Things didn’t improve for AFTER EARTH (Sony) on Saturday.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Will Smith’s gift to his son Jaden (and, some say, to the Church of Scientology) increased only a miniscule 3% in its second day of release, and probably won’t top $27M for the weekend.  The caper sleeper NOW YOU […]

  JURASSIC WORLD (Legendary/Universal) is stomping past even the the highest expectations for its opening.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, its opening day was a stupendous $78.6M (including $18.5M from Thursday night), giving it the biggest June box office day ever by far, easily passing the $68.5M for Twilight: Eclipse, and in line for […]

>The holiday film season is upon us.  Based on Wednesday numbers, Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 should hold on to the #1 spot this weekend despite an anticipated precipitous drop, followed closely by The Muppets.  The other kid-friendly openers, Arthur Christmas and Hugo, are fighting over table scraps.  The weekend is shaping up to be […]

  A general note:  the last time December 22 fell on a Friday was in 2006, and a look at that year indicates what box office patterns may be between now and January 1.  We can expect most films to have a relatively mild Saturday uptick (up to 30%) then plunge by 50% or so […]

> Deadline has a more complete set of Saturday numbers, and the news just gets better and better for RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.  It now appears the picture didn’t drop at all from Friday, and it could edge as high as $55M for the weekend.  (No such luck for CHANGE-UP, still looking […]

  The holiday box office “weekend” doesn’t officially start until today (several of the new openings began screening on Tuesday night, but their studios aren’t publicizing the results), and Mitch Metcalf’s weekend predictions are here.  Even in this pre-holiday period, though, THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (Lionsgate) is piling on impressive numbers. After the normal heavy post-weekend […]

  By superhero movie standards, SHAZAM (DC/New Line/Warners) was moderately priced, with around $225M in production/marketing costs.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline put its opening day at $20M (including $5.9M from Thursday), and although that’s a cut below comic book blockbusters like Captain Marvel ($61.7M), Spider-Man: Homecoming ($50.8M) or Wonder Woman ($38.2M), it’s solidly in line with […]

  Good word of mouth kicked in for DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th) on Saturday, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere, giving the movie a 5-10% drop from its Thursday night/Friday numbers to $25-26M.  (Compare that to the 23% drop for Transformers 4 on its 2d day of release.)  That […]