None of the weekend’s openings were expected to come near last week’s blockbuster opening, and none will.  The target Christian audience is turning out for RISEN (Affirm/Columbia/Sony), with preliminary numbers at Deadline putting it at $4.25M for Friday.  Given its demographics, Risen should hold well through the weekend, particularly on Sunday, which could give […]

  This weekend’s numbers will need some examination, with plenty of spin available in all directions.  Preliminary estimates at Deadline have BOO!  A MADEA HALLOWEEN (Lionsgate) a hair ahead of JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (Skydance/Huahua/Shanghai Film Group/Paramount) on Friday, $9.2M vs. $9.1M.  There are several reasons why this is a bigger win than it […]

  The lack of any new wide openings and the arrival of the year’s Golden Globe nominations are making for a strong holdover weekend, although for some titles more than others.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (Disney) continued to decline rather swiftly, down 38% from last Friday to $3.5M, where Moana […]

>Deadline is reporting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is opening to an eye-popping $90-100 million Friday.  This estimate from Warner Brothers includes the incredible $43.5 from midnight showings.  This destroys the single-day record of $72.7 million by Twilight Saga: New Moon on Friday, November 20, 2009.  Even adjusted for inflation, this is […]

> Deadline has preliminary numbers for the Friday boxoffice, and if they hold, it looks to be a thoroughly terrible weekend for Hollywood.  NEW YEAR’S EVE appears to be under $6M for Friday, meaning a weekend of $15-17M, far below Mitch Metcalf’s $25M projection.  Even with a longer playing period than Valentine’s Day had last […]

> The Marvel superhero audience likes to get its sleep.  Despite the fact that THE AVENGERS is expected to do record-challenging business this weekend, last night’s midnight screenings totaled $18.7M–a tremendous amount of money, to be sure, the 8th largest midnight opening of all time, but 8th place isn’t where Avengers mostly expects to be.  […]

NOTE:  THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT OFFICIAL STUDIO ESTIMATES FOR CHRISTMAS DAY. There was plenty under the tree for Hollywood this Christmas Day.  The major tinsel came from LES MISERABLES (Universal), which is projected to have an enormous, overperforming $18.2M opening day.  That would be a blockbuster pace if the movie can keep […]

  THE WOLVERINE (20th) is the weekend’s only big newcomer at the box office, and it got off to a healthy $4M start last night.  That number is particularly strong since Wolverine held off till 10PM to start its launch–unlike other summer openings that have begun their “Fridays” at 6-7PM on Thursday–and it was was […]