All-Time "Domestic" Box Office Champions...

Hello Movie Fans:


  For this week's post...I thought I would show what the TOP 10 "All-Time Box Office Champions" for just within the USA. Next week I will do the list for Worldwide....

1. Avatar - $760,507,625
2. Titanic - $658,672,302
3. The Avengers - $616,027,000
4. The Dark Night - $533,345,358 
5. Star Wars: Episode 1 - $474,544,677
6. Star Wars: Episode 4 - $460,998,007 
7. Shrek 2 - $441,226,247
8. E.T. - $435,110,554
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $423,315,812
10. The Lion King - $422,783,777

 I can honestly say I am surprised by some of the titles on the list. I did not expect to see Shrek 2, Dead Man's Chest and The Lion King holding strong. However with the recent releases of The Dark Knight Rises & The Amazing Spider-Man this year...I am sure this list is going to change and knock off a few on this list. We will see.....

Until Next Week......

Mr. MovieNews

Colorado Movie Theater Massacre....

Hello Movie Fans:


  With the recent events in Colorado at the movie theater, we are going to respect those who have lost their lives, have been injured and the families effected by this horrific event.....We are going to remain silent on any news for the week. We will resume next week and please join us in a week of mourning for those in Colorado....

Till Next Week:

Mr. MovieNews

How I Evaluate Stocks: Brands and Moats

So you found a great stock with an unbelievable chart and impressive earnings and revenue growth, but is this enough to sustain long-term returns in the stock? I think the next step that we all take as investors is to recognize if the company behind this great stock has a great brand and moat.

According to Wikipedia, a brand is a “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” Good example of strong brands would be Pepsi-Cola which belongs to PepsiCo (PEP) or Arm and Hammer baking soda which belongs to Church and Dwight (CHD). These two brands that I have just mentioned happen to be strong brand names, but do their companies have a moat because of their brands?                          

We begin by defining what exactly a “Moat”, according to Investopedia, an “Economic Moat” is a “competitive advantage that one company has over other companies in the same industry.” Good examples of strong moats, in my opinion are harder to come by these days. Gone are the days when true moats such as AT&T (before the break up) are gone, but there are many companies today which are close to having some serious barriers to entry like Microsoft (MSFT) through its software that includes Office and Windows and then you also have Apple (AAPL) through its closed network using hardware like iPhones and software like iTunes. These are great companies with strong brands and moats, but it does not necessarily equal great returns, this is why investors must learn to first find great charts, earnings and revenue growth first and then they can top it off by confirming whether or not the company has a strong brand or moat.                                                                               

Some of the stocks that I am long that have strong brands and moats are Apple (AAPL), MasterCard (MA), PepsiCo (PEP), and Starbucks (SBUX). I have attached a chart courtesy of Yahoo! Finance comparing these four stocks to the S&P 500. All four companies have appreciated better than S&P 500 the last five years and this is without dividends reinvested.

Are these stocks with strong brands and moats? Let me know what you think.
Related articles: How I Evaluate Charts and Earnings/Revenues.

Disclaimer: All articles are written as an opinion of the writer or writers. The contributors on this website are not professional investment advisors. These articles are written to share investing ideas that may be of interest to the reader. Always seek the advice of a professional investment advisor before investing.

A Plea From Me.....

Hello Movie Fans:


 This week I am going to spend a few minutes begging, pleading, expressing anger and getting something off my chest that has been happening for many years now, and it is just enough....I have had it.


  As the movies get bigger, the budgets grow faster then the national debt, movie studios are doing everything and anything to make sure YOU get your butts to the theater and spend your money and see their movie. The way they tackle this task is to:

• Release numerous trailers
• Release numerous commercials
• Release 10-20 minute portions of the movie

  I have had it. With the current release of "The Dark Knight Rises", this is the perfect example of how the studio is going way overboard and showing us way to much of this blockbuster movie which needs very little if any advertising to promote this film. Every studio is guilty of this and have they ever heard of the LESS IS MORE concept?

  With all this material being released for this BATMAN movie, I am actually not excited to see this with seeing so much of it already. Sure, I could have ignored all the commercials, trailers, news reports, and everything else....but when it is rammed down your throat and is everywhere, you can only try so hard to keep away but you can't eliminate everything.

  I am very well aware of the marketing of a movie and how important it is, but to some people including myself, I would rather see very little and wait to experience it the way it should be seen....on the big screen and me not knowing what the hell to expect. Will I see this movie....of course...but the joy and thrill will not be the same now with everything I have seen. Of course I am sure all this material that has been shown is very very little to that actual movie, but I would rather see 1 trailer, 2-3 commercials, and that's it.

  So, with that...I will be there, I am a fan, and I will spend my money. However, I beg to the studios....stop this insanity and just relax. We, the fans will still go see your movies, we will still make it a blockbuster, but we do not need all that you throw at us.....

Whew...My $.02

Mr. MovieNews

The Fate of DC Comics in Movies??

Hello Movie Fans:


  As we are almost on the opening of "The Dark Knight Rises",  we have to wonder what is DC COMICS going to do to capture the audience and money that MARVEL STUDIOS has done. DC COMICS is so far behind in this race, will they, can they ever catch up?


  Since our beloved comic book hero's have hit the screen, it is mostly been all MARVEL that has done the talking:

• Spider-Man (Multiple Movies)
• Iron Man (Multiple Movies, and a new one in filming now)
• Hulk
• Captain America (New movie coming in 2014)
• Thor (New movie coming soon)
• The Avengers (New movie in development)
• Ant Man (In development)

 Many other MARVEL characters are coming to big screen in the near future and are in advanced stages of development. Where is DC COMICS...What do they have to offer us:

• Batman (Multiple movies)
• Superman (Multiple movies, new movie in 2014)
• Jonah Hex 
• Watchmen
• Green Lantern
• Supergirl
• Catwoman

 As you can see, DC COMICS is not even close to what MARVEL has done, but the potential is there. Rumor has it that DC COMICS has a Justice League movie in the works. Now if this is true, how good can this be. There has been no independent movies based on those characters within the Justice League released. Perhaps a few such as Batman, Superman, but that's it. MARVEL STUDIOS has done a BRILLIANT job of setting up their films, marketing them, releasing them with time in between each character, and the development of these characters. If DC COMICS wants any hope in doing what MARVEL is doing...all they have to do is go to the movies and watch them. Watch & learn quickly because as of right now, many fans are saying DC COMICS WHO?? Many fans of the Batman & Superman franchises will be happy with the upcoming releases, but what happens after that...more years of waiting and speculation while the MARVEL fans laugh and point at the DC fans....


Till Next Time:
Mr. MovieNews