YOUNG ADULT: Worth A Ticket – Theron + Oswalt = The Real Thing   Charlize Theron plays the hell out of her character Mavis Gary in the new YOUNG ADULT.  Theron has had a curious Hollywood career, with the usual big-budget flops (remember Aeon Flux?) mixed with a clearly wholehearted commitment to difficult, independent projects […]

    THE LORAX:  Not Even For Free – A Seussian Mess   It may not be pretty, but surely it’s true–Credit must go where credit is due.  In this case, that means the Universal Pictures Marketing Department, which as it turns out has done a splendid job these last few weeks of hiding just […]

  Nora Ephron never won an Oscar, although she was nominated for 3 of her screenplays (for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally… and Sleepless in Seattle).  With the exception of Silkwood, she didn’t write or direct Oscar-type movies–gravitas wasn’t her thing.  Ephron, who died today at the age of 71, was a proponent of light, […]

A fairly forgettable week at the box office — two new films open to little business and Dark Knight Rises continues to lead the pack, although at a significantly slower pace than its predecessor The Dark Knight. The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between July 23 and July […]

With Labor Day in the rear view mirror, it is time to proclaim the final standings in the second annual ShowbuzzDaily Summer Movie Draft: #1 Team Metcalf ($1.357 billion currently, probably ending at $1.360 billion) #2 Team Weil ($1.036 billion currently, probably ending at $1.062 billion) #3 Team Salem ($971 million, probably ending at $1.007 […]

The weekend looks like a decent $124 million for the top 12 films, a little softer than it looked yesterday (but still significantly ahead of the comparable weekends the last few years).  Paranormal Activity 4 gets a little weaker each day and now is projected to total $30.2 million in its opening weekend, although don’t be surprised if […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #48 is on pace to exceed the multi-year average for this weekend by 33% — the fourth weekend in a row 20% or more above the comparable weekend average.  All credit goes to strong holdovers Breaking Dawn Part 2, Skyfall, Lincoln, and even Life of Pi and Rise of the […]

The following is based on early estimates for Sunday, December 30.  The 2012 figures will be updated as needed when the actuals are released, but any change will be minimal. The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between December 24 and December 30 grossed a very encouraging $399 million, […]