OPENINGS:  TEXAS CHAINSAW (Lionsgate) did what most horror movies do, dropping 23% on Saturday for a lousy 2.3x weekend multiple of its Friday gross.  It was actually in 2d place on both Saturday and Sunday, but that frontloaded Friday was enough to give it a comfortable $23M win for the weekend.  With a $20M […]

Weekend #29 of 2012 looks like what last weekend should have been: $272 million for the top 12 films, up 50% from last year’s comparable weekend and up 67% from the four-year average for the weekend. Opening at 4,404 theaters, The Dark Knight Rises from Warner Brothers should average $43,600 per theater (for a $192 million […]

  OPENINGS:  It’s likely that THE 355 (Universal) would have been challenged at the box office even in normal times, considering that its level of action spectacle is significantly lower than superhero movies can afford, and that the cast features performers who are extremely talented but with little proven appeal to ticketbuyers.  (The 27% score […]

The four new films in North America this weekend have had very little presence overseas so far — only ParaNorman has overseas receipts to date (and only $5 million at that).  The one film from this weekend that should eventually gross some international dollars is Expendables 2, which should head for about $150 million overseas (somewhat below the […]

> $59.99 for home VOD — Genius! Box office normally starts to pick up when the calendar turns to November, moving from $90-100 million per weekend through most of October to $120 million or more per weekend in early November (building toward $185 million or more for the Friday-Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend).  Last year’s first […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #43 of 2014 still looks like a decent $103 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, 16% above the norm for this weekend ($89 million). Opening at 2,858 theaters, Ouija from Universal grossed $8.3 million Friday and $7.6 million Saturday, still on track for a $20.0 million opening three-day weekend […]

  OPENINGS:  DESPICABLE ME 2 (Universal) had an even better weekend overseas than it did in the US, with $88.8M (in 45 markets, with plenty more major ones to come) vs $82.5M.  (Of course, in the US it also had the benefit of a holiday week, giving it a huge $142.1M here so far.)  The […]

> DreamWorks’ Puss In Boots is opening at a solid #1 but below its forecast.  Paranormal Activity 3 is sporting a 65% decline in its second weekend (just under $20 million for the weekend), but it has nonetheless been upgraded to a $119 million final domestic estimate thanks to solid midweek business.  In Time and […]