OPENINGS:  BULLET TRAIN (Columbia/Sony) opened in line with general predictions at $30.1M, but that’s not the same as a good result.  The film carries around $175M in production/marketing costs, and faces a long track to profitability.  Nor does it appear to be showing particular strength internationally, despite Brad Pitt’s star power and the international […]

  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 […]

  OPENINGS:  The calendar did Hollywood a favor by placing Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, affording films a 6-day window with Presidents Day on Monday.  The chief beneficiary was BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE (Paramount), which surpassed expectations with $51.1M through Monday ($27.7M over the traditional 3-day weekend).  With little new competition in the wings next week, […]

  OPENINGS:  Despite being the only high-profile arrival of the week, and having a pedigree and visual style that guaranteed it media attention, Robert Zemeckis’s HERE (Miramax/TriStar/Sony) bombed with $5M.  It’s been a tough decade for Zemeckis, once a maker of blockbuster hits, whose most recent moderate success was 2012’s Flight.  Here hasn’t opened overseas, […]

>Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), the box office slump continues.  Only $70 million in volume for the top 12 films, down from the $82-87 million range the last three years for the comparable weekend.  The #1 movie, New Year’s Eve, collected less than $14 million in its opening weekend, […]

> Up nearly 40% from last year, this weekend is being fueled by returning family films like  Rio and Hop (legitimate hits) and moderate films like Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family and Water for Elephants.  The audience is returning to theaters in time for the start of the summer season. The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Final […]

The weekend looks a little softer than it did yesterday ($131 million for the top 12 films rather than $142 million).  The Hobbit is looking like an $85 million opening weekend instead of almost $99 million.   Still a record December opening weekend (beating I Am Legend’s $77.2 million opening weekend December 14-16, 2007) but not at […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #29 of 2013 looks like a decent $181 million for the top 12 films, up slightly from yesterday’s estimate and now up 3% from the average for this weekend over the past several years (but still down significantly from last year’s same weekend which was dominated by the opening of The […]