OPENINGS:  LITTLE WOMEN (Columbia/Sony) had a solid start with $16.5M over the 3-day weekend ($29M since Wednesday).  The next week will be particularly difficult to predict because of the midweek holiday, after which schools will mostly remain closed but some adults will be going back to work.  If Little Women can reach $50M by […]

  OPENINGS:  The numbers for STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (Lucasfilm/Disney) were always going to be huge, but despite all the “dog ate its homework” excuses like pre-holiday shopping syndrome that are ricocheting around the trades today, a $175.5M start in the US is a significant disappointment.  Anyone who’s seen Skywalker knows that it […]

  OPENINGS:  JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL (Columbia/Sony) successfully rode its strategy of arriving in theatres ahead of The Rise of Skywalker to a $60.1M weekend, far ahead of the $36.2M opening weekend for the last Jumanji (although that had a different release pattern, opening on the Wednesday between that year’s Star Wars installment and Christmas […]

  OPENINGS:  DARK WATERS (Focus/Universal) expanded into wide release at 2012 theatres, and emerged with a mild $4.1M.  (By comparison, Focus’s previous release Harriet opened at 2059 with an $11.7M weekend.)  Its lack of awards traction thus far suggests that it’s going to have a hard time building any momentum for a run through the […]

  OPENINGS:  KNIVES OUT (MRC/Lionsgate) scored a victory for non-IP, adult-oriented filmmaking with a strong $27M over the 3-day weekend ($41.7M since Wednesday), and although December box office can be tough to predict, with a plunge expected next weekend and then the arrival of multiple presumptive blockbusters, Knives Out seems to be on track for […]

  OPENINGS:  After several weeks of big-studio disappointments, FROZEN 2 (Disney) performed as the blockbuster it was expected to be, with $127M in the US.  Comparisons to the first Frozen in 2013 are a bit dicey, because that opened wide on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  It earned $93.5M over the 5-day weekend, with an ultimate […]

  OPENINGS:  FORD VS. FERRARI (20th/Disney) had a strong start with $31M, and will hope to extend its run through the holidays and into Oscar season based on its initially older-skewing audience and excellent reviews and exit polls.  The only caution is that FvF was pricey for a non-IP project, with around $200M in production/marketing […]

  OPENINGS:  MIDWAY (AGC/Bona/Lionsgate) was mildly ahead of expectations with $17.5M in the US, and it should perform well on Veterans Day Monday.  However, with around $150M in production and worldwide marketing costs, a $60M US total would leave it with a steep uphill climb to reach profitability.  Early overseas results weren’t particularly promising at […]