OPENINGS:  It’s possible to make money on Super Bowl weekend, as hits like Dear John ($30.5M), Taken ($24.7M) and Chronicle ($22M) have shown.  But MISS BALA (Columbia/Sony) didn’t have what it takes, with a sluggish $6.7M start.  The 5% Saturday bump suggests that word of mouth isn’t bad, but next weekend it will have […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2018 film slates by studio. The studio totals also include 2018 dollars for films released in late 2017. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2018 to date is now +6% above last year and now +12% above the average for this point the […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio, including early 2018 dollars for films released later in 2017. We will start tracking the 2018 studio slates in a few weeks. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. A first look at 2018 year to date after only one week. A reminder: […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD. Scroll down for domestic and overseas grosses for each film individually so far in 2014. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2014 is now running -6% behind last year (worse than the -5% pace the last several weeks) and -3% below the average for this point the […]

Through 17 days of the Holiday Season (December 16-January 1), the top 10 films in North America each day have totaled $664 million, up 10.6% from last year ($600 million) and up 8.5% from the multi-year average since 2002 ($612 million). New Year’s Day added up to $47.6 million, slightly under the overall average for […]

  THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Warners) did indeed have a big Saturday, as the preliminary numbers estimated–up 40% from Friday and fueling what should be a $63-65M 2d weekend, down about 60% from the opening.  It continues to run behind The Dark Knight, which had a $75.2M  Weekend 2 that was down only 53%, but […]

  OPENINGS:  With a $27.4M start, 2 GUNS (Universal) is probably headed for $85M in the US, a fair if unexciting return for a movie that claims to have (post-tax credits) a $61M production budget.  With Universal taking its marketing expenses and distribution fees off the top, there won’t be much profit for financiers Emmett-Furia […]

  OPENINGS:  The $40M weekend estimate for THE HEAT (20th) makes more sense than it did last night, now that the movie’s Saturday is being reported as a 6% increase rather than a 5% drop.  (But always be suspicious of round-number estimates anyway.)  The Heat is going to be profitable, thanks to its $45M production budget, […]