> In September, SHOWBUZZDAILY will be attending the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, for short).  This is the first in an intermittent series of pieces about the experience of TIFF-ing. Every film festival has its own personality and place in the movie calendar.  TIFF has become hugely popular and important, especially in the last decade, […]

Weekend #45 of 2015 is looking like a solid $165 million for the top 12 films this weekend, up somewhat from the norm for this weekend (see comparisons below). Spectre from Sony should open with a $85.5 million weekend. The film is on track for around $245 million domestic in its run. Overseas the film could bring in $835 million, giving it a […]

> The Hogwarts Express has started its journey:  last night’s midnight showings of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (PART 2) blew past the previous midnight record of $30M (Twilight:  Eclipse) and grossed an incredible $43.5M from those screenings alone.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, this included sold-out houses for every single 3D midnight performance […]

> I wasn’t aware that the Toronto Film Festival showed TV pilots until I caught a screening of PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING.  As a pilot, Peace certainly has its appeal, with a strong cast that includes Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and rising star Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), and a reliable […]

>Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 will drop another 59% this weekend but remain at #1, and its final domestic estimate has been downgraded to $269 million.  The Muppets dropped a very surprising 62%, and its final domestic estimate has been taken down below […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2015 to date is still +6% above last year and still +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.173 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed just under $19.1 billion worldwide when we add overseas box office (that’s […]

The 50th weekend of the year is looking like $160 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a very good kick-off to the holiday movie season. Opening at around 3,900 theaters Friday (well above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug from Warner Brothers should average a very good $21,200 per […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #19 of 2014 now looks like $129 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, $2 million higher than yesterday’s estimate and now down 8% from the norm for this weekend (somewhat better than we expected due to the impressive strength of Neighbors).   Opening at 3,279 theaters, Neighbors from Universal grossed $19.6 million […]