Weekend #21 of 2012 (the traditional Friday-Sunday portion of this Memorial Day weekend) looks like it will total about $153 million for the top 12 films, down 29% from last year’s comparable weekend and down 11% from the four-year average for the weekend.  Two movies open Friday, Men in Black 3 and Chernobyl Diaries.  Although […]

> The Hollywood Reporter has the early numbers on Wednesday’s international opening days for HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (PART 2), and they’re even more sensational than expected.  In only 26 markets (more will open today, and by tomorrow the film will be everywhere except China, where it opens August 4), the movie has […]

>With Christmas coming this Sunday a host of films arrive this important weekend, with three films opening wide Wednesday (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Adventures of Tintin, and the wide expansion of Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol), one major film opening Friday (We Bought a Zoo), and two major films in effect previewing […]

>X-Men: First Class now has an accurate screen count and updated critical response.  The prequel has been adjusted downward a tick but will still lead the weekend, which will be up significantly over the same weekend last year. Opening at about 3,641 theaters, X-Men: First Class should average a strong $18,700 per theater (for $68 […]

  Pending the arrival of this week’s finale, Mike Newell’s 2005 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE may be, on balance, the most satisfying of the series.  It combines first-rate moviemaking with one of J.K. Rowling’s most ingeniously constructed, emotionally rich stories–capped, of course, by the unveiling of Ralph Fiennes as the finally fully […]

> UPDATE: Deadline has a clearer picture of the day’s boxoffice, and THE HELP is already having a superb weekend, leading the day with $5.7M, down a tiny 25% from last week.  If this number holds, its full weekend could reach $19-20M, which would give it a total of $70M+ and a clear path to […]

> If you were going to describe the films of Terence Davies (Distant Voices, Still Lives, The Long Day Closes, The House of Mirth) in one word, that word would not be “dynamic.”  Or “kinetic.”  Or, well, “exciting.”  Davies directs stately tableaux, impressive and sometimes moving, but rooted in nostalgia and regret. Which is why […]

> Los Angelenos will have a chance to get advance looks at some of this year’s Oscar candidates at the AFI Film Festival, which begins in just about 2 weeks.  Today the Festival announced the Gala and Special Screenings, which typically make up the bulk of the high-profile titles, and they include quite a few […]