OPENINGS:  NON-STOP (Universal) had a very solid Saturday, rising 22% from Friday, and even though Oscar Sunday may push it below the $30M weekend it’s currently projecting, it should comfortably take the weekend.  This will be the highest non-Taken opening of Liam Neeson’s late-in-life action star career, and the movie should clean up overseas […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Very little change in the studio rankings of worldwide box office for the year to date.  No studio changed its ranking this week, and the top four studios grossed a modest $60 to $101 million each over the past week. Scroll down for domestic and overseas grosses for each film individually so […]

  OPENINGS:  The $23.5M opening for FURY (QED/Columbia/Sony) puts it at risk of being passed next weekend by the low-grade Keanu Reeves vehicle John Wick.  Fury has the distinction of being the lowest-grossing movie to open at #1 this year since Mr. Peabody & Sherman back in March, and that’s not what Brad Pitt in […]

  OPENINGS:  This year’s Saturday night Valentine’s Day worked out well for everyone this weekend, but especially for FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Universal/Focus).  The prospect of some kink refreshed the movie’s audience from Friday’s fan-girls to a horde of couples, and the result was that despite the huge $30.3M opening day, the box office went […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Universal is the big gainer again this week, primarily because of continued overseas strength for Jurassic World.  Paramount had the second best week, thanks to Terminator: Genisys.  In contrast, Magic Mike XXL made a small contribution to its studio totals, giving Warner Brothers about the same modest week that Disney had with late overseas returns […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is now +5% above last year and now +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($8.007 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $21.5 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office […]

  OPENINGS:  The really bad news for GODS OF EGYPT (Summit/Lionsgate) wasn’t the $14M US opening, although that was certainly pathetic enough.  No, the really bad news was that in 68 overseas territories covering most of the world (although not yet China, which opens in 2 weeks, nor France, Germany or the UK), it managed […]

  OPENINGS:  INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE (20th) is the latest indication that audiences may be tiring of massive CG spectacles–which is bad news for the major studios, since they’ve concentrated most of their line-ups into that genre.  ID:R‘s $41.6M weekend is mediocre at best for a would-be blockbuster with $300M+ in worldwide costs, suggesting a US […]