OPENINGS:  There were no new wide openings on this pre-holiday season weekend in the US, but things were busier overseas.  AQUAMAN (DC/Warners), which won’t arrive in the US until December 21, launched in China with a huge $93.6M, the best start for any Warner Bros film in that country, and almost as much as […]

  OPENINGS:  At $53.5M, SHAZAM (DC/New Line/Warners) had the lowest opening weekend of the current DC run of superhero movies (it was also below all the Marvel openings), but it was produced to be a lower-budget companion piece to the megabusters, and with that in mind, its opening was fine.  Overseas was bigger at $102M, but […]

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 -5% below last year’s comparable span (1 point better than last week) and now even with this point the past four years ($6.477 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood […]

  OPENINGS:  DARK WATERS (Focus/Universal) expanded into wide release at 2012 theatres, and emerged with a mild $4.1M.  (By comparison, Focus’s previous release Harriet opened at 2059 with an $11.7M weekend.)  Its lack of awards traction thus far suggests that it’s going to have a hard time building any momentum for a run through the […]

  OPENINGS:  With the latest MCU extravaganza waiting in the wings, Hollywood studios kept their wares out of the market, and the only arrival was the latest Liam Neeson vehicle (incredibly, he’s had 6 films in release since Covid hit), this one entitled MEMORY (Open Road).  It launched with $3.1M, very similar to February’s Blacklight, […]

  OPENINGS:  The Gerard Butler vehicle PLANE (Lionsgate) launched with $10M over the 3-day weekend ($11.6M with the Monday holiday), a sturdy number although not up to the $21.4M for Butler’s pre-pandemic Angel Has Fallen.  It hasn’t yet opened overseas. HOUSE PARTY (Warners), originally set for HBO Max, had a mild start with $3.8M ($4.5M […]

  OPENINGS:  THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (Blumhouse/Morgan Creek/Universal) was at the low end of expectations with $27.2M, and it was also below projections internationally with $17.9M in 52 markets.  It’s hard to tell just what this means in terms of the bottom line, because while a $125M worldwide total wouldn’t look terrible against $30M in production […]

  OPENINGS:  DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE (Marvel/Disney) landed at the top of sky-high expectations with $205M in the US and $233.3M overseas, the best US (and MCU) start since Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, the best worldwide launch since Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, and by far the biggest opening ever for an […]