> The last 2 weeks of the year will almost certainly bring better news for Hollywood, for reasons of tonnage alone:  there are 6 wide openings to come next week, compared to only 3 in the final weeks of 2010.  But for now, the stocking-stuffer of choice is coal. SHERLOCK HOLMES:  GAME OF SHADOWS (Warners):  […]

> Two comedies open above $20 million this weekend (one at forecast and one slightly below), while Transformers 3 stays at #1 and its ShowBuzzDaily Domestic Final has been upgraded.  However, the weekend as a whole is down significantly from this weekend last year.  Horrible Bosses opened almost exactly at forecast ($9.9 million Friday for […]

> In future weeks, we’ll have a spiffy chart to keep you current on the progress of our Summer Movie Blockbuster Draft, but for now it’s pretty simple: Team Metcalf THOR:  $84,752,317 Team Salem $0 Over at Team Salem, I’d like to note that this somewhat lopsided total is because none of my movies have […]

For the 13 days December 16-28, top 10 films in North America have totaled $831 million, now +71% ahead of the same period last year, +83% above the average since 2002, and +44% ahead of the previous record for this period (2009, the year of Avatar).  Each of the comparisons are down five to ten percentage […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2018 film slates by studio. The studio totals also include 2018 dollars for films released in late 2017. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2018 to date is now +8% above last year and now +11% above the average for this point […]

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations today, Lincoln only became more of a favorite by London oddsmakers (moving from a payout of about $1.80 on a $1 bet last week to about $1.40 today).   The odds got a bit longer for Les Miserables and Argo, but Zero Dark Thirty had the biggest swing (from a payout of about $5.50 last […]

Based on Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #9 of 2013 is a little better than it appeared yesterday but still down 38% from the same weekend the last few years.  Jack the Giant Slayer opened reasonably well, but there are no others films doing significant business (weekends over $10 million).  What a mess.         […]

> Memorial Day weekend brings two strong openers and what should be a very solid weekend — well ahead of last year’s numbers for the weekend. Opening at 3,615 theaters, The Hangover Part II should average a very strong $21,400 per theater (for $79 million between the traditional three-day Friday-Sunday period).  Over the five-day Thursday-Monday […]