OPENINGS:  MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU (Illumination/Universal) exceeded industry expectations with a $108.5M 3-day opening.  That’s just a bit lower than the $115.7M launch for the first Minions movie, although that was an April 2015 launch that didn’t have the benefit of a holiday Sunday.  Rise of Gru is expected to hit $127.9M over […]

  OPENINGS:  While DUNGEONS & DRAGONS:  HONOR AMONG THIEVES (eOne/Paramount) launched at the upper end of expectations, $38.5M (which included an unusually intense program of preview screenings) was a shaky start for a project with $250M in production/marketing costs and the hope to become a franchise.  It will need to hold up extremely well over the next several […]

  OPENINGS:  WONKA (Warners) kicked off the holiday movie season with $39M, at the upper end of expectations.  As a family entertainment, it can look forward to a high multiple into January, and could reach $200M+ in the US, against around $250M in production/marketing costs.  The IP musical is even stronger overseas, where it expanded […]

  OPENINGS:  THE WILD ROBOT (DreamWorks Animation/Universal), aided by strong reviews, started above expectations with $35M.  It has the family audience almost to itself until mid-November, and should pass $100M in the US.  It’s thus far in only 29 international territories, and has $18.1M after a $9.9M weekend.  Since the source material is a series […]

>The weekend studio estimates (based on Friday and Saturday actuals and projections for Sunday) are coming in very similar to the weekend numbers posted yesterday (based on Friday actuals only).  Contraband is leading the pack, but the 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast should have slightly better legs in the long run.  Joyful Noise […]

>Weekend Studio Estimates are very similar to Saturday’s early weekend estimates.  The weekend looks to be up 28% from 2010, and the year-to-date tally is now down only 7% from last year (after being down as much as 26% earlier in the year).    The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Final estimates now show that X-Men: First Class […]

  OPENINGS: The weekend belonged to Bond.  James Bond.  SKYFALL (Sony/MGM) had by far the biggest start for any Bond movie in the US, with an estimated $87.8M.  That’s more than $20M ahead of the previous record-holder, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall will have far better legs than Solace, as shown by its up day […]

  With the only fresh competition being a young-skewing R-rated comedy, the family ticket of choice on Father’s Day was overwhelmingly MAN OF STEEL (Warners), which is now claiming an exceptional $36.3M on Sunday.  That’s for all intents and purposes dead even with Saturday’s gross (down a token $25,000), and although Father’s Day is traditionally […]