January 20th, 2009
A terrible week for first run releases. There are five such releases on this week's list, but they has a combined haul of around $130 million, and nearly $100 million of that came from two films. With no big releases, we had to look other places for the DVD Pick of the Week. Repo! The Genetic Opera on Blu-ray is a clear contender for that title, but its lack of mass appeal is troublesome. This American Life - Season Two is a safer pick, but it is a Borders Exclusive release. Regardless of these issues, both releases are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week. Despite the weakness at the top, there are still more than enough total releases to cause this column to stretch into two parts. The second part can be found here.
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June 19th, 2006
It may seem like a really slow week for DVD releases, but this is because several releases were grouped together. I have one section for the five
Alfred Hitchcock releases instead of spreading them out and padding the word count. Taking that into account, the week is about average in terms of quantity, and quality. There were a handful of contenders this week, and a few that looked good in advance but the special feature were a let down. In the end I went with
NewsRadio -
The Complete Fourth Season as the best of the best while
Married With Children -
The Complete Fifth Season earns and honorable mention. ... "Go with him." (If you get that reference, you probably already have the latter release pre-ordered.)
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December 3rd, 2005
War of the Worlds easily won the race on the rental charts with $15.54 million in combined rentals, which is one of the best results of the year.
This is more of a surprise than it may first seem, since people usually buy blockbusters like this and not rent them as much.
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July 30th, 2005
Constatine captured top spot on the home market taking first place on the DVD rentals, ($9.23 million); VHS rentals, ($930,000); and DVD sales, (no numbers announced.) And while the film's combined rentals of $10.17 million was a strong performance, the rest of the top five weren't so lucky.
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July 23rd, 2005
To call Million Dollar Baby's debut on the home market a knockout is very apt.
Perhaps too apt.
Not only did the film easily win the week with $12.42 million in combined rentals, every other film in the top five saw serious drop-offs, sending the overall market sharply downwards.
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July 16th, 2005
It looks like the home market is starting to recover from its extended slump as
Hide & Seek was the number one with $11.71 million in combined rentals, $10.55 million from DVDs and $1.16 million from VHS. The film was also the number one selling DVD this week, but no figures were released.
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July 9th, 2005
The Pacifier took the lead on the Rental Charts on the Home Market and was the only new release in the to five.
Vin Diesel's first foray into
comedies led the DVD charts with $9.48 million, the VHS charts with $1.29 million, and the combined charts with $10.77 million. It was also the best selling DVD for the week, but as usual there were no sales numbers released.
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July 2nd, 2005
Hitch held onto top spot on the rental charts this week despite four new releases making the top five, and it wasn't even a close contest. The film added $10.58 million in combined rentals, down just 16% from
last week for a $23.21 million two-week total.
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June 26th, 2005
The international box office is suffering even more than the domestic box office is. In Germany the first six months of 2005 are down 14% compared to the same period in 2004 and Australia also saw double digit decline slipping by 12%. In Spain the total box office is down 8% and it was little better in France at 6%. The U.K. also fell, but at a much more reasonably 1.9%.
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June 25th, 2005
Despite an amazing performance by
Hitch, the home market is still suffering. This is no real surprise since the home market mirrors the theatrical market, just with a roughly four-month delay. Opening as a clear number one,
Hitch brought in $12.62 million in combined rentals split $11.54 million / $1.09 million DVD / VHS. Saleswise, the film also finished first, but no sales figures were published.
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June 19th, 2005
Just when the International Details column was getting back to normal we have another film dominating the international scene. Mr. and Mrs. Smith led in nearly every major / midlevel market and those it didn't were mostly owned by Revenge of the Sith. Because of that there isn't as much news to tell as usual, and with Batman Begins opening worldwide this weekend and in two weeks, War of the Worlds doing the same, this trend will last until mid-July at the earliest.
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June 13th, 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, classics and a few from the growing TV on DVD section. It is a much slower week for DVD releases when compared to
last week, but that's not surprising since last week was the the busiest week for DVD releases in a few years, at least. There are a few choices for the DVD pick of the week depending on a couple of questions. Do you own any version of
Jaws? If not, pick up the
30th Anniversary Edition. Are you Canadian? If so, pick up
Degrassi Junior High - Season 2, (I know I mentioned it
last week, but it isn't available in Canada till tomorrow.) Otherwise,
Hitch, (
Buy from Amazon) is probably your best choice.
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June 12th, 2005
The Longest Yard opened in second place in Australia with $2.5 million. On the other hand, the film could only manage $750,000 on 260 screens in Mexico, not surprising since
Adam Sandler has never been a big draw internationally, especially outside English speaking markets.
