OPENINGS:  Christmas Day is one of the highest-grossing days of the year, and it will give a major bump to everything in the market.  Even with that boost, AQUAMAN & THE LOST KINGDOM (DC/Warners) was only able to muster a $40M 4-day weekend studio estimate after $28.1M in 3 days (and given the 34% […]

Weekend #16 of 2016 forecasts for films opening wide and major returning films: NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND April 15-17, 2016 Critics Positive ($ millions) Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection Overseas Total Projection Worldwide Total Projection The Jungle Book Dis PG 92% 78.0 235 625 860 Barbershop: The Next Cut WB PG13 75% 20.5 75 […]

Weekend #29 of 2016 forecasts for films opening wide and major returning films: NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND July 15-17, 2016 Critics Positive ($ millions) Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection Overseas Total Projection Worldwide Total Projection Ghostbusters Sony PG13 75% 53.0 150 140 290 The Infiltrator Broad Green R 57% 5.0 20 15 35 Note: […]

  OPENINGS:  KUNG FU PANDA 4 (DreamWorks Animation/Universal), the first new all-ages animated release since the holiday season, arrived at the high end of projections with $58.3M, impressively above the $41.3M start for 2016’s Panda 3.  (And at a reported production budget 40% lower than its predecessor.)  It faces no direct competition for months, and […]

  OPENINGS:  Things couldn’t have gone better for M. Night Shyamalan’s SPLIT (Blumhouse/Universal).  It built on its strong Friday with a 13% bump, extremely good for a horror movie, and is estimating $40.2M for its weekend in the US against modest production/marketing costs of about $50M, which means a healthy profit is a sure thing.  […]

  OPENINGS:  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (Disney) easily took the weekend worldwide, but it’s another diminishing franchise.  In the US, it had a $62.2M 3-day opening, and although Memorial Day will push that to around $76M, on a 3-day-to-3-day basis, it’s down 30% from 2011’s On Stranger Tides (it’s likely […]

  OPENINGS:  ADRIFT (H Brothers/STX) was at the top of a very low hill with $11.5M (plus $350K in 9 overseas territories).  STX, which only has domestic rights, is claiming to be on the hook for only around $30M in limited production and marketing costs, but even at that number, it may not break even, […]

>Thor appears to be headed for a solid opening but not enough to push the weekend up versus last year (when Iron Man 2 opened huge).  Two other openers, both romantic comedies, should have minimal impact. Opening at over 3,500 theaters, Thor should average a very good $19,000 per theater (for $67 million total).  Although […]