2023 - The Year that was

2023 is about to be over and lots and lots of things happened. Below are some of the highlights from the usual suspects.

DisneyPlus Disney+ Streaming

Back in 2019, Disney+ was set to launch in November. They offered a deal of pay two years for 3 years. I think there was tax and my total was $140.97. Last year, they offered a slightly lower price for renewals for 1 year without ads at $79.99. This past November, when the renewal came, the new price for a year without ads jumped to $139.99. Wow, I did not renew.

Even in 2022, I was on the fence about spending $79.99 for a service I rarely used. Outside of Mandalorian, I did not watch anything else consistently. I have over 50% of the MCU on Blu-ray and mainly watched Avenger Endgame or before movies.

The one movie that I did watch 3 or 4 times via Disney+ was Shang Chi. But that's an outlyer with the current MCU movies.

Loki season's one and two were watched, but I do not think it was necessary to have Disney+ for.

BLACK FRIDAY UPDATE: I got in on the Hulu $0.99 a month deal and added Disney+ with ads for $2.00 a month. At the moment, since Black Friday, I have not watched anything on Disney+ yet. Maybe soon.

2024: What I Look Forward To Netflix Edition

Netflix has lots of things for 2024. Here are some highlights of the movies and television series in store for 2024.

2024: What I Look Forward To

2024 is almost upon us. Here's a few things that may get me out to the local AMC. But I will most likely watch these through streaming, if at all. Come on movie studios, make good movies again ala Avengers Endgame era.

Here are some of the streamings up and coming stuff.





Here are the movies making it the theathers hopefully.

Mean Girls



Madame Web



Dune: Part Two



Kung Fu Panda 4



Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire



Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire



The Fall Guy



IF



Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga



Ballerina



Bad Boys 4



Despicable Me 4



Twisters



Deadpool 3



Kraven the Hunter



Borderlands



Beetlejuice 2



Venom 3



Gladiator 2



The Karate Kid

2022 United States Of America Box Office Report - Top 10 Grossing Films Of 2022 - Final

With the pandemic moving to the rear view mirror, 2022 was supposed to be a great year. The top 10 did well, but the rest did not. The worldwide market was not fully recovered as well

Here are the top ten box office performers of 2022 for United States Of America.

* Still Showing

Rank
1		Top Gun: Maverick (捍衛戰士:獨行俠) US - ~$719 Million Worldwide - ~$1.496 Million
2		Avatar: The Way of Water (阿凡達:水之道) US - ~$684 Million Worldwide - ~$2.320 Million
3		Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (黑豹2:瓦干達萬歲) US - ~$454 Million Worldwide - ~$859 Million
4		Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (奇異博士2:失控多重宇宙) US - ~$411 Million Worldwide - ~$956 Million
5		Jurassic World Dominion (侏羅紀世界:統霸天下) US - ~$377 Million Worldwide - ~$1.002 Million
6		Minions: The Rise of Gru (小小兵2:格魯的崛起) US - ~$370 Million Worldwide - ~$940 Million
7		The Batman (蝙蝠俠) US - ~$369 Million Worldwide - ~$772 Million
8		Thor: Love and Thunder (雷神索爾:愛與雷霆) US - ~$343 Million Worldwide - ~$761 Million
9		Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (音速小子2) US - ~$191 Million Worldwide - ~$405 Million
10		Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (鞋貓劍客2) US - ~$185 Million Worldwide - ~$481 Million

Source: Box Office Mojo - retrieved October 20, 2023

2023 December Amazon Prime Video Releases

December nights were made for streaming marathons. pic.twitter.com/GOKVhCHq9S

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) December 1, 2023

2023 December Disney+ Releases

Friday, December 1

• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
• The Shepherd - Premiere
• Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford - Premiere

Saturday, December 2

• Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder - Episode 5

Tuesday, December 5

• Dancing With the Stars (Season 32) - Semi-Finals

Wednesday, December 6

• The Ghost and Molly McGee: White Christmess/Perfect Day (S2, 1 episode)
• SuperKitties (S1, 3 episodes)
• Villains of Valley View: A Very Villain Christmas (S2, 1 episode)
• The Santa Clauses (Season 2) - Season Finale
• Soundtrack #2 (Korean Original) - Two Episode Premiere

