PACIFIC RIM: A FLOP BY ANY OTHER NAME?

It wasn’t quite so big a flop as some writers had expected, but when a movie costs around $200 million to make and market and earns an estimated $38.3 million domestically in its opening weekend, it will have to struggle mightily to become profitable. The good news is that in the weeks ahead Pacific Rim […]

DESPICABLE ME OUTSELLS INCEPTION

Universal’s Despicable Me beat out Inception to remain the top DVD seller during the week ended Dec. 26, which included the final days of Christmas shopping, according to Nielsen’s VideoScan First Alert survey. While Inception only sold 64 percent as many copes as Despicable Me on standard DVD, it outsold the animated film on the […]

DVD RENTAL, SALES CHARTS PUZZLE

The principal DVD/Blu-ray sales and rental charts seemed all the more puzzling on Wednesday as Home Media magazine reported that the No. 1 rental film of the week was Sony’s The Other Guys, while the same film only ranked No. 5 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart. The explanation was that the higher-ranked […]

DESPICABLE ME CHALLENGES INCEPTION

Universal’s Despicable Me has become another strong contender on the DVD/Blu-ray sales charts after $25 million in first-day sales on Tuesday of this week, according to Home Media magazine. It joins some impressive rivals for the holiday buying season, including Warner Bros.’s Inception, which debuted at the top of the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales […]

HOLIDAY SALES OF 3D TV SETS REMAIN SLOW

The jury is still out on whether 3D television is little more than a fleeting novelty (Best Buy said on Tuesday that sales of 3D and Internet-connected television sets have been disappointing over the holiday season), but ESPN is increasing content on its 3D network, with plans to air its first basketball game in the […]

JULIA ROBERTS MOVIE RISES SLOWLY TO TOP OVERSEAS

What with its numerous foreign locales, Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts, would seem like a natural for strong overseas ticket sales, but the Hollywood Reporter noted today (Monday) that it has taken nearly two months for the drama to rise to the top of foreign box office. It did so this week, as it […]

ANIMATED FARE: UNEXPECTED SUMMER CHAMPS

While some analysts warned at the beginning of the summer of a glut of family films hitting the screen, with several competing for the limited number of 3D venues, it turned out that many of them far surpassed expectations — Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3 taking the prize as the biggest box-office winner of any film […]

DREAM ON: INCEPTION AT $193.3M IN 3RD WEEK

Final box-office results for the weekend came in almost exactly the way the studios had estimated, with Christopher Nolan’s dreamweaving drama Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, topping the list in its third weekend with $27.5 million. In its debut, Dinner for Schmucks, starring Steve Carrell, was not far behind with $23.5 million. Two other newcomers, Charlie […]

INSERTION OF SCHMUCKS DOESN’T SPOIL INCEPTION‘S DREAM

In its third weekend, Warner Bros.’ Inception was dazed temporarily on Friday as Paramount’s Dinner for Schmucks edged it out at the box office, but it came around on Saturday and Sunday to remain the top film for the third weekend in a row with an estimated $27.5 million, down just 36 percent from the […]

BOX OFFICE PERFORMS BELOW ESTIMATES

Virtually all current films performed slightly below studio estimates on Sunday. Nevertheless, the box office overall was up nearly 10 percent from a year ago, continuing a recovery following an early summer slump. It is the fourth consecutive “up” weekend. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the top 12 films earned $155,046,153 vs. $141,528,932 a year ago. For […]

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