WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio, including early 2018 dollars for films released later in 2017. We will start tracking the 2018 studio slates in a few weeks. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2018 to date is now +10% above last […]

  OPENINGS:  The Presidents Day weekend wide releases were Sundance titles seeking to take advantage of the expanded “2020” Oscar calendar, which includes films released through February 2021.  Both would likely have been platformed releases in a non-pandemic marketplace, and remained niche in their appeal.  JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (Warners, also on HBO Max) […]

  You might think we’re still a week away from the beginning of the summer movie season, but if you were overseas, you’d be wrong.  IRON MAN 3 (Disney) has already started its run in a dozen foreign territories, and by this weekend will be playing in 80% of the world (with China, as well […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -13% below last year’s comparable span (5 points better than last week) and now -7% below the average for this point the past four years ($3.123 billion).  Over the same […]

  OPENINGS:  The release strategy for 1917 (Universal) has gone just about perfectly, culminating in a $36.5M wide opening weekend that was significantly ahead of industry expectations.  Universal screened the film to critics and guild groups at the end of November, unveiled it in limited release on Christmas Day with the benefit of strong reviews, […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is still +4% above last year and now +7% above the average for this point the past four years ($3.158 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed just over $9.0 billion worldwide […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is still +3% above last year and still +3% above the average for this point the past four years ($9.143 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $24.0 billion worldwide when we […]

  OPENINGS:  None of the studio releasing new films this weekend had much to be happy about.  BLAIR WITCH (Lionsgate) was the top of the newcomers in the US, but with a $9.7M start, it’s low-end even by the standards of cheap horror movies, and while its $5M production budget isn’t a problem, its $40-50M […]