Note:  due to last week’s low-grossing Super Bowl Sunday, all weekend-to-weekend comparisons appear unusually strong this week. OPENINGS:  THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE:  SPONGE OUT OF WATER (Nickelodeon/Paramount) notched the #5 February opening ever with $56M (although not quite in a league with last year’s The LEGO Movie, which was #2 with $69.1M).  The studios seem […]

> Deadline has preliminary figures for Thursday’s boxoffice, and they appear to be fairly steady with Wednesday, consistent with last year’s pattern but below 2010’s totals.  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL (Paramount) remains at the head of the pack with $6.2M, down about 10%.  This compares with $7.1M for last year’s #1 on the Thursday […]

  The MCU continues to be America’s uber-franchise, as SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (Columbia/Sony) became the first summer mega-movie in several weeks to fully live up to expectations.  Few films have opened on the Tuesday before a Thursday July 4th, so comparisons aren’t exact, but Far From Home earned $91.5M on its Tuesday-Thursday (The Amazing […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #14 of 2013 is looking a little weaker than it appeared yesterday but still ahead of prior years.  The top 12 films are looking like $127 million this weekend, now 10% above the same weekend in recent years.  Two decent openers and two strong returning films dominate the top of […]

  A general note:  the last time December 22 fell on a Friday was in 2006, and a look at that year indicates what box office patterns may be between now and January 1.  We can expect most films to have a relatively mild Saturday uptick (up to 30%) then plunge by 50% or so […]

  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 […]

Updated tracking of overseas box office.  Taken 2 is really starting to pick up steam overseas (up $65 million overseas since last week’s report), while Argo and Sinister open this weekend in the middle of the worldwide pack (with limited overseas prospects).  

Based on Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #10 of 2013 is looking even stronger than it did yesterday: now $129 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up from the $122 million estimate yesterday and now up 5% from last year.  Oz the Great and Powerful is now looking like an $80 million opening weekend (now ahead […]