>The seventh weekend of the year should generate about $142 million for the top 12 films — up 9% from last year’s comparable weekend and up over 20% from the four-year average for this weekend.  Nicolas Cage should lead a crowded field, although the second Ghost Rider should be down significantly from 2007’s original.  The […]

  OPENINGS:  GHOSTBUSTERS (Village Roadshow/Columbia/Sony) is reporting a $46M weekend (that number assumes the lowest Sunday drop in the Top 10, so it may come down a bit in finals), about 10% higher than the start for Independence Day: Resurgence and 20% higher than The Legend of Tarzan, all on similar $275M+ production/marketing budgets.  None […]

  OPENINGS:  FIRST MAN (Perfect World/Universal) had an underwhelming $16.5M start, and considering its older-skewing audience, its 10% Saturday bump wasn’t impressive either.  It carries $150M+ in production/marketing costs, and a $50M US total would leave it at risk for red ink, since its very American story (flag controversy notwithstanding) makes foreign appeal questionable.  It […]

  This was the weekend that the COVID-19 crisis hit the box office in earnest, and while that fact pales in importance compared to the human cost of the pandemic, it’s going to represent a multi-billion dollar hit that will reverberate through the lives of many throughout the world.  As bad as the numbers below […]

  It’s a deja vu weekend, as THE ACCOUNTANT (RatPac/Warners) had a $9M opening day (including $1.35M from Thursday night), according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, almost identical to last Friday’s $9.3M for The Girl On The Train (including $1.23M from Thursday night), another adult-aimed thriller with a production budget in the $40M range and […]

  A general note:  the last time December 22 fell on a Friday was in 2006, and a look at that year indicates what box office patterns may be between now and January 1.  We can expect most films to have a relatively mild Saturday uptick (up to 30%) then plunge by 50% or so […]

  OPENINGS:  According to published reports, Emma Watson’s deal on BEAUTY & THE BEAST (Disney) starts at a $3M base, but rises to $15M if the film reaches around $750M worldwide.  It seems like Watson can safely buy any Lamborghini that’s caught her eye, because Beauty is a global blockbuster.  In the US, Disney’s $170M […]

  OPENINGS:  It was a bleak Memorial Day weekend at the box office, the worst in decades.  FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (Warners) limped to a victory for Friday-Sunday with $25.5M, but it may well tumble to 2nd place once the Monday holiday numbers are tallied.  Tellingly, Warners refused to so much as issue a […]