Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Theater counts: The Nun II becomes widest release while holding off a string of newcomers

September 14th, 2023

Last week’s box office winner, The Nun II has gained ground in theaters from its opening frame, adding 15 locations for a total of 3,743 theaters, finding itself as this week’s widest release. The horror sequel tallied up $32.6 million in its opening weekend and currently holds a six-day total of just over $40 million. That total brings The Conjuring franchise to a worldwide total of just over $2.2 billion from nine films, including its predecessor, The Nun, which delivered $363 million of that back in September of 2018. This week will see the debut of three new wide releases, including the latest in the mysteries of Hercule Poirot. More...

Weekend projections: The Nun II kicks off Fall season with $32.6-million debut

September 10th, 2023

The Nun II continues the remarkable run of hits for The Conjuring franchise with a projected $32.6-million number one opening this weekend, according to Warner Bros.’ Sunday-morning numbers. While that’s down from the $53.8 million earned by The Nun on opening weekend, it’s the best weekend for the franchise since that film came out, and looks likely to be the third-best weekend of the year so far for a horror movie, behind Insidious: The Red Door (which is just fractionally beating it at $33 million) and Scream VI ($44.4 million). More...

Weekend predictions: The Nun II looking good for opening weekend in the 30s

September 8th, 2023

The Nun II looks likely to scare up an opening weekend somewhere between $30 million and $40 million, with our model predicting on opening around $35 million. That will give it the best opening weekend for The Conjuring franchise since The Nun, which opened with $53.8 million back in 2018. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 will meanwhile debut with less than $10 million, based on its tepid previews on Thursday. Bollywood movie Jawan should be the third new release to hit the top ten this weekend. More...

Theater counts: Equalizer 3 repels two newcomers to remain widest release

September 7th, 2023

Last week’s box office winner is once again the widest release in the land. The latest in Denzel Washington’s long list of feature films, The Equalizer 3, finished its first weekend at the domestic box office by recording a strong $34.6 million from 3,965 locations. After six days, the action sequel has earned just over $48 million from North American audiences, while propelling the franchise to a worldwide box office of over $457 million. This week will see the debut of two other franchise favorites in the way of The Nun II, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, along with today’s opening of the Indian action-thriller, Jawan. More...

The Nun II trailer

September 5th, 2023

Horror movie from The Conjuring universe opens in theaters on Friday, September 8 ... Full Movie Details.

1956—France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading, and Sister Irene once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun. More...

Weekend estimates: The Conjuring’s $24-million opening may be the best evidence yet that box office is recovering

June 6th, 2021

Going into this weekend, it looked as though The Conjuring would have an uphill battle to top the weekend chart. The last film in the The Conjuring franchise, Annabelle Comes Home, opened with $20.3 million in the halcyon days of June, 2019, and it’s been five years since The Conjuring 2 made $40.4 million on opening weekend. With some theaters still closed in North America and a big chunk of the traditional theater-going audience yet to return, our model predicted it would earn somewhere in the region of $10 million to $15 million this weekend. Even with a steep decline, A Quiet Place: Part II was favored to retain its crown. The studios’ weekend projections, released this morning, tell a different story—one that’s very encouraging for box office watchers. More...

Weekend predictions: A Quiet Place is the favorite to win the weekend

June 4th, 2021

Expect to see a close race at the top of the box office chart this weekend as A Quiet Place: Part II does battle against two newcomers—The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Spirit Untamed—and Cruella hopes to make up some ground on the current chart topper after posting solid numbers last weekend. There’s a possibility that four films could top $10 million this weekend, although our model thinks that’s unlikely. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see three films better that number though, which would be another milestone in the recovery of the theatrical market. More...

Theater counts: Cruella remains widest release entering its second week

June 3rd, 2021

Last week was good news for the movie industry as two wide releases hit the big screen and A Quiet Place: Part II, which logged a pandemic-record 3-day opening of $47.5 million in 3,726 locations, and $57 million over the 4-day Memorial Day weekend. The horror sequel currently sits at $65.2M in domestic earnings. Cruella, last week’s second-place finisher, collected $26.5 million over the 4-day weekend and retains its widest-release status for the second consecutive week, going from 3,892 theaters last week, to 3,922 this week. This bests A Quiet Place: Part II which comes in this week in 3,744 locations. New this week from Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Animation comes Spirit Untamed, a family adventure starring Isabela Merced, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Julianne Moore. The film arrives in 3,211 theaters. The other wide release to debut this week is Warner Bros’ The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The supernatural horror feature starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will open in an 3,102 locations… More...

