OPENINGS:  The surprise isn’t so much that COCAINE BEAR (Universal) “overdelivered,” but that expectations were so low for a picture that had been the subject of pop culture fascination for months.  The $23.1M weekend seems like a realistic reflection of that fact, and although business is likely to drop quickly now that audiences have […]

The Dark Knight Rises opened with $88 million overseas in a modest 17 territories.  We’ll give Rises a preliminary overseas target of $490 million, slightly higher than 2008’s The Dark Knight, which grossed $469 million overseas.  If our overseas target is correct, that put puts the worldwide target for Dark Knight Rises at $980 million, just behind The Dark Knight‘s […]

Updated international box office chart below.  The Hobbit (+$97 million overseas since last week) and Life of Pi (+$82 million) are the big movers this week. New entrants to the chart include The Impossible at #31, Texas Chainsaw at #41, and Promised Land at #65.  With significant (and growing overseas business) the Spanish-produced Impossible is the one film in this week’s crop that can move up […]

> Uh oh. Deadline has what are admittedly very preliminary numbers for Friday’s boxoffice.  But if they hold, this holiday season may not be a festive one for Hollywood.  SHERLOCK HOLMES:  GAME OF SHADOWS appears to be headed for a $16M Friday (including a little over $1M from midnight screenings), which would likely mean around […]

> Another up weekend at the box office is on store, led by an eclectic assortment of films.  It should be an up weekend, led by Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family and a forecast $31 million opening.  Playing at over 2,100 theaters, Madea should average over $14,000 per theater, a very good number.  Water […]

  OPENINGS:  Studios are increasingly starting their global launches of franchise blockbusters overseas, and once again, the weekend’s biggest box office news occurred outside the US.  X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (20th) has opened in 75 overseas territories that cover about 2/3 of the world (but not yet China) and had a $103.3M weekend.  That’s much lower than […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2017 to date is still down -1% from last year and now +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($9.518 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Strong overseas grosses for Captain America: The Winter Soldier has pushed Disney slightly ahead of Warner Brothers for worldwide box office to date (with each studio over $800 million so far this year).  Rio 2 has pushed Fox to over $700 million worldwide in 2014.  Sony, Universal and Paramount are next with about $500 million […]