February 5th, 2020
It is a slow week for truly great releases. Both Doctor Sleep and The Nightingale are worth picking up, but not Pick of the Week contenders. Last Christmas is also worth picking up, but only if you like Romantic Comedies with magical realism. As for the Pick of the Week, I’m going with That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season One, Part Two and if you really into Isekai Anime, grab Isekai Quartet: Season One as well.
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December 12th, 2019
Frozen II again won the race on top of the international box office chart, but it at least faced some competition this week. The film added $90.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $582.1 million internationally and $919.7 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings, but it did earn $800,000 in South Africa, making it the second fastest opening for an animated film in that market, behind only Minions. In other news, the film cracked $100 million in China over the weekend and now sits at $107.06 million in that market, including $9.84 million this past weekend. It took less than three weeks to top the lifetime total of the first Frozen in that market.
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December 5th, 2019
Frozen II dominated this past weekend’s international box office chart by almost as large a margin as it did last weekend. The Disney sequel earned $163.8 million in 45 markets for totals of $451.0 million internationally and $739.8 million worldwide. This includes a trio of first-place openings in major markets, led by Russia at $13.7 million on 1,682 screens, while it also topped the charts in Italy ($8.6 million including previews) and Australia ($6.6 million). Furthermore, according to Disney, the film is already the highest-grossing animated film of all time in both the Philippines ($12.2 million) and Indonesia ($11.1 million). It has already topped the original in a number of other markets, mostly in Asia, led by China with an impressive running tally of $91.0 million in just two weeks.
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November 27th, 2019
Frozen II dominated the international box office the way few films manage, earning $228.2 million in 37 markets for a worldwide debut of $358.2 million. This includes a $54.38 million debut in China, which is more than the second place film earned on the worldwide chart. In fact, the movie earned more in South Korea with a total opening of $32.31 million on 2,648 screens, including $28.10 million over the weekend than the second place film on the worldwide chart earned. In the U.K., it pulled in $19.36 million in 671 theaters, while it also cracked $10 million in both Germany ($14.9 million) and France ($13.4 million). Furthermore, the film has yet to open in Italy, Russia, Australia, and Brazil, so it isn’t done yet and should remain on top of the chart for a few weeks.
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November 27th, 2019
There are two wide releases this Thanksgiving, both of which are earning stellar reviews. Unfortunately, only one of those two films, Knives Out, is expected to make any real impact at the box office. Queen and Slim is just hoping to reach the top five. That said, both films will be crushed by Frozen II, which broke records last weekend and it is expected to have a strong hold during the holidays. This weekend last year was the weekend after Thanksgiving and the biggest new release was The Possession of Hannah Grace. Queen and Slim should top that at the box office. In fact, Knives Out might top Ralph Breaks the Internet’s sophomore stint, so even without Frozen II, the weekend would be looking good. 2019 might do well enough on the year-over-year competition that it will save November and give the year a real shot at ending on a strong note.
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November 18th, 2019
Ford v Ferrari had a good opening over the weekend, but unfortunately, it was only good and not great. Furthermore, it was the only film that had a good weekend. The other two new releases crashed and burned, while the holdovers couldn’t compensate for this weakness. The overall box office fell 11% from last weekend to just $108 million, which was 37% lower than the same weekend last year. The year-to-date numbers don’t look any better, as 2019 is now behind 2018’s pace by a margin of 6.5% or $660 million at $9.47 billion to $10.13 billion. Worse still, 2019 has fallen behind 2016’s pace. Things need to turn around and fast.
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November 17th, 2019
If the weekend estimates hold, then Ford v Ferrari, with an estimated $31.04 million, will open with almost as much as the rest of the top five combined. A lot of time when something like this happens, it is because there’s a monster hit opening. In this case, Ford v Ferrari will need strong legs just to top its production budget and hit $100 million at the box office and it is dominating the box office due to really weak competition. Fortunately, the film should have strong legs thanks to its reviews and its A plus from CinemaScore. The film is not doing as well internationally with an opening of $21.4 million in 41 markets. This includes a $3.2 million debut in Russia and $2.3 million debuts in the U.K. and France. If the film can earn some Awards Season buzz, then it could have the legs to get to $250 million worldwide, which should be enough to break even sometime during its home market run.
