OPENINGS:  When CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (Sony) chose this weekend to open, it must have seemed like the perfect spot for a #1 ranking, with no direct competition and the previous week’s new title a sci-fi movie that might start big but would drop heavily in its second weekend.  Then Gravity happened, and suddenly Captain Phillips […]

  It was foretold by the gods of Marvel that THOR: THE DARK WORLD (Disney) would rule this weekend, and preliminary numbers at Deadline confirm that it will, with a $31M Friday (including $7.1M from Thursday night).  That should get it to a weekend around $80M.  It’s certainly a huge number, likely to be the […]

Updated worldwide box office chart for 2013 North American films.  Also, click here for a summary of worldwide performance by studio.

Through ten days of the Holiday Season (December 16-25), the top 10 films in North America each day have totaled $316 million, up 19% jump from last year ($265 million) and up 10% from the multi-year average since 2002 ($287 million). The $67.3 million for the top 10 films Christmas Day was quite strong: above […]

  Although it also stars (and is produced by) Ice Cube, RIDE ALONG (Universal) goes down in the books as a big win for Kevin Hart, the focus of the movie’s marketing campaign.  Based on preliminary numbers at The Hollywood Reporter, the action comedy is on its way to a $40M+ 4-day Martin Luther King […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #7 of 2014 looks like $171 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, 30% ahead of this weekend’s average the past several years.  The Lego Movie continues to lead the box office, while Kevin Hart’s star shines brightly with the strong opening of About Last Night. Opening at 2,253 theaters […]

  OPENINGS:  NEED FOR SPEED (DreamWorks/Disney) won Friday with $6.6M (which includes $1.1M from Thursday night), but it’s destined to come in 2d or even 3rd for the weekend, probably under $20M.  At a $175M cost (including worldwide marketing), $50M in the US will barely make a dent, meaning that the movie will need to […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #15 of 2014 looks like $143 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up 28% from the four-year average for this weekend ($112 million) and on its way to record for a mid-April weekend.  Rio 2 and Captain America 2 are fueling the box office, while two smaller films in […]