WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2018 film slates by studio. The studio totals also include 2018 dollars for films released in late 2017. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2018 to date is now -2% below last year and now +12% above the average for this point the past four […]

  OPENINGS:  INCREDIBLES 2 (Pixar/Disney) resoundingly became the highest-opening animated film of all time with a giant $180M weekend, more than 30% higher than the $135.1M for Finding Dory.  Its Saturday behaved similarly to Dory, down 18% from Friday compared to Dory‘s 17%, although Incredibles 2 is looking for a better Sunday hold, down 16% […]

  OPENINGS:  Even among the mostly-sad legacy of Labor Day Weekend openings, OPERATION FINALE (MGM) was notably weak at $6M ($7.7M since its Wednesday launch), and that number incorporates a studio-estimated Sunday bump that would be the highest in the Top 10.  The weekend number, which may get to $7.5M with Monday added, is considerably […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2018 film slates by studio. The studio totals also include 2019 dollars for films released in late 2018. We will switch to tracking the 2019 slates next week. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -30% below last year’s comparable span and […]

  OPENINGS:  GOOD BOYS (Good Universe/Universal) easily led the weekend with $21M, a solid start for a comedy that probably had production/marketing costs under $75M.  It was somewhat frontloaded with a 12% Saturday drop, but summer Sundays have been running strong this year, so it should still have a fair weekend multiple.  Good Boys has […]

  OPENINGS:  The numbers for STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (Lucasfilm/Disney) were always going to be huge, but despite all the “dog ate its homework” excuses like pre-holiday shopping syndrome that are ricocheting around the trades today, a $175.5M start in the US is a significant disappointment.  Anyone who’s seen Skywalker knows that it […]

  OPENINGS:  We’re starting to get a feel for what this pandemic box office looks like, absent big-studio blockbusters.  This week’s HONEST THIEF (Open Road) opened at $3.7M in 2425 theatres (a weekend per-theatre $1525 average), just about the same as last week’s The War With Grandpa, even though they’re in completely different genres.  Honest […]

  OPENINGS:  DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Universal) clunked badly with a $7.5M debut, following on the heels of the underperforming In the Heights and underlining that while musicals can score at the box office, they remain a risky genre.  Even with a relatively low production cost and limited marketing, it’s hard to see any path to […]