Weekend #27 of 2015 is looking like $161 million for the top 12 films this weekend, a touch below the norm for the same weekend the past few years but well above last year’s Independence Day Weekend dud (see comparisons below). Terminator: Genisys from Paramount should open with a $34.0 million traditional three-day weekend and about $51 million through Sunday. Early reviews […]

Weekend #38 of 2015 is looking like $120 million for the top 12 films this weekend, well above the norm for this weekend (see comparisons below). Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials from Fox should open with a $40.5 million weekend. Reviews are fairly positive: 59% positive at RottenTomatoes. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is on track for around $119 million domestic. […]

Weekend #50 of 2015 is looking like a soft $72 million for the top 12 films this weekend, below what we usually see this weekend (see comparisons below). In the Heart of the Sea from Warner Brothers should open with $12.5 million Friday-Sunday. The film is on track for around $55 million domestic in its run. Overseas the film could bring in $105 […]

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 […]

  FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (Warners) wasn’t expected to touch the $60-90M opening day territory of the latter Harry Potter movies, since Fantastic is a spin-off that doesn’t include any of the major Potter characters.  But preliminary numbers at Deadline have it at $29.4M, lower than any of the Potters, and even […]

  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 […]

  SHAZAM (DC/New Line/Warners) is going to win a bleak weekend at the box office, and even it doesn’t have much to boast about.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline have it dropping 68% from last Friday to $6.6M, worse than the Friday-to-Friday drops for Wonder Woman (-59%) and Justice League (-57%).  A $23M weekend would put […]

  OPENINGS:  The entertainment business revolves these days around IP, but not all franchises are created equal, and there turned out to be a thunderous lack of interest in TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (Skydance/Tencent/20th/Disney/Paramount), which opened to just $29M in the US against production/marketing costs of $300M+.  A big-budget action epic in that predicament normally hopes […]