Home Market Releases for August 6th, 2019

August 7th, 2019

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is the biggest release of the week and it is also one of the best. Amazing Grace and Penguin Highway and better movies, but Pikachu is the only one of the three Pick of the Week contenders with significant extras on its DVD / Blu-ray release. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Spider-Man Hits a Home Run

July 9th, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home really brightened up the box office earning $92.58 million over the three-day weekend for a six-day opening of $185.06 million. This is one of the biggest positive surprises of the year and we desperately needed some good news after June. Toy Story 4 and Aladdin held on better than expected and the overall box office surged growing 21% from last weekend to $183 million. This is still lower than this weekend last year, but by only 2.7% and at this point, I’m willing to call that a victory. Year-to-date, 2019 did manage to close ground with 2018, thanks mostly to Far From Home’s strength before the weekend. However, this year is still 8.4% or $540 million behind last year at $5.88 billion to $6.42 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Spider-Man Is Marvelous Worldwide

July 7th, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home is getting off to a fantastic start with a three-day weekend haul of $93.6 million giving it a six-day debut of $185.1 million. This is more than it cost to make and it means the film is nearly guaranteed a healthy profit before it reaches the home market, even if it has soft legs. Additionally, its reviews are outstanding and it earned an A from CinemaScore, so its legs should be long for a blockbuster film. Internationally, the film pulled in $238 million on 52,800 screens in 66 markets for totals of $395 million internationally and $580 million worldwide. This was led by a six-day, $33.8 million first place debut in South Korea, while it earned $30.6 million during its second weekend in China for a two-week total of $167.4 million there. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Toy Story Can’t Overcome Box Office Woes

July 2nd, 2019

June ended with shrug, as the weekend was neither a success nor a disaster. Toy Story 4 was the top draw, but it fell faster than most family films do, down 51% to $59.70 million. Annabelle Comes Home had the weakest opening in the franchise, while Yesterday did well as counter-programming, but that’s all. The overall box office fell 26% from last weekend and, more importantly, 15% from the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2019 has fallen behind 2018’s pace by a margin of 9.5% or $580 million at $5.52 billion to $6.10 billion. At the beginning of June, I thought 2019 would have cut into 2018’s lead by $100 million, but that clearly didn’t happen. More...

Weekend Estimates: Toy Story has a June-Like Hold with $58 million

June 30th, 2019

Toy Story 4 is earning first place over the weekend with $57.92 million. A few weeks ago, a 52% sophomore stint drop-off by a family film would have been a really bad sign; however, June was so bad that this result matches expectations, more or less. The film now has $236.92 million domestically and should race past $300 million here before it is done. This is a monster hit and more than enough to be profitable, but still disappointing. This film is having a better weekend internationally, earning $80.6 million in 45 markets for totals of $259.6 million internationally and $496.5 million worldwide. This includes a $7.0 million opening in France, which is the best in the franchise. More...

Friday Estimates: Toy Story Dominates Chart, Doesn’t Have Aladdin-Like Legs

June 29th, 2019

It looks like June won’t end on a high note, as Toy Story 4 is falling faster than hoped for. The film earned $17.04 million on Friday, which is almost as much as the rest of the top five earned in total. However, and more importantly, it is 64% lower than the film’s opening Friday and that’s a sharper decline that I was anticipating. Granted, its $196.03 million running tally is in line with budget expectations, so it will break even, even if it doesn’t match expectations. A profitable disappointment. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will June Completely Miss at the Box Office?

June 27th, 2019

So far June has been a disaster with no film topping expectations to any significant degree. In fact, Aladdin was the last time we had a film that really beat expectations at the box office and that came out more than a month ago. This weekend is the last chance for June to not be a complete disaster and frankly I’m not optimistic. Annabelle Comes Home is part of the biggest horror franchise around. However, the most recent installment was also the weakest by far and I fear this film will also be significantly below average for the franchise. Yesterday is the smaller of the two films, but in this case this means it doesn’t have to do much business at the box office to be seen as a success. Meanwhile, Toy Story 4 is expected to remain in top spot over the weekend and if its legs are long enough, it could be seen as a real success rather than a profitable disappointment. This weekend last year, there were no major new releases, but Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Incredibles 2 were strong as holdovers. More...

