Weekend #40 of 2014 is looking like $117 million for the top 12 films this weekend, up 13% from the norm for this weekend. Opening at around 3,000 theaters Friday (above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Gone Girl from 20th Century Fox should average a solid $10,600 per theater for the […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #23 of 2015 looks like $128 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a little worse than it looked yesterday and down significantly the norm for this weekend as the lame summer continues.   Opening at 3,711 theaters Friday, Spy from Fox is now on track for a $30.0 million opening three-day weekend (below […]

Weekend #21 of 2015 is looking like $162 million for the top 12 films this weekend, well below the norm for this weekend. Opening at around 3,800 theaters Friday (well above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Tomorrowland from Disney should average an okay $9,700 per theater for the three-day weekend (for a $37.0 million […]

  OPENINGS:  INSIDE OUT 2 (Pixar/Disney) overdelivered massively compared to expectations with $155M in the US, a remarkable $65M higher than the start for 2015’s original Inside Out, and depending whether you count the “live-action” CG remake of The Lion King ($191.8M) as animated, either the #2 or #3 US opening for an animated feature […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  We will continue tracking 2015 for several more weeks as the holiday films finish their runs.  We will begin tracking 2016 in a few weeks.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, after one week 2016 to date begins +31% above last year and +13% above the average for […]

  OPENINGS:  The biggest story of the weekend took place off American shores, as IRON MAN 3 (Disney) topped all expectations to open with a fantastic $195.3M in 42 territories (China and Russia are the notable ones still to come).  That’s higher than the $185.1M opening for The Avengers (in 39 territories that didn’t include […]

  OPENINGS:  Cheap PG-13 horror movies are the assembly-line workers of the studios, rarely resulting in showy profits, but paying the bills between blockbusters.  OUIJA (Universal) and its $20.006M opening (we’ll see how that holds up in final numbers tomorrow) is a prime example, likely to make its way to profit thanks to a $5M […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #4 of 2014 looks like $94 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, within a few percentage points of comparable weekends the past few years. Opening at 2,753 theaters Friday, I, Frankenstein from Lionsgate/Summit grossed a tiny $2.8 million Friday, putting the film on track for a $7.6 million opening three-day weekend (way […]