There was enough product at the multiplexes to make for a solid Thanksgiving weekend total, but holiday fireworks were absent. OPENINGS:  THE GOOD DINOSAUR (Pixar/Disney) had a $39.2M weekend ($55.6M since its Wednesday opening), putting it behind Frozen ($67.4M), Toy Story 2 ($57.4M) and Tangled ($48.8M) among Thanksgiving openings.  It continues to run closest to […]

  OPENINGS:  The round-number $30M weekend estimate for THINK LIKE A MAN TOO (Screen Gems/Sony) may not last past tomorrow’s final numbers, but even if it stays at that total, it’s $3.6M below the opening weekend for the first Think.  Since sequels are typically more front-loaded than the movies that precede them, that suggests $80-85M for Too, compared to […]

  OPENINGS:  POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (Legendary/Warners) started strong in the US with $58M, not that far off the $69.1M launch of The LEGO Movie.  Pikachu may not have that movie’s legs, especially with Aladdin just 2 weeks away, but it should total $175-200M here.  Pokemon in general is a more worldwide phenomenon than LEGO, which […]

  OPENINGS:  INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (Paramount/Lucasfilm/Disney) barely scraped the bottom of weekend expectations with $60M, and that studio estimate assumes an very strong Sunday.  The extremely expensive tentpole–$400M+ in production and worldwide marketing costs–combined an elderly franchise built around an 80-year old star with mediocre reviews following an ill-advised Cannes premiere, […]

  OPENINGS:  A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE (Paramount) handily exceeded expectations with $53M in the US, better than its predecessors ($50.2M and $47.5M respectively, although Part II earned $57.1M over its 4-day holiday launch).  It was particularly impressive because Day One featured a different cast and creative team for the most part, suggesting that A […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is still +6% above last year and still +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.296 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $19.4 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office (that’s still […]

  OPENINGS:  THE EXPEND4BLES (Lionsgate) had a disastrous start with $8.3M, about half of both expectations and the $15.9M opening of Expendables 3 in 2014.  Expend4bles may only total $20M in the US, and while the franchise makes most of its revenue overseas (82% on Expendables 3), it still seems unlikely to break even on […]

  OPENINGS:   A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (20th) pulled ahead of the competition on Saturday, and should have a $38M 5-day opening.  (However, its Sunday projection is on the optimistic side, so it’s possible the number could come down a bit.)  That’s 25% below the opening of Live Free Or Die Hard, and […]