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THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Contraband”

Posted January 13, 2012 by Mitch Salem

      CONTRABAND:  Worth A Ticket – Working-Class Thriller   CONTRABAND is a B movie, but oddly enough, that’s one thing in short supply these days.  Action movies in modern Hollywood usually come with giant CG-laden budgets, or with a Drive-like overweening sense of self-importance.  A modest picture that simply wants to entertain for […]

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THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “The Cabin In the Woods”

Posted April 13, 2012 by Mitch Salem

  THE CABIN IN THE WOODS:  Watch it At Home – Clever and Culty   Seeing THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is sort of like being in Fight Club:  the first rule is not to talk about it.  Or, at least, not to reveal any of the wild, ingenious twists put into place by its […]

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WEEKEND STUDIO ESTIMATES July 6-8

Posted July 8, 2012 by Mitch Metcalf

Three films are really driving a very solid box office weekend: The Amazing Spider-Man (now a $65.0 million opening weekend and $140 million six-day opening, hitting our forecast in Tuesday’s ShowbuzzDaily Weekend Predictions), the second weekend of Ted (down a very decent 40% from its opening) and the third weekend of Brave (down 41% this […]

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WEEKLY BOX OFFICE ACTUALS & YEAR TO DATE: July 30-August 5

Posted August 6, 2012 by Mitch Metcalf

Another relatively slow week at the North American box office.  Dark Knight Rises keeps chugging along (still lagging behind the domestic pace of 2008’s Dark Knight but still on track for close to $450 million), but two new films opened weakly and no other holdovers are doing much business. The Past Week: Total Box Office […]

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WEEKEND STUDIO ESTIMATES September 14-16

Posted September 16, 2012 by Mitch Metcalf

The weekend now looks like $70 million for the top 12 films, just a shade lower than the estimate yesterday.  The rank order remains the same, with Resident Evil: Retribution opening at #1 ahead of Finding Nemo 3D (although Nemo will outgross Retribution over the course of their theatrical runs).     The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic […]

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Welcome To Lucasland

Posted October 30, 2012 by Mitch Salem

  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, […]

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WEEKLY BOX OFFICE ACTUALS & YEAR TO DATE December 3-9

Posted December 10, 2012 by Mitch Metcalf

The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between December 3 and December 9 grossed only $101 million, down 3% from the four-year average for the week but up 13% from the same week last year.  The past six weeks are still 18% above the four-year average and 25% above […]

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FRIDAY JANUARY 4 BOX OFFICE REPORT

Posted January 5, 2013 by Mitch Metcalf

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #1 of 2013 is on pace for $124 million, very much line with the comparable weekend in previous years.  Texas Chainsaw 3D is opening somewhat better than forecast ($22.5 million versus our forecast of $17.8 million), while Django Unchained continues to perform solidly. In limited release, The Impossible is stronger than forecast […]

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