This weekend will definitely be up over the disaster that was last weekend.  We expect the top 12 films to total around $74 million, although that is still down 15% from the same weekend last year.  The returning films won’t contribute much to the weekend total, but two new films this weekend (the 3D re-release […]

  Note:  Holdover titles tended to decline less than usual because comparisons include last week’s Easter Sunday. OPENINGS:  BORN IN CHINA (Disney) was at the top of an unimpressive group of debuts this weekend with $5.1M, narrowly ahead of the $4.6M for Monkey Kingdom, the last in the studio’s “Disneynature” series of Earth Day wildlife […]

  OPENINGS:  Hollywood’s barely-breathing Labor Day weekend didn’t get any healthier on Saturday.  The CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Columbia/Sony) re-release had a 35% Saturday bump, and like everything else in the market, it will hold nearly steady on this holiday Sunday, then have a Sunday-type decline on Monday.  (The exception is that children’s […]

  OPENINGS:  Although JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION (Universal) is being billed as the “conclusion of the trilogy,” the studio certainly won’t be abandoning the franchise, as Dominion opened to $143.4M, almost identical to the $148M for 2018’s Fallen Kingdom, and with a very similar trajectory, down 22% on Saturday (Fallen Kingdom dropped 15%, but that was […]

  INFERNO (LStar/Columbia/Sony) was expected to earn less than The Da Vinci Code ($217.5M US/$540.7M overseas) and Angels & Demons ($133.4M/$352.6M), which is why Sony spent $75M less to produce the new film.  But that still leaves $200M in production/marketing costs, and Inferno is flopping too badly to have much chance of profit.  According to […]

Weekend #34 of 2016 forecasts for films opening wide and major returning films: NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND August 19-21, 2016 Critics Positive ($ millions) Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection Overseas Total Projection Worldwide Total Projection Kubo and the Two Strings Focus PG 90% 15.7 44 56 100 War Dogs WB R 63% 15.2 40 […]

  OPENINGS:  THOR: LOVE & THUNDER (Marvel/Disney) opened within expectations at $143M, although it’s worth noting that while the Friday-to-Saturday drop was steeper than those for Thor: Ragnarok and Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (39% vs. 5%/36% respectively), the studio estimate assumes a better Saturday-to-Sunday hold than both (25% vs. 27%/33%).  If the […]

> In a battle of two comedies this weekend, Arthur (Warner Bros) and Your Highness (Universal) should split the comedy audience, with Arthur having a slight edge (despite horrific reviews on rottentomatoes — I guess most critics share my disbelief that Russell Brand is opening a movie).  Read Mitch Salem’s review of Arthur to see what he thinks. […]