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May 16th, 2005
The summer got off to a really, really slow start international this week and while
Kingdom of Heaven didn't wasn't quite the blockbuster most people were looking for, it did cannibalized what little box office there was. There were a few local films to make noise, including Negotiator: Bayside Shakedown 3, which easily topped the Japanese market with $5,275,685 on just 280 for a huge $18,842 per screen average.
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May 8th, 2005
Golden Week helped
Shall We Dance? climb 19% to $2,250,195 for the weekend and $7,270,348 during its run. The film now has $90.3 million internationally and could break $100 million if it continues to show strong legs in Japan.
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April 27th, 2005
The Interpreter climbed into top spot on the international with $12.6 million on 2,378 screens in 35 markets, nearly doubling its total international box office to $25.7 million. And while the film was number one overall, it only had a few number one openings; one such opening was in Germany where the film earned $2.0 million on 400 screens. Other number ones include Hong Kong, ($240,000 on 33) and Singapore, ($150,000 from 15.) The film also had a string of second place debuts in South Korea, ($790,000 on 90 behind Truth About Love, which stars
Jennifer Love Hewitt), Brazil, ($560,000 on 120 behind
Guess Who) and Austria, ($240,000 on 48 behind
The Pacifier.) Holdovers were also impressing with the film staying in the premiere position in both the U.K. and Australia with $2.3 million and $1.1 million respectively. With openings that are good for this time of year and holdovers that are mostly stellar, this film should hit $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide.
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April 24th, 2005
Hitch is just coasting on holdovers now, and will be until it opens in Japan at the beginning of June. This week it added $5.1 million from 3000 screens in 55 markets to its already impressive $170.4 million international total and with soft week to week drop-offs and a good showing in Japan and it will have a $200 million future. This week the film added $643,359 in its fifth weekend in France for a $12,785,670 total in the market, $110,000 in its second weekend in Argentina, (rising to first place in the meantime) as well as other, smaller markets.
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April 13th, 2005
The Ring 2 repeated on top of the international charts thanks to number one debuts in both Italy and Russia, which lead the film to a $14.75 million box office on 4245 screens in 46 markets. In Italy the film earned $2.7 million on 410 screens, even though cinemas were closed on Friday for Pope John Paul II's funeral. In Russia the result was even more impressive as the film earned $1.8 million on 200 screens. The
horror sequel also opened in a handful of smaller markets: Malaysia ($210,000 from 35), Chile ($180,000 from 30 screens), Singapore ($160,000 from 25), Ukraine, ($150,000, screen count unknown), Indonesia ($140,000 from 40), and the Czech Republic and Slovakia, (combined $90,000.) Holdovers were not overly kind to the film as it dropped between 40% and 50% in most markets including 40% in France to $1.3 million, 43% in Spain to $1.65 million, 44% in Germany to $1.6 million and 45% in the U.K. to $1.8 million. Overall the film now has $54.25 million internationally and $126.5 million world wide.
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April 6th, 2005
For the first time in four weeks we have a new numbers one on the international charts as
The Ring 2 opened in several major markets helping propel the film to $18.8 million on 3,476 screens in 37 markets for an international total of $34.7 million. That was enough to push its worldwide total passed $100 million to $102.7 million. It's biggest single market was the U.K. where the film $3.86 million on 419 screens, but this was not up the performance of the
original. On the other hand, the film saw its biggest gain in France where its $2.15 million on 403 screens was 50% more than the $1.4 million
original made in 2002. Other major market debuts include $3.0 million on 445 screens in Germany and $2.9 million on 320 screens in Spain. Holdovers were not kind to the film, again, as it dropped 54% in Australia to just $717,420. This has been a problem throughout the film's run and will likely result in the film earning substantially less than
original when all is said and done.
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March 30th, 2005
The
romantic comedy,
Hitch, topped the international box office charts after hitting $100 million earlier in the week. After adding $18.4 million 5,000 prints in 55 markets the film's international box office now sits at $127.4 million and is less than a week from hitting $300 million worldwide. The film had strong openings in a handful of markets, $430,000 in New Zealand on 61 screens, $350,000 on 48 screens in Greece, $292,000 in Venezuela. But the heart of
Hitch's weekend haul came from holdovers like the U.K. with $3.1 million and Germany with $3.0 million, (and number one in both markets.) The film is also still doing strong in France, ($2.8 million and second place) and Italy, ($1.4 million up 5% from last weekend.) This is mostly likely the last weekend the film will reign on the international charts, but with Japan still ahead it should still make some noise at the box office.