2019 Preview: June

June 1st, 2019

While the final weekend in May isn’t over yet, we can safely say the month was merely okay. It managed to keep pace with last May, but I was really hoping to cut into 2019’s deficit by a significant margin. June is not looking any better, at least not compared to 2018. There are two potential monster hits, The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Toy Story 4, as well as a trio of $100 million hits, Dark Phoenix, Men in Black: International, and Annabelle Comes Home. On the surface, this looks excellent; however, last June was even better on top with Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom earning a combined $1 billion domestically. Granted, the only other $100 million hit was Oceans 8, so this year should have a lot better depth. I don’t think it will be enough to gain any ground in the year-over-year comparison, which is the only way to really judge how a month is doing at this point. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Curse Tops Chart, but 2019 Suffers Another Loss

April 23rd, 2019

Easter weekend gave box office watchers a few reasons to celebrate. The Curse of La Llorona topped expectations and earned first place with $26.35 million over the weekend. That’s a very strong debut for this time of year. Additionally, both Shazam and Captain Marvel held on amazingly well, which bodes well for their chances against Avengers: Endgame. Overall, the box office rose 1% from last weekend to $108 million. This was 14% lower than the same weekend last year, and it wasn’t Easter weekend last year. On a side note, I’ve seen some stories call this past weekend the worst Easter weekend in over a decade. However, this is misleading, as it was the first time Easter weekend was one weekend before the start of the Summer Blockbuster season. Avengers: Endgame opening on Friday had more to do with the weak box office than any other factor and if Endgame is as big as some box office analysts expect, then by this time next week, we will be talking about how quickly 2019 will turn things around rather than how bad 2019 has been. In the meantime, we’ve hopefully sunk to the low point in the year-over-year comparison, as 2019 is now behind 2018 by a $570 million or 17% margin at $2.84 billion to $3.41 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: La Llorona is the Best of the Weekend

April 21st, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona is leading the way on the weekend chart with a surprising $26.51 million. Granted, this is the weakest opening in the The Conjuring franchise, while its reviews and B minus from CinemaScore suggest short legs. Also, Avengers: Endgame opens in just a handful of days, so it will be pushed into the smallest screens in most multiplexes very soon. That said, the film reportedly only cost $9 million to make and < HREF="https://m.the-numbers.com/market/distributor/Warner-Bros">Warner Bros.’ share of the opening weekend will be close to double that. Internationally, the film is opening even better with an estimated $30 million debut. On the downside, it is playing in 71 markets already, so it has very few major markets left to open in. More...

Friday Estimates: Curses! Box Office is Foiled Again

April 20th, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona got off to a fantastic start on Friday with $11.8 million during its opening day. This is a stronger opening day than Pet Sematary managed, but not as strong as its preview numbers were in comparison to Pet Sematary, so it likely won’t have the same legs. This isn’t surprising, as its reviews are much worse and it is part of a long-running franchise. Both of those factors tend to shorten legs. On the positive side, it earned a B minus from CinemaScore, which is actually really good for a horror film. The Curse of La Llorona would have to have tragically short legs to not earn first place after a start like this. Look for an opening weekend of $26 million. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Breaking the Curse

April 19th, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona opened with $2.75 million in previews. This is more than Pet Sematary managed a couple of weeks ago. However, this film is earning much weaker reviews and, since it is part of a franchise, it could have shorter legs. That said, even with short legs, it should still top our prediction and earn first place for the weekend with about $20 million. More...

Weekend Prediction: Can Shazam Continue its Streak or will New Releases Break Through?

April 19th, 2019

It’s Easter weekend and, while it is not a true long weekend, there are enough kids out of school to give the box office a boost. On the negative side, Avengers: Endgame comes out next weekend and no one wants to try to compete against that. Because of this, none of the three wide releases this weekend are in the top tier. The one with the biggest potential is The Curse of La Llorona, but it is also earning the worst reviews of the weekend. Breakthrough is the first film made by Fox to come out since the studio’s acquisition by Disney was finalized, so there’s some significance there. Finally there’s Penguins, a film I thought would be a hit, but isn’t garnering much attention. This is not a strong contingent of new releases and Shazam could remain on top. This weekend last year wasn’t Easter weekend, so maybe that will give 2019 the edge. I don’t think 2019 will win in the year-over-year competition, but hopefully it will at least be close. More...

