OPENINGS:  Horror has been one of the more reliable genres at the pandemic box office, and CANDYMAN (MGM/Universal) opened with a solid $22.4M, buoyed by unusually good reviews (85% on Rotten Tomatoes).  That offset a weaker showing overseas, where it earned $5.2M in 51 markets. HOLDOVERS:  FREE GUY (20th/Disney) enjoyed its final pre-Shang Chi […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Universal remains a dominant #1, growing even more this week.  Unfriended helped a little with its domestic opening, but the big reason for the weekly again this week was Furious 7 which is exploding overseas.  As for the other openers this weekend, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 does not significantly improve Sony’s fortunes, nor does Monkey Kingdom for Disney. […]

  OPENINGS:  ARTHUR THE KING (Lionsgate) was clearly hoping to emulate the sleeper success of 2022’s Dog, which ran a $14.9M opening into $61.8M in the US.  However, the Mark Wahlberg vehicle came up very short with a $7.5M start.  Production/marketing costs are reportedly $60M, which will make for a tough road to profit.  Arthur […]

  OPENINGS:  In what Hollywood hopes will be the last weekend of drought for a while, the TV episodes packaged as DEMON SLAYER:  KIMETSU NO YAIBA – TO THE HASHIRA TRAINING (Crunchyroll/Sony) led the newcomers with $11.6M, a bit better than the $10.1M for last year’s Demon Slayer episodes.  In addition, the film earned $13.7M […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  The studios are starting to separate from each other as we approach the midpoint of the year.  20th Century Fox is nearing $1.9 billion worldwide box office to date.  Fox had a decent week with an additional $148 million worldwide (mostly from the domestic release of The Fault in Our Stars).  Warner Brothers […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2018 film slates by studio. The studio totals also include 2018 dollars for films released in late 2017. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2018 to date is now +8% above last year and now +10% above the average for this point […]

  OPENINGS:  A Friday Valentines Day that leads into a long holiday weekend is a bonanza for Hollywood, and the movie that cleaned up the most was SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (Paramount), with a remarkable $57M over the 3-day weekend and $68M with Monday.  That’s the biggest opening ever for a videogame-based property, and it gives […]

  OPENINGS:  The biggest arrival of the weekend is still 2 weeks away from reaching the US.  INFERNO (Columbia/Sony), the latest in the DaVinci Code/Angels & Demons franchise, opened in 53 markets comprising about 2/3 of the world with $50M.  That’s a solid start, but suggests that when the movie goes worldwide (except for France) […]