With $345M already in the bank from its giant overseas openings (that includes an all-time opening day record in China), IRON MAN 3 (Disney) turned its metallic gaze to the US last night, and had a huge $15.6M in evening/midnight screenings.  That was a bit below than the $18.7M Thursday night for The Avengers […]

Iron Man 3 will push the 18th weekend of the year to well over $210 million for the top 12 films, fully 19% better than the average for the comparable weekends recently but still 15% below the same weekend last year, when The Avengers exploded. Opening at over 4,000 theaters Friday (a very high theater […]

Looking at wide-release films in North America (those that play on at least 400 screens at some point), 2013 now totals just under $2.5 billion, down 16% from 2012 and down 9% from the prior four-year average 2009-2012.  Each year-to-date period below is defined as the first Monday after New Year’s Day through the most […]

  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 […]

Updated International chart:

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #17 of 2013 is looking like $81 million for the top 12 films, down 33% from the average the past few years for this weekend and down 16% from the same weekend last year.  Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain opened fairly quietly — not a total disaster but nothing […]

  OPENINGS:  PAIN & GAIN (Paramount) is a “relationship” movie, not in the sense of the relationships between the movie’s characters (oh God, no), but the relationship between the studio and its director, Michael Bay.  This was a passion project for Bay, and Paramount agreed to let him make it–and oh, by the way, also […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #17 of 2013 is looking like a very weak $80 million for the top 12 films, down 34% from the average the past few years for this weekend and down 18% from the same weekend last year.  Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain opened fairly quietly — not a total disaster but […]