OPENINGS:  ALIEN: ROMULUS (20th/Disney) became the latest franchise product to hit big this summer, arriving at the high end of expectations with $41.5M.  That was higher than 2017’s Alien: Covenant ($36.2M), although below 2012’s Prometheus ($51.1M).  The film was also solid overseas, with a $66.7M start sparked by $25.7M from China.  Romulus was budgeted […]

Weekend #26 of 2012 looks like another weak one: $157 million for the top 12 films, down 18% from last year’s comparable weekend and down 8% from the four-year average for the weekend.  Some of this decline can be attributed to the calendar.  July 4 fell on or close to the 26th weekend in previous […]

> Normally a relatively quiet period, the weekend before Halloween usually offers only one new release and well under $100 million in total volume for the top 12 movies.  But this year, we have three releases, with one poised to do solid business.  Puss In Boots should do well over $40 million in its opening […]

>Two strong films open Friday, with Rio and Scream 4 poised to fuel the weekend to a strongly positive uptick from the same weekend last year. After weeks of disappointing box office returns, two films are set to open this weekend, together reaching for about $80 million.  Rio should lead the weekend at around 3,800 theaters, […]

The weekend after Christmas offers three new films that opened Tuesday the 25th and a critical darling that went semi-wide on that day.  Les Miserables and Django Unchained are turning around the 2012 holiday season, while the other two new films are making little impact. Now playing at 2,808 theaters, Les Miserables from Universal opened with $18.1 […]

  We’re continuing our review of how Hollywood has been faring this summer on a studio-by-studio basis.  We’ve taken looks at Disney, Warner Bros, and Paramount, and today our crosshairs are trained on Sony. So are a lot of other crosshairs.  Sony has been in the news this summer for all the wrong reasons.  Major […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #49 of 2013 looks like $87 million for the top 12 films from Friday-Sunday, right on target for the usually slow post-Thanksgiving weekend.   Opening at 2,101 theaters Friday, Out of the Furnace from Relativity grossed $1.9 million Friday and is on track for a $5.5 million opening weekend (below the already bearish […]

Weekend #18 of 2014 is looking like a relatively soft $139 million for the top 12 films, 28% below the typical volume for this weekend the past few years ($192 million). Opening at over 4,000 theaters Friday (well above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 from Sony should average $21,400 per […]