2019 Preview: April

April 1st, 2019

March was a good month at the box office with most films beating expectations. The biggest hit was Captain Marvel, which is still on pace for $400 million domestically and may have crossed $1 billion worldwide by the time you read this. The biggest “miss” was Dumbo, but it is still going to top $100 million domestically with ease. This month, it is a battle between Avengers: Endgame and last year’s Infinity War. To be fair, A Quiet Place got last April off to a very fast start and Shazam! should do the same this year, so there will be more than one potential box office hit to talk about. That said, Endgame will almost certainly open with more than any other April release earns in total and if 2019 is going to cut into its deficit with 2018, it will be on the back of that one film. More...

Home Market Releases for December 4th, 2018

December 4th, 2018

It’s not a bad week when it comes to the home market. The biggest release is Mission: Impossible—Fallout and while I didn’t like it as much as most critics, the Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD Combo Packs are still worth picking up. There were also a trio of releases that were contenders for Pick of the Week, all of which were TV on DVD release: The Handmaid’s Tale: Season Two, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Take On Me, and Westworld: Season Two: The Door. In the end, it came down to a roll of the dice, with The Handmaid’s Tale coming out on top. More...

International Box Office: Can None stop The Nun?

October 2nd, 2018

For the fourth weekend in a row, The Nun earned first place on the international chart. This past weekend, the film earned $16.4 million on 9,490 screens in 80 markets for totals of $220.2 million internationally and $329.2 million worldwide. There were no new markets this weekend, which explains the sharp decline from last week’s haul. That said, it remained in first place in France with $2.4 million on 367 screens for a two-week total of $7.6 million. The film is now the biggest hit in the franchise, both internationally and worldwide. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Wishing September Good Night

October 2nd, 2018

Overall, the weekend matched our predictions almost perfectly. All three new releases came within a rounding error of our prediction, if not better. This includes Night School, which led the way with $27.26 million during its opening weekend, while Smallfoot wasn’t too far behind with $23.05 million. Overall, the box office was 14% higher than last weekend at $105 million. This is also 16% higher than the same weekend last year. 2018’s lead over 2017 remained nearly identical this week at 9.0% / $720 million with $8.77 billion compared to $8.04 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Night School earns a Passing Grade with $28 million

September 30th, 2018

The weekend box office lived up to expectations, for the most part. Night School is projected to earn $28 million over the weekend, which almost matches its $29 million production budget. It would take tiny legs to fail to cover its production budget, which is unlikely. Granted, its reviews are only 31% positive, but it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, so its target audience liked it a whole lot more than the critics did. Its international start wasn’t great at $5.5 million in 19 markets, but within expectations. It earned second place in the U.K. with $2.02 million in 452 theaters, as well as third place in Australia with $1.20 million on 198. More...

International Box Office: The Nun Completes Threepeat, Climbs Franchise Chart

September 25th, 2018

The Nun held on strongly repeating as the international box office champion with $35.0 million on 12,817 screens in 80 markets for totals of $192.1 million internationally and $292.7 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in France with $4.5 million on 348 screens and in Russia with $4.2 million on 1,847. On the other hand, it had to settle for fourth place in South Korea with $2.96 million on 824 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $4.28 million. It is no longer in last place for the franchise; in fact, it could be in second place by the weekend. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Clocking the Opposition

September 24th, 2018

As expected, The House with a Clock in its Walls topped the chart over the weekend. It was able to open faster than expected with $26.61 million. The other three films combined earned a fraction of that and A Simple Favor was the only other film to earn more than $10 million over the weekend. This caused the overall box office to fall 16% from last weekend to just $90 million. Worse still, this is 23% lower than the same weekend last year, which is a terrible margin. 2018 still has a massive 9.1% / $720 million lead over 2017 at $8.63 billion to $7.91 billion, so there’s no need to panic just yet. More...

Weekend Prediction: Countdown to the Weekend

September 20th, 2018

It’s a busier week than expected, as there are four films opening wide or semi-wide. The House with a Clock in its Walls is the only one with a shot at first place. In fact, it might be the only new release in the top five. Fahrenheit 11/9 could earn as much as $10 million, but it could also fail to reach the top five with $5 million. Life Itself is aiming even lower, but there’s an outside chance all things line up correctly and it earns a spot in the top five. On the other hand, Assassination Nation is opening semi-wide and it could miss the Mendoza Line. This weekend last year, Kingsman: The Golden Circle opened with nearly $40 million and two other films earned more than $20 million. This weekend, there might not be a single film with $20 million at the box office. More...

