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 still -8% below last year’s comparable span (one point better than two weeks ago) and now -1% below this point the past four years ($5.728 billion).  Over the same period, […]

> The tenth weekend of 2012 is looking to be solid in terms of total business but not at the runaway pace of the past few weeks.  The weekend is running 3% ahead of last year’s same weekend and 8% ahead of the multi-year average for this weekend.  The Lorax will remain the #1 film […]

This weekend is looking incredibly strong: over $250 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up 27% from a typical third weekend in November.  The final Twilight (12-34 females), Lincoln (35+ adults), and the second weekend of the strongest Bond yet (young adults) make for a powerful combination.   Opening at over 4,000 theaters Friday […]

The weekend now looks like $77 million for the top 12 films, up a bit from the estimate yesterday.  End of Watch, House at the End of the Street and Trouble with the Curve are all within a few thousand dollars, according to the studio estimates for the weekend.  The rank order could easily change […]

  Warning:  this piece will discuss details of the storyline of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES as well as the other Batman films.  GIANT SPOILERS WILL ABOUND; proceed at your own risk. Christopher Nolan is remarkable among the great directors of action films–Steven Spielberg, David Lean, James Cameron, John Ford, certainly Michael Bay–in that while working […]

Weekend #6 of 2014 is looking like a tepid $114 million for the top 12 films, a 30% increase over last year’s disaster for the comparable weekend (Identity Thief and Side Effects bowed this time last year).  But $114 is over 30% below the average for this weekend over the last four years.  For example, […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #16 of 2014 now looks like $126 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up $4 million from yesterday’s estimate and now 12% above the average for this weekend the past few years.   Opening at 2,417 theaters Wednesday (with $7.0 million across Wednesday and Thursday), Heaven Is for […]

> We promise that starting next week, when the battle’s been joined in earnest, there will be an honest-to-god chart and more goodies to update you all on the progress of our Summer Movie Blockbuster Draft.  This week, though, it’s still totally one-sided: Team Metcalf THOR:  $129,906,155 BRIDESMAIDS:  $38,459,240 TOTAL:  $168,365,395 Team Salem $0 A […]