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 […]

> According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, THE PIRATES!  BAND OF MISFITS (Sony) will pull ahead of THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT (Universal) for the weekend thanks to Saturday and Sunday matinee business, although Engagement is still ahead as of Saturday and the race will be close.  (Both, however, will be behind Think Like A Man and […]

  Preliminary figures at Deadline give THE BUTLER (Weinstein) a commanding victory over its competition.  Very impressively, on Saturday Butler reportedly increased its take by about 10% over Friday, putting it on target for a $23-25M weekend (The Weinstein Company, which has never been shy about aggressively estimating its weekends, could make a run for […]

  There were no miracles on Saturday to lift the faltering box office, although preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere suggest that the holdovers did better than the newcomers. DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th) will take its 2d consecutive weekend title easily.  It earned around $15M on Saturday, down about 40% from […]

  In its time of need, Hollywood looked to Pixar for salvation, and FINDING DORY (Pixar/Disney) is delivering.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, its opening day was $53M (including $9.2M from Thursday evening), more than any animated film has ever made in a single day, ahead of the $47.1M that Shrek The Third earned […]

  Hollywood generally has little interest in opening films against the Super Bowl, and to the extent it participates, it tries to counterprogram the game by aiming at the young female demographic.  Thus we have a PG-13 horror movie and a YA fantasy-romance this weekend, but neither is finding much of an audience. RINGS (Paramount) […]

  BLADE RUNNER 2049 (Alcon/Sony/Warners) was a high-risk bet, with roughly $300M in production and worldwide marketing wagered on an extremely serious 164-minute sequel to a 35-year old film that only became legendary after it was itself a sizable flop in theatres.  Reportedly, the bulk of that investment rested with Alcon, while Sony (international) and […]

  After a significantly lower start, JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (Legendary/Perfect World/Universal) is having a sharper drop in its 2nd weekend than its predecessor.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Friday was down 70% from last week to $17.4M, compared to a 63% drop for the first Jurassic World on its 2nd Friday.  The number […]