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EARLY CHRISTMAS BOX OFFICE: “Force Awakens” Towers Over, But Doesn’t Crush, New Competition

Posted December 26, 2015 by Mitch Salem

  For Hollywood, Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year, because it doesn’t come but once:  with the exception of a New Year’s Eve dip, every day between December 25 and January 2 will perform like a Friday.  That’s great for the box office, but it makes any analysis of “comps” and […]

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EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Spider-Man: Homecoming” Superheroic, “Despicable Me 3″” Drops, “Baby Driver” Holds Well

Posted July 8, 2017 by Mitch Salem

  It may have hurt Sony’s pride to turn SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (Marvel/Columbia/Sony) over to Marvel to produce, but it proved to be a smart business move, with preliminary numbers at Deadline that put opening day at about $48M ($15.4M from Thursday night), 35% higher than the first day of 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2.  With word […]

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EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Incredibles 2″” Superheroic, “Tag” Mild, “Superfly” Awful, “Ocean’s 8″” Holds OK

Posted June 16, 2018 by Mitch Salem

  After a few mild weeks, INCREDIBLES 2 (Pixar/Disney) has the summer box office back in blockbuster mode.  It’s on pace to easily break Finding Dory‘s $135.1M animation opening record.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Incredibles 2 had a massive $69M Friday (including $18.5M from Thursday night), far better than Dory‘s $54.7M.  If business […]

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EARLY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: “Goosebumps” Holds Narrow Lead; “Bridge of Spies” Fair; “Crimson Peak” Fatal

Posted October 18, 2015 by Mitch Salem

  Based on preliminary Saturday numbers at Deadline, adjustments from the morning’s weekend estimates will be minimal, although mostly in the wrong direction.  GOOSEBUMPS (Columbia/Sony) increased 31% from Friday to Saturday, a modest result for a family movie (Hotel Transylvania 2 jumped 56% on its 2d day of release), giving it a 2-day total of […]

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EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “War” Unspectacular, “Spider-Man” Drops, “Big Sick” Expands

Posted July 15, 2017 by Mitch Salem

  Despite some of the best reviews of the year for any movie, big studio or indie, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (TSG/20th) is off to a merely OK start.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, it had a $21.1M opening day (including $5M from Thursday night), putting it 24% behind the $27.6M […]

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EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “War Dogs” Leads Weak Openings, “Ben-Hur” Crashes

Posted August 20, 2016 by Mitch Salem

  The stretch of box-office beginning in mid-August is one of the weakest of the year, and this weekend’s arrivals did nothing to change that tradition.  WAR DOGS (RatPac/Warners) had the best of the low starts, with $5.4M on Friday (including $1.3M from Thursday night) according to preliminary numbers at Deadline.  That may give it […]

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EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Steve Jobs” Crashes, “Suffragette” Starts Slow On Dismal Weekend

Posted October 24, 2015 by Mitch Salem

  The tricks arrived early and the treats were nonexistent on a bleak pre-Halloween weekend. Let the second-guessing begin on STEVE JOBS (Legendary/Universal).  Last week’s limited expansion suggested softness as the awards hopeful widened beyond NY/LA, and national release has crumbled its box office hopes entirely.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline have Steve Jobs at $2.5M […]

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UPDATED CHRISTMAS DAY BOX OFFICE: A Merry One for Unbroken, Into the Woods & The Hobbit

Posted December 26, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  NOTE:  Updated throughout with official studio Christmas Day estimates. Americans unwrapped their presents and headed out to the multiplex on Christmas Day (or to a nearby indie theatre, in the case of The Interview) according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, making for an extremely healthy holiday. UNBROKEN (Universal/Legendary) needed a strong box office performance […]

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