This is why studios love franchises. OPENINGS:  TAKEN 2 (20th) almost doubled its closest competition (even though that $50M weekend estimate, like all round number estimates, may come down a bit when final numbers are released tomorrow).  Plus the movie earned an additional $55M overseas in only 27 markets, which means the sequel will […]

> Get ready for the flood of jokey 80s TV show remakes that will now be unleashed upon us. OPENINGS:  21 JUMP STREET (Sony) fell ever-so-slightly on Saturday, and if it fails to hit its $35M weekend estimate, it won’t miss by much.  CASA DE MI PADRE (Pantelion/Lionsgate), though, is predicting a highly suspect 19% […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is the updated 2015 Scorecard  If you are interested in the 2014 Scorecard, scroll down to the bottom of the post (as the remnants of overseas box office for late 2014 films continue to trickle in). YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is now […]

  OPENINGS:  The 3-day weekend in the US went narrowly to MEG 2: THE TRENCH (CMC/Warners) with $30M.  That was down more than 1/3 from the $45.4M start for The Meg in 2018, which would ordinarily be concerning for a film with $250M in production/marketing costs, but Meg 2 overperformed internationally even more strongly than […]

  OPENINGS:  THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (Warners/MGM) had a better Saturday hold than last year’s An Unexpected Journey (-22% vs. -25%), suggesting that positive word of mouth is kicking in, and no doubt easing the minds of Warners executives.  The studio’s $73.7M weekend estimate still puts it 13% below Journey‘s start, but if […]

  OPENINGS:  Although unquestionably huge, and sure to be enormously profitable against roughly $250M in production/marketing costs, DEADPOOL 2 (20th) opened on the low end of expectations, about 5% below the first Deadpool at $125M.  The sequel has the very reasonable explanation that its forebear had the advantage of a Sunday that was part of […]

  OPENINGS:  There was a barely-wide opening for OUR FRIEND (Gravitas, also on VOD) at 543 theatres with a $250K weekend that translated into a quiet per-theatre average of $460. HOLDOVERS:  THE MARKSMAN (Open Road) dipped 35% in its 2nd weekend to $2M (by comparison,  Liam Neeson’s prior vehicle Honest Thief dropped 43% in Weekend […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.     YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is now +4% above last year and +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($3.482 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $10.1 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office (that’s […]