OPENINGS:  The world, if not the galaxy, belonged to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Marvel/Disney) this weekend.  In the US, its $94M start (as is typical, Disney estimated an aggressively strong Sunday, down just 19% from Saturday, so that number may reduce a bit tomorrow) pulverized the previous August record-holder (The Bourne Ultimatum) to the tune […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #35 of 2014 looks like $86 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, now 1% above the norm for this weekend ($85 million) but 8% below this weekend last year (detailed track below). Opening at 2,639 theaters, As Above/So Below from Universal grossed $3.2 million Friday and $2.8 million […]

  It was a strong multiplex weekend all over the world this week, which was good news for Hollywood and its overseas equivalents. OPENINGS:  Although David Fincher is considered one of cinema’s heavy hitters, he’s never been a blockbuster guy, and until this weekend, his biggest opening came a dozen years ago, with $30.1M for […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #45 of 2014 looks like $154 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up 10% the norm for this weekend ($140 million) but down slightly (-4%) from the same weekend last year. Opening at 3,561 theaters, Interstellar from Paramount grossed $17.0 million Friday and is on track for a $54 million opening […]

  OPENINGS:  Although it won’t arrive here until the end of the week, Ridley Scott’s EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (20th) had a strong start in 10 overseas territories with $23M.  It will be gunning for the $261.4M foreign total of Noah earlier this year. Other than that, the pitiful THE PYRAMID (20th) managed $1.35M at […]

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:  Fill in the ball/glass slipper/fairy tale reference of choice, because CINDERELLA (Disney) performed beautifully, with $70.1M in the US.  That puts it ahead of the $69.4M opening of Maleficent (unless adjusted numbers change things tomorrow), and below the $116.1M for Alice in Wonderland and the $79.1M for Oz the Great and Powerful.  Cinderella‘s 18% […]

  The big box office news this weekend is happening far from these shores, as AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Disney) opens in slightly over half the world in advance of its US launch next Thursday night.  It had already racked up $44.5M just from Wednesday/Thursday results in some of those territories.  Here, a soft pre-Avengers weekend allowed FURIOUS […]