OPENINGS:  With $36M on Friday, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is assured of going over $100M by Monday, and the only question is by how much.  The day fell a bit below the openings for Godzilla ($38.4M) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($36.9M), but above The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($35.2M).  (On their 2d […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #21 of 2014 looks like $180 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, well below our $205 million forecast and down 28% from the same weekend last year (but still up 6% from the norm for this weekend over the last few years).  Basically, the two openers this weekend are […]

  X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (20th) was fated to walk away with Memorial Day Weekend, and it’s starting off its run in high style, with a preliminary $36M (including $8.1M from Thursday night) reported at Deadline and elsewhere.  If that number holds, it would be the 3rd highest opening day of the year (behind […]

  X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (20th) began with a bang last night, earning $8.1M from Thursday night shows.  Although that’s less than Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($10.2M), Godzilla ($9.3M), and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($8.7M), Fox decided to forego some of its Thursday night potential (presumably to provide extra oomph on Friday) by […]

Weekend #21 of 2014 is looking like a very good $205 million for the top 12 films over the traditional Friday-Sunday portion of the Memorial Day weekend, 21% above the norm for this weekend (although -18% from the same weekend last year, which was fueled by sequels that opened big but couldn’t sustain).  Reminder: on […]

  OPENINGS:  Considering its 17% Saturday drop, GODZILLA (Warners/Legendary) may ease down a bit from its $93.2M weekend estimate when final numbers are released on Monday.  (It’s assuming a 30% Sunday drop, equal to Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s and less than Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s, even though those 2 movies fell only 6% from their […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  The release of Godzilla has pushed Warner Brothers into second place, just behind Sony (each with around $1.3 billion worldwide to date in 2014).  20th Century Fox ($1.1 billion to date worldwide) and Disney ($1.0 billion worldwide to date) are fairly close behind.   But Godzilla will really kick in overseas starting with next week’s update, […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #20 of 2014 now looks like $171 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat less than the $177 million estimate yesterday but still up 17% from the norm for this weekend.   Opening at 3,952 theaters, Godzilla from Warner Brothers grossed $38.5 million late Thursday/Friday and a slightly cooler $32.2 […]