STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Lucasfilm/Disney) was expected to be gigantic, but not quite as huge as 2015’s The Force Awakens, which benefited from a decade of pent-up expectations.  That’s exactly where it’s heading, as preliminary numbers at Deadline have Friday at $100.4M, of which $45M is from Thursday night.  That opening day is […]

> The third weekend of 2012 is better than the same weekend last year, but it’s a fairly mediocre weekend looking at a broader historical context.  Underworld Awakening is leading the charge at #1, but Red Tails is not too far behind.    Underworld Awakening is coming in just under forecast, pulling in $9.4 million […]

  A piece of beloved genre IP that gets rave reviews is hard to beat, and the newest iteration of HALLOWEEN (Blumhouse/Miramax/Universal) is headed toward a huge opening.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline put Friday at $33M ($7.7M from Thursday night), and even allowing for the typical front-loading of sequels and horror movies, that should mean […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is still +3% above last year and now +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($6.592 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $17.3 billion worldwide when we […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #34 of 2014 looks like $103 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat below our forecast ($111 million) but still 21% above the norm for this weekend ($86 million). Opening at 2,907 theaters, If I Stay from Warner Brothers grossed $6.8 million Friday and is on track for a $17.0 million […]

  HOLDOVERS:  Pandemic box office champion SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (Marvel/Columbia/Sony) had no trouble keeping its throne over New Year’s weekend, down 38% to $52.7M, with a running US total of $609.9M.  The January ahead is sparse on competition, so the film should top $700M, which will make it the #2 MCU title in the […]

  The Hollywood Reporter has the Thursday boxoffice for STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (Paramount) at $13.5M, which given the strong reviews and general hype would be a tad disappointing.  Comparisons with the 2009 Star Trek are tricky, because that opened on Thursday night/Friday rather than Wednesday night/Thursday (Star Trek had a $30.9M opening for its […]

> Deadline has preliminary weekend boxoffice numbers, and if they hold, PUSS IN BOOTS will have had a remarkable second weekend.  DreamWorks Animation is reportedly claiming a Saturday number doubling its Friday, which would mean a $34M weekend, virtually even with its opening.  We’ll see if this claim survives till Sunday morning, let alone Monday […]