Weekend #39 of 2015 is looking like $137 million for the top 12 films this weekend, well above the norm for this weekend (see comparisons below). Hotel Transylvania 2 from Sony should open with a $37.5 million weekend. Reviews are non-existent: nothing yet at RottenTomatoes. The film is on track for around $123 million domestic. Overseas the film could bring in […]

>Benh Zeitlin’s BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is the kind of movie that makes people wince when they hear “independent film”. A tale, with magical realist overtones, set in the mostly African-American poverty of the Louisiana bayous, it’s narrated by its precocious child protagonist, known as Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis). Hushpuppy lives with her father Wink […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #5 of 2015 now looks like $87 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat above the norm for this weekend but not as strong as our optimistic forecast.   Opening at 2,893 theaters Friday, Project Almanac from Paramount is on track for an $8.5 million opening three-day weekend (well below […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #19 of 2015 looks like a wobbly $120 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a little better than yesterday’s estimate ($117 million) but still well below the norm for this weekend. Opening at 3,003 theaters Friday, Hot Pursuit from Warner Brothers is now on track for a $13.3 million opening three-day weekend […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #28 of 2015 looks like $206 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, above the norm for this weekend and way above last year’s weak weekend. Opening at 4,301 theaters Friday, Minions from Universal is on track for a $117.0 million opening three-day weekend (somewhat above our $108.0 million ShowBuzzDaily forecast earlier this week). The […]

    THE VOW:  Not Even For Free – Forget About It   This year has brought us a far-fetched, but ultimately moving and deeply romantic story about a couple who have finally gotten together and married after a great deal of turmoil and who then face their greatest challenge of all:  a fluke accident […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is +3% above last year and +3% above the average for this point the past four years ($8.715 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $23.3 billion worldwide when we add […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  The release of Maleficent has put Disney in a virtual three-way tie for second place (with Warner Brothers and Sony), each with around $1.35 billion worldwide for 2014 to date.  Fox remains comfortably in first place with $1.7 billion.  The other studios remain out of the running, particularly Universal, which was not helped at […]