The lack of any new wide openings and the arrival of the year’s Golden Globe nominations are making for a strong holdover weekend, although for some titles more than others.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (Disney) continued to decline rather swiftly, down 38% from last Friday to $3.5M, where Moana […]

  OPENINGS:  The weekend multiple for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (DreamWorks Animation/Universal) was 3.2x, about mid-way between the first Dragon‘s 3.6x and Dragon 2‘s 2.6x.  (Note that the studio isn’t including $2.5M in paid preview income in its weekend number–if that were added to Friday the way Thursday night revenue is, […]

  OPENINGS:  JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM (Thunder Road/Summit/Lionsgate) continued the upward climb of the franchise in the US with a $57M weekend, substantially ahead of the $30.4M for Wick 2, which was above the $14.4M of the original.  If Parabellum plays out like Wick 2, it could cross $150M in the US, on costs […]

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 still -6% below last year’s comparable span and still -1% below this point the past four years ($7.077 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $18.8 billion […]

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 still -4% below last year’s comparable span and still +1% above this point the past four years ($10.234 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $27.1 billion […]

  OPENINGS:  The only wide launch this week (2027 theatres) was the horror movie THE EMPTY MAN (20th/Disney), which despite its big-studio credentials had a nearly invisible level of marketing behind it, and started with a $1.3M weekend that was low even by pandemic standards. AFTER WE COLLIDED (Open Road) had a limited arrival at […]

  OPENINGS:  The blockbusters are delivering even if other box office segments still aren’t, and that’s good news for pandemic-weary theater owners and studios.  In the US, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (Columbia/Marvel/Sony) set a new Covid-era record with a remarkable $90.1M opening, larger than the $75.4M earned by Shang-Chi a month ago, the $80.4M […]

  OPENINGS:  David Cronenberg is a venerated filmmaker, but not a source of many box office hits:  in a career that spans more than 4 decades, his highest-grossing film in the US is still 1986’s The Fly at $40.5M (a little over $100M adjusted for inflation).  That won’t change with his brooding and frequently grotesque […]