2014 Awards Season: Oscar Ceremony Live Blog - And the Oscar goes to... 12 Years a Slave

March 2nd, 2014

The Oscars are being handed out this evening and as usual, we will be live-blogging the event. Here's the last look at the nominations with those chosen by our contest entrants as the likely winners in Bold. If I disagree with the consensus, they are in italics, and sharp-eyed readers will note there are no categories where that's true. Finally, if I am rooting for an underdog, they are underlined. There are only two categories where that is true. I want Chiwetel Ejiofor to win Best Lead Actor for his performance in 12 Years a Slave. I also want Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa to win for Best Hair and Make-up, because Dallas Buyers Club had a hair and make-up budget of $250. Yes it was effective, but the special effects make-up used in Bad Grandpa was just more difficult to pull off, even if the movie wasn't Oscar-bait. Regardless, I don't expect there to be many surprises at this year's awards. More...

2014 - Awards Season: Slave Top Winners at Spirit Awards

March 2nd, 2014

Independent Spirit Award handed out the hardware last night and the big winner was 12 Years a Slave, which picked up five of the seven awards it was nominated for. More...

Per Theater Chart: Wind Rises to the Top

February 25th, 2014

The Wind Rises led the way on the per theater chart. It earned an average of $14,941 in 21 theaters, which is a good start, especially for this time of year. The only other film to reach the $10,000 club was Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me with an average of $13,927 in 2 theaters. More...

Per Theater Chart: Glory to Gloria

January 28th, 2014

There were not a lot of new releases to do well on the per theater chart this week, but one of them, Gloria, led the way with an average of $19.592 in three theaters. A long-time release, The Great Beauty, returned to the $10,000 club with an average of $13,121 in nine theaters. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscars Understand the Gravity of the Situation

January 16th, 2014

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and there are some surprises mixed in with the predictable results. Gravity and American Hustle led the way with ten nominations each while 12 Years a Slave was right behind with nine. The fact that 12 Years a Slave wasn't the leader is the first of the surprises. More...

Per Theater Chart: Still Lonely

January 14th, 2014

There was only one film in the $10,000 club, but that's one more than a lot of people thought there would be. Lone Survivor expanded wide earning $37.85 million in 2,876 theaters for an average of $13,161. That's awesome, especially for this time of year. More...

2014 Awards Season: Golden Globes: All American Night

January 13th, 2014

Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out the Golden Globe awards last night, and there were a few surprises in the mix. American Hustle led the way with three wins, which isn't a real surprise, but I think many thought another film would lead with three or more wins. The only other film to earn more than one award was Dallas Buyers Club at just two. That might give you a hint at what the big surprise was. More...

2014 Awards Season: Slave Hustles to the Top

December 14th, 2013

Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their Golden Globe nominations this week, and a clear picture is forming. 12 Years a Slave was again the recipient of the most nominations, but this time it was a tie, as it and American Hustle both grabbed seven nominations. If you look down the list of other multi-nominated films, you will find a number of familiar faces. More...

2014 - Awards Season: Slave Earns Independence

November 28th, 2013

Independent Spirit Award started the Awards Season this week, handing out its nominations. 12 Years a Slave led the way with seven nominations, but it wasn't the only film to pick up multiple nominations. More...

Per Theater Chart: Frozen has a Hot Opening

November 26th, 2013

Frozen begun its short prestige release before its wide expansion on Wednesday and it was fantastic. The film pulled in $243,390 in one theater giving it the best per theater average for the year so far, topping Blue Jasmine and pushing Spring Breakers into third place. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was in a distant second place with an average of $37,971 in more than 4,000 theaters. Philomena did very well with an average of $32,109 in four theaters. The Great Beauty remained in the $10,000 club with an average of $17,452 in three theaters. Nebraska rounded out the $10,000 club with an average of $11,634 in 28 theaters. It should continue to expand and start hitting major milestones. More...

Per Theater Chart: Everyone Takes a Trip to Nebraska

November 20th, 2013

Nebraska led the way on the per theater average with an average of $35,100 in four theaters. This is not as strong as Alexander Payne's previous release, especially if you take into account the difference in the theater count between the two films. The Great Beauty was next with $23,442 in its lone theater. The Best Man Holiday was the only wide release to crack the $10,000 club earning an average of $14,875 during its opening weekend. The Book Thief and The Christmas Candle were right behind with averages of $14,501 and $14,140 respectively. More...

(Updated) Weekend Projections: Thor Almost Bested By Best Man Holiday

November 17th, 2013

Although it's still the calm before the storm that will be Catching Fire next weekend, this weekend has a healthy look to it thanks to a stronger-than-expected debut for The Best Man Holiday, which will post about $30.5 million according to Universal's Sunday projection, more than three times the debut figure for the previous film in the franchise. That won't be enough to unseat Thor at the top of the chart though. The Marvel superhero will post about $38 million, down a reasonable 55% from its opening frame. Most other returning films are enjoying good holds too. More...