Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #2 of 2014 looks like $121 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, down 12% from the average for the same weekend the past few years (but better than we forecast earlier this week). Opening at 2,876 theaters Friday, Lone Survivor from Universal grossed $14.4 million Friday, putting the Peter Berg-directed Afghanistan War […]

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 now +5% above last year and now +15% above the average for this point the past four years ($1.543 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have […]

>2012 is underway with one wide release this weekend (and only 2,000 theaters or so at that) and one major expansion.  The Devil Inside should battle Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol for the top spot this weekend.  As a whole, the weekend volume for the top 12 films will be around $102 million, up about […]

>The weekend studio estimates (based on Friday and Saturday actuals and projections for Sunday) are coming in slightly stronger than the weekend numbers posted yesterday (based on Friday actuals only).  The box office volume for the top 12 films is now looking like a very good $145 million for the weekend, up 11% from last […]

> Despite all Universal‘s efforts to imprint audiences with the idea that THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT is some kind of quasi-sequel to Bridesmaids (it’s not), preliminary numbers at Deadline show the movie to be underperforming badly.  Its $3.7M Friday was only in 3rd place for the day, well below the $6M opening day the same creative […]

>The ninth weekend of the year should generate about $125 million for the top 12 films, a fairly typical weekend for the first weekend in March — up 2% from last year’s comparable weekend and down a negligible 1% from the four-year average for this weekend.  Universal should stand tall with a $44 million opening […]

> Watch It At Home: Fodder For the Undemanding Young One of the running gags in MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS is that the birds are fascinated by old Charlie Chaplin movies, and can be kept calm for hours just by placing them in front of a TV displaying the silent films.  Mr. Popper’s own ambition is […]

  With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, the opening dates for blockbuster movies are carefully calculated months–sometimes years–in advance.  So a last minute change doesn’t come from nowhere, and it’s notable that with less than 2 months to go, Sony has moved its Will Smith/M. Night Shyamalan vehicle AFTER EARTH from its previous […]