May 12th, 2024
At 56 years old, the Planet of the Apes franchise is the 13th-longest-running franchise in movie history, by our reckoning, and ranks fourth to Godzilla, Batman, and James Bond among franchises that have spawned 10 or more films. Like those others, subtle evolution while keeping true to the fundamentals of the franchise is what keeps audiences coming back, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has managed to pull off that trick again this weekend, with 20th Century Studios projecting $56.5 million for the weekend, a fraction higher than War for the Planet of the Apes’ debut in 2017.
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March 3rd, 2022
It’s no surprise, but welcome news nonetheless, that this week’s arrival of The Batman in 4,417 locations puts the film not only as the widest release of the week, but puts it in 13th place among the widest releases of all time, nestled between two animated sequels—Frozen II and Incredibles 2—which debuted in 4,440 and 4,410 theaters respectively. As the only wide release to debut this week, the latest in the Batman franchise also eclipses last year’s No Time to Die (4,407 theaters), and Spider-Man: No Way Home’s 4,336 locations to become the widest release of the (post-)pandemic era.
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February 24th, 2022
Situated between the blockbuster releases of Uncharted and The Batman, this week’s newest wide releases are aiming at more targeted demographics, and they couldn’t be more different. Romantic musical Cyrano and horror comedy Studio 666 arrive in theaters this week. Uncharted stays this week’s widest release, keeping its opening count of 4,275 locations.
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September 18th, 2019
It’s one of those weeks on the home market. There are almost no new releases to talk about and the ones worth talking about all have caveats when it comes to my recommendations. That is to say, while there are a number of DVDs / Blu-ray that I recommend buying, there are none that really rise to the level of Pick of the Week. This leaves Spider-Man: Far from Home as the Pick of the Week, despite it coming out only on VOD so far.
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July 26th, 2017
The Boss Baby is the biggest release of the week, while Ghost in the Shell is a distant second place. Neither of those films are terrible, but neither are remotely good enough to be a Pick of the Week contender. Gifted was in contention, but in the end, I went with the Criterion Collection release for Lost in America.
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February 20th, 2017
Doctor Strange was the first time that magic was really strongly introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and some thought the film was a bit of a risk as a result. Instead, the film became the second biggest introductory film in the MCU, behind only Guardians of the Galaxy. Is it as good as its box office numbers would suggest? Or has the MCU become self-sustaining generating hundreds of million of dollars regardless of quality?
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February 10th, 2017
Fifty Shades Darker dominated the Thursday previews earning $5.72 million. This is more than the other two new releases earned combined. On the other hand, it is significantly less than the $8.6 million the original made two years ago. Additionally, its reviews are significantly weaker than its predecessors’ reviews were. This will lead to shorter legs and an opening that is closer to $40 million than $50 million.
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March 1st, 2016
It's March 1st, which is not only the beginning of the month, but also Super Tuesday. If you are not American and don't pay attention to American politics, Super Tuesday is sort of like the Oscar night of the primary season. I was going to write about my predictions, but it looks like the race is about to be over. On the Republicans side, if Trump gets more than 50% of the delegates, then he has won. It will be too late to stop him. If he gets less than 40%, then it becomes a real race again. If the polling is correct, then he will get closer to 50% than 40%. On the Democratic side, Sanders needs at least 45% of the delegates, or it is over for him. Anything less than that and Hillary Clinton will have too big a lead to overcome. If the South Carolina result is an indicator, Hillary Clinton could get two-thirds of the delegates awarded tonight.
As for the box office, February was amazing, thanks to Deadpool's record-breaking opening and better than expected legs. The month ended with 2016 being nearly 4% higher than 2015's pace. Additionally, there are some big releases coming out this month with both Zootopia and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice looking to get more than $200 million, while Allegiant should hit $100 million. Last March, there were also three films that earned more than $100 million, but only one $200 million hit, Cinderella. It should be a really close race between 2016 and 2015.
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December 2nd, 2014
It is a good week / bad week on the home market. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the biggest and possibly the best release of the week and the 3D Combo Pack is a Pick of the Week contender. However, there are several other contenders, including two where I'm still waiting for the screener: Legend of Korra: Book Three - Change on DVD or Blu-ray and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Seven on Blu-ray. However, in the end I went with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington on Blu-ray.
