Weekend #46 of 2014 is looking like $128 million for the top 12 films this weekend, down 33% from the norm for this weekend.   Opening at 3,152 theaters Friday (above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Dumb and Dumber To from Universal should average a solid $10,400 per theater […]

> Apart from the usual hosannas to THE HELP’s remarkable staying power, there’s not much to be said about this weekend’s wide releases.  APOLLO 18 and SHARK NIGHT are both flops that will be hard-pressed to gross enough to pay for their marketing.  THE DEBT is a bit more of a question mark, because of […]

  Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the multiplex, theater owners were startled to see a lot more empty seats than they had the day before.  Normally the boxoffice is basically stable on the day following Christmas, but this year business declined fairly sharply, and especially for the previous day’s openings. LES MISERABLES […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is still -5% below last year’s comparable span and still +1% above this point the past four years ($9.593 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $25.5 billion […]

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 +7% above last year and still +12% above the average for this point […]

As Dark Shadows followed The Avengers last year in the second weekend of May, The Great Gatsby will try to follow Iron Man 3’s huge opening last weekend.  Let’s face it, the TV spots for Gatsby make the film look like a lame costume party or some kind of high school production, and the racing […]

  OPENINGS:  David Cronenberg is a venerated filmmaker, but not a source of many box office hits:  in a career that spans more than 4 decades, his highest-grossing film in the US is still 1986’s The Fly at $40.5M (a little over $100M adjusted for inflation).  That won’t change with his brooding and frequently grotesque […]

>The past week (seven days ending Sunday) is up 5% versus last year’s comparable week.  Year-to-date box office is now down 3.2% versus last year, the smallest year-to-year margin we’ve seen so far this year.        The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between October 3 and October 9 grossed an okay $116 million, up 5% versus the same week in 2010 but […]