Friday, December 8

• The Mission Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever - Premiere

Saturday, December 9

• Doctor Who: The Giggle - Premiere

Monday, December 11

• Science Fair: The Series (Complete Season 1)

Tuesday, December 12

• Dancing With the Stars (Season 32) - Finale

Wednesday, December 13

• The Curse of Oak Island (S2, 10 episodes)
• Dance Moms (Complete Seasons 3-6 and 8)
• Kiff (S1, 3 episodes)
• Mickey Mouse Funhouse (S3, 4 episodes)
• PJ Masks: Power Heroes Music Videos (Shorts) (S1, 5 episodes)
• PJ Masks: Power Heroes (S1, 5 episodes)
• Soundtrack #2 (Korean Original) - Episodes 3 and 4

Friday, December 15

• CMA Country Christmas Special

Wednesday, December 20

• Hailey's On It!: We Wish You a Merry Chaos-mas (S1, 1 episode)
• Pupstruction (S1, 4 episodes)
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Two Episode Premiere
• Soundtrack #2 (Korean Original) - Episodes 5 and 6
• Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life (Season 2) (UK Original) - Special Christmas Episode

Friday, December 22

• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Premiere

Saturday, December 23

• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode 2

Sunday, December 24

• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode

Monday, December 25

• Doctor Who Holiday Special: The Church on Ruby Road - Premiere
• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode 4

Tuesday, December 26

• Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade
• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode 5

Wednesday, December 27

• Me & Winnie the Pooh (S1, 9 episodes)
• Playdate with Winnie the Pooh (Shorts) (S1, 11 episodes)
• Rewind the '90s (S1, 10 episodes)
• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode 6
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Episode 3

Thursday, December 28

• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode 7

Friday, December 29

• Marvel Studios’ “What If...?" Season 2 - Episode 8

Source: D23

2023 December Netflix Releases

Netflix has lots of things that come and go every months. And its a bit of a struggle to keep up. Here are some highlights.

2023 December Blockbuster Movie Guide

Here are the movies to look out for this month, US Edition.

Silent Night (無聲夜)





Wonka (旺卡)





The Iron Claw

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (水行俠2 失落王國)





Sources:
IMDB Coming Soon
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia.org
WMoov Hong Kong

HBO Max Streaming

I got in on the annual HBO Max deal about a year ago at $104.99 for the ad free teir. Since that time, it has changed its name to Max.

I did watched a fair amount of HBO for a bit in the beginning as there are a lot of WB stuff. But over the course of the year, I have not gone to much monthly. Maybe once a week to see what's out.

Given the stuff I watch, I could have purchased them off Vudu and spent less than the $104.99 I paid. The stuff I watched was mainly GoT and Barry.

The renewal is for $149.99 now for ad free but no 4K. The 4K tier is $199.99 annually. Wow. I am out.

Back when I had Spectrum, I got on a $5 a month HBO deal that allowed me to connect via HBO Go which I used a lot. But this was years ago and all the HBO stuff has increased by a lot.

BLACK FRIDAY UPDATE: I gave in and got the black friday $2.99 with ads for 6 months. I'll see how this goes. Netflix has been carrying a lot of WB stuff lately.

2021 United States Of America Box Office Report - Top 10 Grossing Films Of 2021 - Final

Still catching up on the Box Office posts.

With the struggles of 2020 behind, would 2021 be the bounce back year?! The year did start slow, but ended with a bang!

Here are the top ten box office performers of 2021 for United States Of America.

