OPENINGS:  There wasn’t any good news for this week’s wide releases, and that began with the weekend’s leader, as THE FLASH (DC/Warners) failed to meet even the lowest expectations with a sluggish $55.1M start.  (The studio’s 4-day estimate, including the Monday Juneteenth holiday, was an optimistic $64M.)  The 3-day total was significantly lower than […]

> There’s not much to add about the weekend grosses that hasn’t been said (see Mitch Metcalf’s round-up report here), so let’s take a look at who, apart from the studios themselves, did and didn’t have a fun weekend: WINNERS Women of THE HELP:  Emma Stone isn’t likely to get Oscar consideration for her performance, […]

> IMMORTALS is claiming the same drop for Sunday as it had on Saturday, so that total may come down in actuals.  Even so, as long as the final amount is over $30M (which it certainly should be), that’s a win for Relativity, no matter what the movie’s budget actually was.  Immortals also launched widely […]

> No doubt the enormous success of THE LION KING hasn’t been lost on anyone at Disney, and we can expect to see 3D reissues of more classic animation over the next few years, leading into yet more homevideo editions. If not for Lion King being in the market, DOLPHIN TALE would almost certainly have […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -13% below last year’s comparable span (5 points better than last week) and now -7% below the average for this point the past four years ($3.123 billion).  Over the same […]

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 now +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($6.767 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $17.8 billion worldwide when […]

  OPENINGS:  THOR: THE DARK WORLD (Disney) held essentially even on Saturday, an excellent result for a franchise movie, especially where a chunk of its “Friday” number had come from Thursday night screenings.  (In comparison, Iron Man 3 dropped 10% on its second day of release.)  Presumably because of that strong Saturday hold, Disney is […]

  OPENINGS:  The theatrical box office continued to pick itself up off the floor this weekend with two high-performing R-rated action movies, which thrived despite an overlapping target audience and the availability of one on a streaming service.  MORTAL KOMBAT (Warners, also on HBO Max) emerged the victor with $22.5M for the weekend, and could […]