Even though baseball movies can be tough to market, Brad Pitt's "Moneyball" rode positive critical buzz to a solid box office run this past fall, setting it up for a nice run in the home market starting this week. Robert De Niro's action-thriller "Killer Elite" will also be hitting stores this week as will R-rated comedy "What's Your Number?" A bevy of Blu-ray releases of older titles are also getting launched, including George Lucas' first mainstream hit, "American Graffiti," Alfred Hitchcock's classic "North by Northwest" and Paul Newman's iconic "Cool Hand Luke."
Backed by another highly lauded script from Aaron Sorkin ("The Social Network"), "Moneyball" was ushered into theaters amidst significant critical buzz, though that doesn't always translate to box office success. Though "Moneyball" started fairly slow against "Dolphin Tale" and "The Lion King 3D," the baseball drama ended up with a long and stable run in theaters, pushing it to a solid $75 million domestically and $104 million worldwide.
"Moneyball" tells the mostly true story of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane (Pitt), who brings in a revolutionary new way to evaluate talent that threatens to uproot a nearly implacable system. With some good performances from its surrounding cast, including Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Moneyball" was one of the most acclaimed films of the fall and ended up snagging four Golden Globes nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Hill) and Best Screenplay (Sorkin).
While PG-13 "Moneyball" looks to scoop up a section of the adult demographic, R-rated action-thriller "Killer Elite" will be looking to do the same. With stars Robert De Niro, Clive Owen and Jason Statham, "Killer Elite" looked like an easy hit with action audiences, though it ended up really struggling in theaters and finished as one of the worst performing action movies of 2011. Even with a $70 million production budget and a strong marketing push, "Killer Elite" brought in just $25 million in the U.S. and didn't make much of an impact overseas either. The good news is that "Killer Elite" doesn't have any real action competition this week in the home market, which should help with rentals and sales for a couple of weeks.
R-rated comedy "What's Your Number?" will also be hitting stores this week after a meager box office run in October. Starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans, "What's Your Number?" follows a desperate woman going back through her past to see if she overlooked her true love. Ripped by critics and audiences alike, "What's Your Number?" managed just $14 million in the U.S. despite a release wider than 3,000 total theaters, making it one of the biggest box office duds of last year.
Though there aren't too many other relevant new releases getting launched this week, there are a bevy of interesting TV and older film titles hitting the high-definition of Blu-ray. The first season of HBO's popular current series "Boardwalk Empire," starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Michael Shannon, will hit Blu-ray this week following the shocking and much talked about recent finale to season two.
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, studio Universal is also launching a series of special edition Blu-ray releases, an impressive list that includes George Lucas' "American Graffiti," Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," Oscar winner "A Beautiful Mind" and Spike Lee's seminal "Do the Right Thing." Other titles included will be Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" and all three of the popular "Bourne" films starring Matt Damon.
This week will also see special Blu-ray editions of several prominent classics. Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "North by Northwest" is one of Hitchcock's most entertaining films and has been copied and referenced in material as diverse as "Family Guy" and "The Big Lebowski." Starring Cary Grant, James Mason and Eva Marie Saint, "North by Northwest" was a huge critical and commercial smash hit from the very beginning when it hit theaters back in 1959.
Paul Newman-starring "Cool Hand Luke" is another famous movie getting launched on Blu-ray this week, as the film celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. Released in 1967, "Cool Hand Luke" was a countercultural landmark about a man (Newman) who bucks the system while working on a chain-gang in Florida. "Cool Hand Luke" remains one of the most relevant and quotable movies of the 1960s, giving Newman arguably his most celebrated role.
Another landmark film getting rereleased on Blu-ray this week is "Network," director Sidney Lumet's Oscar winner about the cutthroat TV business in the 1970s. Starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall and Peter Finch (in a famous role as Howard Beale), "Network" is considered one of the most influential films of the 1970s.
Next week we'll see another impressive list of new and older titles getting launched on Blu-ray and DVD, including George Clooney's Oscar hopeful "The Ides of March" and a Blu-ray edition of Robin Williams' "Good Morning Vietnam." Tyler Lautner's thriller "Abduction" will also get launched next week as will Steven Soderbergh's Oscar winner "Traffic," which will get a special edition Blu-ray release loaded with extra features.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.