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March 23rd, 2005
Not only did
Hitch win the weekend race on the international circuit, but it almost closed the gap between it and
Constantine for the race to $100 million. This week the
romantic comedy pulled in $22.7 million on 5,000 screens in 46 markets, lifting its international box office to $98.1 million as of Sunday, and the film has almost assuredly hit $100 million after Monday and Tuesday. It's biggest box office of the weekend came from France where the film debuted in top spot with $4.4 million on 560 screens and the film also took top spot in its debut in Malaysia with $230,000 on 30 screens while just missing the trifecta with a second place, $400,000 opening in Turkey. Holdovers include first place finishes in Germany, ($3.75 million) Austria and Australia, ($1.4 million) while the film slipped to second place in its second weekend of wide release in the U.K. with $4.3 million. The only downside for the film now is the lack of major markets left to open in with Japan having to wait till July 4th. By that time the film will have crossed $300 million worldwide and may climb high enough to become one of the ten biggest hits of the year.
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March 21st, 2005
With neither of the new films meeting expectations and the holdovers falling short too, all in all it was a rather disappointing weekend at the box office.
Week-to-week the box office was essentially flat - up less than 0.9% - while compared to last year it was down 2.2%.
And at $1.72 billion, 2005 is now almost 1% behind 2004.
But 2004 entered a prolonged slump at this point, so 2005 should have ample opportunity to regain a sizeable lead.
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March 18th, 2005
It's a model weekend for releases, as we have one high profile release and a counter-programming film.
They shouldn't interfere with each other's box office, as their target audiences don't overlap in any significant way.
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March 16th, 2005
Not only is
Hitch the undisputed champion of 2005 for the domestic market, it is also the new number one worldwide, topping
Howl's Moving Castle $216.5 million to $211.9 million. And with $28.1 million this weekend on 4,600 screens in 40 markets, the film sits at $66.0 million internationally and could become the first film from 2005 to reach the $100 million milestone on the international scene.
The film's biggest opening of the weekend came from the U.K., where it racked up $8.1 million including sneak peaks, which represented more than 50% of total box office in the market.
Add in first place debuts in Italy with $2.5 million on 300, Belgium with $820,000 on 57, Netherlands with $670,000 on 93 and $225,000 on 16 screens in the U.E.A. The film also performed admirably in South Korea with a third place, $1.4 million weekend on 175 screens. Notable holdovers include its $6.3 million in Germany, down less than 30% to $17.2 million in that market alone and $1.83 million in Australia, down 34% and still first place in both markets. The film was also first place in Scandinavia, but exact numbers are currently unavailable.
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March 14th, 2005
The best word to describe this week's predictions is "Overcompensation."
After getting skunked underestimating how well certain films have done in the past many, many analysts overestimated their appeal this weekend. This in part led to a 6.3% drop-off from last weekend and more importantly, a 1.7% drop-off from last year. After sporting a double digit lead just a couple of weeks ago, the Year-to-Date race is a virtual tie at $1.56 billion each.
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March 11th, 2005
There really no doubt about what film will take top spot this weekend, as Robots could triple the second place film. However, after number one there are some interesting stories at the weekend box office race.
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March 9th, 2005
We have a new number one at the international box office this week, as Hitch has expanded into 19 more markets, with number one debuts in all but one; it added $21.1 million on 3,000 screens in 25 markets to its early $29.6 million total.
Its biggest debut came in Germany, where Will Smith is a huge box office draw; the film brought in $8.8 million on 905 screens, becoming the biggest opening ever for a Romantic Comedy.
The film also did amazing business in other German speaking markets (Austria and Switzerland), plus Australia at $2.76 million, making it the biggest opening of the year in all four markets.
The only market it failed to crack the top spot was Spain, where it went head to head with Hide & Seek and narrowly missing top spot with 2.56 million on 373 screens.
It should be pointed out that horror films do particularly well in Spain, so this result is not unexpected. One last note, the film also debuted in London on one screen earning $101,395.
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March 7th, 2005
Overall it was a good weekend as every movie in the top five matched expectations, or at least came very close, and the number one film topped predictions by a wide, wide margin. However, the news was not all good, as the weekend was relatively flat from last week with just a 1.1% increase. Compared to last year the figure was much worse at 14.5% decrease.
2005's lead over 2004 evaporated to just 1%, $1.427 billion to $1.413 billion.
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March 6th, 2005
The Aviator beat weekend estimates by a substantial margin leading to a $5.9 million box office on 3000 screens in 34 markets. The multi-
Oscar winning movie has hit $86.2 million internationally and will cross $200 million worldwide before too long. The film dropped a spot to fifth place in South Korea with $834,660 for the week and slipped to second in Australia with $798,000. The only market the film opened it was Argentina, where it easily took top spot with $232,000.
