>Not a lot of change in the numbers as early Saturday results are factored in.  Deadline reports THE LION KING at #1 with $22M, MONEYBALL 2d with $21M, and DOLPHIN TALE 3rd with $20M, so any or all of those could shift as fuller counts are completed.  ABDUCTION is reported to have edged up to […]

  If preliminary numbers at Deadline hold, the Weekend 2 drop for CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (Marvel/Disney) will be in line with comparable superhero epics.  Its second Friday looks like $19.5M, which would be down about 74% from last week’s opening day.  That compares to Friday-to-Friday drops of 75% for Avengers: Age of Ultron, 71% […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

  Proving, once again, that opening night exit polls are all but meaningless, preliminary numbers at Deadline have NOAH (Paramount/Regency) rising as much as 20% from Friday to Saturday despite a “C” grade that supposedly predicted poisonous word of mouth.  In fact, for a non-family release, a 20% Saturday bump is excellent–by way of comparison, […]

  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 […]

  SHAZAM (DC/New Line/Warners) is going to win a bleak weekend at the box office, and even it doesn’t have much to boast about.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline have it dropping 68% from last Friday to $6.6M, worse than the Friday-to-Friday drops for Wonder Woman (-59%) and Justice League (-57%).  A $23M weekend would put […]

  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, THE POSSESSION (Lionsgate) is still on top with Saturday’s boxoffice counted, perhaps finding an extra $1M or so at the end of the 4-day weekend for $22-23M, which would be $2-3M higher than last year’s Labor Day #1, The Help (in its 4th weekend).  LAWLESS (Weinstein Company)  might […]