OPENINGS:  The $21.6M start for THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD (Summit/Lionsgate) was on target for the B-movie, which had a modest 2% Saturday dip.  It also earned $6.6M in early international release.  While it does nothing much to burnish Ryan Reynolds post-Deadpool, Hitman is on track for a modest profit on $90M or so in production/worldwide […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is still +5% above last year and still +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($8.177 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $22.1 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office (that’s now […]

  OPENINGS:  MINIONS (Illumination/Universal) had a surprisingly bumpy 16% drop on Saturday, but it will handily become the #2 animated opening of all time, topping Toy Story 3‘s $110.3M, even if the studio’s $115.2M forecast turns out to rely on a stronger Sunday rebound than final numbers confirm.  (Still #1: 2007’s  Shrek The Third at […]

  OPENINGS:  INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (Paramount/Lucasfilm/Disney) barely scraped the bottom of weekend expectations with $60M, and that studio estimate assumes an very strong Sunday.  The extremely expensive tentpole–$400M+ in production and worldwide marketing costs–combined an elderly franchise built around an 80-year old star with mediocre reviews following an ill-advised Cannes premiere, […]

  Universal, having eaten a poisoned apple with Battleship, is relieved by this weekend’s tastier produce. OPENINGS:  SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN (Universal) muscled its way to a $56.3M opening, which is what it needed, considering its $175M (plus marketing) cost.  The $39.3M pulled in from 45 territories overseas is initially underwhelming, although there’s plenty […]

  OPENINGS:  TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS (Nickelodeon/Movie Media Group/Alibaba/Paramount) opened 46% below the TMNT reboot 2 years ago at $35.3M.  That suggests a $100M US total, and with $250M+ in production/marketing costs, the bulk of that will have to be recovered overseas.  So far, it’s earned $34M in 40 territories, not […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Universal and Sony each had weeks over $100 million, mostly because of the domestic releases of The Boxtrolls (Focus) and The Equalizer.  But both movies remain mired toward the bottom of the worldwide studio rankings. Scroll down for domestic and overseas grosses for each film individually so far in 2014.   YEAR TO DATE BOX […]

  OPENINGS:  MONEY MONSTER (TriStar/LStar/Sony) held up well over the course of the weekend, thanks to an older audience that doesn’t rush out on Friday nights, and tripled its opening day to a $15M weekend total.  Not that many years ago, that would have seemed like a crazy low number for a thriller starring George […]