The underperforming spectacle of the week is INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE (20th), which found out that not all that many people cared to see a sequel to a two-decade old hit without its original star.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, opening day was $17.5M (including $4M from Thursday evening), 33% below the already not-great […]

  Combine 2 big movies aimed at perfectly divergent demos, add 3D premium ticket prices, and shake well–the recipe for a strong weekend at the boxoffice. Based on preliminary Friday numbers at Deadline, both PROMETHEUS (20th) and  MADAGASCAR 3 (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) had $21M Fridays, but with the benefit of weekend matinee business, the latter is […]

> TRANSFORMERS:  DARK OF THE MOON becomes the latest franchise movie to fall short in the US compared to prior chapters of the series, despite an increased 3D ticket price.  (Like others, most notably Pirates 4, it may well make up the shortfall overseas.)  That doesn’t make a US gross of $350M anything to complain […]

  2014 has its first smash hit, as preliminary numbers at Deadline give THE LEGO MOVIE (Warners) a huge $18M Friday.  Since Saturday matinees should only boost the family-oriented animated comedy-adventure, that should bring it over $60M for the weekend, and with the Presidents Day holiday dead ahead and no other family movie on the […]

> … and here we go.  BREAKING DAWN PART 1 narrowly set a Twilight franchise record last night with the 2d highest midnight screening grosses on record, $30.25M.  This was (very slightly) ahead of Eclipse‘s $30.1M last June, as well as the November 2009 opening of New Moon, which reached $26.3M for its midnight screenings. […]

  In midnight shows last night, MAN OF STEEL (Warners) grossed $9M, a fine but hardly exceptional result for a mega-movie opening.  (Nowhere near the $18.7M for The Avengers, let alone the $30.7M for The Dark Knight Rises or the $22-43M earned by various Harry Potters and Twilights.)  However… earlier on Thursday, Man took in […]

>Love was in the air Tuesday night, as The Vow grossed $11.6 million on Valentine’s Day, shattering the mid-week Valentine’s Day record of $7.5 million for Hitch in 2005, as reported at the Hollywood Reporter.  The Vow was up from a more typical $3.3 million Monday. Business was also brisk for the more male-oriented action […]

  All four of this weekend’s wide releases began with Thursday night screenings last night, but only KICK-ASS 2 (Universal) reported the results.  Kick Ass 2 started with a $1.3M Thursday (screenings started at 8PM), below last week’s Elysium ($1.7M) but in the same range as White House Down ($1.35M) and 2 Guns ($1.2M).  Both […]