A Valentine’s Day in the middle of Presidents Day weekend allowed for strong Sunday studio estimates–in one case, suspiciously so. OPENINGS:  A couple of notable sidelights to the gargantuan success of DEADPOOL (Marvel/20th), which has the #17 opening of all time at $135.1M (probably $155M with the Monday holiday), is now the highest-opening R-rated […]

  Are Americans tired of superhero movies?  There were whispers to that effect after The Avengers: Age of Ultron underperformed a bit and Fantastic Four outright flopped last year, but clearly the answer is Hell, No.  DEADPOOL (Marvel/20th) puts a new R-rated satiric spin on the genre (very carefully:  its jokes are aimed at Fox’s […]

  OPENINGS:  RIDE ALONG 2 (Universal) is projecting a $39.5M 4-day weekend, 19% below the $48.6M opening of the first Ride Along exactly 2 years ago.  That would put its US trajectory at $100-110M, enough to make it a fine piece of business for all concerned, but any growth would have to come from overseas, […]

  Behaving much like recent high-profile sequels Spectre and Mockingjay Part 2, RIDE ALONG 2 (Universal) appears to be heading for an opening weekend around 20% below its predecessor.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Ride 2 had a $11.8M Friday, compared to $14.4M for the original Ride Along.  That suggests a 4-day holiday weekend […]

  STAR WARS:  Whether one considers Avatar‘s proper US all-time box office record to be $749.8M (initial release) or $760.5M (includes “director’s cut” re-release), the crown will be changing hands in the next few days.  STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (Lucasfilm/Disney), which declined 41% on its 3rd weekend to $88.3M (setting yet another record by […]

For the 19 days December 16-January 3, top 10 films in North America have totaled $1.185 billion, now +61% ahead of the same period last year, +70% above the average since 2002, and +25% ahead of the previous record for this period (2009, the year of Avatar). Box Office Volume — Top 10 Films North America […]

For the 17 days December 16-January 1, top 10 films in North America have totaled $1.065 billion, now +66% ahead of the same period last year, +68% above the average since 2002, and +30% ahead of the previous record for this period (2009, the year of Avatar). Box Office Volume — Top 10 Films North America […]

For the 15 days December 16-30, top 10 films in North America have totaled $942 million, now +68% ahead of the same period last year, +73% above the average since 2002, and +36% ahead of the previous record for this period (2009, the year of Avatar). Box Office Volume — Top 10 Films North America ($ […]