International Box Office: The Nun Wins Tight Race for Top Spot

September 19th, 2018

There was a close three-way race for top spot on the international chart, but The Nun was able to retain first place with $34.1 million on 12,107 screens in 62 markets for totals of $144.8 million internationally and $229.9 million worldwide. The film’s biggest new market of the weekend was Belgium, where it made $1.42 million on just 86 screens. This was easily enough to earn first place there and was the biggest opening for the franchise. The film’s biggest holdover was in Brazil with $3.5 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $12.6 million. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Predator Tops Chart, Simple a Success

September 18th, 2018

The Predator earned top spot on the weekend box office chart with $24.63 million. However, the best new release was arguably A Simple Favor with $16.01 million, as it is the only film that will match its production budget at the domestic box office. On the other hand, White Boy Rick struggled and will likely not pay for its $30 million price-tag any time soon, while Unbroken: Path to Redemption bombed. Overall, the weekend box office was $107 million, 12% lower than last weekend. It was also down from this weekend last year, but only by 3.5%. That’s better than expected at the beginning of the month and that’s great news for 2018. Granted, its lead over 2017 went down, but it still has a 9.6% / $740 million lead with $8.50 billion compared to $7.76 billion in 2017. It would take something incredible to happen to lose this entire lead by the end of the year. More...

Weekend Estimates: Predator Misses Expectations, Still Tops Soft Weekend

September 16th, 2018

This isn’t a great weekend at the box office, as three of the four new releases are missing expectations, according to studio Sunday morning estimates, as well as the biggest holdover. The Predator will come out on top with $24.0 million over the weekend, but, while that’s not bad for a September release, there’s not a lot to be excited about either. Its reviews are just 34% positive, while it only managed a C plus from CinemaScore, both of which suggest short legs. It is way too early to tell how it will perform internationally, but it only managed fourth place in South Korea with a total opening of $1.2 million on 572 screens. That’s not good and the film needs to be a major hit outside of the domestic market if it is to break even any time soon. More...

Friday Estimates: Predator Tops Chart, Doesn’t Bag Biggest Catch

September 15th, 2018

The Predator missed expectations by a small margin with $10.45 million on Friday. It should earn about $26 million over the full weekend, which is below average for the franchise, if you take inflation into account. That’s close enough to our $28 million prediction that I’m satisfied. However, the film cost $88 million to make, so it needed a lot more than this to be a real financial success. Its reviews are just 34% positive, while it only earned C plus from CinemaScore, so it likely won’t have good legs. As for why this film isn’t connecting with audiences, there appears to have been a lot of studio interference. That rarely helps the final product. More...

Weekend Prediction: Not So Simply Weekend at the Box Office

September 13th, 2018

There are four films opening wide or semi-wide this weekend, which is one more than expected. Of these, only one movie, The Predator, has a real shot at top spot. Meanwhile, A Simple Favor is the only one of the four that is earning good reviews. White Boy Rick is opening truly wide, which is a bit of a surprise. Unbroken: Path to Redemption is the sequel to Unbroken, which earned over $100 million. No one is talking about this movie earning $100 million. This weekend last year, It remained on top with just a hair over $60 million. However, last year’s depth was really bad, so while I expect 2018 to lose in the year-over-year comparison, I don’t think it will be a major loss. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Nun Stuns, Box Office Still Falls

September 11th, 2018

The Nun topped expectations with $53.81 million over the weekend. Peppermint was well back in second place with $13.42 million, which is an acceptable debut for this time of year. Crazy Rich Asians was in a close third place and overall the box office was quite strong. The total box office was $121 million, which is 23% better than last weekend. Granted, this is 26% lower than the same weekend last year. Normally a drop this severe would be troubling, but this isn’t a normal situation. Firstly, this weekend last year was the weekend It debuted and rewrote the record book. Secondly, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by 10% or $770 million at $8.36 billion to $7.59 billion. This means 2018’s gains during the weekdays almost made up for its losses over the weekend. More...

