>Five full weeks into 2012, domestic box office continues to run well ahead of last year’s anemic pace but about even with the comparable period’s average for the last several years.  The studio estimates for the films opening this weekend turned out to be very accurate.  Chronicle officially opened at #1 with $22,004,098 the first […]

  The yummiest weekend of the year for right-wing propagandists. OPENINGS:  2016:  OBAMA’S AMERICA (Rocky Mountain) drew its core audience to the tune of $6.2M, which gave it a return in the same neighborhood as recent faith-based movies like Fireproof ($6.8M), but not nearly as high as Courageous ($9.1M).  Its per-theatre average of $5700 is […]

> The past week (seven days ending Sunday) came in up 20% versus last year’s comparable week (the third significant increase in as many weeks).  Year-to-date box office is now down 5% versus last year.  Cowboys & Aliens edged The Smurfs in the weekend photo finish, but the ShowBuzzDaily domestic gross estimate (the number that really counts) gives the […]

  Another day, another record or two for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (Lucasfilm/Disney).  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, its Saturday was no less than $55M, which tidily dispatched the biggest 2d Saturday of all time ($42.9M for The Avengers).  Sunday should close out the biggest 2d weekend of all time at $155M or […]

  OPENINGS:  Thanks to a slightly higher Saturday than its predecessor (down 42% from Friday instead of 44%), THE TWILIGHT SAGA:  BREAKING DAWN PART 2 (Summit/Lionsgate) is headed for the 2nd highest opening of the franchise, its $141.3M behind only New Moon‘s $142.8M.  However, the series boxoffice numbers are so tightly bunched together that we […]

> Deadline has preliminary weekend boxoffice numbers, and if they hold, PUSS IN BOOTS will have had a remarkable second weekend.  DreamWorks Animation is reportedly claiming a Saturday number doubling its Friday, which would mean a $34M weekend, virtually even with its opening.  We’ll see if this claim survives till Sunday morning, let alone Monday […]

  OPENINGS:  THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (Paramount/Red Granite) fell behind American Hustle on Friday, dropping 6% to $6.3M, but considering that it’s a polarizing, 3-hour, hard-R saga that people aren’t even sure whether to call a black comedy or a drama, that’s still a fine result, and the film is likely to earn $50M+ […]

  OPENINGS:  THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (Lionsgate) came up from initial Friday estimates to $70.5M, the 7th highest single day box office in US history (behind the final Harry Potter, The Avengers, The Dark Knight, and 3 Twilights) and $3.2M ahead of the opening day for The Hunger Games.  If Catching Fire held as […]