Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #1 of 2013 is now on pace for $126 million, a touch stronger than it looked yesterday and still very much line with the comparable weekend in previous years.  Both Texas Chainsaw 3D and Django Unchained are also looking a little stronger than they seemed yesterday, but the […]

  They deleted Massacre from its title, but it’s still mowing down the competition. OPENINGS:  Why does Hollywood make ultraviolent movies?  Because they sell tickets.  TEXAS CHAINSAW (Lionsgate) is overperforming its way to a surprisingly strong weekend win, with $10.2M on its first night.  Horror movies are hugely front-loaded, so it’s unlikely to be higher […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #1 of 2013 is on pace for $124 million, very much line with the comparable weekend in previous years.  Texas Chainsaw 3D is opening somewhat better than forecast ($22.5 million versus our forecast of $17.8 million), while Django Unchained continues to perform solidly. In limited release, The Impossible is stronger than forecast […]

The first weekend of 2013 should total about $117 million for the top 12 films, somewhat below average for a normally sluggish weekend as life and movie-going returns to normal.  Texas Chainsaw 3D has the most promise of the films going wide this weekend and will duel with Django Unchained for second place (and possibly […]

New Year’s Day totaled $46.7 million for the top 10 films this holiday season, slightly below the $50.1 million average for this date but somewhat above the $44.2 million average for January 1 when it falls on a weekday. With New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day now in the books, the holiday season December […]

  (Almost) everything shot up at the boxoffice on New Year’s Day, but one zoomed more than the rest:  DJANGO UNCHAINED (Weinstein/Sony) challenged THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (Warners/MGM) for the daily lead–falling short by only $227K–and rose a mighty 79% from Monday to $9.2M, for a total to date of $77.8M.  That bodes well […]

  Movie ticket sales were down significantly on December 31, as audiences found other things to do with their New Year’s Eves, but the results still gave Les Miserables a symbolic turnaround, putting it back in 2d place after a weekend behind Django Unchained.  Business should zoom today for the holiday finale, before settling into mundane […]

The following is based on early estimates for Sunday, December 30.  The 2012 figures will be updated as needed when the actuals are released, but any change will be minimal. The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between December 24 and December 30 grossed a very encouraging $399 million, […]