Weekend Estimates: The Nun Continues WB’s Dominance of the Box Office

September 9th, 2018

The Nun topped expectations by a sizable margin with $53.5 million during its opening weekend. This is easily the best opening in the franchise so far and the best opening for a Warner Bros. film this year. The film also got off to a fast start internationally with $77.5 million on 15,615 screens in 60 markets. Its best markets were Mexico ($10.7 million on 3,967 screens) and Indonesia ($7.7 million on 1,216). At this point, the film is almost guaranteed a massive profit, despite is awful reviews and its mere C from CinemaScore. Even if it earns less during the rest of its run than it opened with, which is too pessimistic, it will still be a major financial success. There’s no way the franchise will end any time soon. More...

Friday Estimates: The Nun Breaks its Vow of Poverty with $22.37 million

September 8th, 2018

The Nun is crushing expectations with a $22.37 million opening Friday haul. I wasn’t expecting it to top $20 million on Friday, so this is great news. On the other hand, its reviews have continued to fall and are now at just 29% positive. Meanwhile, it only managed a C from CinemaScore, which is the worst in the franchise by far. (The two Conjuring movies both earned A minus, while the two Annabelle movies each earned a B score.) That said, this isn’t terrible for a horror movie and even terrible legs won’t put a damper on this debut, so Warner Bros. must be ecstatic about this result. More...

Thursday Night Previews: The Nun Conjures Up Franchise Best Previews at $5.4 million

September 7th, 2018

The Nun opened with $5.4 million during its previews. The previous best in the franchise was $4 million, earned by Annabelle: Creation. It’s is nearly impossible to compare the two films, as Annabelle: Creation was a summer release and its reviews were much better than The Nun’s reviews were, but even if this film has much shorter legs, it should top our $45 million prediction. It has a good shot at $50 million over the weekend. More...

Weekend Prediction: Will The Nun be Second to None?

September 6th, 2018

It’s the weekend after Labor Day, which is historically one of the worst weekends of the year at the box office. However, that’s not the case this year, as The Nun is expected to be a major hit. In fact, it should have the best opening in the franchise so far. On the other hand, Peppermint will be happy with a second place debut. Finally, God Bless the Broken Road is opening semi-wide, but the box office lacks any real depth, so it could come close to the top five. This weekend last year was the weekend It destroyed the record book. There’s no way 2018 will win in the year-over-year comparison, but 2018 has such a large lead over 2017 that even a few embarrassing losses won’t put a serious dent into it’s advantage. More...

2018 Preview: September

September 1st, 2018

Overall, August was a little better than expected. Granted, there were no monster hits, but Warner Bros. had two $100 million hits in The Meg and Crazy Rich Asians. Meanwhile, Christopher Robin will come close enough to that milestone to be a hit. This allowed 2018 to stretch its lead over 2017 by over $700 million. Will that lead grow in September? Nope. Not even close. There are three major problems that will hurt September’s box office. Firstly, there are a lot of films that may or may not open wide. Secondly, there are no films opening this month that have a better than 50/50 chance of hitting $100 million. Finally... It. It destroyed records last September, earning more during its opening weekend than any film opening this month will earn in total. Fortunately, 2018 has such an enormous lead that even with It, 2018 should remain ahead of 2107 by $500 million at the end of the month. More...

2018 Preview: August

August 1st, 2018

Overall, July was a a little weaker than expected. Ant-Man and the Wasp appears to be on pace for $200 million, while it is too soon to tell if Mission: Impossible—Fallout will also get there. That said, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by $550 million, so the month of July was a success in that regard. As for August, there’s only one movie that is expected to earn $100 million, Christopher Robin, and maybe a few others that could hit $50 million. It’s a rather sad slate of movies. Fortunately, last August was even worse, so 2018 should at least maintain its lead. Maybe we can get lucky and come away with a $600 million lead by the end of the month. More...

International Box Office: Spider-Man Swings into China with $70.63 million

September 14th, 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming returned to the international top five earning first place with $71.82 million on 21,675 screens in 47 markets for totals of $495.74 million internationally and $823.43 million worldwide. The film debuted in first place in China with $69.12 million on 20,440 screens over the weekend for a four-day opening of $70.63 million. This is already the biggest single market for the film, overtaking South Korea, where it has earned $51.51 million. At this point, the film will have no trouble getting to $900 million worldwide, but $1 billion is out of reach. More...

