OPENINGS:  STAR TREK BEYOND (Skydance/Alibaba/Huahua/Paramount) had a tepid start, claiming a $59.6M opening weekend in the US.  Even if that number holds (it includes an extremely aggressive Sunday estimate), it would be 20% below the $75..2M 2009 franchise reboot, and even below the $70.2M earned by Star Trek Into Darkness, which opened on a […]

Weekend #28 of 2015 is looking like $194 million for the top 12 films this weekend, slightly above the norm for this weekend and way above last year’s very soft weekend (see comparisons below).  [Note: a previous version of this post had incorrect estimated weekend totals.] Minions from Universal should open with a $108 million three-day weekend. Early reviews at RottenTomatoes […]

  OPENINGS:  I FEEL PRETTY (Voltage/H Brothers/STX) became the first Amy Schumer movie to dip on its 2nd day of release, indicating weak word of mouth.  Its $16.2M weekend put it in 3rd place for the weekend, with uncertain prospects.  STX only has the film in the US, with reported costs of $45M, which may […]

  OPENINGS:  The adult-oriented OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY (DreamWorks/Paramount) had a 3% Saturday bump and wound up with a fair $17.5M for the weekend  If it can hold decently against next week’s monstrous arrival, it might find its way to $50M in the US, although its dream is to have the kind of holiday legs Sisters did […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is still +5% above last year and still +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($8.177 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $22.1 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office (that’s now […]

For the 19 days December 16-January 3, the top 10 films each day in North America have totaled $979 million, now -3% below last year’s pace and now -18% behind the record pace of 2015, when Star Wars: The Force Awakens dominated the holiday season. With Rogue One last year and The Last Jedi this year, the Star Wars franchise has definitely taken the holiday […]

  OPENINGS:  At $6.5M, THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE (Screen Gems/Sony) performed adequately for a low-budget horror item placed in one of the lower-grossing weekends of the year.  Possession also earned $4.1M in 17 international territories, the start of a release that will extend into early 2019.  It has around $30M in production and worldwide […]

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 -10% below last year’s comparable span (1 point worse than last week) and still -2% below the average at this point the past four years ($3.722 billion).  Over the same […]