WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.     YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now +5% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.021 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $18.6 billion worldwide […]

  Although it’s possible for a horror or action movie to make some money over Labor Day weekend, no studio opens a movie it cares about for the holiday that repels moviegoers.  This weekend’s openings won’t change that rule.  THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (DreamWorks/Reliant/Participant/Touchstone/Disney) was probably envisioned as an awards-worthy project when it was originally […]

No box office predictions for this weekend.  This feature will return next week. ###

  OPENINGS:  DON’T BREATHE (Screen Gems/Sony) had an unusually strong Saturday for a horror movie, down just 1% from Friday (which, remember, these days includes Thursday night).  By way of comparison, Lights Out fell 22% on its 2d day of release.  That propelled Don’t Breathe to an exceptional $26.1M weekend, the biggest opening for a […]

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 +4% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($6.905 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $18.3 billion worldwide when we add […]

  DON’T BREATHE (Screen Gems/Sony) is the 2d horror movie of the late summer, after Lights Out, to benefit from an effectively marketed premise (monsters in the dark and the quiet) and strong reviews.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Breathe is starting even faster than Lights, with a $10.2M opening day (including $1.9M from […]

Weekend #35 of 2016 forecasts for films opening wide and major returning films: NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND August 26-28, 2016 Critics Positive ($ millions) Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection Overseas Total Projection Worldwide Total Projection Don’t Breathe Sony R 91% 18.5 52 48 100 Mechanic: Resurrection LG R n/a 7.5 17 27 44 Hands of […]

  OPENINGS:  The weekend’s tallest dwarf was WAR DOGS (RatPac/Warners) with a soft $14.3M start.  The 12% Saturday drop indicates that word of mouth isn’t great, and early international numbers are weak as well, with $6.5M in 31 markets.  War Dogs cost $125M+ in production and worldwide marketing, and it seems likely to add to […]