International Box Office: Dunkirk Invades China with $30.27 million

September 7th, 2017

Dunkirk returned to the international top five for the first time in nearly a month with $36.5 million in 60 markets for totals of $280.0 million international and $459.0 million worldwide. Nearly all of this came from its first place opening in China, where it pulled in $29.80 million over the weekend for a four-day opening of $30.27 million. The film also opened in Italy, but had to settle for second place with $3.6 million on 606 screens. Dunkirk wraps up its international run in Japan this weekend and will finish with north of $500 million worldwide. Unless it cost an obscene amount to advertise, this will be enough to ensure profitability by its initial push into the home market. More...

International Box Office: Valerian Has $28.88 million Reasons to Visit China

August 31st, 2017

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets earned first place on the international chart with $32.78 million in 32 countries for totals of $124.12 million internationally and $163.81 million worldwide. The film earned first place in China with $28.88 million over the weekend for a total of $29.24 million. The film has yet to open in South Korea and Italy so it will likely top its production budget worldwide; that’s nowhere near enough to break even, but if it can get to $200 million worldwide, then it can at least safe face. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Creation Helps Summer Conclude with $35.01 million

August 15th, 2017

Annabelle: Creation’s opening saved summer for one week, but that’s the practically the only good news we have to talk about this weekend. The film pulled in $35.01 million, which is over three times its nearest competition. That’s the bad news. The depth this past weekend was terrible, as there were only two films with more than $10 million, compared to five films last weekend. The overall box office fell 4.6% to just $117 million. Worse still, this is 32% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2017 is behind 2016 by $360 million or 4.9% at $7.07 billion to $7.43 billion. The year has lost over $500 million compared to last year’s pace during summer alone. This is a disaster. More...

2016 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part I - First-Run Releases and Franchise Box Sets

November 22nd, 2016

It’s Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will tackle first run releases, as well as franchise box sets, although there aren’t many of the latter to talk about. In fact, the best movie box set of the year includes more TV shows than movies in its running time and I’ve decided to include it in our second part, which deals with TV on DVD releases. There are still a number of big first-run releases this year that are definitely worthy gifts. We are going to start with the biggest domestic hit of the year... More...

2016 Preview: June

June 1st, 2016

May was great, as long as you don't compare it to last May. Captain America: Civil War was a monster hit and is closing in on $400 million, while both X-Men: Apocalypse and The Angry Birds Movie will earn over $100 million. Looking ahead, every week in June, there is one movie that should top $100 million; however, only Finding Dory is expected to make more than $200 million. In fact, that film is expected to make close to $400 million domestically and over $1 billion worldwide. Last June, there were two monster hits, Inside Out and Jurassic World, plus one $100 million hit, Spy. I don't see how 2016 will top that. Even if every film with a shot at $100 million gets to that milestone, 2016 still might not top last year's pace. Fortunately, 2016 does have a large lead and that could be enough to keep 2016 ahead of 2015's pace in the year-over-year competition. It could be really close at the end of the month, on the other hand. More...

International Box Office: Interstellar Reaches for the Stars

November 13th, 2014

As expected, Interstellar opened in first place on the international chart earning $82.90 million on 14,800 screens in 62 markets during its opening weekend. As you may or may not know, we introduced a new comprehensive look at the international numbers, so there's little more than needs to be said here. I will point out that the film's opening in South Korea was particularly strong at $12.46 million on 1,310 screens over the weekend, for a total opening of $14.21 million. The film also opened in first place in the U.K., with $8.53 million on 1,298 screens, which is about on par with its domestic opening, given the relative size of the two markets. Russia was close behind with $8.00 million on 1,800 screens. The film opened in China this week and those numbers should help the film remain in first place next weekend.

More...

International Box Office: Annabelle Takes Possession of Top Spot

October 29th, 2014

Annabelle rose from fifth to first place on the international market with $26.5 million in 62 markets for an international total of $126.7 million after a month of release. Obviously there will be another installment in this franchise. This past weekend, the film dominated Latin America earning first place in Mexico with $7.61 million on 2,742 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $10.87 million. This was double the original film's opening in that market. The film also earned top spot in Argentina ($1.4 million on 202 screens) and in Peru ($1.3 million). The film was pushed into second place in Brazil, but still managed $2.13 million on 388 screens over the weekend for a three-week total of $11.35 million. More...

Note: This list contains actors who appeared in at least two movies in the franchise.

Note: This list contains people who contributed to at least two movies in the franchise.