Although it also stars (and is produced by) Ice Cube, RIDE ALONG (Universal) goes down in the books as a big win for Kevin Hart, the focus of the movie’s marketing campaign.  Based on preliminary numbers at The Hollywood Reporter, the action comedy is on its way to a $40M+ 4-day Martin Luther King […]

> Deadline has preliminary figures for Thursday’s boxoffice, and they appear to be fairly steady with Wednesday, consistent with last year’s pattern but below 2010’s totals.  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL (Paramount) remains at the head of the pack with $6.2M, down about 10%.  This compares with $7.1M for last year’s #1 on the Thursday […]

  Hollywood’s underwhelming summer box office continues this weekend, with preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere indicating that all three of the newcomers are likely to perform below expectations. The bleakest news of the weekend, though, may be about its #1 ticket seller.  Despite some of the year’s best reviews, and seemingly everything needed for […]

> UPDATE:  The Deadline numbers have shifted quite a bit from their earlier incarnation:  HUNGER GAMES is now estimated at $19.5M for Friday (a 71% drop from opening day) and a $55M weekend (down 64%).  If that number holds, GAMES would have the 11th highest 2d weekend ever, although only $200K away from the Top […]

  Considering the spotty box office record of the DC movie franchise, it was something of a risk to place AQUAMAN (DC/Warners) at the center of the holiday market, but the bet is paying off, at least to an extent.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, opening day for Aquaman was technically $27.7M, although that […]

  Preliminary numbers at Deadline have the record pace continuing for both THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (Lionsgate) and FROZEN (Disney). Catching Fire had no trouble with the all-time record for the day after Thanksgiving, doubling its holiday number to $31M on Friday.  This wasn’t just far better than the previous post-Thanksgiving Friday ($22.6M for […]

How big a flop is BATTLESHIP (Universal)?  Even bigger than the catastrophic John Carter, that’s how big.  According to early Friday numbers at Deadline, Battleship is headed for a $9.5M opening day, and if that number holds, it’ll be less than John Carter‘s $9.8M.  Carter made it to $30M in its opening weekend, thanks to […]

  THE LEGO MOVIE (Warners) is barely even being challenged by the newcomers this weekend, and it will easily reign supreme over the multiplexes for its 3rd win in a row.  Preliminary numbers at Variety and Deadline have Lego at $7M+ on Friday, and while that’s down from last Friday’s $12.8M (all holdovers will be sharply […]