Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm (for a reported $4.05B), along with its ownership of Marvel and of course its homegrown brands, brings family entertainment one step closer to near-hegemonic rule.  Although there are other assets involved, this is largely a purchase of the gigantic STAR WARS empire, a powerhouse in almost every field it’s ever touched, […]

Oz the Great and Powerful joins the worldwide chart just outside the top 10.  With $70 million overseas to date, the foreign total should approach $300 million, making $500 million worldwide an achievable goal (behind Life of Pi in 5th place). The other films were relatively quiet overseas this past week.  The next best was A Good Day to […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -4% below last year’s comparable span (1 point better than last week’s comparison) and still +1% above this point the past four years ($9.865 billion).  Over the same period, […]

Weekend #5 of 2016 is looking like $129 million for the top 12 films this weekend, much stronger than normal (see comparisons below). Kung Fu Panda 3 from Fox and DreamWorks Animation should open with $49.5 million Friday-Sunday. The film is on track for around $165 million domestic in its run. Overseas the film could bring in $560 million, giving it […]

After its Golden Globes win for Best Drama, the odds of winning Best Picture for Argo improved a bit (moving from a $7.50 payout on a $1 wager to $5.25 and moving past Les Miserables into second place).  But the favorite remains Lincoln, which also actually tightened to a $1.29 payout (from $1.40 last week), as Les Miz and especially Zero […]

The 27th weekend of the year is looking like an excellent $218 million for the top 12 films, up 20-35% from the comparable weekend the last few years. Opening at around 3,900 theaters Wednesday (well above the top 10% theater count for opening weekend wide releases of 3,690 theaters), Despicable Me 2 from Universal should average $20,000 per theater for the three-day weekend […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #39 of 2015 looks like $124 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, significantly above the norm for the weekend (see track below). Opening at 3,754 theaters Friday, Hotel Transylvania 2 from Sony is on track for a $48.0 million opening three-day weekend (somewhat above our $37.5 million ShowBuzzDaily forecast earlier this week). The film […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now +4% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.134 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $18.8 $19.0 billion worldwide when we […]