Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #44 of 2013 looks like $123 million for the top 12 films, now up 3% from the same weekend’s average in recent years. Opening at 3,407 theaters Friday, Ender’s Game from Lionsgate/Summit grossed $9.8 million Friday and $10.8 million Saturday, still on track for a $28.0 million opening weekend (very close to the $28.5 […]

  OPENINGS:  It’s likely that THE 355 (Universal) would have been challenged at the box office even in normal times, considering that its level of action spectacle is significantly lower than superhero movies can afford, and that the cast features performers who are extremely talented but with little proven appeal to ticketbuyers.  (The 27% score […]

  OPENINGS:  The only new arrival in wide US release was the woebegone VOYAGERS (Lionsgate), which got a minimal push from its studio and opened at a low $1.4M, fated for $5M or so in the US. The major new international opening was MORTAL KOMBAT (Warners), which brought in $10.7M from 17 territories.  It opens […]

  OPENINGS:  The major studios took the weekend off in anticipation of next week’s The Batman overwhelming the market.  STUDIO 666 (Open Road) didn’t find much of a crowd for its Foo Fighters horror with a $1.6M weekend, and it probably won’t reach $10M in the US. CYRANO (UA/MGM) may have outsmarted itself, scheduled for […]

  OPENINGS: KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (MARV/20th) took the weekend, but at $39M it was below Fox’s minimal target number of $40M.  Since sequels burn out faster than initial films in a series, Golden Circle will probably end up around $100-120M in the US, compared to $128M for The Secret Service, and that’s on higher […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #21 of 2015 now looks like $143 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, significantly below the norm for this weekend.  A definite clunker Memorial Day Weekend at the box office. Opening at 3,972 theaters Friday, Tomorrowland from Disney is on track for a $32.2 million opening three-day weekend (better than it looked yesterday […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is now +3% above last year and +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($1.990 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $5.8 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office […]

  OPENINGS:  There were no truly wide openings this weekend.  However, a few low-budget films entered mid-level distribution.  The horror movie SHORTCUT (Gravitas) averaged $420 over the weekend at 725 theatres for a $305K total.  The other two arrivals were Sundance acquisitions.  THE LAST SHIFT (Sony) averaged $270 at 871 for a $235K total.  KAJILLIONAIRE […]