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 […]

> The 16th weekend of 2012 is looking like $122 million for the Top 12 films, up 1% from this weekend last year but up 24% from the four-year average for the same weekend.  The Hunger Games has finally been toppled by Think Like a Man and The Lucky One.  However, down only 34% in […]

>Finally, The Help has been knocked off its perch, after facing one turd of a movie after another for four weeks.   Contagion will open at #1 with over $22 million (slightly above forecast) and headed for about $72 million domestic.  Don’t cry for The Help, though.  Its final domestic gross estimate has been upgraded yet […]

Marvel’s The Avengers continues to tear up the record books.  The studio is projecting the second weekend will come in at $103.2 million (now almost exactly hitting the $104 million in our ShowBuzzDaily Weekend Predictions) and leaving the old second-weekend record in the dust ($75.6 million for Avatar in December 2009).  Avengers now also holds the record […]

> Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), Real Steel is now looking like an opening weekend of over $27 million — $2 million more than projected yesterday.  Real Steel jumped 27% from Friday to Saturday (from $8.55 million to $10.85 million).  With a projected final domestic gross of $81 million, […]

>Now 16 full weeks into 2012, year-to-date domestic box office is running 22% ahead of last year’s pace (down from the +25% pace last week because the Monday-Thursday business April 16-19 was particularly soft), while the year-to-date total is still fully 15% ahead of the comparable period’s average for the last several years.   Updated final […]

> The past week (seven days ending Sunday) is flat versus last year’s comparable week.  Year-to-date box office is now down 4.0% versus last year.  The Debt opened on Wednesday and is currently on track for $38 million final in North America, with some upside possible depending on the second week.  The other two new films this […]

> Worth a ticket. The director and writer of Saw, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, combine again to bring us–hey, where are you going?  No, seriously:  don’t run away.  Leaving aside that Saw is rather unfairly maligned (before it became the poster child for “torture porn” and a dumb sequel machine for Lionsgate, the original […]