MINIONS (Illumination/Universal) was expected to enfold the weekend box office in its little yellow fingers, and so it is.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline give it a $45M opening day, which appears to be the largest opening in the history of movie animation (the asterisk is because we now consider “Friday” to include Thursday night, […]

  The failure of ALLEGIANT (Summit/Lionsgate) puts its studio in an unusually awkward position.  Even though Lionsgate may be able to put the 3rd Divergent movie on its books as a profit (most of the international rights were pre-sold, providing revenues that can off-set the oncoming US losses), the economics are going to get much […]

  FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (Warners) wasn’t expected to touch the $60-90M opening day territory of the latter Harry Potter movies, since Fantastic is a spin-off that doesn’t include any of the major Potter characters.  But preliminary numbers at Deadline have it at $29.4M, lower than any of the Potters, and even […]

  Box office years typically start slow, with strong holds for holiday openings, and that’s proving to be the case for 2019 as well.  AQUAMAN (DC/Warners) will retain its crown, as early numbers at Deadline indicate a 46% decline on its 3rd Friday to $9.1M, which should mean a $30M weekend, and a path that […]

> UPDATE:  The Reporter now has fuller numbers, and even better news for Fox.  RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES looks to be headed for an $18M Friday, which should mean a $45M+ weekend, meeting and even exceeding expectations.  The picture is skewing older than the usual tentpole, which combined with good word-of-mouth could […]

> UPDATE:  More detailed numbers are proving even better for MI4, which reportedly made $6.6M on Wednesday.  The action sequel is close to a $2K average at 3400 theatres, and looks like the hit of the season with $25M already in the bank. Things are less promising for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, which […]

  The numbers at Deadline are very preliminary, but it’s clear there will be no surprises at the boxoffice this weekend.  Pixar/Disney’s BRAVE has expertly shot arrows into the backs of everything else in the market, and will tower over the weekend.  Reports are that the film made $25M on Friday, on par with Cars […]

  The early Friday numbers this week are likely to be even less reliable than usual, since weather conditions on the East Coast make estimates very dicey.  That being said, the preliminary numbers at Deadline make it clear that come blizzard or high water, IDENTITY THIEF (Universal) will be the big winner of the weekend.  […]