The DVD Wrapup Gift Guide II

Breaking Bad, Lilyhammer, Argo, Bruce Weber, Gene Autry, Anchorman, Rutles, MST3K and … More.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Fire bests Frozen.

The DVD Wrapup

The Canyons, Le Joli Mai, Animals, Sanguivorous, Unhung Hero, Undressing Israel, Horror Show.

The Weekend Report

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire—no surprise—dominated weekend moviegoing with an estimated $159.7 million, which translates to about 67% of session sales. For the record (books) it’s the biggest grossing November opening, and if the numbers hold will rank fourth among all-time top grossing debuts. Conversely, counterprogramming failed to ignite the other national frosh entry Delivery Man, which slotted into position four with an underwhelming $8.1 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Pretty simple analysis… The Hunger Games: Catching Fire grossed more than 4x the rest of the Top 10 combined on Friday. Enuf said. Disney/Dreamworks’ The Delivery Man offers some alternative programming to the over-30s (in body or spirit) and is looking at about $7m for its trouble. The hope, no doubt, is that once the fire stops catching quite as many people, there will be a nice Thanksgiving haul… but still, this is the worst gross for a wide-release opening of Vince Vaughn’s entire career.

The DVD Wrapup

Frances Ha, The Millers, Hannah Arendt, Paranoia, Therese, Here’s Edie!, Vivien Leigh, Women Without Men and so much more.

Wilmington on Movies: AFI FEST 2013: Nebraska; August: Osage County; Pickpocket; The Selfish Giant

For any properly enthusiastic movie critic or movie lover, a great film festival is the Perk of Perks. It’s the grand cinematic banquet or smorgasbord on their schedule, and hopefully more of a Babette’s Feast than a Grand Bouffe. At its best, a first-rate filmfest makes the rest of the year, and most of the rest of the year’s movies, worth the trouble.

The Weekend Report

Thor: The Dark World once again led weekend movie sales with an estimated $38.2 million … but this time it had competition. The surprising contender and the week’s only incoming national release, ensemble urban comedy The Best Man Holiday, bowed with a sturdy $30.6 million. Feelgood holiday entry The Christmas Candle grossed $68,700 from a mere five tapers. And the heartland of Nebraska flourished with a $143,000 opening at an initial four locations.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Fourteen years after the original The Best Man, the sequel is looking at nearly the same gross on opening weekend that the original took in its entire successful run. Meanwhile, Thor: The Dark World is doing fine, no matter what “place” it is in on the box office list, actually further ahead of the first in its series after 8 days than it was at the end of opening weekend.

The DVD Wrapup

All Things JFK, Man of Steel, Turbo, Ip Man, Pablo, Black Devil Doll From Hell, The Attack, The Fall, Farscape and so much more.

The Weekend Report

Thor: The Dark World lightened up an estimated $86.2 million to lead weekend moviegoing both here and abroad. The potential wrath of the gods kept competitors at bay though several films expanded to a level that provided them national exposure. Even niche entries largely steered clear of the Thor playdate. The few intrepid exceptions—a new adaptation of Great Expectations and the near-future teen romance How I Live Now—failed to gain a marketplace foothold. And among the week’s exclusive launches only the historic drama The Book Thief turned the page with a solid $105,000 bow at four venues.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Thor is back and his opening is about $5m better than the last time he showed up, 2 years ago. Disney is being conservative in projecting the 3-day, but the improvement, opening weekend to opening weekend, looks like it will be 10% – 15%. If that holds through the run, the film would land around the $500m worldwide level… which is strong, but not overwhelming considering the expense of these films.

The expansion of 12 Years A Slave continues, and on 1144 screens, it will be a $5m+ weekend as the film passes the $15m domestic mark.

The DVD Wrapup

Lovelace, Passion, Intolerance, White House Down, 3 Faces of Eve, Out in the Dark, Renoir, Jack Irish and so much more…

The Weekend Report

Sci-fier Ender’s Game led the frame with an opening salvo estimated at $27.8 million. Two other yarns made national debuts. Final fling comedy Last Vegas slotted third with $16.2 million and a notch back at $16.1 million was the family-friendly animated Free Birds. In a limited bow, Brit feelgood yarn About Time shifted a solid $1.1 million from 175 initial playdates, while the 110-screen launch of Keanu Reeves’ Man of Tai Chi fizzled with a $46,300 bout.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Lionsgate’s latest shot at A Franchise, Ender’s Game, gets off to a solid start. We’ll see how it plays on Saturday. 52% off for Bad Grandpa is actually pretty good for that kind of film. CBS launches Horny Grandpas (aka Lost Vegas) to an okay-ish number. And Relativity’s animated knock-off of Angry Birds doesn’t fly. Focus sends Dallas Buyers Club out on 9 screens for a reasonably good $20k per screen for the weekend. About Time and Diana get roughed up, allowing themselves to look more like VOD releases than major theatricals.

Wilmington on Movies: The Counselor

Is The Counselor as bad as they say?