OPENINGS:  Although the numbers are lower, RAMPAGE (New Line/Warners) is playing much like Kong: Skull Island, another giant monster movie judged by parents to be child-friendly.  Rampage rose 20% on Saturday, giving it a 3x multiple for the weekend at $34.5M, almost identical to Kong‘s trajectory (it had a 19% Saturday bump).  If that comparison holds […]

  OPENINGS:  JURASSIC WORLD (Legendary/Universal) took its place in the history books with the biggest worldwide opening of all time, its $511.8M ahead of the final Harry Potter‘s $483.2M.  That particular record relies a bit on overseas distribution scheduling, since not every American blockbuster is approved for a China opening the same weekend that it […]

  OPENINGS:  There were no truly wide openings this weekend.  However, a few low-budget films entered mid-level distribution.  The horror movie SHORTCUT (Gravitas) averaged $420 over the weekend at 725 theatres for a $305K total.  The other two arrivals were Sundance acquisitions.  THE LAST SHIFT (Sony) averaged $270 at 871 for a $235K total.  KAJILLIONAIRE […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now +4% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.134 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $18.8 $19.0 billion worldwide when we […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  The 2014 Scorecard, updated with additional overseas grosses, has been updated below.  The 2015 Scorecard will be introduced toward the end of January. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 (one full week young) is -14% behind last year and -13% below the average for this point […]

  OPENINGS:  OCEAN’S EIGHT (Village Roadshow/Warners) had a $41.5M weekend, the highest of the Ocean’s movies by a bit (not adjusting for inflation).  The only point of concern is that it’s the first Ocean’s movie to drop on Saturday (by 4%, where the others had risen 6-17%), although that may only reflect the fact that […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Paramount again had the biggest week of all the major studios (up $177 million worldwide since last week) exclusively because of continued overseas grosses for Transformers: Age of Extinction.  For the year to date, Paramount is up to $1.25 billion worldwide (still in 5th place among the Hollywood studios).  Warner Brothers had the […]

  OPENINGS:  Things didn’t get better for ALLEGIANT (Summit/Lionsgate) as the weekend went on.  Its $29.1M opening was down an awful 44% from the $52.3M for Insurgent, and with massive competition arriving next week and word of mouth that’s likely to be terrible, it may struggle to get past $75M in the US.  As we […]