> This weekend should be another good one versus last year, up around 9%.  The strongest entry looks to be Hugh Jackman and the robot boxers in Real Steel — it’s playing in a lot of theaters and we expect a very solid per screen average, giving it a forecast $26 million opening.  (Aside from The Lion […]

  OPENINGS:  HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION (Sony Animation/Columbia/Sony) clocked in with a reliable $44.1M weekend, just about midway between the first Transylvania‘s $42.5M and the second’s $48.5M.  (Sticklers might note that this the first of the franchise to feature Thursday night screenings, giving it a slightly longer “weekend”.)  There are some other family movies […]

Weekend #20 of 2015 is looking like $157 million for the top 12 films this weekend, very close to the norm for this weekend. Opening at around 3,400 theaters Friday (above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Pitch Perfect 2 from Universal should average a very good $15,600 per theater for the three-day weekend […]

  JUSTICE LEAGUE (RatPac/DC/Warners) was supposed to be the jewel in the DC crown, the Avengers that would push its megafranchise to the next box office level.  That’s what justified spending a reported $450M on production (and then more production) and marketing, making it one of the most expensive movies in history.  But tonight it’s […]

  OPENINGS:  BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (DC/RatPac/Warners) weathered a 38% Saturday drop and is currently estimating a $170.1M weekend.  That would make it Warners’ #1 US opening ever, beating the final Harry Potter‘s $169.2M, but that includes an aggressive Easter Sunday estimate, so it may fall behind by tomorrow.  (Depending on how that […]

Weekend #9 of 2016 is looking like $98 million for the top 12 films this weekend, somewhat below the norm for this weekend (see comparisons below). NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND February 26-28, 2016 Critics Positive ($ millions) Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection Overseas Total Projection Worldwide Total Projection Gods of Egypt LG PG13 n/a 11.5 30 175 […]

Weekend #19 of 2015 is looking like $126 million for the top 12 films this weekend, somewhat below the norm for this weekend. Opening at around 2,700 theaters Friday (slightly below the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Hot Pursuit from Warner Brothers should average a somewhat above average $6,600 per theater for the three-day […]

  OPENINGS:  As expected, BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (Marvel/Disney) swamped the box office worldwide.  Its $180M US weekend was below Doctor Strange 2 ($187.4M) and the original Black Panther ($202M, on a Presidents Day weekend), but still the biggest opening Hollywood has seen in 6 months, reinforcing the MCU as the center of movie culture […]