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November 16th, 2019
Ford v Ferrari is going to dominate the weekend chart. In fact, it earned more on Friday than the second place film is expected to earn during the full weekend. The film pulled in $10.94 million during its opening day, putting it on pace for $30 million over the full weekend, which is significantly ahead of our prediction. Its reviews and its A plus from CinemaScore should result in stellar word-of-mouth. It might even do well during Awards Season, although if it does win any Oscars, I think it will be limited to technical categories.
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November 12th, 2019
It was a weekend to forget with the four new releases earning significantly less than The Grinch opened with last year. Still, the four new releases took the to four spots, meaning there were no powerful holdovers to make up the difference. Midway was the best of the bunch, while Playing with Fire was the biggest positive surprise. Unfortunately, Doctor Sleep missed expectations by a larger margin than those two films beat our predictions, so the good news was drowned out by the bad. Overall, the box office was 5.9% higher than last weekend at $121 million. This is not a reason to celebrate, as last weekend was arguably Halloween weekend, which is one of the worst weekends of the year. More importantly, the weekend was behind the same weekend last year by 28%. 2019 is now behind 2018’s pace by 5.9% or $580 million at $9.32 billion to $9.90 billion. However, and this is important, as bad as 2019 has been doing, we are still ahead of 2017’s pace, both in terms of raw dollars and ticket sales, so there’s no need to panic. While we would prefer to set records every year, being the second best year at the box office is still worth celebrating.
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November 10th, 2019
Midway wasn’t supposed to be a major hit, and it won’t be, but, sadly for all the other new films, it is opening in first place at the box office. In fact, its weekend estimate is $17.49 million, which is less than 10% above our prediction, but it was able to earn first place with relative ease. The film only managed mixed reviews, but it did earn an A-rating from CinemaScore. Additionally, there are holidays coming up, so it could have surprisingly long legs. The film also opened in China with $4.48 million. It’s hard to use this result as a guide for other markets, as there haven’t been enough American-centric war movies released in China to compare against.
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November 9th, 2019
Midway made a surprisingly strong debut to earn first place on Friday with an estimated $6.34 million. Its reviews have improved and are currently 40% positive. Granted, this isn’t great, or even merely good, but it is also not so bad that it will be a major drag at the box office. Furthermore, the film scored a solid A-rating from CinemaScore, indicating its target audience loved the movie, especially compared to critics. Add in a more mature target audience and the film should have solid legs, helping it earn close to $18 million during its opening weekend. Granted, the film cost $50 million to make, so it will still need help internationally and on the home market to break even after a start like this, but this is still much better than most people were expecting.
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November 8th, 2019
It looks like it could be a slow weekend at the box office. Doctor Sleep only managed $1.5 million during its previews, which is lower than anticipated. There are some reasons to be optimistic. Firstly, it does have the best reviews of the four new releases and this is technically a long weekend, as Veteran's Day is on Monday. On the other hand, I was expecting closer to $2 million during its previews.
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November 7th, 2019
It is not a banner week for stellar new releases. Doctor Sleep is earning good reviews, but not great reviews. Sadly, it is award-worthy compared to most of the other new releases. Last Christmas is earning mixed reviews, but that’s to be expected for a romantic comedy. The less said about Midway or Playing with Fire’s reviews, the better. This weekend last year, The Grinch opened with $67 million, which is likely more than all four new films will open with this year. In fact, last year’s number two film, Bohemian Rhapsody, will likely earn more than any one film will earn this year. 2019 is going to take a beating in the year-over-year competition.
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November 1st, 2019
Joker single-handedly saved October. Had the film merely matched expectations, then the month would had suffered a major loss in the year-over-year competition. We sill lost a little ground, but not so much that we will look to October as the reason 2019 missed last year’s pace. As for November, we have some potential monster hits with Frozen II leading the way. If that film doesn’t earn at least $1 billion worldwide, I will be shocked. Additionally, every week has at least one movie coming out that has a somewhat realistic shot at $100 million, although not all of them will get there. Unfortunately, last November was much better, with five films that topped $100 million, including three that earned more than $200 million. I think 2019 will be better at the top, but it just won’t have the depth to keep pace with last year.
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August 14th, 2019
Romantic comedy starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding opens November 8 ... Full Movie Details.
Kate harumphs around London, a bundle of bad decisions accompanied by the jangle of bells on her shoes, another irritating consequence from her job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Tom seems too good to be true when he walks into her life and starts to see through so many of Kate’s barriers. As London transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, nothing should work for these two… But sometimes, you gotta let the snow fall where it may, you gotta listen to your heart and you gotta have faith.
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