Weekend #5 of 2015 is looking like $104 million for the top 12 films this weekend, actually well above the normal volume for this weekend ($77 million), which is hobbled by the Super Bowl and its massive television audience.  American Sniper on Friday and Saturday should salvage the weekend somewhat, but there is very little […]

  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 now -5% below last year’s comparable span (1 point better than last week) and now basically even with this point the past four years ($7.325 billion).  Over the […]

  INFERNO (LStar/Columbia/Sony) was expected to earn less than The Da Vinci Code ($217.5M US/$540.7M overseas) and Angels & Demons ($133.4M/$352.6M), which is why Sony spent $75M less to produce the new film.  But that still leaves $200M in production/marketing costs, and Inferno is flopping too badly to have much chance of profit.  According to […]

  OPENINGS:  A $34.1M US launch for a movie that reportedly carries about $350M in production and marketing costs likely means a nine-figure loss in theatrical release, which traditionally is considered less than desirable.  But the ways of Box Office Magical Thinking are infinite (and the number of pundits willing to parrot such spin similarly […]

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 now -13% below last year’s comparable span (5 points better than last week) and now -7% below the average for this point the past four years ($3.123 billion).  Over the same […]

The 2014 holiday box office is now somewhat better than average but behind last year’s pace. The top 10 films on Tuesday December 30, 2014 totaled $38.1 million, a touch below the average $39.0 million for the days since 2002 when this date landed on a weekday.  The last time December 30 fell on a […]

  OPENINGS:  Despite the strong weekend, it’s a bit troubling that GROWN UPS 2 (Sony) fell 11% on Saturday (the original Grown Ups rose 2% on its 2d day), suggesting frontloading and less than great word of mouth.  That may place the studio’s estimated Sunday drop of 21% and $42.5M weekend total in doubt, but […]

The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between October 1 and October 7 grossed a very strong $163 million, up 36% from the four-year average for the week and up 41% from the same week last year.   During the week of October 3-9, 2011, four films grossed $10 […]