WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now -2% below last year and still +1% above the average for this point the past four years ($4.577 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $12.2 billion worldwide when we […]

> Frontloading strikes again. THE HUNGER GAMES (Lionsgate/Summit), with $18.9M on its 2nd Friday, is behaving like a sequel, even though it isn’t one.  It’s down 72% from opening day, which is consistent with the second Fridays of mega-sequels like The Dark Knight (down 65%), Twilight:  New Moon (-76%), Breaking Dawn Part 1 (-77%), Harry […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #16 of 2015 looks like $105 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat below the norm for this weekend. Opening at 3,633 theaters Friday, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 from Sony is on track for a $22.0 million opening three-day weekend (slightly below our $24.5 million ShowBuzzDaily forecast earlier this week). The film is pacing […]

> Normally the universe of pop culture only allows for one giant event at a time, and not accidentally–they stay out of each other’s way.  You won’t find any major movies opening the same day as The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises, and the other networks barely program against the Super Bowl or American […]

The 10th weekend of 2013 looks to be the first up weekend after six down weekends in a row.  The top 12 films Friday-Sunday should total $128 million, up 6 to 11% from the same weekend the last few years.  Keep in mind this is the weekend that has given us John Carter, Battle: Los […]

Thank God for overseas box office.  One of the last great American exports is the Hollywood motion picture slate.  The films released in the U.S. over the last four months have grossed $3.65 billion in North America, but they have taken in another $4.85 billion in foreign lands.  There is no better example than Resident Evil: […]

  THE AVENGERS, having trampled over the opening weekend record, will easily take its second weekend in a row.  According to Deadline, it’s heading for a $29M Friday, the highest 2d Friday ever, and it should easily eclipse the Weekend 2 record currently held by Avatar with $75.6M.  Disney is estimating a $100M weekend, which […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Universal’s year to date versus last week is negative despite the addition of Crimson Peak this weekend.  The overseas total for Everest was over-stated last week and has been corrected in the studio table below and the individual film ranking at the bottom of the post.  Still, Universal remains a dominant #1, with a lead of […]