June 24th, 2013
It's summer time. Long time readers know what that means for the home market. It's bad news. There are a couple of first-run releases to come out: The Call and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. The former was a solid midlevel hit earning more than $50 million on a $13 million budget. The latter bombed. Neither one is a contender for Pick of the Week. There are a couple limited releases that might rise to that level, but I think the best release is Todd & the Book of Pure Evil: The Complete Second Season on DVD. Unfortunately, the screener arrived late so I haven't had a chance to review it, and I hate handing out that honor when till after I give the screener a full review. Fortunately, there is a screener that arrived late that is worth that honor: My Neighbor Totoro on Blu-ray.
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April 23rd, 2013
There was only one film in the $10,000 club this week, In the House, which earned an average of $11,738 in three theaters. However, Filly Brown had a more impressive opening with $1.48 million in 188 theaters for an average of $7,863. You rarely see limited releases playing in that many theaters earning that high a per theater average.
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April 2nd, 2013
There was a huge selection of films in the $10,000 club, led by The Place Beyond the Pines, which earned an average of $69,864 in four theaters. This is the second-best per theater average for the year thus far, behind only Spring Breakers. Space Station rose back to the $10,000 club with $15,301 in two theaters. This film has amazing legs, even compared to other IMAX films, and pops into the $10,000 from time to time. Room 237 opened with an average of $14,847 in two theaters. This is a good start, but as a documentary its potential to expand is very limited. The overall box office leader, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, earned an average of $10,891 over the three-day portion of its opening weekend. Renoir was right behind with an average of $10,866 in six theaters. Temptation also managed to earn a spot in the $10,000 club with an average of $10,572.
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February 26th, 2013
No remained in top spot on the per theater chart with an average of $11,625 in six theaters. It should continue to expand and it might reach a major milestone before too long.
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February 24th, 2013
The box office crown for Oscar weekend will be claimed by Identity Thief, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning, even though the comedy will fall by a relatively large 41% from last weekend. So its win is in large part due to the low-key new releases: Snitch will be second with $13 million in a modest 2,511 theaters and Dark Skies is headed for 6th place with $8.85 million from 2,313 theaters. Neither new film has particularly low per theater averages ($5,177 and $3,826 respectively), so their so-so debuts are as much a factor of their smallish opening theater counts as lack of demand.
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February 21st, 2013
No led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $17,936 in four theaters. The Gatekeepers remained strong with an average of $11,296 in four theaters during its third weekend of release. This is very impressive longevity.
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February 17th, 2013
President's Day weekend will end with a win and a solid opening for A Good Day to Die Hard, based on studio estimates released on Sunday, but it'll be a close run thing. Safe Haven was a predictable winner on Valentine's Day but has faded fast and is projected to earn $21.4 million Friday-Sunday for third place. Second place is going to be claimed by Identity Thief with about $23.4 million over three days, during which time it has steadily caught up with Die Hard, so much so that it has a good chance of winning the day on Monday. The Bruce Willis actioner will, however, get to claim the title for the weekend with a respectable $25 million for three days and close to $40 million in total by the end of Monday.
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February 15th, 2013
There are a trio of limited releases on this week's list earning 80% positive reviews or better. There are also a couple of films earning no reviews. Of the three best-reviewed films, No likely has the best shot at mainstream success, but I'm more interested in seeing Like Someone in Love.
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