> We’re still a few hours away from the release of actual boxoffice numbers for last weekend (check back for Mitch Metcalf’s full analysis when the figures are official), but The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that COWBOYS AND ALIENS has pulled ahead of THE SMURFS for the weekend crown, with $35.7-36M compared to Smurfs’ $35.6M.  […]

> Friday numbers have been posted by the Hollywood Reporter, and it looks like another lousy Labor Day weekend for the new openings.  All the good news, as has been the case in recent weeks, is confined to THE HELP, which looks to be down only 20% or so from last Friday, and should do […]

> Here are capsule summaries of all this year’s SHOWBUZZDAILY Toronto Film Festival reviews, arranged more or less in order of preference.  Click on each title for the full review, and the complete list of all the reviews is here.  SHAME:  Audiences who go to the new film by Steve McQueen (not that one) for […]

> Friday’s preliminary boxoffice, according to the Hollywood Reporter, has the looks of another soft weekend for the major studios.  TOWER HEIST appears to be underperforming, and with a reported $9.5M Friday, may only reach $27M for the weekend.  Since Universal is mostly sitting out the holiday movie season, this would be a disappointing end […]

> BREAKING DAWN PART 1:  Running $8M below New Moon at the parallel place in their runs, but with a slower rate of decline (at least until New Year’s Eve opens next week).  New Moon earned another $41M after the post-Thanksgiving weekend to end up at $296M in the US; Breaking Dawn 1 could make […]

> See Also: 2011 HONORABLE MENTIONS 2011 WORST 10   As a movie year, 2011 felt, more than anything else, like a reflection of an art and a business in disarray.  Economically, it was a down year and for the major studios, a frightening one:  beyond the special case of the Harry Potter  finale, virtually […]

> In these heady moments after the NY Giants’ triumphant victory over the New England Patriots (I’d say “Sorry, New England fans,” but I wouldn’t mean it), let’s take a moment to look at the other major event of the evening:  the ads for upcoming movies.  (Mitch Metcalf will offer a separate take on NBC’s […]

> Channing Tatum has his second big hit in just over a month.  According to Deadline’s preliminary numbers, 21 JUMP STREET (Sony) had a very solid $13M Friday, which should mean a weekend around $32-35M.  That puts the moderately-budgeted R-rated comedy well on the way to profit, and the positive reviews suggest word-of-mouth should be […]