The burnished Jackie Robinson bio 42 (Warners) continued its winning ways on Saturday, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, with a solid 22% bump to $11.1M and what should be a $27M weekend.  That’s very strong for a sports movie, and with good word of mouth and an audience that skews old, it should run […]

  OPENINGS:  After a painful post-Hobbit winter, Warners was in dire need of a hit, and Jackie Robinson became its great American hero, as 24 (Warners) had a very strong $9.1M opening day.  Word of mouth should be on the movie’s side–the challenge for the studio was to get people into the theaters in the […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #15 of 2013 is looking like $104 million for the top 12 films, down just a few percentage points from the same weekend in prior years.  Two films opened this weekend.  A sports drama period piece (not a guaranteed success) exceeded expectations and will be a strong #1, while a […]

In the movie 42, Jackie Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman) repeatedly asks Branch Rickey why he is breaking baseball’s unwritten whites-only rule.  Rickey (played by Harrison Ford) gives very vague, unsatisfying responses each time.  What a blown dramatic opportunity.  In Ken Burns’ nine-part documentary masterpiece “Baseball,” an aged Red Barber (the Dodgers’ radio broadcaster) describes the […]

The box office this weekend should be slightly off the pace for this weekend the last few years, cooling off a bit after a few solid weekends.  Two new films open, and it appears 42 will lead the way with just under $20 million. Opening at around 2,900 theaters Friday (a very average number), 42 from […]

Updated International Box Office tracking chart:

  OPENINGS:  EVIL DEAD (TriStar/Sony/FilmDistrict) took the weekend with $26M, and even though, based on Sunday results for other recent horror movies, that number may drop a bit with final figures tomorrow, it should end up with a pleasantly bloody $50M before it’s done in the US (it also made $4.5M this weekend in 21 international […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #14 of 2013 is looking a little weaker than it appeared yesterday but still ahead of prior years.  The top 12 films are looking like $127 million this weekend, now 10% above the same weekend in recent years.  Two decent openers and two strong returning films dominate the top of […]