May 5th, 2010
After two weeks of soft sales by new releases, this week's DVD sales chart was dominated by a new release, namely Avatar. That film sold 3.96 million units, generating $75.87 million in sales. This performance was made even more impressive, since the DVD was released on the 22nd, meaning it was only for sale for three days instead of the customary five days for the opening week of sales. In those three days, the film has become the third best selling DVD of 2010 in terms of units sold and second best in terms of dollars generated.
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April 20th, 2010
Paradoxically, this is arguably the biggest week of the year on the home market, as well as one of the slowest. It is the biggest because it marks the release of Avatar on DVD and Blu-ray. However, it is also one of the slowest, because Avatar scared away a lot of other releases. Looking down the list of top sellers and it isn't long before you find busted Oscar bait, TV movies, Direct-to-DVD releases, etc. I expect records could be broken this week, but it is a top-heavy list. As for Pick of the Week contenders, Avatar is obviously a contender, but I'm holding off until the screener arrives.
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March 7th, 2010
The Oscars are being handed out as we speak and I will be updating our list of nominees with some of the winners as they happen. So far we've seen a few awards handed out, but no surprises.
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March 2nd, 2010
Ghost Writer remained in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $18,350, which is a strong hold from its opening last week despite expanding its theater count from 4 to 43. Just a hair behind was A Prophet, which opened in second place with an average of $18,197 in 9 theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was Art of the Steal with an average of $13,006 in 3 theaters.
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February 2nd, 2010
Oscar nominations were announced at 5:38 this morning, continuing a tradition that have never been adequately explained to me. (Why so early in the morning? Does earning an Oscar nomination become sweeter if people have to wake you up to congratulate you?) Leading the way in nominations were Avatar and The Hurt Locker, both of which pick up nine nods each, many of them in the same categories.
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January 20th, 2010
The Last Station started its run on top of the per theater chart with an average of $24,574 in three theaters, which was nearly double its nearest competitor. That film was Crazy Heart, which remained in second place with an average of $13,776. That was a decline of just 1.6% from last weekend despite some significant expansion. With a couple of Golden Globe wins, there's little doubt it will remain in theaters for some time to come.
Fish Tank was in a virtual tie with an average of $13,750 in two theaters; in fact, since that is still an estimate, it might climb into second place.
On the other hand, since Avatar was right behind with $13,025, it could slip a spot.
The final film in the $10,000 club was The Book of Eli with an average of $10,540, which was better than expected.
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January 12th, 2010
Avatar returned to the top of the per theater chart thanks to its record-breaking weekend result. It earned more than $50 million in 3,422 theaters for an average of $14,701. Crazy Heart was very close behind with an average of $14,004 in 33 theaters, which suggests further room to expand. Likewise, The Lovely Bones could do reasonably well this Friday when it expands after pulling in an average of $12,857 this weekend; however, there is a note of caution, as the film is still playing in only three theaters.
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January 5th, 2010
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus topped the per theater chart this weekend, based on reports from theaters in the United States.
The film earned $128,000 in 4 theaters for an average of $31,909, which is roughly what it made last weekend.
It is also playing in many more theaters in Canada, but numbers have not been reported from those locations, at least so far this week.
The final figures may therefore, as last week, push the final average down considerably.
Second place went to to Lovely Bones, which climbed more than 54% to an average of $21,559 in three theaters.
This is excellent news for its planned expansion in a couple of weeks, assuming it doesn't fall by the same amount next week.
White Ribbon opened next with an average of $19,949, also in three theaters.
The overall number one film, Avatar, was just a fraction behind, earning an average of $19,789.
At this point, we've nearly run out of superlatives to describe the film's box office run and it is far from over.
Crazy Heart saw growth over the weekend, up 38% to an average of $18,416.
3 Idiots expanded somewhat and earned a very impressive average of $11,322 in 132 theaters.
A Single Man returned to the $10,000 club with an average of $10,586 in 46 theaters.
The final film in the $10,000 club was Sherlock Holmes, which fell sharply but still managed an average of $10,097.
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December 22nd, 2009
Like last week, the number one film on the per theater chart managed that feat despite mixed reviews.
This week it was Nine, which opened with an average of $64,308, but I am concerned about its ability to expand, especially if its word-of-mouth match its reviews.
The number one film on the overall chart, Avatar, placed second with $22,313 while Crazy Heart was not that far behind with an average of $20,666.
Up in the Air's expansion continues but it remained strong on the per theater chart with an average of $18,344 in 175 theaters.
Finally, Lovely Bones saw its average plummet this weekend to $15,032, which is more than 60% lower than last weekend.
Had this been accompanied by an expansion this wouldn't be an issue, but it is still playing in just three theaters.
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December 18th, 2009
Just a few limited releases on this week's list; however, all three have Awards Season aspirations, and all three have already picked up at least a one major nomination. That said, the usual caveats with regards to limited releases expanding wide still apply. Even though they have a lot of buzz, they have even more competition.
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December 16th, 2009
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations this week, but looking over the list of films chosen, it is hard to declare any one film as the big winner. Up in the Air did pick up six Golden Globe nominations, including several of the most prestigious nominations, but it is far from the only major player.
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October 2nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Paper Man, Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more!
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August 23rd, 2007
This week's round of new cast information contains updates for Day Zero, The Fighter, He's Just Not That Into You and more!
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