* Still Showing

Rank
1		Spider-Man: No Way Home (蜘蛛人:無家日) US - ~$804 Million Worldwide - ~$1.912 Million
2		Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (尚氣與十環傳奇) US - ~$224 Million Worldwide - ~$432 Million
3		Venom: Let There Be Carnage (猛毒2:血蜘蛛) US - ~$214 Million Worldwide - ~$507 Million
4		Black Widow (黑寡婦) US - ~$184 Million Worldwide - ~$380 Million
5		F9: The Fast Saga US - ~$173 Million Worldwide - ~$726 Million
6		Eternals (永恆族) US - ~$165 Million Worldwide - ~$402 Million
7		Sing 2 (歡樂好聲音2) US - ~$163 Million Worldwide - ~$408 Million
8		No Time To Die (007生死交戰) US - ~$161 Million Worldwide - ~$774 Million
9		A Quiet Place Part II (噤界II) US - ~$160 Million Worldwide - ~$297 Million
10		Ghostbusters: Afterlife (魔鬼剋星:未來世) US - ~$129 Million Worldwide - ~$204 Million

Source: Box Office Mojo - retrieved October 2, 2023

2023 November Amazon Prime Video Releases

Sweater weather 🤝 new titles. pic.twitter.com/n6xu7BrDjU

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) November 2, 2023

2023 November Netflix Releases

Netflix has lots of things that come and go every months. And its a bit of a struggle to keep up. Here are some highlights.

2023 November Disney+ Releases

Wednesday, November 1

• Firebuds (Season 2, 5 Episodes)
• The Incredible Dr. Pol (Season 23, 10 Episodes)
• Kiff (Season 1, 3 Episodes)
• The Villains of Valley View (Season 2, 3 Episodes)
• Behind the Attraction (Season 2 Premiere, All Episodes Streaming)
• The Three Detectives (Premiere)

Thursday, November 2

• Loki (Season 2, Episode 5, Available at 6 p.m. PT)

Friday, November 3

• Spider-Man™: Far From Home
• Marvel Studios Legends (New Episodes)
• Goosebumps (Episode 8)

Monday, November 6

• JFK: One Day in America (Season 1, 3 Episodes)

Tuesday, November 7

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 32, New Episode, Live 8 p.m. ET/PT; same time as the broadcast on your local ABC station, based on your location)

Wednesday, November 8

• Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (Season 1, 6 Episodes)
• Daddies on Request (Season 2 Premiere, All Episodes Streaming)
• The Santa Clauses (Season 2 Premiere, 2 Episodes)

Thursday, November 9

• Loki (Season 2 Finale, Episode 6, Available at 6:00 p.m. PT)

Friday, November 10

• Goosebumps (Episode 9)

Tuesday, November 14

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 32, New Episode, Live 8 p.m. ET/PT; same time as the broadcast on your local ABC station, based on your location)

Wednesday, November 15

• The Ghost and Molly McGee (Season 2, 4 Episodes)
• Hamster & Gretel (Season 1, 4 Episodes)
• Me & Mickey (Shorts) (Season 2, 22 Episodes)
• Mickey Mouse Funhouse (Season 2, 8 Episodes)
• To Catch a Smuggler (Season 6, 8 Episodes)
• The Santa Clauses (Season 2, Episode 3)

Friday, November 17

• Dashing Through the Snow (Premiere)
• Goosebumps (Season One Finale)

Monday, November 20

• Incredible Animal Journeys (Season 1, 6 Episodes)

Tuesday, November 21

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 32, New Episode, Live 8 p.m. ET/PT; same time as the broadcast on your local ABC station, based on your location)

Wednesday, November 22

• Hailey’s on It! (Season 1, 3 Episodes)
• Meet Spidey and his Amazing Friends (Season 3, 6 Episodes)
• Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends (Season 2, 5 Episodes)
• The Santa Clauses (Season 2, Episode 4)

Thursday, November 23

• The Naughty Nine

Tuesday, November 28

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 32, New Episode, Live 8 p.m. ET/PT; same time as the broadcast on your local ABC station, based on your location)

Wednesday, November 29

• Life Below Zero (Season 21, 11 Episodes)
• Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin (Season 1, 6 Episodes)
• Mickey’s Christmas Tales (Shorts) (Season 1, 5 Episodes)
• Assembled: The Making of Loki Season 2 (Premiere)
• The Santa Clauses (Season 2, Episode 5)

Source: D23

2023 November Blockbuster Movie Guide

Here are the movies to look out for this month, US Edition.

Of note, for many years, I used the Yahoo Movie site from Taiwan to get information. About 3 weeks ago, they re-vamped their site and took out the movie listings. I will no longer be able to get all that cool movie 411 anymore. It is with great sadness I report this. i will still go back from time to time to see if they ever go back. I've looked up other sites, but none had the combo that Yahoo Taiwan had.

