> Happy Voice/Smash Bowl, everyone!  (And go Giants!!!) OPENINGS:  CHRONICLE (20th) is claiming bragging rights for the weekend over THE WOMAN IN BLACK (CBS) by $1M.  But both films are assuming almost identical Super Bowl Sunday drops (69% and 67%, respectively), so the win will depend on whether one or the other faces more audience […]

> If you want to see THE HUNGER GAMES in IMAX, the best visual format available, you’re going to have to hurry:  it’s currently scheduled to screen in IMAX theatres for only a single week.  Even though Hunger is expected to be one of the highest-opening pictures of the year, with a 2d weekend that […]

> It was a solid Saturday for most films in the market, according to the preliminary numbers at Deadline, which are subject to revision on both Sunday and Monday.  THINK LIKE A MAN (Screen Gems/Sony) is reporting a 10% uptick for the day, which would be a very good sign (Tyler Perry’s Why Did I […]

  HORRIBLE BOSSES – Watch It At Home:  Doesn’t Earn A Raise   A comedy can get away with not being very good as long as it’s funny, and HORRIBLE BOSSES delivers some laughs.  Most of those come from the chemistry between stars Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, and since the funniest bits […]

  THE BIG YEAR:  Watch It At Home – Very Small Pleasures   THE BIG YEAR is an amiable, good-natured comedy that’s so insubstantial it seems to fly out of your memory even as you’re watching it.  If it had been a low-budgeted indie that turned up at a film festival, it might have felt […]

    ONE FOR THE MONEY:  Not Even For Free – Another Heigl Misfire   Movie stars are, make no mistake, trademarks.  Consumers who invest in 2 hours of George Clooney or Will Smith expect the same kind of reliable enjoyment that they get from a can of Coke or a pair of Nikes.  And […]

  THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT:  Watch It At Home – If Only The Engagement Were A Little Shorter…   Judd Apatow, as both director (The 40=Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) and producer (Bridesmaids, Superbad, Pineapple Express, TV’s new Girls) has brought a tremendous amount of first-class comedy to large and small screens in recent years.  But […]

A very solid week at the box office pushed total domestic revenues over $6 billion for the year to date, punctuated by strong opening for The Dark Knight Rises amid the real-life carnage in a Colorado movie theater. The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between July 16 and […]