theater average with $13,667. It should hit its first major milestone soon. A Separation doubled its theater count and saw its per theater average grow to $12,986. It too should reach its first milestone sooner rather than later. The final member of the $10,000 club was We Need to Talk About Kevin with an average of $10,530 in seven theaters. The best new release of the week was Crazy Horse with $7,963 in its lone theater. However, it was a Wednesday release and if you include its first two days of release, it earned $12,336. If it were a Friday release, it likely would have reached the $10,000 market.
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January 18th, 2012
It was a busy week on the per theater chart with five films in the $10,000 club; however, all but one of those films were holdovers. Leading the way was We Need to Talk About Kevin, which returned to theaters after its week-long Oscar qualification run. It earned an average of $21,123 in two theaters. Pina doubled its theater count, but remained strong in second place with an average of $20,740 in six theaters. Even if it doesn't expand significantly, it will reach some major milestones. Despite mixed reviews, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is earning very strong legs. This past weekend it dipped just 8% while earning an average of $15,172 in six theaters. It expands wide on Friday and it should do quite well. The only new release of the week to reach the $10,000 club was Sophomore, which opened with an estimated $13,000 in its lone theater. Finally, we get to A Separation, which earned an average of $11,977 in six theaters. Hopefully it will expand to take advantage of is success thus far.
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January 15th, 2012
With Beauty and the Beast disappointing slightly over the 3-day MLK frame, Contraband will take first place by a fairly comfortable margin, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. The action movie is set to pick up about $24.1 million, per Universal, while Disney pegs Beast's Friday-Sunday total at $18.5 million. Joyful Noise will bring in a solid, if slightly disappointing, $11.3 million for Warner Bros..
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January 13th, 2012
It's one of the worst times of the year to release a film on the art house circuit. Not only is it too late for Awards Season, but the competition is incredibly tight. So it should come as no surprise that most films coming out this week are underwhelming. In fact, of the films on this week's column, only one of them, Sing Your Song, is earning overall positive reviews. However, the biggest release of the week is We Need to Talk About Kevin, which we previously discussed when it had its Oscar Qualifying run.
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December 16th, 2011
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the Awards Season picture started to look a whole lot clearer. The Artist led the way with six nominations, while The Descendents and The Help were right behind with five apiece.
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December 15th, 2011
The SAG nominations were handed out this week, and while The Help led the way with four nods, it wasn't the only film that earned multiple nominations.
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December 14th, 2011
Three new releases were able to reached the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart, while there were three holdovers that were able to join them. Leading the way was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with an outstanding average of $77,641 in four theaters. Young Adult opened with nearly the same total, but was playing in eight theaters giving it an average of $38,783. We Need to Talk About Kevin earned $24,587 in one theater during its Oscar qualifying run. A Dangerous Method spent its third weekend in the $10,000 club with an average of $19,234 in four theaters. However, it has seen in per theater average cut by more than half since its opening, and it has yet to expand. The Artist has also seen its per theater average fall, but it expanded its theater count to sixteen this past weekend and still earned an average of $18,460. It is already an art house success and will soon start earning some measure of mainstream success. Shame more than doubled its theater count, but hung onto a spot in the $10,000 club with an average of $13,496 in 21 theaters.
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December 9th, 2011
It's an excellent week for limited releases with several films earning reviews that are strong enough to suggest they can thrive in limited release (Tomatometer Scores of 80% positive or more). There are even a few that have reviews that are strong enough to suggest they will be players during Awards Season. Of these, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy probably has the best shot at winning awards, but Young Adult likely has the best shot at mainstream success.
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