WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Year to date, Warner Brothers is closing in on $800 million worldwide, while Sony and Universal remain a second tier with about $500 million worldwide.  Fox and Paramount are now in the third tier (with a little over $400 million worldwide each), thanks to Grand Budapest Hotel and Noah.  Lionsgate/Summit and Disney form the […]

  This weekend was fine… but just wait till next week. OPENINGS:  Polarizing, controversial, dark, revisionist, divisive–and a hit.  NOAH (Paramount/Regency) took in $44M in the US this weekend after a 16% Saturday bump.  That already makes it Darren Aronofsky’s 2d biggest hit after Black Swan.  Of course, it’s also by far his most expensive film, […]

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:  DIVERGENT (Summit/Lionsgate) had an unusual trajectory for a YA movie, with a relatively unimpressive start but then much less of a Saturday drop than others in its genre.  The result was a $56M weekend (the number may tick down when adjusted figures are released tomorrow, considering the aggressive estimate of a 31% Sunday […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Year to date, Warner Brothers has moved well ahead of its competing studios, thanks to two bona fide hits to balance two strikeouts.  Sony and Universal, the next level down each with around $450 million worldwide to date, has a similar hit and miss ratio to Warner Brothers, but the hits are […]

  As Hollywood becomes more and more dependent on action and animation franchises, the US market becomes increasingly less relevant. OPENINGS:  NEED FOR SPEED (DreamWorks/Disney) made more money in China ($21.2M) on its opening weekend than it did in the US ($17.8M).  Combined with $24.4M from 39 other territories around the world, Need is likely […]

  OPENINGS:  Despite frontloading that led to an 8% Saturday drop, 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Warners/Legendary) is claiming a very low 30% decline on Sunday in order to report a $45.1M weekend.  We’ll see if that number holds up tomorrow, but even if it reduces to $43-44M, it will have been a successful start […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Year to date, Warner Brothers has pulled ahead thanks to the opening of 300: Rise of an Empire and recent overseas grosses from The LEGO Movie, as it really kicks into gear outside North America. Scroll down for domestic and overseas grosses for each film individually so far in 2014.   YEAR TO DATE […]