Weekend #5 of 2014 is looking like $74 million for the top 12 films, a significant 17% below the average for this challenging weekend the past few years.  Super Bowl weekend is always a tough one, with the distraction of the largest TV event of the year on Sunday and weak movies released in its wake.  […]

Although Expendables 2 did not open as big as we forecast earlier in the week, the weekend was not bad for a third weekend in August.      The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Final estimates for films opening wide this weekend: The Expendables 2 ($87 million), ParaNorman ($69 million), Sparkle ($32 million) and The Odd Life of Timothy Green ($37 million). Second […]

  ALIEN: COVENANT (TSG/20th) was supposed to refresh the franchise after the disenchanted response to Prometheus, but it’s opening at the low end of expectations.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline put opening day at $15.2M (including $4.2M from Thursday night), which suggests a $38M weekend.  Covenant carries about $225M in production/marketing costs, and it may not […]

  OPENINGS:  OBLIVION (Universal) had a fairly good start, with a $13.3M Thursday night/Friday that should give it a $35-38M weekend, depending on word of mouth.  But that’s still lower than the $15.3M earned by GI Joe: Retaliation on its second day of release only 3 weeks ago, and at a probable higher cost (Universal […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  We will continue tracking 2015 for several more weeks as the holiday films finish their runs.  We will begin tracking the 2016 slates soon.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now even with last year and now +9% above the average for this […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Fox had a great week worldwide last week ($167 million worldwide), partly from the domestic release of Gone Girl this weekend but also from strong overseas returns for The Maze Runner.  Fox is now over $4 billion for the year worldwide, the #1 Hollywood studio by far, and saddled with surprisingly few duds on its […]

This weekend is looking incredibly strong: over $250 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up 27% from a typical third weekend in November.  The final Twilight (12-34 females), Lincoln (35+ adults), and the second weekend of the strongest Bond yet (young adults) make for a powerful combination.   Opening at over 4,000 theaters Friday […]

Saturday was generally stronger than anticipated yesterday — the weekend now looks like $83 million instead of $77 million for the top 12 films.   But the rank order is basically same, The Expendables 2 remains the only film above $10 million for the weekend.     The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Final estimates for films opening […]