OPENINGS:  KONG: SKULL ISLAND (Legendary/Tencent/Warners) is playing as a quasi-family movie, perhaps in response to the R-rated Logan and Get Out.  That gave it a much more muscular Saturday than similar big-budget monster movies, up 19% on Saturday where Godzilla fell 16% and Pacific Rim dropped 13%.  With that boost, Kong should hit its […]

>1960 Kennedy/Nixon.  2000 Bush/Gore.  2011 Salem/Metcalf.  Team Salem has moved back into the lead (by a $17.8 million margin) thanks to a strong second weekend for Rise of the Planet of the Apes and a great opening for The Help.  With no new films opening for either Team, it is time for Metcalf to concede […]

  Once again, Gone Girl was vanquished for a day by a horror movie, but will almost certainly rebound to take the weekend. OPENINGS:  DRACULA UNTOLD (Legendary/Universal) gets the partnership between Universal and its new co-producer/financier Legendary (which for years was parked at Warners) off to a solid start.  Dracula‘s Friday results were underreported in […]

  OPENINGS:  TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS (Nickelodeon/Movie Media Group/Alibaba/Paramount) opened 46% below the TMNT reboot 2 years ago at $35.3M.  That suggests a $100M US total, and with $250M+ in production/marketing costs, the bulk of that will have to be recovered overseas.  So far, it’s earned $34M in 40 territories, not […]

Based on Friday’s  and Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #50 of 2013 looks like $139 million for the top 12 films from Friday-Sunday, not as strong as we had forecast and down $5 million from yesterday’s estimate but still up double digits in terms of percent increase over comparable weekends the past several years.   Opening at […]

Weekend #41 of 2015 is looking like $112 million for the top 12 films this weekend, very close to the norm for this weekend but below last year’s strong weekend (see comparisons below). Pan from Warner Brothers should open with a $16.5 million weekend. The film is on track for around $70 million domestic. Overseas the film could bring in $210 […]

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 still down -2% from last year and still +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.310 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed […]

  Although still down steeply from Fifty Shades of Grey, FIFTY SHADES FREED (Perfect World/Universal) is opening on par with the initial sequel Fifty Shades Darker.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Freed earned $18.4M on its first day (including $5.6M from Thursday night), down 14% from Darker, which could translate into a $40M weekend, […]