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September 29th, 2014
If you look at our list of franchises, none have made more money in as few installments as Transformers has earned. On the other hand, if you look at the top ten franchises, none of them have earned as much critical scorn as the Transformers films have earned. Only the first one managed to come close to overall positive reviews. Depending on who you talk to, the most recent installment, Transformers: Age of Extinction, has been called the best of the sequels or the worst of the sequels. Which camp do I fall under?
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October 3rd, 2013
The Blu-ray sales chart for the week of July 21st, 2013 had a lot of new releases on top with three of them opening in the top three spots. The best was 42 with 253,000 units / $5.82 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 34%. That's actually really good for a drama.
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June 16th, 2013
2013 has been a nervous time for Warner Bros.. After six straight years as the number one or number two domestic distributor, the studio's main franchise breadwinners, Batman, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Hangover are all coming to an end or already played out. They are running in third place for the year to date, and badly need a new money spinner if they are to avoid lean times in 2015 and beyond. This weekend they got their knight in shining armor, or, more accurately, Man of Steel. The reboot of the venerable Superman franchise will open this weekend with $113.08 million, a new record weekend in June and a huge shot in the arm for the studio.
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June 2nd, 2013
May ended on a mixed note, but there was still enough to celebrate. Of the seven films I thought had a legitimate shot at $100 million, four have already gotten there, one more is a sure thing, and another has a good shot as well. Only one, After Earth, will definitely fail to get to that milestone. (Although Now You See Me might get there instead.) Looking forward to June, there are four weekends, each with two wide releases, for a total of eight films. Of those eight, six have a legitimate shot at $100 million. One, Monsters University, should have no trouble getting to $200 million, and another, Man of Steel, should top $300 million. It is hard to compare this June with last June, because last June there were five weekends. Taking that into account and ignoring the first week, which lines up with the final week of May, there were eight wide releases. Of those eight, five hit $100 million, including three $200 million movies. There were no $300 million movies, so if the two big hits this month do as well as expected, 2013 could come out ahead.
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January 22nd, 2013
Like it did on the DVD sales chart, Ted led a trio of new releases that placed high on the Blu-ray sales chart. The film earned first place with 1.28 million units / $25.64 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 43%. That's very strong for a comedy, even one aimed at the prime demographic for Blu-ray.
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January 20th, 2013
Batman was even more dominant on the Blu-ray sales chart than it was on the DVD sales chart with two new releases earning the top two spots. The Dark Knight Rises earned first place with 2.26 million units / $42.13 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 53%. Meanwhile, the Trilogy Box Set earned second place with 453,000 units / $12.68 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 58%. The combined totals are not quite as good as The Avengers' debut was, but was still a fantastic start.
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January 20th, 2013
New releases dominated the top of the December 9th edition of the DVD sales chart with four of them placing within the top six. Unsurprisingly, The Dark Knight Rises led the way with a stunning result of 2.03 million units / $26.96 million during its first week of release.
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December 4th, 2012
It is an awesome week for new releases on the home market. Not only is one of the biggest hits of all time coming out, but there are a number of other releases that are Pick of the Week contenders. The Dark Knight Rises, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Finding Nemo, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Two, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Season One, Brazil, Francis Ford Coppola: 5-Film Collection - Blu-ray, and others. In the end, I went with Finding Nemo: 3D Combo Pack, but it really is an excellent week for prime releases.
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November 23rd, 2012
This weekend is Thanksgiving and as always that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in-between. Unlike most years, I'm only halfway done with my Christmas shopping. So what recent, and not so recent releases are prime candidates for the perfect gift this year? Over the next month, we will go over several dozen possibilities with our annual Holiday Gift Guide, which is divided into into four sections. This week we start with Major Movie Releases. These are first run releases, franchise box sets, etc. However, before we get into the individual titles, we will start with an update on...
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November 18th, 2012
The beginning of the end for the Twilight franchise is here, and, as expected, big money is being made by Lionsgate/Summit. While this installment doesn't look like it will break franchise records, Lionsgate is predicting a $141.3 million opening weekend, which will be the 8th-best of all time, assuming it holds up. New Moon will most likely remain the top opener for the franchise with $142.8 million, although it will be a close-run thing. Twilight will most likely end up the 5th-highest-grossing franchise at the domestic box office, behind only the "box office gods", Harry Potter, Star Wars, Batman and James Bond.
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