OPENINGS:  Cheap PG-13 horror movies are the assembly-line workers of the studios, rarely resulting in showy profits, but paying the bills between blockbusters.  OUIJA (Universal) and its $20.006M opening (we’ll see how that holds up in final numbers tomorrow) is a prime example, likely to make its way to profit thanks to a $5M […]

  On the day before Thanksgiving, the start of a 5-day rush on moviegoing, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I (Lionsgate) behaved as it has since it opened:  on top, but considerably behind its franchise predecessors.  Mockingjay earned $14.6M on Wednesday, more than double its nearest competition.  Nevertheless, that was 30% behind the day-before-Thanksgiving $20.8M […]

  By Sunday, AMERICAN SNIPER (Warners/Village Roadshow) may have one of the top 10-day wide release box office totals in history, as Clint Eastwood’s behemoth continues to lay waste to everything else in theatres.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Sniper earned $18M on Friday, down just 40% from its mammoth first day of wide […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #10 of 2015 looks like $77 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, down significantly from the norms for this weekend among the worst first weekends of March on record.   Opening at 3,201 theaters Friday, Chappie from Warner Brothers is on track for a $13.0 million opening three-day weekend (well below […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is now +6% above last year and +10% above the average for this point the past four years ($2.333 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $7.2 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.     YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is still +5% above last year and +7% above the average for this point the past four years ($3.249 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $9.8 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office (that’s […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #26 of 2015 looks like $168 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, down slightly from the norm for this weekend.   Opening at 3,442 theaters Friday, Ted 2 from Universal is on track for a $34.0 million opening three-day weekend (well below our $58.0 million ShowBuzzDaily forecast earlier this week).  The film is pacing toward […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #31 of 2015 looks like $140 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a touch below the norm for this weekend (see track below). Opening at 3,956 theaters Friday, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation from Paramount is now on track for a $56.0 million opening three-day weekend (slightly above our $55.0 million ShowBuzzDaily forecast earlier […]