OPENINGS:  ETERNALS (Marvel/Disney) opened at the low end of expectations with $71M, not a surprise given its lousy reviews (48% on Rotten Tomatoes, unprecedented for the MCU) and blah audience exit polls.  Even so, that makes it the #4 US opening of the pandemic era, and all of those quartet members are Marvel movies.  […]

  OPENINGS:  PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING (Legendary/Universal) pulled in a family audience on Saturday, giving it a 3% bump, while the first Pacific Rim had dropped 13% on its 2nd day of release.  That pushed Uprising‘s weekend to $28M, still down 25% from the original’s start.  The US result for Uprising, however, is almost an afterthought, […]

>Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 will drop another 59% this weekend but remain at #1, and its final domestic estimate has been downgraded to $269 million.  The Muppets dropped a very surprising 62%, and its final domestic estimate has been taken down below […]

  OPENINGS:  ANNABELLE COMES HOME (New Line/Warners) had a $20.3M weekend, but it had opened on Wednesday, so its 5-day total was $31.2M.  Even so, its 5 days were lower than the 3-day weekends for Annabelle ($37.1M) and Annabelle: Creation ($35M), and just a bit ahead of the Conjuring spin-off Curse of La Llorona ($26.3M) […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #15 of 2014 looks like $131 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a significant downgrade from yesterday’s estimate but still 17% above the four-year average for this weekend ($112 million).  Rio 2 and Captain America 2 are supporting the box office, while two smaller films in the […]

  OPENINGS:  According to published reports, Emma Watson’s deal on BEAUTY & THE BEAST (Disney) starts at a $3M base, but rises to $15M if the film reaches around $750M worldwide.  It seems like Watson can safely buy any Lamborghini that’s caught her eye, because Beauty is a global blockbuster.  In the US, Disney’s $170M […]

  OPENINGS:  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 (Marvel/Disney) launched with $114M in the US, within tracking expectations but 22% lower than 2017’s Guardians 2, despite marketing that emphasized the end of a beloved (sub-)franchise.  Guardians 2 ended with a 2.66 multiple to its opening, and if Guardians 3 performs the same way, its US total […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #37 of 2014 looks like $79 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, only 5% below the norm for this weekend ($83 million). Opening at 2,175 theaters, No Good Deed from Sony/Screen Gems grossed $8.8 million Friday and a solid $9.8 million Saturday, now on track for a $24.7 million opening three-day weekend (well […]