OPENINGS:  Hollywood’s barely-breathing Labor Day weekend didn’t get any healthier on Saturday.  The CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Columbia/Sony) re-release had a 35% Saturday bump, and like everything else in the market, it will hold nearly steady on this holiday Sunday, then have a Sunday-type decline on Monday.  (The exception is that children’s […]

  OPENINGS:  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2 (Marvel/Disney) had a solid Saturday hold for a blockbuster, down 9% on its 2d full day of release.  That compares to the performance of the Iron Man sequels, respectively down 11% and 10%, and much better than Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s 33% plunge, although a tad less […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  The studio rankings remain unchanged, and #1 Fox continues to do well, thanks to more overseas grosses from both Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and How to Train Your Dragon 2.   The second best week worldwide belongs to #6 Universal, not so much because of the domestic release of As Above/So Below but mostly […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Universal is the big gainer again this week, partly because of the forecast domestic total for Ted 2 added to the chart but mostly because of almost $300 million in overseas box office added to Jurassic World (some of which is delayed reporting from the prior week). YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North […]

  OPENINGS:  THE LION KING (Disney) was expected to be the crown jewel in Disney’s recreations of its animated classics, and despite sharply mixed reviews, it delivered with a $185M opening weekend–and that studio estimate includes a fairly conservative number for Sunday, so it could go higher in finals.  If it stays at $185M, it […]

  OPENINGS:  There’s no way to spin the $10.5M US opening of  Steven Spielberg’s WEST SIDE STORY (20th/Disney), and its even worse $4.4M start in 37 overseas territories (with $2.8M of that from France and the UK), as anything but flat-out bad.  Unlike other 2021 musicals like In the Heights ($11.5M opening even with a […]

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 still -6% below last year’s comparable span and still -1% below this point the past four years ($7.205 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $19.1 billion worldwide […]

  OPENINGS:  LIGHTYEAR (Pixar/Disney) was a tricky attempt to extend the hugely lucrative Toy Story franchise, both a prequel and a spinoff that featured a different version of the titular character than the one audiences have loved for decades.  Disney didn’t manage to convince fans that it was essential viewing, and the result was a […]