OPENINGS:  INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR (Screen Gems/Sony) reaffirmed the strength of the low-budget horror genre with a $32.7M start, better than the $29.6M launch of 2018’s The Last Key (which didn’t feature the full original cast).  Red Door should reach $65M+ in the US, guaranteeing profitability on a reported $16M production budget and relatively […]

  OPENINGS:  TAKEN 3 (Europa/20th) had a very decent 5% Saturday bump (so much for the movie’s quality affecting word of mouth), and is currently claiming a $40.4M weekend, which would make it the #2 January opening ever, right behind last year’s Ride Along at $41.5M.  In addition, Taken 3 earned another $40.1M in just […]

  OPENINGS:  Despite the strong weekend, it’s a bit troubling that GROWN UPS 2 (Sony) fell 11% on Saturday (the original Grown Ups rose 2% on its 2d day), suggesting frontloading and less than great word of mouth.  That may place the studio’s estimated Sunday drop of 21% and $42.5M weekend total in doubt, but […]

>Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows jumped to over $175 million overseas and has a shot at $400 million worldwide.  Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol moved well past $500 million worldwide.  Complete updated chart after the jump.    

  OPENINGS:  As we had forecast on Friday night, the margin of victory for the weekend box office was razor-thin, and we won’t really know who won until final numbers are released tomorrow.  For now, HIDDEN FIGURES (20th) is $172K below Rogue One at $21.8M, but Disney’s Rogue One projection relies on a speculatively strong […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2017 to date is now down -2% from last year and now +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.197 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have […]

>Overseas box office show big gains for Puss in Boots and Real Steel, now at $142 million and $186 million overseas to date, respectively.  Both films are solidly in the top five films worldwide, approaching $300 million worldwide each. New Year’s Eve has $13 million overseas to date, but it only stands at $44 million […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio, with Fox continuing to the lap the field.  We have amended the summary categories somewhat this year with the top category now reserved for films over $500 million worldwide and the lower category for films under $150 million worldwide.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at […]