The 35th weekend of 2012 is looking like $81 million for the Top 12 films Friday-Sunday, about the same as the last few Labor Day weekends.  The Possession broke out of the pack to open at #1 with an okay $16 million for the three-day portion of the holiday weekend.      The Possession from […]

KILLER ELITE:  Watch It At Home – Neither Killer Nor Elite   The new KILLER ELITE takes little from Sam Peckinpah’s 1975 action movie apart from its title (Peckinpah used “The” in his) and the general notion of mercenaries and ex-spies double-crossing each other.  This isn’t a huge loss, as the 1975 version was part […]

      WANDERLUST:  Watch It At Home – Hippy Jokes Thawed Out From 1966   The new WANDERLUST demonstrates the strengths and limitations of amiability in movies.  Its stars, Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, have made very profitable careers out of being professionally likable.  Unlike, say, Tom Hanks, who also began his career in […]

  Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm (for a reported $4.05B), along with its ownership of Marvel and of course its homegrown brands, brings family entertainment one step closer to near-hegemonic rule.  Although there are other assets involved, this is largely a purchase of the gigantic STAR WARS empire, a powerhouse in almost every field it’s ever touched, […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2017 to date is still down -1% from last year and now +1% above the average for this point the past four years ($9.282 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -18% below last year’s comparable span (1 point better than last week) and now -16% below the average for this point the past four years ($2.351 billion).  Over the same […]

Updated international box office chart:

>Green Lantern stumbled on Saturday and the opening weekend now looks like $52.7 million.  Overall, the weekend is down 24% from last year.    The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Final estimates now show that Green Lantern will should finish its domestic run with $146 million, while Mr Popper’s Penguins is headed for $64 million.  Super 8 has […]