> How long before the Hunger Games sequels start arriving in 3D? THE HUNGER GAMES:  On its current trajectory toward a $350-375M US total, THE HUNGER GAMES (Lionsgate/Summit) will end up among the 15-20th biggest movies of all time, outgrossing all the Twilights and every Harry Potter except Deathly Hallows Part 2.  At $61.1M, it […]

  OPENINGS:  THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (Warners/MGM), with its currently estimated $84.8M opening, has broken the previous December record (2007’s I Am Legend) by about 10%.  However, it’s also on track to be the first Lord of the Rings-related film to make less than $300M at the US boxoffice, despite being the first in […]

  OPENINGS:  Not to throw any cold water on the extremely impressive performance of THE PURGE (Universal), but it’s unlikely that the thriller will slip only 12% on Sunday, as Universal is forecasting, when the next-lowest Sunday estimate in the Top 10 is almost double that.  (The idea seems to be that after a 38% […]

  Yesterday’s studio estimate for THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (Lionsgate) seemed high, with a Sunday drop predicted to be by far the lowest in the Top 10, so it’s not much of a surprise to see the weekend number reduced now that final figures are out, down $3M from $161.1M to $158.1M.  Even with […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Year to date, Warner Brothers remains head and shoulders above the other studios, while Sony and Universal form a second tier with about $500 million worldwide each for 2014 to date.  Lionsgate/Summit and Disney now join Fox and Paramount in the third tier (between $200 million and $300 million worldwide each). Scroll […]

  OPENINGS:  DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th) brought in $73M in the US, and added $31.1M in 26 (mostly smaller) international markets.  While a terrific boost to the franchise (which rebooted at $54.8M with Rise 3 years ago), it’s still a level below the summer’s mega-franchises.  However, Dawn has weeks to play […]

  OPENINGS:  The race between DUMB AND DUMBER TO (Red Granite/Universal) and Big Hero 6 may get a bit closer tomorrow, since Universal has aggressively estimated a 28% Sunday drop even though Dumb fell 2% on Saturday.  (By comparison, Beyond the Lights climbed 14% on Satuday, yet is acknowledging a 40% Sunday drop.)  But even […]

OPENINGS:  Fill in the ball/glass slipper/fairy tale reference of choice, because CINDERELLA (Disney) performed beautifully, with $70.1M in the US.  That puts it ahead of the $69.4M opening of Maleficent (unless adjusted numbers change things tomorrow), and below the $116.1M for Alice in Wonderland and the $79.1M for Oz the Great and Powerful.  Cinderella‘s 18% […]