November is bleak for me as two films not featured here will release too, but I don't really want to see them so I omitted them.

Napoleon (拿破崙)





Sources:
IMDB Coming Soon
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia.org
WMoov Hong Kong

Paramount+ Streaming

A little over a year ago, I signed up for Paramount+ with Showtime streaming service. It was $79.99 for a year. The main reason I signed up was for Showtime. I didn't end up watching much on it as getting Showtime was a bit of a pain.

I think I watched Top Gun Maverick for an hour or so. I also watched part of Tusla King but didn't finish. I did see some Showtime movies but cannot remember which ones.

The renewal was to match my special pricing of $79.99 for another year. If I were a new customer, I would have been charged $119.99. Both seem unappealing giving my usage.

Before Paramount+, I was also got in on a CBS All Access deal back in 2021 for $29.99. At that price print, I did watch some Paramount+. But not at the current price point, no way.

BLACK FRIDAY UPDATE: There was a deal for "Get Paramount+ Essential for $1.99/month or Paramount+ with SHOWTIME for $3.99/month for 3 months.". For 3 months, I did not think I would actually remember to cancel before the price hike in 3 months. I did not bite on this deal.

My Current Marvel Cinematic Habits

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now chugging along again after a slight year and a half delay from the pandemic. The movies and television series have been steadily releasing with no delays. And the incorporation of the characters from Sony, Fox, and Netflix properties have seemingly been successful.

Yet, my passion for Marvel have continues to dissipate. I have only finished watching only 3 MCU Disney+ series. Loki continues to impress. But the others have disappointed. My Disney+ history shows most stoping on episode 1.

Through the pandemic, I rewatched many MCU films from phase 1, 2 and 3 multiple times as my kids became interested in them as they got old enough. But for Phase 4 and 5, I have not re-watched anything outside of Shang-chi. I will for the first time skip a MCU film this coming fall to just wait for it to come on streaming.

The slate for the future looks good for films though. But I will no longer by default watch all Marvel films anymore on opening day. Something I’ve done since Iron Man, so that is a bit depressing. A similar feeling when a goto restaurant closes down after being open for years.

As for Disney+ series, only Loki has caught my interest recently. I also see my kids viewing habits moving away from traditional mediums as well. Reels and of the sort are numerous and can easily take up hours of a person’s time now. No need for traditional media.

2020 United States Of America Box Office Report - Top 10 Grossing Films Of 2020 - Final

Still catching up on the Box Office posts.

What a year 2020 was, with a record breaking 2019, 2020 was ripe fo more. But a pandemic hit and most movies had to wait a year or two or three to get released. Some did through digital streaming platforms, but as strong as 2020 started, the rest of year was a weak whimper. 2020 started strong and was posied for another big year with many movies set to conquer the year.

Here are the top ten box office performers of 2020 for United States Of America.

* Still Showing

Rank
1		Bad Boys For Life (絕地戰警 For Life) US - ~$206 Million Worldwide - ~$426 Million
2		Sonic The Hedgehog (音速小子) US - ~$149 Million Worldwide - ~$320 Million
3		Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (猛禽小隊:小丑女大解放) US - ~$84 Million Worldwide - ~$205 Million
4		Dolittle (杜立德) US - ~$77 Million Worldwide - ~$251 Million
5		The Invisible Man (隱形人) US - ~$70 Million Worldwide - ~$145 Million
6		The Call of the Wild (極地守護犬) US - ~$62 Million Worldwide - ~$111 Million
7		Onward (1/2的魔法) US - ~$61 Million Worldwide - ~$141 Million
8		The Croods: A New Age (古魯家族:新石代) US - ~$58 Million Worldwide - ~$215 Million
9		Tenet (TENET天能) US - ~$58 Million Worldwide - ~$365 Million
10		Wonder Woman 1984 US - ~$47 Million Worldwide - ~$169 Million

Source: Box Office Mojo - retrieved August 18, 2023

2023 October Amazon Prime Video Releases

Here’s what’s screaming this October 👻 pic.twitter.com/TJu6EzYmoz

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) October 1, 2023