WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 ends -4% below last year’s comparable 52-week span and basically even with this point the past four years ($10.656 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $27.7 billion […]

  OPENINGS:  LET HIM GO (Focus/Universal) had a more substantial marketing campaign than most recent arrivals, and it seemed to benefit modestly from the added resources with a $4.1M weekend, the same start that Honest Thief had a few weeks ago. In limited release, THE DARK AND THE WICKED (RLJE) opened with $65K at 68 […]

  OPENINGS:  All the box office action is coming from franchises, with the latest being HALLOWEEN KILLS (Blumhouse/Universal, also on Peacock), which started at $50.4M.  The Peacock part of this story is probably being overstated by pundits (very few Peacock users subscribe to the tier where they would have access to the movie), and Kills […]

  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 […]

  OPENINGS:  Franchises continued to be the lifeblood (so to speak) of Hollywood, and this week it was SCREAM VI (Paramount) breaking its saga’s previous record with $44.5M, almost 50% higher than the $30M for last year’s Scream reboot.  It was also above the $40M for 2000’s Scream 3, although that would change with an […]

>Adam Sandler opens Jack and Jill this weekend, and it will be an uphill battle for it to displace Puss in Boots from the top of the box office.  Immortals will be challenging Jack and Jill for the second spot on the chart.  Box office volume for the weekend will probably be up around 6% […]

  OPENINGS:  NAPOLEON (Apple/Sony) launched at the higher end of expectations, with $20.4M over the 3-day weekend and $32.5M for the 5-day holiday.  As with Apple’s Killers of the Flower Moon, however, that leaves it a long way from any hope of breakeven on roughly $300M in production/marketing costs (particularly considering that audience polling indicated […]

Now 19 full weeks into 2012, year-to-date domestic box office is now running 21% ahead of last year’s pace and now 17% ahead of the comparable period’s average for the last several years.   Marvel’s The Avengers turned in $103.052 million in its second weekend, a mere 0.1% below what Disney estimated Sunday morning and only $1 million away from the ShowBuzzDaily […]