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March 4th, 2005
Three new films open in wide release (or, in the case of one of the films, semi-wide release), one more film expands at the box office, while another could be propelled back into the top five thanks to a significant Oscars bounce. All in all, it's a very busy weekend for moviegoers.
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February 28th, 2005
It was a shocking weekend at the box office, which is good, since the Oscars seemed safe and predictable this year.
However, not all the surprises were pleasant and even with the top film more than doubling its prediction the overall box office wasn't that much higher than expected.
It fell by 7.7% from last weekend and 22% from last year. Year to date 2005's lead was cut nearly in half to 8.6%, $1.244 billion to $1.145 billion.
Look for that trend to continue next weekend.
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February 27th, 2005
Ocean's Twelve may have dropped out of the top five, but it is still going strong with $4.5 million on 1400 screens in 35 markets for an international box office of $225.8 million so far. No new openings means the
heist film had to rely on holdovers likes its $2.5 million during its third weekend in the U.K. and $1.4 million during its fifth week of release in Japan, finishing second in both those markets.
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February 25th, 2005
It's Oscar weekend, the weekend where the movie industry celebrates the best of the best, but ironically, the three movies having wide releases would hardly qualify for that description. It's so bad that two of the three films were not screened for critics. Ouch. Also ouch will be the effect the Oscar telecast will have on the box office, especially for films that are up for awards. Still, whatever they lose this weekend they'll make up for with the Oscar bounce next weekend. One last note, right now 2005 is about 14% up on 2004, that will change this weekend. In fact, the gab could be cut in half over the next three days.
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February 23rd, 2005
Only two films were able to crack the $10,000 club this week, at least if you only count the three day weekend.
The charts were led by the German Oscar contender, Downfall, which opened in only one theater and earned $18,195 over the 3-day weekend, and $24,220 if you add in the holiday Monday.
In second place was Bride and Prejudice with a per theater average of $10,047 / $12,015.
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February 22nd, 2005
The long weekend helped boost ticket sales to higher than expected levels, with almost every film meeting or exceeding predictions.
Percentage-wise, the three-day weekend was up 10.9% from last weekend and more than 40% from last year.
However, this weekend last year was not Presidents' Day Weekend and thus that comparison is misleading.
Comparing 2005 Presidents Day Weekend to 2004 and the results are still very strong, just not overwhelmingly so; 3-day 2005 was up 7.0% and 8.4% for the 4-day weekend.
Year to date, 2005 is up 13.4% on 2004, with $1.121 billion. However, 2004 had a slow start and didn't really take off until late February.
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February 18th, 2005
Presidents' Day Long Weekend isn't the busiest holiday of the year, but it should give a boost to the box office nonetheless.
Looking at the reviews of the three new releases, this weekend is going to need a boost.
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February 15th, 2005
The re-release of Masculine Feminine took top spot on the per theater charts, with an average of $13,428 in two theaters.
This is the second time in three weeks that a re-release has managed that feat.
There was an extremely close battle for second place between the overall box office champ, Hitch and Bride and Prejudice, which earned averages of $12,068 and $12,058 respectively.
Had the latter film sold just 50 more tickets it would have finished in second place.
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February 14th, 2005
Valentine's Day brought a lot of love to both Will Smith and Sony, as records were set. This led to a massive 16.6% increase from last weekend, however, the box office was down 3.6% from last year. But the latter comparison isn't completely accurate since this time last year was the President's Day Long Weekend. Year to date 2005 is up on 2004 by 9%, but before the industry starts to celebrate, 2004 got off to a very slow start before taking off mid-way through the month, so the race is far from over.
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February 11th, 2005
It's Valentine's Day weekend, sort of. Valentine's Day is actually on Monday, but I don't think that's going to stop a lot of people from seeing a date movie this weekend. With that extra boost we should have a first mega-hit of the year as romantic comedies should reign supreme.
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February 10th, 2005
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 this week's winner,
The Jacket -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
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February 1st, 2005
Just one look at February and it feels like it's a worse month than January was. Maybe it's the fact that January was stronger than expected so February's releases look weaker by comparison. Or maybe it's the lack of a massive hit like we had last year. Regardless of the reason, there's little to be enthusiastic about this month.
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January 20th, 2005
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 this week's winner,
Fantastic Four -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
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December 23rd, 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 this week's winner
Hotel Rwanda -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
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December 9th, 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 this week's winner
In Good Company -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
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September 16th, 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 this week's winner
Shaun of the Dead -
Official Site. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to
e-mail me with the details.
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November 21st, 2003
