Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #34 of 2015 looks like $93 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat above the norm for this weekend (thanks mostly to Straight Outta Compton and definitely not the three openers) but below the same weekend last year (see track below). Opening at 2,766 theaters Friday, Sinister 2 from Focus/Universal is on track […]

> Hop and Universal should enjoy this weekend while it lasts:  on Friday, the 3D Rio arrives and that’s probably the end of Hop‘s big numbers. As Mitch Metcalf explained elsewhere on this page, the agents for Russell Brand, Danny McBride and James Franco aren’t having a great day.  Also a little nervous:  Fox, which […]

  THE HELP – Worth A Ticket:  The Story May Be Soft, The Acting Isn’t   THE HELP is–and I mean this in a good way–a big-screen Hallmark Hall of Fame.   It’s a long, absorbing, emotionally satisfying piece of mainstream Hollywood moviemaking that skims the surface of its difficult subject–the life of black maids […]

Weekend #41 of 2015 is looking like $112 million for the top 12 films this weekend, very close to the norm for this weekend but below last year’s strong weekend (see comparisons below). Pan from Warner Brothers should open with a $16.5 million weekend. The film is on track for around $70 million domestic. Overseas the film could bring in $210 […]

> After what seemed as long as a presidential primary season, the Oscar nominations are finally here. What do they tell us? THE ARTIST Is Still The Film To Beat. There were plenty of surprises sprinkled throughout today’s nominations, but none that seriously challenged the conventional wisdom. If Martin Scorsese were still looking for his […]

Weekend #13 of 2016 forecasts for films opening wide and major returning films: NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND March 25-27, 2016 Critics Positive ($ millions) Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection Overseas Total Projection Worldwide Total Projection Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice WB PG13 35% 166.0 395 610 1,005 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 […]

STUDIO SCORECARD. In the worldwide studio rankings for 2013 to date, Warner Brothers again distanced itself from the others as Gravity enjoyed an upgraded domestic final and the start of overseas dollars, which will soon turn into a gusher.  Sony also had a good week as Captain Phillips came aboard and overseas results from other […]

  OPENINGS:  SPY (20th) came in at the low end of expectations with $30M–a number that may very well come down tomorrow when actuals are announced, since it assumes an aggressively strong Sunday hold.  Even at $30M, Spy is below the $39.1M start for The Heat and the $34.6M launch of Identity Thief, and although […]